Overview
A simple(-ish) guide to (hopefully) help newer players understand what to do, and what NOT(!!!) to do in co-op mode. Warning: Contains a LOT of salt.
Welcome to My Risk Of Rain 2 Guide to Multiplayer!
You Can Share Items
Believe it or not, in Multiplayer, you don’t have to steal everything! In fact, your chances of survival (as well as everyone else’s) go up DRASTICALLY when you SHARE! Sharing isn’t just caring, it’s NOT DYING AS FAST!
You can hit [TAB] in co-op (and in solo too) to bring up a list of players. This shows everyone’s money and items! If you feel like you don’t have enough items, or think you might have too many, hit Tab! Find out if you’re the greedy bastard, or if everyone else is! Then call ’em out on it! Or if YOU’RE the greedy bastard, maybe ease up on the item-stashing, m’kay?
It’s best to try and make sure everyone has ABOUT the same amount of items. If someone has a little more or a little less, it really doesn’t matter. But if some jerk has 50+ items, and you just have a couple Monster Teeth and a feeling of dashed optimism, speak up!! Or leave the game. If someone’s hoarding items, as much as it sucks, it might just be a smart move to leave. They’ll probably be happier that way anyways (Not that we’d want that jerk to be happy, but whatever).
It’s also a good idea to make sure everyone has an even spread of items. It’s good for some classes to specify in one type of item or another (More on that later…), but other than a few key items, everyone should try and get AT LEAST one of everything! …Except Syringes on Artificer, don’t take Syringes if you’re the Artificer. Just. Please don’t.
YOU CAN ALSO “TRADE” ITEMS! If someone wants something, or if you want something, you can ping it (You ping with your weird little mouse wheel, M3). Usually, pinging indicates that you’re GIVING an item away, not that you’re claiming it. If you want something, ask for it in chat. And then maybe ping an item that someone else might want that you don’t really give a crap about. Maybe, if the other player(s) aren’t brain-dead, you’ll get what you want!
It’s Not A Race
JUST. ARRRRGH! DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE DO THIS!? IT SERIOUSLY FRUSTRATES THE HELL OUT OF ME!
THIS! IS NOT! SPARTA A RACE!
I knnnooooowww the game is telling you to go to the teleporter, but SLOW DOWN A SECOND! It’s actually SMARTER and BETTER FOR YOUR SURVIVAL CHANCES to NOT book it straight for the pretty, glowy teleporter-thingy!
Usually you can take around 3-7 minutes (depending on your overall difficulty) before you need to really get going to the teleporter. Watch the difficulty meter in the top right!! Early on, you’ll wanna try to complete 1 level per level of difficulty. As in, you should beat the first level before the difficulty goes from “Easy” to “Medium”. And so on and so forth. This gets really difficult after just a few levels, but don’t worry about it. It becomes a moot point eventually.
BUT! This doesn’t mean you can just run to the teleporter after 5~ish minutes and SLAM the teleporter button like you just figured out the answer on Jeopardy! YOU HAVE. TO ASK. YOUR TEAM MATES!!! 9 times outta 10, SOMEONE SOMEWHERE is gonna be doing something! Fighting an enemy, running towards a chest, gambling their life savings away on a STUPID GREEDY SHRINE OF CHANCE… Point is, ask first. Just say, “r?” int he chat, and if the majority of players either ping the teleporter, or reply “r” back, you can probably hit it. “r” means ready, by the way. In case ya didn’t know the epic gamer lingo.
Stand Back, Decide Who Gets What
THIS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT IF YOU WANT TO MAKE EVERY ENGINEER PLAYER LOVE YOU FOREVER HAVE A SUCCESSFUL MULTIPLAYER RUN!
OKAY. SO. If you’ve been doing mostly solo play, you’ve PROBABLY got a nasty habit going. What is this habit? STANDING RIGHT IN FRONT OF CHESTS WHEN YOU OPEN THEM. I know it’s hard! But you HAVE TO BREAK THIS HABIT RIGHT NOW!! CALL YOUR THERAPIST! GO TO REHAB! DO WHATEVER IT TAKES!
The thing is, in Multiplayer, certain classes sort of “need” certain items. They don’t need need them, but there’s certain items that REALLY bring the full potential of a survivor out. This is why it’s important to step back after paying for a chest, and wait to see what’s inside. JUST BECAUSE IT’S GOOD ON YOU, BY THE WAY, DOESN’T MEAN “GRAB IT INSTANTLY!!!!”
Ping the item if you’re not sure, and if you’re REALLY not sure, ask if you can take it. Here’s a quick mini-guide of ME explaining to YOU what items are BEST for each class.
