Everything you need to know about Golden Prisms in Mario + Rabbids Sparks Of Hope.
There are a lot of systems and mechanics in Mario + Rabbids Sparks Of Hope. These only get more complex as you progress through the game, mixing new parts, and adding new abilities and Sparks. It's always great fun to unearth a fresh nugget that helps throw the established order into chaos.
One system that is surprisingly well hidden – so much so that it can be missed – is the Golden Prism. These powerful consumables are single-use, irreversible, and unlock a whole host of new powers for the lucky character who ingests them. But what are these mysterious objects? How to lock them? More importantly, where do you find them?
More Mario + Rabbids Sparks Of Hope content:
Breakthrough of the igloo | Hide and squeal | Sunrise Temple Riddle | Riddle of the Spotless Peak | Combat Guide | Tips for beginners
What are golden prisms
Gold Prisms allow you to upgrade any character permanently. This unlocks a new ability tree in their Heroes tab, and this tree focuses exclusively on the mysterious (but powerful) Sparks. Gold Prisms are in high demand, but rather uniquely cannot be purchased. This makes hoarding them virtually impossible and spending them nerve-wracking because you can't change your mind after the fact.
Be sure to use your first prisms on characters you absolutely can't live without. We have personally found Peach to be an exceptional character throughout the game and to be stable on almost all teams. She was an excellent candidate for our first Gold Prism.
Where to find golden prisms?
Golden Prisms are locked behind powerful optional side quests hidden on each planet. These quests are locked behind mysteriously golden warp pipes that only unlock when you have enough sparks.
These quests are no joke, and even your first encounter with Gold Prism is quite a challenge when you first unlock it - likely being several levels above your current party level. These are all excellent in their execution, you may need to come back a bit later before you can successfully tackle them.
Gold Prism Ability Tree, Explained
There are a total of four new abilities unlocked when you consume a Golden Prism, and these range from being rather powerful to somewhat useless. However, all of them end up being expensive. Here's a quick breakdown of each Spark ability:
sparkle gift
Spark Gift gives any character with this ability a 25% chance to gain a random item. This ability is pretty awful because it costs more than it should and the odds are so low. Also, the further you progress in the game, the more money you have. This makes item management trivial at best, especially considering the free items you find.
Spark Refresher
This ability is far more useful than Spark Gift, but, since it's a recurring theme with these abilities, it's completely random. You have a 35% chance to avoid the cooldown of any spark you use. That might sound useful, but Sparks have shorter cooldowns the further you go through the game, so it quickly becomes useless. Moreover, it is very expensive to buy.
Spark arrester
Another random ability - only this one is nearly strong enough to take. You have a 35% chance of not dying when killed. This is obviously fantastic, but as is often the case, it becomes less useful later in the game. Characters in Mario + Rabbids Sparks Of Hope become incredibly powerful once they have certain abilities under their belts, and provided you have a strong supporting character, death becomes a thing of the past.
Spark Energy
The final Spark ability, and one that should be considered once you've unlocked all key abilities for any character. This one has a very low chance to proc, but the effect is brilliant. You have a 25% chance of gaining an action point each time you use a spark. This is huge, as it allows you to extend your turn (and therefore damage). It can also trigger multiple times in one round, really pushing your team to new heights. When it works, it's amazing. It's very expensive of course, but it's worth it later in the game.
Spark Capability Assessment
They are mostly terrible and not worth the investment. Their random nature holds them back, as does their prohibitive price. Gold prisms are a nice touch, but the abilities gained are incredibly disappointing. Unlock them more for the cool battle, more than the utility they bring. Your characters are best off using their standard kit.
That's all we have on Gold Prisms in Mario + Rabbids Sparks Of Hope. Check out one of our other guides for an in-depth look at other mechanics.
