Tainted Grail New Game Plus Guide: Carryover and Loot

Tainted Grail New Game Plus is easiest to understand as a second pass through Avalon with a persistent character and a harsher combat contract. You bring meaningful power forward, but the world is reset and the armor system prevents the first run's gear advantage from making every encounter trivial. The important preparation is therefore organizational: keep the gear you care about, understand what the transition screen says, and do not treat an old list of resets as a permanent rule.

TL;DR: Finish the main story, sort your stash, and confirm the current NG+ transition details before starting. Your level, character progression, and most equipment carry over, while world and story progress reset. New cycles add stronger or additional loot and make enemies tougher, with an armor penalty that becomes more important each cycle. The exact numeric penalty and DLC exceptions are patch-sensitive.

Current status: September 2026 (quick answer)

Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon is now a full-release single-player RPG on Steam. The official store page showed a $44.99 US price, 87% positive from 19,793 English reviews, and 83% positive from 571 recent reviews when checked for this audit. The store also lists three zones, 50 to 70 hours of content, branching quests, and the Sanctuary of Sarras expansion in the current product ecosystem.

This update matters because older NG+ text often mixed launch-era assumptions with later DLC or patch behavior. The current New Game Plus reference confirms the broad loop: finish the story, carry forward major character power, face tougher enemies, and pursue additional weapon and armor drops. For exact exceptions, prefer the current in-game transition screen and patch notes.

What carries over

The safe carryover model has three layers:

• Character power: level and core progression are the reason to start NG+ at all.
• Equipment: most gear comes forward, giving you a starting loadout and a reason to sort your stash before the transition.
• New-run economy: the world, quests, and exploration state are refreshed so the next cycle has something to do.

The key word is “most.” A guide that promises every key, recipe, journal, temporary buff, and DLC flag will survive every build is overreaching. Some player reports also describe different behavior around Sarras-related progress. If a transition prompt identifies an exception, believe the prompt rather than a universal checklist.

A carried-over character still returns to a world that has to be explored again.

What resets

NG+ should be treated as a clean world state with a persistent protagonist. Main quests, locations, enemy placements, and exploration objectives are there to be experienced again. That is why you should spend your last normal-run session finishing optional tasks you care about rather than assuming they will remain completed.

Do not build a route around a claim that “King's Powers always reset” or that every recipe disappears. Those statements may describe one version, a specific save state, or a player report. The current references support a broad reset of the world and story, but they do not justify a fixed exception table for every patch and DLC combination.

The same caution applies to Sarras. Keep a record of your meaningful DLC decisions and check the state after starting NG+. If a tree or quest is not present, it is a current-build behavior to document, not proof that all players share one universal reset rule.

The armor penalty and difficulty curve

The defining NG+ complication is that better carried-over gear does not remove the need to respect damage. Current references and coverage describe an armor debuff that becomes more severe as cycles increase. Enemies are also tougher, so a character who felt comfortably overgeared in the final act can still be punished for standing in attacks.

That changes build priorities:

• Keep a damage option that ends ordinary fights quickly.
• Do not assume a large armor number makes every trade safe.
• Carry healing and crowd-control answers for the first areas.
• Keep an alternate set if a new drop supports a different resistance or weapon style.
• Reassess after the first cycle rather than planning five cycles from a launch table.

The exact numeric penalty is intentionally not stated here. Older versions of this guide treated “minus 50 per cycle” as universal, but the current evidence does not justify presenting that number as timeless. Read the current stat screen, compare a hit against the same enemy, and adjust from observed behavior.

New loot and why the second cycle is worth playing

NG+ is not only a difficulty toggle. The current wiki reference and coverage describe additional drops and new weapon or armor sets that are not part of the ordinary first-run chase. The useful mindset is to treat the first cycle as a baseline build and the second as a re-equipment run.

