Like all Souls-like games, you are never too ready for Remnant: From the Ashes. No one really is ever ready for Dark Souls-like games. Overconfidence can often lead to some embarrassing deaths and resonating mistakes, especially for first playthroughs. As for Remnant, there are actually lots of hidden mechanics and secret complexities which the developers hid behind a curtain from you.

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So before you dive in or go any further into your first playthrough, here are some things about Remnant you might want to know before starting rather than learning the hard way after the fact.

Updated by Jacob Buchalter on July 24th, 2021: With the relatively recent next-gen upgrade for Remnant: From The Ashes and it joining the ever-expanding list of amazing Xbox Game Pass games, a lot of people are checking out the game again on their brand-new systems. And, more often than not, they tend to stick with this game, as it is a lot better than the marketing or tutorial area first makes it seem.

That said, there is still a lot to Remnant that you sort of figure out on your second playthrough, through talking to friends about it, or by reading up about the game on forums. To cut out a bit of that lengthy process, we went through and added a few more things that you might want to know before starting to help make those initial starting hours a blast.

18 There's A Shoulder-Switch Function

Remnant From The Ashes - Using The Shoulder Switch In-Game While Aiming At A Big Pan In Yaesha

Playing in a third-person over-the-shoulder perspective in a shooter game is a welcome change of scenery. However, it can limit your field of view, especially when your character themselves blocks certain objects from the screen. This is even more apparent when aiming. By default, your character is confined to the left side of the screen with your crosshair in the middle-ish area.

Thankfully, you can change the perspective to the other shoulder by pressing Left Shift on PC or clicking in the Left Analog Stick for controllers, all while you're aiming your gun. This makes it easier for you to aim at targets, especially when they're rushing at you from a tight corridor or peeking around a left-hand/right-hand corner to chip away at enemies from a safe vantage point.

17 There's A Cover System

Remnant From The Ashes - Using The Cover System To Not Aggro An Enemy Around The Corner

The "Dark Souls with guns" playstyle of Remnant is quite new and a breath of fresh air for the Souls-like genre. And, thankfully, Remnant isn't a strict cover-based shooter like a lot of other third-person games in the same genre. But, it does still have a cover system that you can take advantage of in precarious situations.

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You can do it by pressing the crouch button (Left Alt for PC, B/Circle for Xbox/PlayStation). While crouching, you can move behind or next to a cover and your character will automatically snap in a cover posture. You can then peek out and return fire by pressing while in cover.

16 The Multiplayer Is Infinitely More Approachable Than Dark Souls

Remnant From The Ashes - Hanging Out With A Friend Touching Hands In Ward 13

So many people seemed to miss just how great of a multiplayer game Remnant From The Ashes is built to be, at least when it first came out. For some reason, so many just saw “Dark Souls with guns” and assumed it had awkward multiplayer mechanics as those games did or that it was entirely single-player. Thinking back now, we wish that we were told before playing the game for the first time just how easy and streamlined the multiplayer is, as we would've put a bunch of effort into gathering a group of friends to play with.

In Souls games, players have to summon each other through summon signs, the servers are a pain, and you have to constantly resummon your friends after every boss or “zone”. But, in Remnant, it's a full-on lobby system! Your friend joins the game, and they're there at every respawn until you either kick them out or they leave on their own. In fact, you can even play this game with friends across different services, with one person on the Epic Games Store version and the other one on Steam.

15 Enemies Scale Along With You

Remnant From The Ashes - Using The Beam Rifle On An Incoming Group Of Enemies

To be more precise about enemy scaling, enemies scale up based on your gear, not your level. That means their toughness, damage, and health also get upgraded based on how shiny your items are in-game. Lots of other games also use this leveling mechanic, like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, however, Remnant's is more intricate.