- Commando loves attack speed. While (almost) every class can use Soldier’s Syringes, it’s usually a good idea to let the Commando take them. His basic attack, Double Tap, is incredibly good at triggering on-hit effects. More attack speed, more on-hit effects. And more damage, of course. If there’s no Commando, Huntress or MUL-T also benefit greatly from them. Commando also loves a Brilliant Behemoth, but then again, who doesn’t? Oh, and the rare item “Brainstalks” is just disgusting on him. Don’t ask why, just trust me.
- MUL-T likes movement speed. But he also appreciates attack speed too! While MUL-T’s Nail Gun attack only has a x0.4 trigger rate for on-hit effects (meaning they’re less likely to happen), getting his attack speed up to BLISTERING levels basically negates this. MUL-T’s Transport Mode’s damage also increases with his speed, and it counts as sprinting! So consider letting MUL-T have the Energy Drinks, Goat Hooves, and Rose Bucklers. MUL-T ALSO USES FUEL CELLS REALLY WELL! Since he has 2 use-item slots, he essentially gets DOUBLE the effect from Fuel Cells!
- Huntress loves items that boost her damage! Crowbars, Armor-Piercing Bullets, and Lens Maker’s Glasses are all great items for her! While she definitely benefits from Soldier’s Syringe too, it’s not a necessity. Oh – She’s also a good choice to give the rare item “Hardlight Afterburner” to. I know it might feel odd to “give up” a rare item, but your survival in co-op depends on teamwork – Not independent strength. Hardlight Afterburner GREATLY increases Huntress’ mobility, which in turn greatly increases her chances of survival. Huntress also loves Predatory Instincts, Bezerker’s Pauldron, and Leeching Seeds!
- Engineer NEEDS ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ FUNGUS!! GIVE ENGINEER ALL THE FUNGUS. I DON’T CARE IF YOU LIKE IT, GIVE. HIM. THE BUSTLING FUNGUS!!! …Phew. Okay, the reason WHY Engineer is so good with Fungus is his turrets. They don’t move, meaning 2 seconds after being placed down, they’ll constantly heal not only themselves, but NEARBY ALLIES! This makes the Engineer one of the BEST healing classes in the game, arguably the only one right now! Give Engie all the Bustling Fungus you can find, and you’ll thank yourself later when on the brink of death. Engineer also NEEDS(!!!) N’kuhana’s Opinion if you or your team finds one!! This item, if found, SHOULD GO ON NOBODY BUT THE ENGINEER! If you don’t have an Engineer, then… What’s wrong with you. N’kuhana’s Opinion launches damaging, homing projectiles EVERY time the user is healed! This means his turrets, which are CONSTANTLY healing, will CONSTANTLY fire out damaging fireballs! IT’S ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ AWESOME!
- Artificer needs mobility items, because she’s super ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ slow, and has no f#@king mobility moves. Give her some Hooves and Energy Drinks, and probably a Hopoo Feather or two, and she’ll be set. The “H3AD-5T” is also good on her, as it drastically boosts jump height. Besides mobility, Artificer loves ANY and ALL on-hit effect items. The Elemental Bands, Sticky Bombs, Tri-Tip Blades, the works. She’s also really good with explosive items like Gasoline and Will-o-Wisp. The only thing she really need needs though is mobility. She’ll rack up more than enough damage by just getting a random mix of items on her own.
- Mercenary loves… Just about everything. Although Mercenary players will tell you they ABSOLUTELY MUST HAVE ATTACK SPEED AND CRIT, this isn’t exactly true. Don’t get me wrong – Mercenary SHOULD eventually have some Syringes and a good amount of Glasses for critical hits eventually. But he can find them on his own. I suppose if anything, he needs damage items, like Crowbars and A.P. Bullets, as his damage is at risk of falling off after so many maps. He’s also one of the BEST users of Backup Magazines and the Hardlight Afterburner. So make sure to let him take a few Backup Mags, and the Afterburner, if you find it and there’s no Huntress on your team. Then ask yourself why there’s no Huntress on your team.
Move!
THANKS FOR STANDIN’ STILL, WANKA! …is what every enemy will be saying, after they’ve mauled and eaten your stupid-looking corpse, because for whatever reason, you didn’t want to move.
This should… SHOULD go without saying… but sadly it does not. Once you get to the Abyssal Depths for the first time, you probably shouldn’t be standing still, EVER. Things will constantly be around you, and they’ll constantly be hunting you down. Once you get past Insane difficulty, enemies also CAN and WILL kill you in just a few hits if you’re not careful. ESPECIALLY BLAZING ELITES, HOLY S#%T!!
You ALSO should always be moving, because there’s usually always something to fight, or a chest to buy somewhere, or an altar to find and activate. Staying mobile and spreading out will increase your team’s chances of survival, as well as your own. You don’t want to be grouped together, or you might get AoE’d to death at the same time, and you sure as HELL don’t want to be standing still like a complete moron.
