The Academy is Grim Trials' persistent social, crafting and progression hub between Trial Ground runs. Avelin returns there to speak with John and other residents, advance side quests and Affinity, craft equipment and consumables, unlock recipes, manage long-term progression and eventually access secrets such as the basement Secret Chamber.
What is the Academy for?
The official store description presents the Academy as a training ground for aspiring Grim Reapers and directly connects it to mentors, relationships, quests and crafting. That makes it more than a menu between combat runs. It is where the randomized Trial Ground loop reconnects to progress you can intentionally carry forward.
Materials earned during runs can be brought back and used with Academy mentors to craft weapons, gear and consumables. Character quests can raise Affinity, unlock recipes and connect to completion achievements. Story progression also repeatedly sends Avelin back through the Academy as she works toward becoming a full-fledged Reaper.
John and main progression
Official developer material identifies John as a mentor figure who guides Avelin after her early Trial Ground experience. Current post-launch player routes also use John as a practical progression checkpoint after major bosses: return to the Academy, speak with him, then check the residents he points you toward for newly available side content.
That boss-to-John routine is useful, but it should not be treated as an absolute script for every quest. Some later chains depend on earlier character quests, Affinity progress or another resident's side content. The Quests Guide records those dependencies where current player testing is strong enough.
Who should you check at the Academy?
The current character cluster covers the major residents and story-linked figures that matter to progression. Pytra is tied to weapon crafting and the Three Headed Snake quest. Milyun connects to gear crafting and Mentor Makeover. Ivanya is linked to potions and several delivery/social quests. Iskra overlaps with Special Delivery, the Camouflage Cloak route and the Secret Chamber. Kai connects to Training Ground practice and his own Affinity/quest progression.
Breone & Nameles become especially relevant for completion players because their late side content overlaps with the two keys used for the first Grim Reaper Chest. Timmy is not an Academy Affinity resident in the same way; he belongs to Avelin's broader story motivation.
Affinity and relationship progression
Six released achievements track maximum Affinity with Academy characters: Friendly Fire for Pytra, Tailored Teaching for Milyun, The Witch's Apprentice for Ivanya, Research Assistant for Iskra, From Foe To Fellow for Kai and Furry Friends for Breone & Nameles. This makes relationship progression a concrete completion system rather than optional flavor text.
The practical route is to keep checking residents as main progression advances, complete their available side quests and use the Knowledge/character interface described by current player documentation to watch relationship progress. For the full roadmap, use the Affinity Guide.
Crafting at the Academy
Crafting is one of the Academy's biggest persistent functions. Weapons, gear and consumables are all part of the official crafting framework. The current site separates the process into the Recipes Guide, the Crafting Progression Guide and the Gear Enchantment Guide.
Version v1.0.20260824 is particularly important because it fixed a bug that could cause Crafting to produce no item, improved recipe layout/readability/navigation, adjusted multiple Gear values and clarified access to Gear Enchantment through the Skill Tree. Older demo screenshots should therefore not be treated as exact current UI or balance references.
The Academy basement and Secret Chamber
The Academy also contains one of the game's most important completion routes. The released achievement Tomb Raider asks the player to find and enter the Secret Chamber. Current post-launch walkthrough testing places it behind the eye-marked door in the Academy basement and connects access to a Camouflage Cloak recipe earned through Iskra's side content.
Inside that progression chain, Breone and Nameles can eventually provide two keys used for the first Grim Reaper Chest, which unlocks Buried Knowledge. Because the exact cloak and key steps come from current player testing rather than an official developer walkthrough, the dedicated Secret Chamber and Grim Reaper Chests pages keep the evidence distinction visible.
Best between-run Academy routine
- Check John after meaningful story or boss progress. He is the best first stop when the next side-content batch is unclear.
- Visit residents with unfinished quest chains. Affinity, recipe unlocks, secret routes and completion achievements overlap heavily.
- Review new crafting recipes. Do this before spending time farming a material you may not yet have a use for.
- Upgrade the equipment you actually use. Separate normal crafting, Mastercrafted quality and Gear Enchantment rather than treating them as one system.
- Check Skill Tree and Soul Runes. Persistent choices should support the weapon and gear plan you intend to take into the next run.
- Use Kai's Training Ground when execution is the problem. Practice before wasting a difficult Trial Ground attempt on an unfamiliar setup.
Does Academy side content matter for the True Ending?
The released achievement list confirms both a normal Ending and a True Ending, but the platform descriptions do not publish the trigger conditions. Current third-party completion routing recommends finishing the major Academy character side missions before Superbia. That route is documented in the True Ending Guide as player-tested evidence, not an official guarantee.
Even without relying on that trigger claim, completing Academy content is efficient because the same quests contribute to Affinity, recipes, character achievements and secrets. There is little reason for a completion-focused player to ignore the hub.
Academy FAQ
Is the Academy just a menu hub?
No. Official descriptions tie it directly to mentors, relationships, quests, crafting and story progression.
Should I return after every boss?
That is a strong current player-tested habit. Speak with John and then check residents for new side content, while remembering that some chains have additional prerequisites.
Where is the Secret Chamber?
Current release walkthroughs place it in the Academy basement behind the eye door, accessed with the Camouflage Cloak. See the dedicated guide for the evidence-labeled route.
Who raises Affinity?
The six maximum-Affinity achievement groups are Pytra, Milyun, Ivanya, Iskra, Kai, and Breone & Nameles.
Related Grim Trials guides
Sources & verification
- Grim Trials on Steam — Academy, mentors, relationships, quests, crafting and persistent progression.
- Official Steam news — current post-launch crafting, Soul Rune and balance changes.
- Steam achievements — Affinity, quest, secret and progression completion goals.
- Gamerbase post-launch trophy guide — supporting quest, Secret Chamber and character route documentation.