It uses a weighted average system for determining how leveled your enemies need to be whenever you enter a new area. The game will take into account your gear with the highest level, do some math, and usually set enemies one or two levels higher. That means your item upgrades need to be balanced so that none of them underperform. For a more detailed explanation, you can check this Reddit thread. But, in essence, it means that there are actually times in the game when it's actually more harmful than helpful to upgrade, which is why most Hardcore Mode playthrough guides recommend upgrading equipment very sparingly.

14 The Game Itself Lets You Know When You're Due For An Upgrade

Remnant From The Ashes - Highlighting The Rating vs Zone Statistic In The Menus

With an enemy scaling system more nitpicky than other games, Remnant does help you a bit when it comes to gauging out how well your gear holds up per area. Open the character panel and then open the "advanced attributes" tab. You'll then be presented with a tab that's usually only of interest to speedrunners, minmaxers, and theory crafters.

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Look to the bottom and you'll find the "Rating vs. Zone" section with an "Offense" and "Defense" indicator. Next to those are symbols (white diamond or red downward arrow). If a white diamond is shown, that means your gear is perfect for the zone/area. If it's a red arrow, then you need to upgrade the corresponding gear. Obviously, Offense is for weapons and Defense is for armor. Artifacts, mods, and accessories don't count. It's a very minimal menu, but it gives you quite a lot of information relative to your current progress in the game.

13 Over-Upgrading Can Actually Make The Game Harder

Remnant From The Ashes - The Player Character Getting Grabbed By An Enemy Underwater In The Corsus Swamps

Yet another aspect connected to the game's not-so-simple scaling system, sometimes it is best to not rush your upgrades. The higher your upgrade level for your gear, the harder the enemies will be. This is no problem if you balance out your upgrades among all your gear, however, that always doesn't happen since resources are limited. For example, if all your hard-earned Labyrinth Armor is +2 but your Coach gun is +6, the scaled enemies will likely destroy your health pool in a single hit.

This can make the game harder. Your damage might be awesome but your under-leveled/under-upgraded armor will make you more fragile. If you want the make the most out of upgrades, enter an area first with the lowest upgrades available for your items and go back to Ward 13 and upgrade them slightly higher; then go wreck some baddies.

This ensures easier progression as long as you remain conservative with the upgrades. It is worth noting that a zone only scales up the moment you enter it and its level will be permanent by then.

12 You Can't Reset Trait Points Until The Post-Game

Remnant From The Ashes - Orb Of Undoing In Shop Overlaid On Image Of Nightmare Boss

A way to reset your stats and re-build your character is a staple in most roleplaying games (RPG) and Souls-like games are no exception. This is typically called a "re-spec" or "re-roll." Remnant also gives you this ability but you may not want to be careless in spending your Trait Points; as you don't get to re-spec until you defeat the final boss.

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Remember, Remnant is a game built around replayability, as seen with all the difficulty options, different modes, and the sheer number of Random Events. Whatever mistake you make in committing your Trait Points sticks with you until the end. Basically, you're stuck with whatever poor decisions you've made from the beginning. The upside, however, is that most of the Traits make a very minor difference on their own, and it's only the culmination of a couple of maxed-out traits that your playstyle can vastly change. Plus, hopping into random lobbies and helping other players out is an easy way to get a bunch of free Trait Points as well.

11 Everything That Can Be Broken, Should Be

Remnant From The Ashes - Standing In A Room Full To The Brim With Breakable Chairs

Even when Remnant has fewer items for you to loot compared to other Souls-like games, it's still all about gear and being a hoarder. It's just that some of these items are well-hidden in the game and will not be found unless you're more curious than a kitten.

Also, if you've already found both a Book of Wisdom (which grants a free Trait Point) and a purple-tinged item on the ground, you don't have to worry about finding more. Every "map" has 1 item to find and 1 trait book on average, so you generally can stop looking so intently once you've found one of each. But, more that than, in regards to Scrap, Remnant's main form of currency, you can gather a lot from the environment as well.

