If you’ve reached the point where Tarot Cards start dropping in Pass the Fear, you’ve probably realised they’re much more than simple passive buffs. At first glance, it looks like there are only 22 Tarot cards, but that’s not actually how the system works.
Every Arcana has two separate versions—an Upright and a Reversed orientation. These aren’t just stronger or weaker versions of the same card. In many cases, they behave completely differently and support completely different builds.
The first time I started experimenting with Tarot, I kept choosing cards based on their names instead of their effects. That quickly taught me a lesson because the Upright version of a card could be perfect for my build, while the Reversed version actively worked against it.
This guide explains how the Tarot system works, what every major Arcana does, and how to build an effective five-card Tarot loadout.
Pass the Fear Tarot Guide – All Upright & Reversed Tarot Cards
Although there are 22 Major Arcana, Pass the Fear treats every orientation as its own card.
That means there are actually 44 different Tarot effects available.
Each version has its own:
- Effect
- Trigger
- Rarity
- Build synergy
- Relic interactions
Never assume the Reversed version is simply stronger. Sometimes the Upright version is much more useful depending on your build.
Understand Three Things Before Choosing a Tarot Card
Whenever you’re looking at a Tarot card, try breaking it down into three simple questions.
What Triggers It?
Every Tarot activates under specific conditions.
Some examples include:
- Entering a stage
- Reaching a destination
- Your first shot
- Your final shot
- Triggering Transmutation
- Dismantling Relics
- Entering shops
- Taking fatal damage
If your build never activates that condition, the Tarot card won’t contribute much during a run.
What Does It Affect?
Some cards affect:
- Your Hunter
- Enemies
- Weapons
- Relics
- Armor
- Ember
- Growth
- Critical Hits
- Shops
Understanding the target is just as important as understanding the trigger.
What’s the Reward?
Finally, ask yourself what you actually gain.
Rewards usually fall into one of these categories:
- More damage
- Better survivability
- Resource generation
- Utility
- Permanent scaling
- Economy
- Crowd control
Once you understand those three points, choosing Tarot becomes much easier.
You Only Have Five Tarot Slots
One of the biggest mistakes newer players make is trying to fit every interesting Tarot into a single build.
You can only equip five Tarot Cards.
Because of that, every slot matters.
A good setup usually looks something like this:
- One card that strengthens your main damage source.
- One card that covers your build’s weakness.
- One defensive option.
- One scaling card.
- One flexible utility card.
If a Tarot only becomes useful after a very specific relic, shop event, and dismantle sequence, it’s often worth replacing with something that provides immediate value.
Relics and Tarot Often Work Together
Some Relics directly interact with Tarot mechanics.
Likewise, certain Tarot Cards only reach their full potential when paired with Relics that contain matching effects such as:
- Embarkation
- Destination
- Shatter
- Dismantle
Before dismantling a Relic, always check whether one of your Tarot Cards gains additional value from doing so.
Sometimes the order matters more than the effect itself.
Upright vs Reversed
One thing I really like about Pass the Fear is that Reversed cards aren’t simply “better.”
Sometimes they’re actually riskier.
Sometimes they’re completely different.
Always compare both versions before deciding which one fits your build.
The Fool
Upright (Epic)
The Fool causes all Embarkation effects to trigger one additional time.
If your build relies on powerful start-of-stage bonuses, this card offers incredible value.
Reversed (Common)
Instead of triggering automatically, the Reversed version activates when dismantling an Embarkation Relic.
Doing so causes all Embarkation effects to activate twice.
Best for dismantle-focused builds.
The Magician
Upright
Your first shot becomes a Magic Bullet that transforms enemies into Rabbits for two seconds.
You deal 50% extra damage to transformed enemies.
Reversed
Works similarly but increases bonus damage to 100%.
The downside is that Magic Bullets occasionally backfire and empty your magazine.
Higher reward, higher risk.
The High Priestess
Upright
Every Destination restores Health.
Any overhealing converts into permanent Growth stacks.
Excellent for Growth builds.
Reversed
Instead of Growth, overhealing converts into double Armor.
A much stronger defensive option.
The Empress
Upright
Whenever you dismantle an item, there’s a 25% chance to receive another item of the same type.
Excellent for resource generation.
Reversed
The chance drops to 15%, but the returned item cannot be lower quality than the one dismantled.
Much better for higher-tier runs.
The Emperor
Upright
All Critical Chance gained from other sources is doubled.
Extra Critical Chance converts into Critical Damage.
Fantastic for Critical builds.
Reversed
Instead of improving Critical Chance, your Critical Damage fluctuates between 200% and 450%.
Much less consistent but capable of huge bursts.
The Hierophant
Upright
The highest-health enemy becomes a Heretic.
Damaging that target deals additional True Damage.
Excellent against bosses.
Reversed
Keeps the same Heretic mechanic but both you and the marked enemy deal 50% more damage to each other.
Very powerful but considerably riskier.
The Lovers
Upright
You inherit your Sub Weapon’s weapon effects and passive abilities.
This can dramatically improve certain dual-weapon builds.
