The ROOTS update for PEAK adds new biomes, mechanics, and some of the most mysterious items in-game — including the Book of Bones. This rare Mystical Item can resurrect your fallen teammates, but not without a cost. Use it correctly and you’ll earn the Applied Esoterica Badge, along with a unique cosmetic reward.
Here’s the complete breakdown of how to find the Book of Bones, what it does, and how to unlock the Applied Esoterica Badge in PEAK.
What is the Book of Bones in PEAK?
The Book of Bones is a one-use Mystical Item that can randomly be found inside Ancient Luggage or Ancient Statues. Ancient Statues will only drop a Mystical Item, however, if every player in the raid is still alive.
Once obtained, the Book of Bones has two special effects:
- Resurrect a dead player – brings them back into the game as a skeleton.
- Use it on yourself — turns you into a *skeleton if no one else is dead.
Both have their respective advantages and disadvantages.
What Happens When You Become a Skeleton
Using the Book of Bones on yourself will transform your scout into a skeleton. While this does provide you with immunity to many status effects, the negative result is that you become much more fragile.
Skeleton Form Effects:
- Immune to Hunger, Burn, Frost, Poison, Sleepiness, and Spores.
- Takes double fall and explosion damage.
- Stamina and item weight remain unchanged.
This can be an incredibly useful form for surviving terrible conditions, or exploring really dangerous areas such as the CALDERA lava zones, but it is super-risky: one misstep with explosives or a high fall can end your run in a split second.
How to get the Applied Esoterica Badge in PEAK
To get the Applied Esoterica Badge, you need to be in co-op and then revive a teammate using Book of Bones. Here’s the full walkthrough:
- Find the Book of Bones
- Search for Ancient Luggage or Ancient Statues in the ROOTS biome.
- This is a random drop, so it may take several runs.
- Let Your Teammate Die.
- When a teammate dies, their remains will be in the form of a skeleton.
- Use the Book of Bones on their Skeleton
- Approach the body until you see the prompt: “[Player Name]’s Skeleton — (E) Revive?
- Hold your interact key (default E) to use the book.
Once you’ve revived a teammate this way, you’ll automatically unlock the Applied Esoterica Badge and get the Skeleton Top cosmetic as your reward.