10 If You Need The Scrap, It’s Incredibly Easy To Farm

Remnant From The Ashes - Highlighting Some Breakables In The Rhom Realm

To dive a bit deeper into our last point in the entry above, Scrap is the main form of currency in Remnant, and you’re going to need a lot of it to upgrade weapons, buy new consumables, or purchase new armor/equips from all the various Merchants throughout the game. Now, there are plenty of ways to generate more Scrap through Traits, items, and more, but the best method of gathering a ton of Scrap in a short span of time is just... well, to break a bunch of stuff.

Every breakable item in this game has the chance to drop Scrap, and a lot of times there are over ten breakable objects in a single room. In fact, once you get to Rhom, search all the houses there, and you’ll quickly see just how quickly you can grab a huge pile of it. Generally, we just go around with the repeater pistol, popping shots at anything that looks breakable, and spamming the interact button as we run around picking up every bit of Scrap that dropped.

9 Friendly-Fire Exists In The Game

Remnant From The Ashes - Aiming At Friend Since This Game Has Friendly Fire

Remnant can be an arduous and frustrating game at times which can lead to players asking for help from others. Still, even when banding together to defeat a menacing boss or get through a tough area, there's an added layer of difficulty in the form of friendly fire.

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Shoot your co-op buddy and they'll receive damage just as an enemy would. They can also do the same to you.

This removes any possibility of you cheesing the enemies or bosses but nevertheless requires you to be careful. If another player kills you enough due to friendly fire (around ten times), you'll get a new trait called Suspicion which reduces friendly fire damage taken.

8 Everything Is Randomly Generated

Remnant From The Ashes - The Player Character Staring At The Big Red Crystal In Ward 13

This game world mechanic right here is another thing that sets Remnant: From the Ashes apart from the other Souls-like games. Each time you enter a new zone, the game rolls the dice and gives you a randomly generated map layout. That means walkthroughs are pretty difficult to come by in this game since each player gets a different map. There are some structured "pillars" to rely on, such as specific cutscene areas or boss fights, but everything else is tied to each individual playthrough.

Do note that the randomization only happens upon entering a new zone and afterward, the layout of that zone will be permanent. There is a way to reset it through the crystal in Ward 13 but it will reset your main campaign progress. So, if you didn't get the "layout" for a Realm you wanted, use the Adventure Mode option to reroll that realm until you get your desired result. That way, you won't have to repeat the campaign, and you can still experience all the different randomized situations.

7 You Won't Get Everything In One Run

Remnant From The Ashes - A Small Example Of Just How Many Rings There Are In This Game

Remnant is more or less a 20-hour game when it comes to the main campaign but you'll probably want to play it again after completing it. The game is sort of designed that way, so it only makes sense, as there are way too many guns, armor sets, equipment, and Traits to unlock in a single run using no re-rolls. This is all thanks to the randomly generated worlds and the maximum amount of items you have the chance of finding per Realm.

In turn, you can miss some items, especially if you're unaware of the alternate kill mechanic where some bosses offer different rewards depending on how you defeat them. It's like how you could get weapons from cutting of boss tails in Dark Souls games, but a bit more creatively implemented.

6 There Are A Huge Amount Of Random Events

Remnant From The Ashes - A Bunch Of Random Event Screenshots Stacked On Top Of Each Other Like A Collage

Remnant From The Ashes might be one of the most infinitely replayable games we’ve played this decade, and that’s a fact. The sheer amount of mini-bosses to encounter, items to collect, and amazing Random Events to experience is astronomical.

There are at least 20 or so per Realm, and they range from performing songs on Bell Puzzles to solving the mystery of Leto's Research. And, for each of these events, there’s a new Trait, weapon, armor, or item to collect at the end of it all. If you want to play Remnant all the way through once, that’s totally fine. But, for those who want a game with huge amounts of content, Remnant’s multiple modes and immense pile of Random Events absolutely have you covered.