Reversed
Whenever you use your Battle Skill, your Sub Weapon automatically casts its Battle Skill as well.
Great for ability-focused characters.
The Chariot
Upright (Epic)
Every Embarkation also activates all Destination effects.
Perfect for builds centred around Destination bonuses.
Reversed (Epic)
Every Destination instead activates all Embarkation effects.
Choose whichever version matches your Relics.
Strength
Upright
Simple but powerful.
Final Damage increases by 75%.
Reversed
Final Damage increases by 120%.
However, you also take 30% more damage.
One of the strongest offensive cards if you can survive.
The Hermit
Upright
While no allies or enemies are nearby:
- Fire Rate increases.
- Reload Speed increases.
- Nearby enemies are periodically knocked back.
Excellent for solo players.
Reversed
Instead of increasing Fire Rate, your next shot gains increasing damage while you’re isolated.
Perfect for slow, high-damage weapons.
Wheel of Fortune
Upright
Allows one Tarot refresh during selection.
Each Upright Tarot increases Final Damage by 15%.
Reversed
Allows reversing one Tarot during selection.
Each Reversed Tarot increases Final Damage by 25%, but also increases damage taken.
Ideal for all-Reversed builds.
Justice
Upright
Converts all Health into Armor.
Every percentage of Health lost increases Final Damage.
Strong for Armor-focused builds.
Reversed
Restores Health immediately.
Remaining Health increases Final Damage instead.
A safer option.
The Hanged Man
Upright
Every Shatter effect activates one extra time.
Excellent for Shatter builds.
Reversed
After entering a shop, the next Shatter effect activates five times.
Incredibly powerful if timed correctly.
Death
Upright (Epic)
All Destination effects trigger one additional time.
Simple but extremely effective for scaling.
Reversed
Buying a Destination Relic immediately destroys it while permanently granting its effects.
Excellent for dismantle strategies.
Temperance
Upright
Your first five shop refreshes are free.
Every fifth refresh upgrades one random Relic into its Forged version.
Outstanding economy card.
Reversed
Shop refreshes and purchase prices are swapped.
The trade-off is losing Components when dismantling shop items.
The Devil
Upright
Embarkation grants Nether Pact stacks.
Destination converts remaining stacks into random Relics.
High-risk but potentially huge rewards.
Reversed
Instead of Relics, Nether Pact converts into Coins.
Useful if you’re planning a shop-heavy run.
The Tower
Upright (Epic)
Immediately grants one unidentified Legendary Relic.
Simple and always valuable.
Reversed (Epic)
Starts with one Legendary Relic.
After collecting enough White Tower Marks, you’ll receive additional Legendary Relics throughout the run.
Much stronger for long games.
The Star
Upright
Acts like an extra life.
Fatal damage fully restores your Health before consuming the card.
Reversed
Instead of healing, fatal damage grants Armor equal to your maximum Health.
Ideal for Armor builds.
The Moon
Upright
Transmutation has a chance to trigger your Sub Weapon’s Transmutation effect again.
Excellent for elemental builds.
Reversed
Transmutation Damage increases by 100%.
Also deals bonus True Damage whenever Transmutation activates.
One of the best choices for anomaly builds.
The Sun
Upright
Final Damage changes throughout the day.
At noon, damage reaches 150%.
Reversed
Noon increases damage to 300%.
However, damage drops dramatically at sunset.
Extremely powerful but inconsistent.
Judgement
Upright
Your first hit against full-health enemies instantly removes 20% of their Health.
Great against elites.
Reversed
The opening hit removes 60% Health.
The downside is that enemies regenerate half their Health over the next ten seconds.
Fantastic burst damage if you can finish enemies quickly.
The World
Upright (Epic)
Whenever you permanently gain:
- Ember
- Growth
- Armor
you receive two additional stacks.
An incredible scaling card.
Reversed (Legendary)
Permanent gains are limited to one stack.
Instead, gaining one resource increases the other two.
It’s much more specialised than the Upright version but can become extremely powerful in balanced scaling builds.
Best Tarot Cards Overall
While every Tarot has a place depending on your build, a few consistently stand out:
- The Fool (Upright) – Fantastic for Embarkation-focused Relic builds.
- The Chariot (Upright/Reversed) – Great if your build revolves around Embarkation or Destination effects.
- Strength (Upright) – A simple and reliable damage boost with no downside.
- Temperance (Upright) – One of the best economy cards thanks to free shop refreshes and Forged Relics.
- The Tower (Reversed) – Excellent for long runs where multiple Legendary Relics can be earned.
- The Moon (Reversed) – One of the strongest options for Transmutation and elemental builds.
- The World (Upright) – Outstanding for Ember, Growth, and Armor scaling.
The Tarot system is one of the deepest progression mechanics in Pass the Fear because every choice shapes how your build develops over the course of a run. Rather than chasing the highest rarity, focus on choosing cards that naturally support your Hunter, weapons, Relics, and playstyle.
A well-synergised set of five Tarot Cards will almost always outperform a collection of individually powerful cards that don’t work together, so think about your overall strategy before filling those precious five slots.