Soma Cruz is the reincarnation of Dracula and one of the most utility-rich characters in the Ode to Castlevania DLC. This guide covers the Gergoth unlock path via Julius Belmont, the Hand Grenade to The RPG evolution, Soma's unique Soul Steal fatal-damage trigger, the +1% Might per level scaling, and the cascade unlocks for Jonathan Morris and Yoko Belnades.
Soma Cruz is exclusive to the Ode to Castlevania DLC. You must unlock Julius Belmont first (second coffin on Ode to Castlevania).
If you already have the Capra Gate unlocked, you can teleport there directly and backtrack north. The first red sigil you encounter on the way summons Gergoth. This is faster than going through the Alchemy Lab if you have full gate progression.
Julius starts with the Vanitas Whip and has huge damage against low-HP threats. By minute 10, Gergoth falls quickly to his standard build. If you have the Vampire Killer evolution unlocked, even better.
Cast technicallynotavampire in the Forbidden Scrolls of Morbane (Secrets menu) to unlock Soma instantly. The spell is a canon reference: Soma is the reincarnation of Dracula, but he doesn't transform into a vampire until specific plot events in Aria of Sorrow and Dawn of Sorrow.
Soma has three stacked passive effects that make him one of the most utility-rich characters in the DLC: unlimited Might scaling, death-save trigger, and vampire-style immunity.
Every time Soma levels up, he permanently gains +1% Might. This bonus has no cap, so it compounds through long runs:
| Level | Might Bonus | Effective Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Level 10 | Low | Modest early-game damage boost (+10%) |
| Level 25 | Medium | Meaningful mid-game scaling (+25%) |
| Level 50 | High | Comparable to a maxed Spinach (+50%) |
| Level 100 | Must have | Doubles base weapon damage (+100%) |
| Level 200+ | Must have | Endless-mode scaling cap (+200%+) |
Soma's Growth stat boosts this further by accelerating level-ups. Beginning (X) arcana pairs perfectly with Soma for level-speed stacking.
Once per run, when Soma receives a fatal hit that would kill him, Soul Steal automatically triggers as a weapon before death resolves:
Soul Steal is one of Alucard's signature abilities in Symphony of the Night (drains enemy HP into Alucard). Soma uses the same ability in Vampire Survivors because he is canonically the reincarnation of Dracula, Alucard's father, making Soul Steal a bloodline power.
Soma is immune to stage health drain effects (Hyper Mode, Death's curse, etc.) that normally damage characters. This is the same immunity shared by vampire characters like Exdash secretly being one. Soma gets it because he is the reincarnation of Dracula himself, even though he doesn't transform into a vampire in the base Aria of Sorrow storyline.
The Hand Grenade is Soma's starting weapon. It is a bomb-based explosive that deviates from the whip-heavy DLC weapon pool, offering ranged area damage instead.
Leveling the Hand Grenade to level 7 unlocks it for the general weapon pool, making it available for other characters through level-up drops. This is a lower threshold than most weapon unlocks (which typically require evolution or 6+ minute survival).
With a full prerequisite chain, Soma can swap the Hand Grenade for Candybox as his starting weapon. Unlock all five of the following weapons:
With all five unlocked, Candybox appears as a skin selector at run start. This reflects Soma's canon Power of Dominance ability: absorbing and wielding enemy souls as weapons.
The RPG is the most demanding evolution in the DLC because it requires a MAX LEVEL Candelabrador, not just any level. Most evolutions need only level 1 of the catalyst passive.
Unlike most evolutions, The RPG requires Candelabrador at maximum level 5. Plan your early-run item pickups accordingly. The Mad Groove (VIII) arcana can pull a guaranteed Candelabrador on Dairy Plant, Moongolow, or Ode to Castlevania. Combine with Golden Eggs for faster leveling.
Evolving the Hand Grenade into The RPG unlocks Jonathan Morris, the protagonist of Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin (2006 Nintendo DS). Jonathan uses the Whip as his starting weapon and has unique portrait-swap mechanics in his home game.
Soma is one of the key gateway characters in the DS-era Castlevania chain. He unlocks characters from both Dawn of Sorrow and Portrait of Ruin.
| Character | Unlock Condition | Home Game |
|---|---|---|
| Jonathan Morris | Evolve Hand Grenade into The RPG (any character) | Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin |
| Yoko Belnades | Defeat Abaddon boss at top of Clock Tower as Soma | Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow |
Yoko Belnades starts with Tragic Princess (III) arcana and +50% Magnet, which speeds up XP collection dramatically. Unlocking Yoko also expands your Dawn of Sorrow roster, since her story is deeply intertwined with Soma's in that game.
