Valor Mortis Chapter 1 Collectibles: All 12 Locations
This guide lists every collectible in Chapter 1 of Valor Mortis and exactly where to find each one. There are 12 collectibles total: 6 lore documents, 3 audio logs, 2 weapon caches, and 1 hidden key. Follow the chapter in order and use the map markers described below to grab them all before the exit door.
Background: What Counts as a Collectible
Chapter 1 is the tutorial area of Valor Mortis, set in the abandoned Ashenvale Research Station. The game tracks four types of collectibles in this chapter, and the pause menu shows a checklist with 12 slots. Lore documents are readable notes that add background on the outbreak, audio logs play voice recordings from the station’s former staff, weapon caches unlock a new gun for the next chapter, and the key opens a locked supply room near the end. You can replay the chapter from the main menu to pick up anything you missed, but the game does not carry missed items into a New Game Plus file.
Collectible 1: Security Memo (Lore Document)
Right after the opening cutscene, you wake in the intake corridor. Walk forward past the first body, then check the small desk on your left before the door marked “Decontamination.� The memo is a yellow slip under a coffee mug. It explains why the station locked down.
Collectibles 2–3: Two Lore Documents in the Admin Wing
After the decontamination room, you enter the admin wing. The second collectible is on a filing cabinet in the first office on the right—look for a blue folder sticking out. The third is in the break room at the far end of the hall, on the counter next to the vending machine. This one is a handwritten note about a missing employee.
Collectible 4: Audio Log – Dr. Reyes
In the same break room, turn left from the counter and look at the floor near the overturned chair. The audio log is a small silver recorder. Pick it up to hear Dr. Reyes describe a failed experiment. This log is easy to miss because the chair partially hides it.
Collectibles 5–6: Two Documents in the Laboratory
The laboratory is the large room with the glowing containment tanks. The fifth collectible is on a clipboard attached to the wall next to the first tank’s control panel. The sixth is on a desk in the corner lab office, under a stack of papers. The office door is unlocked, but the desk is cluttered, so look carefully.
Collectible 7: Audio Log – Security Chief
After the laboratory, you enter the security checkpoint. The audio log is on the desk behind the bulletproof glass, next to a dead guard. You can reach it by going through the door on the left side of the checkpoint. This log contains a distress call.
Collectible 8: Weapon Cache – SMG
In the storage corridor, just after the security checkpoint, you will see a locked green crate on a shelf to your right. Use the crowbar you found earlier in the laboratory (it is on a table near the exit) to pry it open. Inside is an SMG that will carry over to Chapter 2.
Collectible 9: Lore Document – Containment Report
The storage corridor leads to a large warehouse area. The ninth collectible is on a table in the center of the warehouse, next to a broken pallet. It is a containment report with a red stamp. Do not confuse it with the many other papers on the floor.
Collectible 10: Audio Log – Unknown Signal
In the warehouse, climb the metal stairs on the north wall to reach a small office loft. The audio log is on the floor near the window. This one is a garbled signal that hints at a larger threat. It is the only collectible in the chapter that requires climbing.
Collectible 11: Hidden Key
After the warehouse, you enter the maintenance tunnel. The key is on a shelf in the first alcove on the right, behind a pipe. It is small and dark, so use your flashlight. The key opens the locked supply room at the end of the tunnel, which contains a medkit and a lore document that is not tracked as a collectible.
Collectible 12: Weapon Cache – Shotgun
The final collectible is in the exit lobby, just before the large double doors that lead to Chapter 2. The cache is a long box on the floor behind the reception desk. It contains a shotgun with a few shells. This is the last thing you can grab before the chapter ends.
Common Mistakes and Missed Items
Most players miss the audio log in the break room (Collectible 4) because it is on the floor and easy to overlook. Another common miss is the key (Collectible 11) because it is behind a pipe and not highlighted. The game does not show a collectible counter on the HUD, so open the pause menu to check your progress. If you miss any item, you must replay the chapter from the main menu—there is no chapter select in the first patch, so save before the exit door to avoid a full replay.
Why Collectibles Matter
Collectibles in Chapter 1 are not just for achievement hunters. The weapon caches give you an SMG and a shotgun that carry into Chapter 2, giving you a significant advantage over the default pistol. The lore documents and audio logs fill in the story of the Ashenvale outbreak, and the hidden key unlocks a supply room with extra medkits that are useful in the next chapter. There is no achievement tied to collecting all 12 in Chapter 1, but a full collection unlocks a bonus concept art gallery in the main menu.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I go back to get missed collectibles after finishing Chapter 1?
No, once you exit through the double doors, you cannot return to Chapter 1 in the same playthrough. You can replay the chapter from the main menu, but you will start with your current weapons and inventory. The collectibles you already found will remain marked as collected, so you only need to grab the missing ones.
Do weapon caches carry over to Chapter 2?
Yes, the SMG and shotgun from the caches are added to your inventory permanently. If you die after picking them up, you will respawn with them. However, if you replay the chapter and get them again, you will not get duplicates—the game only gives you the weapon once per save file.
Is there a collectible in the locked supply room at the end of the maintenance tunnel?
No, the supply room contains a medkit and a lore document, but that document is not counted in the 12 collectibles. It is optional and does not appear in the pause menu checklist.
How do I know how many collectibles I have found?
Open the pause menu and go to the “Progress� tab. It shows a checklist of all 12 items with a checkmark next to each one you have found. The list is organized by type: lore documents, audio logs, weapon caches, and the key.
Can I get the collectibles in any order?
Yes, the chapter is mostly linear, but you can backtrack within the areas you have already visited. For example, you can get the SMG cache before the audio log in the warehouse if you want. The only exception is the key, which is in a tunnel you cannot re-enter after leaving it.
Do collectibles affect the ending of the game?
No, the ending is determined by choices you make in later chapters. Collectibles only unlock the art gallery and give you extra weapons. They do not change the story outcome.
Related
Method: the standard formula for this calculation, rounded as each result states. See how the calculators work or report an error.