Soulframe Smite Explained: Pull Smite, Charge Pact Arcanics and Raise Your Chance

Play Soulframe for a few hours and sooner or later an enemy suddenly lights up, and you wonder what that's about. That glow is Soulframe Smite, one of the game's central combat mechanics. The game explains it in a sentence at best. This guide fills the gap, as of Preludes 16.

⚡ What is Smite in Soulframe?

At its core, Soulframe Smite is a crit-like proc, a critical hit on the enemy's soul. When it triggers, the foe's soul is exposed for a short time and the enemy starts to glow, or burn. Important for new players: you don't need Spectral Sight active (default key Q) to see that glow. The proc happens on its own while you're hitting things normally.

So the glow isn't a bug or a status effect the enemy puts on you. It's your opening, a short window in which you can pull the exposed soul. That pull, called Pull Smite, is the real payoff of Soulframe Smite.

🔥 How Smite works: the two-step loop

The most common reason Smite confuses people: it's actually two separate steps, not one. Most short explanations online only describe step two and quietly assume step one.

🩸 Step 1: the proc (exposing the soul)

Every weapon has a Smite value, shown in the tooltip as a fraction in words, for example "9 in 100" or "3 in 25". The first number is the hits, the second the total. So 9 in 100 means 9 percent, and 3 in 25 means 12 percent.

💡 Read both numbers. The denominator isn't the same on every weapon, so the first number alone tells you nothing. "3 in 25" beats "9 in 100" even though its first number is smaller. If you only look at the top number, you'll keep picking the worse weapon. When in doubt, do the quick math.

Because the Soulframe Smite chance per hit is small, you usually need several hits before it procs. Faster weapons give you more Smite chances per second.

✨ Step 2: Pull Smite

While the soul is burning, you do the actual pull: hold Spectral Sight (Q) and use a light attack (left mouse button) on the glowing target. That's Pull Smite, the payday of the whole mechanic.

About the keys: per the Avakot community wiki, Spectral Sight is on Q by default on PC and Pull Smite uses the left mouse button. You can change both under Settings > Controls. If you've rebound them, your own keys apply.

🎨 Soul color decides which Arcanic recharges

A detail many players never notice, and one that makes Soulframe Smite noticeably stronger: the pull recharges the Pact Arcanic that matches the soul's color. Each of the three Virtues feeds one Arcanic slot, and in game they use the same colors you see on weapons:

So the soul color indirectly decides which of your abilities comes back. In practice a lot of souls simply glow white, and many videos show almost nothing else. Don't let that throw you. You pull them the same way either way. The color mapping is a bonus to think about, not a must.

More on the Virtues and your weapon's Virtue requirement is in the Soulframe Virtues guide.

🗡️ How to raise your Smite chance

There's a dedicated Combat Art for Soulframe Smite chance. Per the Avakot community wiki it's called Smitten, has 3 ranks and adds 1, 2 or 3 percent Smite chance for the whole weapon category. Avakot lists it for Polearms, Shields, Long Blades, Heavy weapons, Magick, Flyblades and Short Blades. Bows get Arts like Wolfseye instead (more Smite chance on charged shots). Here's how to push your Soulframe Smite rate up:

• Pick weapons with a high Smite value and compare numerator and denominator from the tooltip.
• Rank up Smitten, every rank raises the chance.
• Use fast weapons, since more hits per second mean more proc rolls.
• Keep Spectral Sight ready, it's your trigger for the pull.

💥 Smite and Stagger in boss fights

Against bosses, Soulframe Smite ties into the Stagger system (every weapon shows its Stagger value right in the tooltip). Bosses use the same Stagger bar as normal enemies, just with higher thresholds. Kicks, parries and charged heavy attacks fill it fastest. Once it's full, the boss reels or goes down with a finisher prompt, a perfect window to follow up with a Pull Smite for big burst damage.

A word on co-op: you can play in groups of up to four Envoys, but enemy level scales with party size. More players doesn't automatically mean easier. One clean Pull Smite per person still pays off for the team. Group setup is covered in the Soulframe co-op guide.

💡 Practical tips

• Hit first, pull second: start normally. As soon as the soul burns, hold Spectral Sight and light attack right away, because the window is short.
• Don't fixate on color: if the soul burns, pull it. Soulframe Smite doesn't care. White or colored, the pull works the same.
• Time it with cooldowns: when an ability is on cooldown, a Pull Smite is the fastest way to get it back.
• Charge your Rune: every pull charges your equipped Rune. Per the community wiki you release it with Spectral Sight plus heavy attack. This charge system has been in place since Preludes 14. Before that, Runes ran for a fixed time after each pull.
• Rune charge since Preludes 16: per the patch notes, Runes now charge up through attacks, scaling with Spirit. Pull Smite gives less charge than before, and Runes slowly lose charge outside of combat.
• Smiting Stag nerfed: since Preludes 16 the Totem triggers Smite less often, and Totems only work in the main hand.
• Epithet bonus: 100 Pull Smites earn you the Epithet "Soul-Bibber" for a legendary weapon, added with Preludes 16.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions about Soulframe Smite

What does "9 in 100" mean on Soulframe Smite?

It's the proc chance per hit: nine out of a hundred attacks expose the soul, so 9 percent. The denominator varies by weapon, so "3 in 25" works out to 12 percent.

Do I need Spectral Sight active for the soul to light up?

No. The proc happens on its own while you attack normally. You only need Spectral Sight for step two, pulling the burning soul.

How exactly do I pull the soul?

Hold Spectral Sight (default Q) and use a light attack (left mouse button) on the glowing target. Check your keybinds if you're unsure.

What does a Pull Smite actually give me?

Three things at once: a strong damage burst, faster recharge for the matching Pact Arcanic and charge for your equipped Rune. Depending on your Pact rank, extra effects like healing come on top.

Which weapons can use Soulframe Smite?

All weapons have a Smite chance, it's in the tooltip. The Avakot community wiki lists the Smitten Combat Art, which raises the chance up to rank 3, for Polearms, Shields, Long Blades, Heavy weapons, Magick, Flyblades and Short Blades. Bows use Arts like Wolfseye.

🔗 More Soulframe guides

If you're just starting out, read the Soulframe beginner guide first. For your weapon's stats, the Virtues guide helps. All English guides are on the Soulframe overview.

✅ Bottom line

Soulframe Smite isn't random flicker. It's one of your strongest combat resources: you expose the soul by hitting normally, then pull it with Spectral Sight for burst damage, faster abilities and Rune charge. When comparing weapons, look closely at the Smite fraction, because the denominator matters.

Checked against official Soulframe sources and in-game tooltips, with the Preludes 16 changes checked against the official patch notes, as of October 2026 (Preludes 16 with Hotfix 6). Soulframe Smite default keys and the Smitten Combat Art per the community wiki at avakot.org. There is no official wiki.

Correction from July 30, 2026: an earlier version gave the Smite value as a flat "3 in 50", about 6 percent. The denominator depends on the weapon (confirmed: 9 in 100 and 3 in 25), so there's no fixed percentage. Soulframe is still in the Preludes phase, so check your in-game display when in doubt.