| Stage | Rating | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Ode to Castlevania | S-tier | Mandatory for Abaddon (Yoko Belnades unlock) and for the Wall Chicken healing pickups. Also the thematically correct home stage. |
| Dairy Plant | A-tier | Every chest can evolve a weapon, making The RPG evolution easier. Candelabrador spawns here as a stage item. |
| Moongolow | A-tier | Candelabrador stage item for quick evolution. Good general farming stage. |
| Cappella Magna | B-tier | Candelabrador available. Solid general-purpose stage for Soma level scaling. |
| Inlaid Library | B-tier | Fixed enemy HP removes scaling risk. Good for testing +1% Might per level on consistent targets. |
| Arcana | Priority | Why It Works |
|---|---|---|
 Heart of Fire (XIX) | Must have | Hand Grenade and The RPG gain huge explosive damage bonuses. The RPG's propagating explosions multiply this damage across the cone blast. |
 Beginning (X) | Must have | Accelerates Soma's level-up rate, which directly compounds the +1% Might per level scaling. Every level earlier = more Might earlier. |
 Mad Groove (VIII) | High | Pulls Candelabrador (required for The RPG evolution) to you every 2 minutes. Essential for evolution timing. |
 Sarabande of Healing (VI) | Medium | Periodic heals delay the Soul Steal fatal-damage trigger, letting Soma survive longer before the one-time safety net fires. |
| Item | Priority | What It Does |
|---|---|---|
 Candelabrador | Must have | Required at MAX LEVEL for The RPG evolution. Unlike typical evolutions, this one cares about Candelabrador's level, not just presence. Also boosts Area for Hand Grenade. |
 Hollow Heart | High | Doubles Max Health, delaying the Soul Steal trigger. More HP headroom means the run stays healthy longer before tapping the safety net. |
 Spinach | High | Flat Might bonus stacks with the +1% per level scaling. Double-damage multiplier from one slot. |
 Empty Tome | High | Reduces the Hand Grenade's 3.3s cooldown. More grenades per minute means more continuous explosion coverage. |
 Pummarola | Medium | Recovery stat. Keeps Soma topped up so the Soul Steal trigger remains in reserve. |
Soma's +50% Greed makes him one of the best gold-farm characters in the DLC alongside Big Trouser. If you already have The RPG unlocked and just want gold, skip the evolution and run short runs focused on the Soul Steal safety net for consistent completions.
Soma Cruz is a playable character from the Ode to Castlevania DLC. In Castlevania canon, he is the protagonist of Aria of Sorrow (2003) and Dawn of Sorrow (2005), famously revealed to be the reincarnation of Dracula. This is why Soma shares immunity to health drain with the other vampire characters despite not being a vampire. His unlock spell technicallynotavampire is a direct nod to this twist.
Defeat the Gergoth boss on Ode to Castlevania while playing as Julius Belmont. Gergoth is located on the intricate staircase behind the Library, above the Capra Gate. Load in as Julius, head southwest to the church, teleport to the Scorpion Gate, then go north through the Alchemy Lab into the Library. Alternatively, cast technicallynotavampire in the Forbidden Scrolls of Morbane.
In Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, Julius Belmont is the one sent to fight Soma after the possibility of Soma becoming Dracula's reincarnation is confirmed. The unlock chain honors this canon: Julius confronts Soma symbolically by defeating Gergoth, a boss from Dawn of Sorrow. The two characters are intertwined narratively across both games.
Soma has three unique passive abilities: +1% Might per level (unlimited stacking, so by level 50 you have +50% Might), immunity to health drain (same as vampire characters despite not being one), and Soul Steal on fatal damage. The fatal damage trigger is the most important: once per life, when Soma would die, he triggers Soul Steal instead, which damages every enemy on screen and converts them into hearts that heal him.
Once per run, when Soma receives a fatal hit that would kill him, Soul Steal automatically triggers as a weapon. It deals massive damage to all enemies currently on screen and converts them into floating hearts. Picking up these hearts heals Soma, often fully reviving him to continue the run. This is functionally a free second revive on top of any Revival items.
The Hand Grenade is Soma's starting weapon. It tosses a skull-marked bomb at a random enemy within range, creating a large continuous explosion that damages anything caught in the blast. The weapon scales with Area and Duration but ignores Amount entirely. It unlocks for the general weapon pool when you level it to level 7.
Level the Hand Grenade to level 8 (maximum), then level the Candelabrador passive item to its maximum level. Both need to be maxed. Open any treasure chest after 10 minutes while both conditions are met to trigger the evolution into The RPG. The fastest way to get Candelabrador is using Mad Groove (VIII) arcana on Dairy Plant, Moongolow, or Ode to Castlevania stages.
The RPG fires a warhead projectile at a random enemy when standing still, or in the faced direction when moving. On impact, it creates a cluster of pillar-shaped explosions in a cone pattern, similar to Silver Revolver or Jewel Gun. Base damage jumps from 10 to 40, Amount goes from 1 to 3, and Duration extends to 5 seconds. Explosions propagate, meaning they chain between clusters. Evolving the Hand Grenade also unlocks Jonathan Morris as a bonus character.
Soma is part of two cascade unlock chains. Evolving the Hand Grenade into The RPG unlocks Jonathan Morris (Portrait of Ruin protagonist). Defeating the Abaddon boss at the top of the Clock Tower as Soma unlocks Yoko Belnades (Dawn of Sorrow, wields the Fulgur weapon). Both are worth pursuing for the Castlevania DS trilogy roster.
Soma can start with Candybox instead of Hand Grenade if you have unlocked all five prerequisite weapons: Morning Star, Coat of Arms, Spectral Sword, Belnades' Spellbook, and Ebony Diabologue. With all five unlocked, Candybox appears as a skin selector option. This reflects Soma's canon ability to absorb and wield enemy souls as different weapons.
Target The RPG evolution by minute 12-15 (requires MAX level Candelabrador, so it takes longer than typical evolutions). Then stack Heart of Fire (XIX) for explosive damage, Hollow Heart and Pummarola for survivability to delay the Soul Steal trigger, and scale levels aggressively for the +1% Might per level compound. Soma's +50% Greed makes him a top gold-farm character alongside Big Trouser.
Image sprites and screenshots sourced from the Vampire Survivors Wiki (vampire.survivors.wiki) under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0.