Remnant 2 beginner’s guide: 9 things to know before you start

Rest 2sequel to 2019’s dormant hit Vestige: ashesis a unique blend of third-person shooting and dark soulsresembling elements all wrapped up in a story about a multi-dimensional evil known as the Root.

If you’re new to the series like me, you might come into the game with a lot of preconceptions about how it combines gunplay and dodging. Here are some tips to prepare you to save reality with as few obstacles as possible.

Choose the right starting archetype

The first big decision you will make in Rest 2 (unless you’re really into customizing your main character’s appearance) is about choosing an archetype. After exiting the tutorial, you’ll have a choice of four unique builds (five if you pre-ordered to unlock the Gunslinger from the jump), each with different skills and initial loadouts.

• Challenger is a badass that starts with a shotgun and a skill that allows them to deal lethal damage.
• Administrator are never alone thanks to a dog that follows them to the end of the world and a suite of abilities that play into this bond.
• Hunter is the game’s resident long-range specialist who can extend skill duration with well-placed sniper fire on enemy weak spots.
• Medical, unsurprisingly, is all about healing. Its main advantage is the possibility of recharging the relic (much like Staythe answer to dark souls Flask of Estus) after restoring a certain number of hit points.

You can trade archetypes (but it will cost you)

It happens to the best of us: you’ve made a big decision and you regret it. Fortunately, Rest 2 doesn’t require you to stick with the same archetype throughout the game. If you find your starting class unsatisfying or just want to experiment with different playstyles, it’s easy to switch things up. Well, provided you have the money to distribute the necessary materials, of course.

Image: Gunfire Games/Gearbox Publishing

Some notable residents of Rest 2 The central area of ​​Ward 13 sells special items that can be turned into engrams, a fancy word for the tool you pop into the archetype menu to decide your class. Reggie carries the old metal tool that unlocks Challenger, Mudtooth holds the handler’s old whistle, Brabus will deliver the rusty medal for the hunter, and Dr. Norah naturally stores the Medic pin.

After spending 1,500 scrap (Rest 2) on one of these items, you’ll need to take it to Wallace, the vague and frustrating pseudo-psychic who lives in the crane above the Ward 13 Shipyard. He’ll turn them from useless junk into engrams for 10 Lumenite Crystals (dropped by elite enemies or found in chests) and an additional 1,000 scrap each. From there, all it takes to change class is to swap engrams at any time in the archetypes menu.

Master the dodge

Although they are certainly not as vital for survival as in dark soulsthe dodge mechanic found in Rest 2 will often be your strongest defensive tool against the game’s basic enemies and larger-than-life bosses. Dodging makes you invulnerable, but only for a handful of frames, so it’s in your best interest to know how to get through unscathed from attacks. It can be difficult spending time alone with a single enemy, but if you ever find yourself in a one-on-one encounter, I suggest creating your own tutorial by taking the time to simply dodge attacks for a few minutes. You’ll thank yourself as you progress through the game and the fights get deadlier.

Image: Gunfire Games/Gearbox Publishing

Pay attention to the weight of your armor

Another important aspect of dodging that you need to consider is your encumbrance. Every piece of armor in Rest 2 has weight value, and the combined load of your whole outfit can impede your movement and reduce the invulnerability frames of your dodge roll if things get too heavy.

A quick inspection of the left side of the character menu will tell you all you need to know about the weight of your gear: a light blue number means your dodge will be as safe as possible, green is a bit worse but still manageable, yellow is arguably the upper limit of effectiveness, and red means you’ll clumsily fall to the ground instead of rolling.

Armor weight can be toned down a bit if you are playing as a Challenger. The archetype comes with a trait known as Strong Back which reduces clutter the more points you invest in it. If you’re planning on wearing some of the bulkiest armor sets in the game, don’t overlook Strong Back; it can reduce up to 10 encumbrances at the maximum level.

