So, you’ve chosen the path of a Soul Reaper (Shinigami) in TYPE://SOUL. Good choice, you get cool swords, flashy Kido spells, and the ability to literally drop a miniature nuke on your enemies once you hit Bankai. But here’s the thing: Shinigami progression isn’t a straight sprint. It’s more like a marathon with a few roadblocks, a detour through RNG-ville, and the occasional Hollow trying to slap you mid-meditation.
In this guide, we’ll go from fresh trainee to True Bankai-wielding powerhouse, covering everything from Shikai, Vizard, and Divisions, all the way to optional power-ups like Advanced Shunko and True Bankai. Whether you’re here to speedrun progression or just enjoy the journey, I’ve laid it all out so you know exactly what to expect.
Soul Reaper Complete Guide & Progression (Shinigami)
Shinigami are the spiritual guardians of Type Soul — tasked with purifying lost souls, slaying Hollows, and keeping balance across worlds. They wield Zanpakuto, which can be named to unlock unique powers:
- Shikai – Your first major form, with abilities unique to your weapon type.
- Bankai – The ultimate flex and damage spike.
- Kido Tree – Powerful spells with huge damage potential.
- Hakuda + Shunko – Exclusive melee combos and speed boosts.
- Vizard – Hollow mask form for even more damage, defense, and mobility.
Shinigami progression is unique — more traveling, more RNG (especially in sword selection), but the endgame kit is absolutely worth the grind.
If you’re just starting out and want to understand every race’s progression path, check out my full guide here: Type Soul: Complete Beginner’s Guide (Soul Reaper, Quincy, Fullbringer & Hollow).
Early Game & Grade Progression
Main Goal: Reach Grade 2 as quickly as possible.
- Soul Society is huge, so expect a lot of running.
- Unlock Flash Step, Soul Style, or Hakuda early from the skill tree — they’re free and essential.
- Spam Mission Boards in Soul Society for quick EXP.
- Skip Rogue Shinigami missions — they’re slow and not worth the hassle.
Old Update Reminder: You no longer need Division Quests to hit Elite Grade, you can go straight there without joining one. Joining a division is mostly just for convenience, like setting your spawn at a specific location. This change applies to all races, as progression now only requires mission EXP. You also don’t need grips anymore for ranking up.
Divisions (Optional but Helpful)
Joining a Division isn’t required anymore, but the perks can be huge:
- Division 10 – Has a teleport straight to the Division Mission Board, great for late-game Bankai grind.
- Division 12 – Easiest Division Quests; great for farming.
Joining Steps (How To Join Division)
- Press
,to see all Division locations. - Talk to the Division NPC.
- Set your spawn.
- Start missions.
Unlocking Shikai
Requirements: Grade 2, not gripped by the opposite faction (or have revenge grips if you were).
Steps:
- Meditate (M) for 5 minutes — do this 3 times separately.
- After the third session, you’ll enter your inner world and fight your Shikai spirit.
- Boss Tips:
- Flash Step backwards + R (critical) to break blocks.
- Some moves (like Bisection) always block break.
- Stay patient — the spirit can parry and dodge aggressively.
Once you win, you’ll unlock Shikai. Press J to activate it and check builds for your weapon type.
Vizard Progression
Requirements: 10 Hogyoku Fragments.
How to Get Hogyoku Fragments
- Raid drops in Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, or Wandenreich.
- Raid Shop (if your faction wins).
- Ranked matches (higher ELO = better drop rate).
Once you get them, place them in one of your slots. Afterwards consume them (by left clicking when you have equipped them). You will die and after respawning, you start to see text appear on your screen. These text messages are called Whispers. You will also start to hear a whispering sound.
Vizard Obtainment Method + Whispers Guide (Updated)
Once you are done with the 1st step, make your way to Hueco Mundo. After you get there, you need to find the Vizard NPC and defeat him. Once you defeat him, just need to Grip him.
The Vizard NPC will look like a normal NPC with a Vizard Mask and a random name. Just search around the server and you should be able to find him. If after searching for a while you can not find him, then just Hop to another server.
Once you are able to find and defeat the Vizard NPC, you will get your Vizard Mask (and also a cutscene). Afterwards you will die and once you respawn again, you should be able to see a Bar on the bottom left side of your screen. This Bar represents the completion of your Vizard Quest (which is the next step).
Compete Your Vizard Quest
After you are done with the 2nd step, you will now have to complete the Vizard Quest that has been given to you. There are 2 Vizard Quest types and you will receive one of them randomly. To figure out which one you got, you need to read the Whispers that appear on your screen.
Quest Type #1
To see if this is your Vizard Quest, then check the Whispers on your screen for the following message: ” Seek victory within a Hueco/Karakura Raid using my power “.
If this happens to be your Vizard Quest, then you need to win 10 Raids while having your Vizard Mask active.
Quest Type #2
To see if this is your Vizard Quest, then check the Whispers on your screen for the following message: ” The people of your alliance must be slain “.
If this happens to be your Vizard Quest, then you need to kill 50 – 60 Soul Reapers (actual players). You can ask one of your friends who is a Soul Reaper to help you out with this quest.
Vizard Quest Completed
Once you have completed your Vizard Quest (3rd step), the Whispers on your screen will just disappear. And your Vizard Mask animation will also get changed to the one shown in the image below.
Bankai Progression
Bankai works like other race’s endgame forms but with a Shinigami twist.
Stage 1 – Hit Elite Grade + Win 13 Raids.
Stage 2 – Inner World NPC gives you:
- Kill 1 Bawa from Hueco Mundo.
- Defeat 80 Hollows.
- Grip 15 Elites (non-Shinigami, basically kill other players that are not your race).
- All must be done in one life.
Stage 2.5 – Sword Selection Trial
- Pick the correct Zanpakuto 3 times (only 2 mistakes allowed).
- Fail? You’ll need to grip 1–2 enemies to reset.
Stage 3 – Bankai Spirit Fight
- Similar to Shikai but harder.
- Use mobility, block breaks, and safe punishes.
Advanced Shunko (Extra Power)
Requirements: Elite Grade + ~3 Hogyoku Fragments.
- Talk to Division 5 Captain.
- Beat him to gripping 4 Arrancar NPCs.
- Unlocks Advanced Shunko — a mobility + melee buff.
True Bankai (Optional but Broken)
Complete the Hell Mode questline to unlock.
- Works like a “domain expansion” — buffs all moves inside.
- Final and most powerful Shinigami form.
For more details, you can check out my guide on how to unlock True Bankai in Type Soul!
Wrap-Up
Shinigami progression is a grind, with big travel times, RNG-heavy stages like Sword Selection, and some “do it all in one life” challenges. But the payoff? An insanely strong, versatile, and PvP-dominating kit.
- Shikai → Get it ASAP at Grade 2.
- Vizard → Do right after Shikai for a big stat boost.
- Bankai → Your biggest mid-to-late game spike.
- True Bankai & Advanced Shunko → Optional, but huge flex and power jump.
By the end, you won’t just be a Soul Reaper — you’ll be the Soul Reaper everyone avoids fighting. Up next, if you want a full look at the entire Hellverse Questline in the latest Type Soul update, check out our guide, we cover every quest, boss fight, location, puzzle solution, and everything else you’ll need to complete it.
