Risk of Rain 2: Beginner's Guide & Best Tips

Introduction – Why This Game Owns

Look, I’ve been playing Risk of Rain 2 since it was a janky Early Access mess back in 2019. I’ve got over 800 hours, I’ve completed Eclipse 8 with every survivor, and I still regularly die to a random Elder Lemurian because I got greedy with a shrine of blood. This game is a masterpiece of controlled chaos. It’s also a brutally punishing time-sink that will make you scream at your monitor at 2 AM. I love it and I hate it, and if you’re just starting, you’re about to feel the same way.

What makes it special? It’s the dopamine loop. Every 3D-printed item, every legendary drop from a teleporter boss, every time you stack 20 goat hooves and turn into a sonic hedgehog—it feels earned. But it’s not a power fantasy that holds your hand. The difficulty scales with time, not your level. The game literally says "screw you, I'm spawning two overloading worms now" if you linger. That tension—the constant timer ticking in your brain—is what keeps me coming back.

I spent my first three runs trying to stack poison on the Commando, got absolutely destroyed by the second boss (a wandering vagrant, that jellyfish nightmare) every time, and rage-quit for a week. Then I learned a few things. This guide is the stuff I wish someone had shouted at me through my headset while I was running in circles, bleeding out.

Getting Started / First Steps – What I Wish I Knew

You picked the game up, you died on the first stage, you’re confused. Normal. Here’s what you actually need to do before you even think about looping or Mithrix.

• Do NOT play on Monsoon first. I know, you’ve beaten Dark Souls, you’re a god-gamer. No. Monsoon is the "I hate myself" difficulty. Start on Rainstorm (normal). The game is already hard enough when you don’t know what a "Focus Crystal" does. Drizzle is for learning item interactions, and that’s okay.
• Your first goal is to get to the third stage. That means Sky Meadow. If you survive to stage 5, you’ve won the tutorial. The game doesn't tell you this, but the difficulty jumps massively after stage 4 (Siren's Call or Abandoned Aqueduct). Just surviving those first four stages teaches you the rhythm: loot fast, fight the boss, leave before the timer hits 10 minutes per stage.
• Movement is your only real defense. Your health bar is a suggestion. Enemies hit hard and hit fast. You dodge by hopping. There’s a quirk in the engine: you can bunny-hop to maintain speed. Jump constantly. Never stand still even for a second. I bound my jump to mouse wheel down and it changed my life. Try it.
• Ignore lunar coins for now. Those little blue coins you find? Don't spend them on the bazaar until you know what "Shaped Glass" does (spoiler: it halves your max HP for double damage). You'll ruin runs. Pocket them. Later, you can use them to unlock alternate abilities in the Void Fields.
• Commando is the worst survivor to learn on . Fight me. He’s fine, but he’s boring and his damage falls off a cliff. Start with Huntress (unlock her by completing three stages) or just use Bandit. Huntress has auto-aim and a blink. Bandit gets invisibility and massive crit potential. They’re way more forgiving.

Core Mechanics & Progression – How It Actually Works

The tutorial lied to you. The game isn't about "surviving the planet." It's about scaling faster than the difficulty curve kills you. Here’s the real math:

Time is the enemy. Every second, a hidden "difficulty meter" goes up. It's measured in minutes. At 5 minutes per stage, enemies are manageable. At 15 minutes per stage, you start seeing overloaded elites (the glowy yellow ones that explode on death for huge damage). At 25+ minutes, you get malachite elites (green, cause blight, can't heal) and the game starts spawning two teleporter bosses at once. Yes, that’s real.

Items are everything. Your survivor level doesn't increase—your item count does. There are six tiers: White (common), Green (uncommon), Red (legendary), Equipment (active), Lunar (gambling double-edged stuff), and Void (corrupted versions). Five white items of the same type stack linearly (ten goat hooves = 140% movement speed, not 280%—diminishing returns kicked in). Mix them up.

The teleporter is your milestone. Charge it fully (the ring fills up), kill the boss that spawns, grab the item it drops (always a guaranteed red from a boss item, or a green/white from normal means). Then leave. Do NOT clear the entire stage after you kill the boss. The loot is already gone. Just grab its item and jump through the portal. I cannot stress this enough—stop looting after the teleporter is done. The timer is still ticking.

Looping vs. finishing. After stage 5 (Sky Meadow), you can either go to the final boss (Mithrix) or loop back to stage 1. Looping makes the difficulty go to insane levels, but you get more items. If you’re new, never loop. Go fight Mithrix. He’s easier than 20 minutes of looping bullshit. He has a few telegraphed attacks and you can literally jump over his melee swings. Don't overcomplicate it.

Expert Tips & Tricks – The Hours-Later Stuff

These are the things that separate a dead newbie from someone who survives Monsoon runs with 30 items. I’ve bled for this knowledge.