Do not expect a fixed chest-by-chest route. Loot pools and patch changes can shift what appears, while a procedurally varied build may make one weapon set more valuable to you than another. Keep transmog in mind if you like a look from the first run but want the stats of a new piece; current coverage specifically highlights transmog as part of the NG+ conversation.

The new cycle is a combat and gear chase. Compare real stats and survivability instead of assuming every new drop is an automatic upgrade.

Step-by-step: prepare and start NG+

1. Finish the normal-run cleanup: Complete side quests, DLC objectives, achievements, and exploration tasks you do not want to repeat. The next cycle resets the world, so “I will do it later” can mean doing it in a second run.

2. Sort your stash: Keep your preferred weapons, armor, consumables, crafting materials, and appearance pieces together. Remove junk so the carryover screen is readable.

3. Record sensitive progress: Note Sarras choices, shrine decisions, recipes, keys, and any temporary buff you care about. This is a reference for checking the new cycle, not a promise that all of them carry.

4. Respec only with a reason: An armor-heavy build may need adjustment because of the NG+ penalty, but a familiar build is also valuable while you learn the new enemy tuning. Do not respec simply because an old guide says it is mandatory.

5. Confirm the transition prompt: Read the current list of retained and reset data. If it conflicts with a web guide, follow the game and make a note for the next update.

6. Rebuild around the first new drops: Use your carried kit to survive the opening, then compare new weapons and armor as they appear. Replace gear because it solves a real problem, not because it belongs to a higher-looking tier.

Common NG+ mistakes

Starting before finishing optional content: A new cycle is a commitment to repeat the world. Clean up anything you only want to do once.

Treating every carryover list as official: NG+ exceptions can change with patches and DLC. Use current UI evidence.

Ignoring armor because your level carried over: The penalty and tougher enemies are designed to make careless trades hurt.

Selling the first-run gear you still want: Additional loot is a reason to keep old pieces as backups, not a reason to erase your old build.

Assuming a fixed loot route: Explore and compare. A chest list from another patch is not a guarantee.

Frequently asked questions

Does Tainted Grail have New Game Plus?

Yes. Complete the main story, then start a new cycle with major character progress and most equipment carried forward.

What carries over into Tainted Grail New Game Plus?

Level, core character progression, and most equipment are the safe headline items. Check the transition prompt for inventory and DLC-specific exceptions.

What resets?

World and story progression reset. Quests, keys, recipes, journals, temporary buffs, and Sarras-specific states should not be promised without checking the current build.

Is NG+ harder?

Yes. Enemies are tougher and an armor penalty makes defensive mistakes more expensive. The exact numeric penalty is patch-sensitive.

What rewards does NG+ add?

Additional drops and new weapon or armor sets are the main reason to replay. Treat the pool as current-build content rather than a fixed chest route.

Should I respec before NG+?

Only if your build depends heavily on armor or no longer matches your intended gear. Otherwise, start familiar and adjust after seeing the current balance.

Does Sarras progress carry over?

Do not assume every Sarras quest or tree state carries over. Record your state and verify it after the transition.

Related Reading

• Tainted Grail Complete Guide: story, builds, and exploration help.
• Tainted Grail Sarras Guide: DLC-specific route and choices.
• Tainted Grail Best Builds: build planning for the harder cycle.
• Tainted Grail Armor Guide: mitigation and gear comparison.
• Tainted Grail Beginner Guide: first-run preparation before NG+.
• Tainted Grail Zones Guide: route planning for the reset world.
• Tainted Grail Boss Guide: combat preparation for repeat encounters.
• Tainted Grail Alchemy Guide: crafting and consumable planning.
• Tainted Grail Crit Build Guide: an alternative damage route for tougher cycles.

References

• Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon on Steam: current price, reviews, full-release scope, and DLC listing.
• New Game Plus on Tainted Grail Wiki: current carryover, difficulty, and reward overview.
• PC Gamer on Tainted Grail New Game Plus: current coverage of tougher enemies, armor pressure, gear carryover, and extra loot.