What is "Insufficient soldiers" in Solo Leveling Arise and how to avoid it?

"Insufficient soldiers" in Solo Leveling Arise is a notification you get during combat. The title’s combat comprises different mechanics, such as using Extreme Evasion to counterattack enemy moves, using Hunters for their Support skills, and summoning shadows on the battlefield to defeat the monsters. When this notification appears, it means you cannot summon shadows in fights.

It is a common problem which you can avoid easily. However, you might be lost if you don’t know what causes it. This article details what triggers this notification and a method for solving it.

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What causes "Insufficient soldiers" in Solo Leveling Arise?

The Insufficient soldiers notification appears when there are no more Shades left to summon shadows on the battlefield. (Image via Netmarble)

After unlocking the Army of Shadows in Solo Leveling Arise, you get access to using Igris and the opportunity to unlock other shadows: Tank, Iron, and Blades. You can summon and promote them using Traces of Shadows. Additionally, you can upgrade individual shadows’ levels with Abyssal Fragments, Abyssal Energy, and Abyssal Essence.

Similarly, summoning them on the battlefield costs Shades. The "Insufficient soldiers" notification appears when you don’t have enough Shades to summon them. Summoning a common rank shadow costs 200 Shades each time you do so. For instance, if you summon him twice, you will expend 400 Shades in a single battle.

Initially, all players can store up to a specific limit. Increasing the maximum limit requires upgrading the Army of Shadows and individual soldiers. However, the more you upgrade, the more Shades you need to use shadows.

You can view the number of shadows and the maximum limit details at the bottom left corner of the Army of Shadows interface. Note that you will only consume Shades in Solo Leveling Arise upon clearing a stage successfully and will be returned upon failing.

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How to avoid "Insufficient soldiers" in Solo Leveling Arise?

Farm for Shades and prevent the system from using shadows in Auto-Battle mode to avoid the Insufficient soldiers notification. (Image via Netmarble)

The first thing you must do to avoid "Insufficient soldiers" in Solo Leveling Arise is to keep farming for Shades. Below are the game modes where you can farm Shades:

• Completing battle stages of Chapter 10 and onwards.
• Gates. (Higher probability of getting Shades if you clear higher-ranked gates)
• Instance Dungeon.
• Encore Missions.
• Battlefield of Trials.
• Battlefield of Time.

Another way to avoid the "Insufficient soldiers" notification is by switching off the “Prevent Shadow Auto-Use During Auto-Battle” function in the Controls menu. Here are the steps to do so:

• Hit the Main Menu button at the top left of the screen.
• Enter the Settings button below the Exit at the bottom left corner to enter the Options menu.
• Switch to the Controls menu.
• Click the On button next to Prevent Shadow Auto-Use During Auto-Battle.

Auto Battle Mode in Solo Leveling Arise lets you clear the stage without manually controlling characters in fights. The AI system automatically fights with monsters and summons other Hunters and Shadows during fights.

Upon turning off the function, the system will automatically call Shadows frequently, consuming Shades; switching it on will prevent this. You can still call shadows at your will while in Auto-Battle mode.