• Crit is king on every character except Engineer. Stack Lens-Maker's Glasses. At 10 glasses (100% crit chance) every attack crits. Then grab a Harvester's Scythe (heal on crit) and suddenly you’re immortal. I’ve won runs where my only damage items were glasses and scythes. This combo is busted.
• The crowbar is better than you think. It gives +75% damage to enemies above 90% HP. Early game, it one-shots basic enemies. Late game, it allows you to instantly kill small spawns. Combine with Razorwire and Tougher Times and you become a walking blender that kills enemies before they even hit you.
• Equipment swaps via the Bazaar. If you get a bad equipment (like a disposable missile launcher), save a lunar coin. Go to the Bazaar, find the equipment cauldron, and pay one coin to re-roll it. Aim for: Royal Capacitor (free lightning strike every 30s) or Jade Elephant (makes you invulnerable for a few seconds). Capacitor is especially good with Fuel Cells.
• Brother’s Heresy is a trap for new players. That lunar item that replaces your special skill with two short-range attacks? It looks cool. It’s garbage on most characters. Your special is usually your best ability. Don't sacrifice it for mediocre DPS.
• Use the Void Fields early. Go to the Bazaar, then take the blue portal to the Void Fields. It's a static arena where you fight waves. Each completed wave gives you a free item from a set pool. The timer pauses inside. Do this on stage 4 or earlier. You can get four (sometimes five) items for the time investment of one wave. It’s broken.
• If you see a "Dio's Best Friend" (the red teddy bear), grab it. It revives you once on death with half HP. It’s the only item that saves a run. If you’re on a Monsoon run and you don't have one by stage 5, you’re playing with fire.
• Stack "Warbanner" from the Commander item. It drops a banner that gives attack speed and armor. If you have three or more, the buffs stack and cover the entire teleporter zone. It’s an underrated green item that trivializes the final boss fight.

Common Mistakes to Avoid – What Got Me Killed

I’ve died more times than I’ve won. Here’s what got me. Avoid these like a malachite elite on a bridge.

• Taking "Stun Grenade" (the little shock drone) over a "Fuel Cell" or "Backup Magazine." I did this for 200 hours. Stun grenade feels good early. It becomes useless after stage 3 because enemies get stun resistance. Fuel cell recharges your equipment faster. Backup magazine gives you an extra utility charge. Always prioritize cooldown reduction and mobility over a 0.5 second stun.
• Standing still to aim with Huntress. I know her glaive is tempting. It does 300% damage. But if you stop moving for even two seconds, an overloading wizard will lightning-bolt you for your entire health bar. Use her glaive only while jumping and moving left. It's homing anyway—you don't need to aim.
• Ignoring the shrine of blood. Health for gold? Sounds bad. It’s actually amazing early game if you have no items. Pay 30% health (which you can heal back from a single enemy drop), get 200 gold. That’s often enough to open a chest with a white item. Use it on stage 1 and 2 aggressively.
• Opening all chests before the boss. This was my biggest mistake. Gold is plentiful on the first two stages. On stage 3 and beyond, you'll run out of gold. Open the large chests (green items) first. Then small chests. Then if you have spare gold, hit the shrines. Never open a small chest if you have 80 gold to spare for a green item. Prioritize.
• Falling for the "Clover" hype alone. The 57-Leaf Clover (red item) makes all luck-based effects lucky. But if you have no lucky items (like Focus Crystal, Crowbar, or Harpoon), it does NOTHING. I grabbed a clover on a run where I had zero lucky items and it was a wasted red spot. Know your build.
• Giving up after your first death. You will die. A lot. Like, 10 runs in a row. That’s normal. The game is designed to kill you until you learn item synergy. I didn't win my first run until hour 40. Check your item log in the menu—it shows unlock conditions for alternate skills. That’s your progression system, not a story mode.

FAQ – Quick Answers

These are the questions I see in every Discord server and Reddit thread.

• Q: How do I unlock the Robot (REX)? A: On Abandoned Aqueduct, find the green robot pod. It requires a fuel array from the red crystal on Distant Roost. Transport it (don't drop it) and activate the pod. Protip: use Artifact of Sacrifice (enemies drop items instead of chests) so you don't need gold. But that's an advanced unlock. Just watch a YouTube video for the exact locations.
• Q: What is the "Artifact of Command"? A: It spawns in the first stage's shop (Newt Altar portal, look for a golden orb). Activate it to choose your items instead of random drops. It makes runs easy mode. Use it for learning builds. But the game counts it as a "cheat"—no achievement progress. Your call.
• Q: Why do I keep dying to the final boss (Mithrix) instantly? A: He has a move where he slams the ground and strips all your items if you are near him. He then gets those items. Run away when he does his long melee wind-up animation. His second phase (the four circles) requires you to stand in the safe zone (the moving white circle). Watch his trail—it’s the only safe spot. Use mobility items to stay in it.
• Q: Is it worth buying the "Survivors of the Void" DLC? A: Yes, but not for the new survivors. The Void items are game-changing. The new enemies add challenge. But the Void Fields biome bug crashes occasionally even now (the game devs are aware). If you're on console, wait for a patch. On PC, it's worth it for "Void Fiend" alone—he’s a shape-shifting beast.
• Q: How do I get more lunar coins? A: They drop randomly from any enemy (about 5% chance). Also, you get 5 guaranteed from the "Beating Heart" (hidden room on Sky Meadow). But the easiest way is to play Drizzle difficulty and clear stages fast—more kills per minute = more coin drops. It’s a grind. I have 400 coins. I've played too much.
• Q: What’s the best build for a beginner? A: Play Bandit. Stack Lens-Maker's Glasses (white) until 100% crit. Add Harvester's Scythe (green) for healing. Then get Focus Crystal (white) for close-range damage and Ukelele (green) for chain lightning. Equipment: Royal Capacitor. You can kill anything. It’s the most forgiving build I know.