How to get Vitalstones in Throne and Liberty

Hopping onto the Gigantrite to follow along on her route across Solisium is one of the more calming and scenic activities to do in Throne and Liberty—but if you’ve ever gotten a ride on the skyward whale express, you might have noticed certain nodes that allegedly require Vitalstone.

In true Throne and Liberty fashion, it’s somewhat difficult to get much in-game info on what Vitalstone even is, much less where to get it and what it does. If you’re wondering about these strange nodes after getting on the Gigantrite to mine Marind or complete the Little Friend in the Sky quest, here’s all you need to know about what Vitalstone is, where to get it, and how to use it in Throne and Liberty. 

Where to get Vitalstones in Throne and Liberty

In lore terms, Vitalstones are crystalized bits of the Gigantrite’s blood that hold a tremendous amount of mana inside of it. In practical terms, they’re consumable items that can only be obtained by mining the Divine Beast Fragments that the Gigantrite shakes off itself from time to time. 

Yes, the shining blue “whale poop” you may have seen falling off her actually does drop something on the ground. She’ll shake off some fragments multiple times in one trip—unfortunately, it’s somewhat hard to predict when and where the Gigantrite will shake off some fragments. While you can choose to chase after the Gigantrite on land for a better viewing angle on when and where the fragment falls, you’re likely to get outpaced by her fairly quickly. The best way to get Vitalstones is to jump on the Gigantrite as soon as possible, then wait on one of her fins while looking down to see when she shakes off some fragments.

Another tricky part is that the Divine Beast Fragments don’t actually fall where you can see the blue particle effects touch the ground—instead, they seem to have set locations where they spawn a few seconds after the main group of blue crystals finishes falling. As you’re flying down from the Gigantrite, keep an eye out for a more pale blue column of light slowly falling down toward the ground. Once it hits its destination, a dark blue crystal will spawn in, and you can rush ahead to mine it. 

The final difficulty of acquiring Vitalstones is that only one player can mine a single Divine Beast Fragment. If someone else gets to it before you, it shatters and disappears. Similarly, if you’re the first to mine a fragment, the other players rushing up to it are out of luck. You’ll have to be fast in order to farm a good amount of Vitalstones—thankfully, multiple attempts will give you a better feel for where the fragments will spawn. 

Upon mining a Divine Beast Fragment, you receive a handful of Vitalstones and Rare Marind, which can be used to craft skill growth books. You can then use the Vitalstones on the Gigantrite itself in exchange for pieces of Stellarite Element, which are used to craft Stellarite.