Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope hidden skill tree guide

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope is a complex game full of mechanics and ideas, but the Sparks of Hope Spark Skill Tree is locked for quite some time. In fact, it could be well into the 10-15 hour mark before you can even unlock it, and many more hours before you unlock it for each of the 9 playable heroes.

First, however, we might need to explain exactly what’s going on here, and how you even unlock the Sparks of Hope Skill Tree, because it’s never clearly explained, and you might only discover it by happening upon it with some luck.

Sparks of Hope Spark skill tree: how do I access it?

In the first area of the game (Beacon Beach) you’ll eventually end up inside a temple. If you explore that temple thoroughly, you’ll come across a golden pipe that tells you you need more sparks to unlock than you have. There’s a reason for this, and it’s because through the pipe you will encounter a huge goomba enemy and have to defeat it in order to get a “Gold Prism”. 

Gold Prisms are single use and not-refundable like the normal skill tree prisms, so once you’ve used one, it’s gone. That’s why this list shows you ALL of the unlocks for each character, because they each have individual “Spark” skill trees, just like the rest of their skill trees. Continue with your adventure for now, and by the mid-point (or near the end) of the second planet you’ll easily have the required number of sparks to access the boss fight and get your first gold prism. After you’ve unlocked a tree, the skills can be unlocked as usual, using the normal skill tree prisms.

How do I defeat the giant goomba?

Once you can return to the gold pipe and access the giant goomba fight, it’s a simple case of needing to beat it. We were level 20 when we accessed the fight. That was around the time we finished the third island, and came back to do this fight. Like other bosses, the giant goomba cannot be dashed, and is immume to all status effects. 

A combination of Rabbid Peach (with Ethering Spark, which can let her hide from the enemies), and Luigi or Mario’s hero sight meant we could dish the pain out regularly. Take out the first wave of enemies before attacking the giant goomba, then retreat and attack from afar with the likes of Luigi, Bowser, and Rabbid Peach, while healing and buffing to the best of your abilities. It’s a tough fight, but the goomba only has one main attack that does high damage – just make sure you use team jump to keep your distance from the boss. Once finished, grab your gold prism.

Spark skill tree: what does the tree contain?

The spark skill tree is as follows, with descriptions and how many prisms it costs to unlock. It’s the same for every character, so you’ll want to pick the characters in order that you most use them.

• Spark Gift: At the first turn, a Spark has a 25% chance to gift a random item (2 prisms)
• Spark Refresher: After activation, each spark has 35% chance to avoid the cooldown (3 prisms)
• Spark Guard: A Spark has a 30% chance to save a Hero from a deathblow (3 prisms)
• Spark Energy: When used, each Spark has a 25% chance of granting a new Action Point (4 prisms)