Keep an ear open during the fight

It can be tricky in the fog of battle, but be sure to listen for some telltale sound effects while mowing down the root, as they’re key to understanding how combat unfolds and what to expect from your enemies next.

Did you hire what you thought were a freak or two only to find that half a dozen of their friends were waiting to strike just around the corner? Well, you should have listened for something like a deep war horn, which indicates that you are about to be ambushed left for dead styled by a bunch of area base enemies.

Likewise, a high-pitched buzzer means you’re about to face an elite mob, stronger enemies with significantly more health and special powers. These tremors can appear just about anywhere, so when you hear the sound effect (it’s hard to describe but you’ll become intimately familiar with its dangers as you play), scan the area and send them as soon as possible.

Use the right gun at the right distance

Anyone who has spent time with first- or third-person shooters inherently understands that certain weapons have certain uses. Snipers, for example, are meant to take out targets from a long distance, while shotguns do best when up close and personal with your enemy. Rest 2 takes this concept one step further by giving every weapon in the game what is called an “effective range”.

Along with information such as damage, magazine size, and ammo capacity, your gun stats include details on their “ideal range” and “drop range” to give you an idea of ​​how best to use them. The former, obviously, indicates the gun’s sweet spot while the latter is where you’ll start to see your damage suffer. You won’t be heavily penalized for being a meter or two beyond a pistol’s drop range, but don’t try to take out enemies halfway across the map with, say, a pistol or you’ll suffer a dramatic reduction in effectiveness.

It can be difficult to gauge distance, especially in intense battles, so the quick and dirty way to tell if your weapon is in its ideal range is to look at the reticle. A small dot in the middle of your reticle means you’re good to go.

Upgrade your weapons

Alright, yeah, that’s probably pretty obvious to most of you, but don’t overlook upgrading your favorite guns. As material and money requirements increase at higher levels, it’s in your best interest to keep your weapons in top condition as you progress through Rest 2countryside. Basic enemies, elite mobs, and even most bosses are a breeze if you just make time to visit the blacksmith every time you return to Ward 13. Just like dark soulssuccess depends much more on the status of your weapons than on the work you’ve invested in your character’s stats.

Cure that cough

After completing Rest 2and as you become familiar with Ward 13, you’ll eventually visit a lush forest known as Yaesha. (Where your adventure begins is random, so you won’t necessarily travel there.) But don’t let the beauty of Yaesha fool you: many of its inhabitants inflict a pesky status effect known as root rot. So annoying, in fact, that you’ll want to make sure you have the healing item required to take care of the disease on hand before you catch it.

Root rot does not directly damage you, but rather causes your character to cough up spells at regular intervals. And while a sore throat might seem negligible when fighting an evil hive mind, that cough interrupts just about everything you do and leaves you vulnerable for several seconds. Dodging will help negate some of the duration of the effect, but you may not always have stamina to spare, especially during some of the more hectic combat encounters.

Image: Gunfire Games/Gearbox Publishing

Fortunately, a healing product known as Oilskin Balm is plentiful in both Ward 13 and Yaesha itself. Before you leave the former, visit Dr. Norah to stock up on medicine, and if you’ve ever traveled to the latter, a horned character known as Bedel – hard to miss as he’s literally waiting for you at the start of the area – may hook you up. Both merchants stock the item for 100 coins each.

Bedel also sells a Rotward ring for 500 waste which prevents root rot entirely, which may also be an option if you are struggling to avoid its effects.

Screenshot of everything

The ability of modern consoles and PCs to capture video games with a single button means that solving puzzles is easier than ever, and Rest 2 has a few doozies.

When you come across a unique environmental book or device, I strongly suggest you take a screenshot and keep it in your digital back pocket. You’d be surprised what constitutes a clue in Rest 2, and with no compendium or quest log to sift through, you’ll want to have as much information as possible at your fingertips so you don’t have to backtrack. I found some interesting loot by simply being aware of the main details of a background story or a series of symbols and pulling the screenshot required for a refresher on something I read half an hour ago.