5 Learn About Status Effects & How To Cure Them

Remnant From The Ashes - All Status Effects Explanations OVerlaid On Image Of Fire-Breathing Dragon

As with most video games, status effects can be positive or negative. But the status effects in Remnant: From The Ashes can really ruin your character's day. It pays for beginners to familiarize themselves with them early on to better counter them. For example, a ton of the enemies in Earth, the first Realm, apply the Root Rot effect which does nothing more than irritate you by randomly interrupting your inputs with fits of coughing.

So, to make it a bit easier, all of the effects of these status effects are listed out in the image above. Primarily, each status effect is usually tied to a specific Realm, but they can overlap from time to time. for the most part, Earth has Root Rot, Rhom has Radiation, Corsus has Corrosion, Yaesha has Overloaded, and Reisum (the DLC Realm) has Frostbite with Bleed and Burning popping up sporadically in all Realms. Learn what each one does, what consumable cures it, and when to have these consumables ready in your Quick Bar.

4 Make Use Of Ward 13

Remnant From The Ashes - Three Friends Cheering In The Secret Area Of Ward 13

Similar to the safehouses in the Division series, Ward 13 serves as the main hub in the game where players can find all kinds of merchants and survivors. Players can upgrade weapons there and even store supplies.

RELATED: Remnant: From The Ashes - Differences Between Hardcore And Standard Mode

As players explore the area, they may even discover secret and powerful weapons. Given that the game often rewards people for thorough exploration and the destruction of items, it makes sense that the developers would make Ward 13 a place worth exploring. Our biggest advice we can give to fresh players of Remnant is to fully explore everything possible in Ward 13 until you're stopped from going further due to a locked door or some other barrier. At the very least, there's a free gun and a free Trait to be found in Ward 13, and it's a big help if you're able to find them early.

3 Collect As Many Consumables As Possible

Remnant From The Ashes - An Example Of How Many Consumables You May Accidentally End Up Collecting

As with many video games, consumables like potions and ethers make a great supplement to make life a little easier for the average player. However, in Remnant: From The Ashes, it's doubly important as a "quality of life" option.

Not only do players need items to cure status effects like Infection and Bleeding, but they can also get a potion to help the Dragon Shard or keep extra ammo boxes when situations go sour. Players can loot these items, but also purchase many of them from Reggie in Ward 13. In particular, Adrenaline, Ammo Boxes, and Frenzy Dust is what you'll be using more often than anything else, so make it a habit to spend any loose Scrap at Reggie's Shop to build up a big collection of these three items.

2 It's Actually A Sequel

Remnant From The Ashes - The Cover Art For Chronos Before The Ashes Next To Remnant's

In our first playthrough of Remnant, there was so much of the story that just didn’t make sense to us or seemed to need more context. To be fair, Remnant is a Souls-inspired game, so a lot of the detailed lore is hidden in item descriptions, NPC dialog, and more.

But, what actually helps clear up a lot of our questions is the fact that Remnant From The Ashes is actually a sequel to Chronos Before the Ashes, though this prequel did come out a whole year later. But, if you’re the type to not dive deep into the lore of these games, but you still want to know the overarching story, watching a summary and/or playing Chronos before Remnant may help a lot.

1 Watch Your Back, Your Health, & Your Crosshair

Remnant From The Ashes - Facing Down Singe Screenshotted In A Very Cinematic Way

Pro-tip: enemies can and will often spawn behind you on top of whatever enemies are already waiting for you on any given level. Keep an ear out for taunts, screams, or other identifying noises to avoid getting caught unawares.

Furthermore, you need to be wary of your crosshair, too. It shows quite useful information including weapon range for maximum damage output. This can help you avoid wasting ammo and maximize enemy takedowns. If you're able to keep track of the information your crosshair is telling you, where enemies are trying to blindside you from, and when you'll need to heal or have time to use an item, Remnant becomes a much easier game to tackle.

NEXT: Things To Do After You Beat Remnant: From The Ashes