The Sound Reaver was a temporary elemental enhancement for the Wraith Blade that was planned for inclusion in Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, but was ultimately cut due to time constraints.
Legacy of Kain Soul Reaver - Deleted Forges, Reavers, and the Spirit Glyph
(by Legacy of Kain: The Lost Worlds - Official)
Behind the scenes[]
The Sound Reaver was a temporary enhancement for the Wraith Blade associated with the Vampires vulnerability to sound. It was intended to be discovered by Raziel in the Sound Forge, but both the forge and Reaver enhancement were ultimately cut due to time constraints[1][2].
The blade would have been a temporary enhancement, lost when entering the Spectral Realm and believed to have been re-imbued by striking the bells seen in the Silenced Cathedral. The blade was intended to be have several special abilities, including being able to "shatter" enemies with a single strike or Forcebolt.[1].
Despite being removed, the blade can be activated in game through the use of the debug menu, revealing it as a pink Wraith blade enhancement. None of its abilites were present in-game[1][Soul Reaver][3].
The alpha Sound Reaver
The Sound Reaver was present in the Soul Reaver alphas publicized in 2020, where like the retail it is a bright pink blade. The forge for the blade was located in the upper levels of the Silenced Cathedral and the blade could shatter enemies with strikes or projectiles.
The mechanism for imbuing the Sound Reaver by striking the bells of the Silenced Cathedral is not active in the alpha, but is present in early beta versions of the game. Using the Debug menus to forge the Sound Reaver (but not imbue it) and striking a bell with the Wraith Blade present will cause Raziel to use a different 'tapping' animation which will result in the Sound Reaver being imbued. The mechanic is not present in later versions of the game.[Soul Reaver]
In the alpha the Sound Reaver can actually be used to activate the Sound Glyph altar in place of the usual gong stick, although later versions where the blade can be activated do not continue this mechanic
Once Raziel has visited the Sound Forge and baptized the Reaver in the elemental altar, the blade has the potential to be imbued with sound wherever it appears in the environment. Once manifest in the material plane, the blade can be imbued with sound by striking it against any sound-producing elements (e.g., bells).
A single blow with the Sound Reaver destroys the affected enemy, shattering it. The Sound Reaver projectile has the same effect.
The Elemental Reavers at The Lost Worlds (by Ben Lincoln)
