Many players in VV: Ultimatum are trying to hunt down the best Iron variant because each one comes with a unique passive effect. While the base Iron Soul already has solid damage and utility, its variants can make certain skills stronger and change how you approach PvE or PvP.
Some focus on damage over time, while others improve cooldowns or make False Arm even stronger. If you’re wondering which Iron variant is worth keeping, here is a complete breakdown of every Iron Soul variant in VV: Ultimatum and what they do.
Base Iron Soul Skills Explained
Before looking at the variants, it helps to understand the normal Iron Soul abilities.
False Arm
False Arm creates a metal arm that enhances your attacks. Investing in durability upgrades allows the arm to survive longer, letting you perform additional M1 attacks before it breaks. This translates to more overall damage, especially when using heavy weapons.
False Arm can also be combined with Demolition Man to throw metal projectiles, giving the skill more versatility.
Metal Spikes
Metal Spikes unleashes a barrage of punches. Certain upgrades add additional effects such as bleeding, making the move more dangerous during extended fights. This ability requires your leg to remain intact to activate.
Ruby Variant
Ruby gives Iron Soul the ability to inflict bleeding through Metal Infusion. Enemies continuously lose health after getting hit, making this variant useful for both PvE and PvP. The bleeding damage adds pressure over time and works especially well against opponents that rely on healing or defensive playstyles.
Effect:
- Metal Infusion causes Bleeding.
- Great for damage over time.
Opal Variant
Opal changes the final hit of Metal Spikes, allowing it to burn enemies. In exchange, the technique’s cooldown becomes slightly longer.
The burn effect deals additional damage over time, making Opal somewhat similar to Ruby. Although the visual effects may not always appear on training dummies, the burning effect works properly against players.
Effect:
- Final Metal Spikes hit inflicts Burn.
- Longer cooldown.
Amethyst Variant
Amethyst focuses on resource management. Demolition Man consumes less Reishi, allowing you to cast it more frequently during long fights.
However, False Arm receives a slightly longer cooldown as a drawback. The downside is fairly minor, making Amethyst a balanced option.
Effect:
- Demolition Man costs less Reishi.
- False Arm cooldown increases slightly.
Emerald Variant
Emerald is considered one of the strongest Iron variants by many players. It allows False Arm to survive one additional hit while reducing its active duration.
Since False Arm normally breaks after several attacks, the extra durability lets you squeeze in another M1 combo. Combined with durability upgrades, you can deal massive damage, especially with heavy weapons.
Effect:
- False Arm lasts one extra hit.
- Active duration is shorter.
Why Emerald Is So Strong
With durability upgrades, False Arm can survive long enough to perform four M1 attacks. Heavy weapons benefit greatly from this, allowing players to deal nearly 200 damage during combos. This makes Emerald excellent for both farming and PvP.
Diamond Variant
Diamond modifies Demolition Man’s close-range attack. It causes concussions but lowers the damage output.
Although the damage penalty is noticeable, the concussion effect can be useful in PvP where crowd control matters more than raw damage.
Effect:
- Demolition Man inflicts Concussion.
- Lower damage.
Sapphire Variant
Sapphire affects all Iron Soul techniques by increasing their Reishi cost while reducing cooldowns.
Although faster cooldowns can sound useful, many players consider Sapphire the weakest variant because of its higher resource consumption. Running out of Reishi can become a problem during prolonged battles.
Effect:
- Shorter cooldowns.
- Higher Reishi cost.
Which Iron Variant Is the Best?
Among all Iron variants, Emerald stands out as the strongest choice. The extra False Arm hit significantly boosts M1 damage and works well in both PvE and PvP situations.
Ruby and Opal are also excellent alternatives thanks to their Bleeding and Burn effects, providing consistent damage over time. Diamond has some niche PvP uses, while Sapphire is generally the least desirable variant because of its increased Reishi consumption. Ultimately, Emerald remains the top pick for players looking to maximize Iron Soul’s damage potential in VV: Ultimatum.