Every playable character in Risk of Rain 2 has a learning curve that players must get accustomed to. Survivors play much differently from each other thanks to skills and item synergies.
The likes of the Engineer are going to favor healing items much more than a Huntress, as an example. It can take a long time to learn certain nuances and synergies with skills, but constant practice pays off. Mastering certain Survivors will push you to new records in your runs and allow you to rely less on RNG item drops. Here are 10 pro tips for the Survivors in Risk of Rain 2.
10 Character Specific Proc Coefficient
Most items in Risk of Rain 2 have a percent chance of activating from your attacks or skills. Not all attacks are equal, and this is due to proc coefficient.
In essence, every skill and on-hit item have a variable called proc coefficient that determines how often an effect occurs. For example, MUL-T's Auto Nailgun has a proc coefficient of 0.4 so items proc much less frequently than normal. In general, most attacks that don't hit in bursts or rapidly have a proc coefficient of 1, but those who attack much faster such as REX have proc coefficients under this.
9 Commando Damage Evasion
Mobility is key for any character in Risk of Rain 2, but Commando is one of the easiest characters to master in this regard. Thanks to his utility skills, he can quickly avoid danger.
Tactical Dive and Tactical Slide are his options for evading attacks and navigating the map. When players see a projectile fast approaching, use one of these skills to quickly dodge the attack. For traversal, you can use your utility just before touching the ground to avoid fall damage. To add to this, using your ability on a sloped surface will dramatically increase your speed.
8 Huntress Sprinting
Damage is Huntress's specialty, but she is also quite mobile in the hands of a skilled player. Her main niche is attacking while sprinting, something no other class can do.
Your main attack can be fired while sprinting. This is invaluable for repositioning or gaining an edge on enemies. While running Phase Blink, you can even teleport without breaking sprint to double down on this playstyle. Energy Drinks and Bucklers become much more valuable on Huntress because of this. Maintain your sprint and you can achieve some long runs using Huntress.
7 MUL-T Transport Mode
MUL-T's Transport Mode is one of the best movement skills in Risk of Rain 2. It grants a massive speed increase while also providing armor during its duration.
Repositioning seems like its intended use at first glance, but Transport Mode is also a fantastic offensive tool when used correctly. Enemies you ram into will take 250% damage and be stunned. Large targets like bosses will deal even more damage and stun them, although this ends the ability. Use this to close the gap and prevent enemies from doing dangerous attacks.
6 Engineer Healing Strategy
Turrets are the Engineer's bread-and-butter. Without them, the Engineer would lag behind most other Survivors. Its thanks to their high damage output and inheriting your items that they are so strong.
You can use this item sharing to your advantage. With Bustling Fungus, your turrets will project a healing field as long as they're stationary. Two can be deployed next to each other to double healing output. Stand near them yourself and you can overlap this effect three times, making you incredibly tough to kill.
5 Artificer's Execution
Artificer trades mobility for maximum damage potential. Her elemental attacks allow her to dominate the battlefield with fire and ice skills.
Attack speed helps the Artificer scale best, but you won't start the game with as much attack speed as you need. To help with this, all of her ice skills have an execution mechanic. If an enemy is under a quarter of their total health when hit by an ice skill, they instantly die. Use your utility skill strategically to kill bosses and Elites in an instant.
4 Mercenary Invul Phase
Eviscerate is one of the strongest skills Mercenary has. Without it, he is a much weaker Loader that has few defensive skills. This skill is great thanks to its high damage output, great scaling, and invulnerability window.
While you are in Eviscerate, you can not take damage from enemy hits. It lasts just under a second, giving you time to regenerate a small chunk of health or leech if from targets while equipped with a Harvester's Scythe or Leeching Seeds. You can avoid instant-kill mechanics this way. Time it correctly and Mercenary becomes one of the strongest characters in Risk of Rain 2.
3 REX's Cooldown Resetting
Leeching health from enemies is what REX is great at. Most of his abilities trade a chunk of his total health in exchange for high damage or life-stealing effects.
Alternating between your primary and secondary skills is key to REX. Not only do they synergize well, but your secondary Seed Barrage attack also resets your primary attack. This lets you attack much faster than normal to help speed up the early game.
2 Loader Momentum
Titanfall 2 fans have already mastered the art of grapple-jumping at insane speeds, something most fans love about that game. Those who love Titanfall's movement are in for a treat with Loader.
Grappling enemies and objects is Loader's secondary. You can use the grappling hook to gain some incredible momentum while moving, but this is just the start. Jumping right as you hit the ground will launch you forward with some momentum preserved. Better yet, you can use your Utility skill at the apex of the swing to gain a massive boost to your speed. Chain your abilities together and Loader can traverse entire maps in seconds with few movement items.
1 Acrid Poison Stacking
Poison is what separates Acrid from the rest, but it seems rather lackluster during the early game. It lacks upfront damage, but this poison can take off when stacked.
Stacking poison is easiest when stacking attack speed and cooldown reduction. Alien Heads and Brainstalks are incredible on Acrid, allowing him to hit his cap of 50 poison stacks a second with ease. Combined with an Old Guillotine, Acrid's poison can kill enemies on its own.