DERELIKT Glyphs and Upgrades: How the System Works
Glyph fragments, translation, engraving slots and the perk upgrades behind Max Power and Eyes on the Inside.
Glyphs are DERELIKT's version of a skill tree, and they are the part of the game Visuwyg advertised most: a "unique glyph upgrade system" tied to the station's archaeology. In practice it is a three-step loop. Find fragments, translate a glyph, spend an engraving slot.
The loop is simple, but the game explains it in one terminal message and then never again. Two achievements depend on it: Eyes on the Inside (3.3%) for unlocking all slots and Max Power (9.0%) for filling them all.
Fragments and slots are separate pickups, so pair this page with the Insight locations guide→ before you spend anything.
The three-step loop
- Collect glyph fragments. They drop from document-adjacent pickups and sit in labs and excavation areas. Fragments are per-glyph, not generic.
- Translate the glyph. At the upgrade bench, a complete fragment set turns into a usable glyph. Incomplete sets show a partial translation.
- Slot the glyph. Drag it into an engraving slot. Slots come from Insight pickups.
Nothing about the loop is timed, and glyphs can be swapped at any bench. The only irreversible step is spending Insight, which happens automatically on pickup.
Perk categories
The game's glyphs fall into three families, matching the three stats the bench shows.
| Family | Effect | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Vitality | More health, faster recovery | First playthrough, Squidbull, sentries |
| Damage | More weapon damage | Proxy fights, ammo economy |
| Dexterity | Faster reloads and interactions | Shotgun builds, hacking terminals |
Each family has multiple tiers, and higher tiers cost more fragments. The bench shows the next tier's requirement before you commit, so there is no way to waste fragments on a tier you cannot finish.
Support glyphs appear later and modify the three main families rather than adding a fourth stat. The ones we have verified affect ammo capacity and medkit efficiency.
Where fragments come from
Fragments are not random drops. They are placed pickups, usually near documents:
- Exo Laboratories has the densest cluster, in the sample room and the server room.
- Anomaly Surface has fragments in the excavation trench and at the derelict campsite.
- Coolant Reservoir has one in the submerged control room, next to the Insight.
- Central Security has fragments in the executive suites.
If you are short of fragments, you have probably skipped a document room. The two collections share space by design.
A partially translated glyph still occupies a slot but gives a reduced bonus. Finish the fragment set first; the bench will not let you slot an incomplete glyph by accident, but it will show it in the list.
Engraving slots
Slots come from Insight and nowhere else. You start with one, and the verified Insight locations give you five more across a full run.
The slot count is the real limit on your build. A player with three slots and ten translated glyphs is weaker than a player with three slots and three matching glyphs, because swapping costs a bench trip and the levels do not always have one.
Achievements
| Achievement | Requirement | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Eyes on the Inside | Unlock all Glyph Slots | 3.3% |
| Max Power | Max out all Glyph Slots | 9.0% |
Max Power is more common than Eyes on the Inside, which sounds backwards until you realise that "max out" means fill every slot you have, not fill the maximum possible slots. A player with two slots and two maxed glyphs earns Max Power without ever finding the full Insight set.
That also means Max Power is achievable early, and the fastest route is to max two glyphs in the first two slots rather than spreading fragments across five.
Build order
For a first run, the efficient order is:
- Damage tier 1 as soon as you have a slot and fragments.
- Vitality tier 1 before the Squidbull.
- Dexterity tier 1 before Central Security's sentries.
- Damage tier 2 before the coolant reservoir.
- Vitality tier 2 before the reactor.
Dexterity tier 2 is a luxury. The late game's problem is damage per second, not reload speed, because the rifle's magazine is large enough to kill a Proxy without a reload.
FAQ
Where do I upgrade glyphs? At the bench in the Exo Labs hub. There is no portable bench.
Can I lose a glyph? No. Glyphs and slots are permanent for the save.
Do glyphs affect achievements? Only the two slot achievements. Combat achievements do not require a specific build.
What is the maximum number of slots? The game does not state it. Five Insights are verified, plus the starting slot.
Visuwyg's announcement post lists the glyph upgrade system as one of the game's five pillars, alongside the PS1 rendering and the dialogue system.
Sources and further reading
The pages below are the sources this guide checks against. The store page and the developer's post are primary; the reviews are secondary and are used for enemy names, weapon names and the state of the game at launch.
- DERELIKT on Steam ↗ — the store page, system requirements and the 27-achievement list.
- Visuwyg's announcement post ↗ — the developer's own description of the outpost and the PS1 rendering work.
- Visuwyg's announcement post ↗ — the developer's own description of the outpost and the PS1 rendering work.
Official source: Visuwyg — DERELIKT announcement post ↗, 8 September 2025.
"grafted onto an anomalous derelict asteroid in orbit around Saturn" — Visuwyg, DERELIKT announcement post, 2025