And if you’re gonna tell me, “BuT wHAt aBoUT BuSTLiNg FunGUS!!11!”, you should know from the last tip that YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE BUSTLING FUNGUS! …Unless you’re the Engie, that is. BUT EVEN STILL! The Engie doesn’t have the Bustling Fungus so HE can use it, he has it so his TURRETS can use it! Bustling Fungus is one of the WORST healing items outside the Engineer, because standing still on higher difficulties pretty much means INSTANT DEATH! Get yourself some Medkits and Cautious Slugs! SLUGS ARE YOUR BEST FRIENDS!! SO IS NOT STANDING STILL!
If You Die, Don’t Leave
SO MANY PEOPLE DO THIS! STOP DOING THIS! THIS ISN’T FORTNITE! DYING IN CO-OP ISN’T INSTANT GAME OVER!! GO GET A COFFEE OR SOMETHING, I DON’T CARE! WALK THE DOG! DO THE DISHES! JUST DON’T LEAVE!!
I see a lot of people leaving, and from the few messages they sometimes type before leaving, I’ve come to believe that this isn’t because of rage-quitting or frustration – but rather because a lot of newbies seem to think dying = permanent game over. In co-op, this just isn’t true.
In co-op, you come back the next map if the rest of your living teammates manage to complete the map you’re on. Additionally, spectating those who didn’t mess up and die in the (probably hilarious) way you did is a good way to learn how NOT to die in the future! (Note: If you died to a Blazing Elite, I retract my comment about your death being stupid and hilarious. I feel you. I really do.)
I guess… dying is also a way to take a breather? Go stretch. Relax. Massage your fingers. This game can be hectic as hell sometimes. DON’T DIE ON PURPOSE, YOU JERK!… But if you do happen to die, you can take the opportunity to calm down and re-focus your nerves for the next map.
Final Thoughts
Here’s just some of my final thoughts and smaller tips that weren’t super important enough to get their own page, but still worth learning about if you want to succeed at Multiplayer. And to not annoy the hell out of everyone else in the game.
- Any class (besides Artificer) can benefit from Syringes. And ANY class benefits from Lens Maker’s Glasses and A.P. Bullets. It won’t hurt to be a little selfish and take a few for yourself.
- Keep tabs on where Engie placed his turrets, that is, if he has Bustling Fungus. If you get low on Health, it could save your life. Also, as Engie, maybe ping your turrets if you see someone is low, to make it easier for them to find your fungal healing stations.
- In the Abandoned Aqueduct, Engineer can place turrets on those buttons that open the ancient gate. Know this if you’re the Engie, so you don’t have to bother your teammates to find and stand on the buttons. Also, as I said, making someone stand still can kill them.
- Fire elites are a BIG No-No for the Mercenary! Don’t make the Mercenary deal with them! Or, if you ARE the Merc, and have some Lunar, buy a Transcendence or two. Health in the form of a Shield is immune to fire damage! And when you stack Transcendence, you gain even more shield!
- Everyone should get a Hopoo Feather before you EVER get 2! If you have one, and find another, ping it! Double jumping helps a Survivor… well, survive… more than you think.
- Remember the Lockbox! If you or another player has at least 1 Rusty Key, try to find it! Don’t waste too much time, though. A free item is a free item! Plus, you could get a rare item! Ooooh!
- If there’s multiple Wandering Vagrants, focus one at a time! ESPECIALLY if you have lots of Drones! Their electric explode-y attack DESTROYS Drones, and more than one explode-y attack going off at the same time will destroy you too! Also, it’s a line-of-sight attack, so if you absolutely have to stop attacking to avoid it, you can just duck behind anything. Even a skinny little branch.
- Everyone should also eventually get at least 1 Fuel Cell. MUL-T should have at least 3 at some point, because they’re really good on him, but letting everyone get 1 of their own helps a lot too.
- Speaking of MUL-T, always have a Foreign Fruit on MUL-T! You have two item slots, so reserving 1 for an instant, 50% heal is an amazing way to survive.
- You can “save” items for later. Let’s say you find a 3D Printer that prints Syringes, which you really want. But you just opened a chest and found a Crowbar, which you don’t want to risk losing to the 3D Printer! It’s ok, just tell your team not to take the Crowbar, and go to the 3D Printer BEFORE picking up the item you wanted to save!
- SPEAKING OF TALKING TO TEAM MATES… LISTEN TO CHAT! Don’t be THAT guy! Communication is KEY! Being nice won’t just earn you brownie points, it’ll help you NOT DIE!
Remember, kids, trying out Multiplayer for the first time with people you know is fine. Heck, that’s what you SHOULD do first if you want to try Multiplayer! But if you can’t do that, then reading this guide might be the next best thing. JUST… Please… Don’t go into Multiplayer COMPLETELY unaware of how things work! It’s much different than playing solo. Not just because there’s more people. EVERYTHING you have to do, your priorities, the way you play, has changed.
It’s a super fun experience, MUCH more fun than playing solo most of the time! But going in blind and acting like a complete idiot will ruin it for E V E R Y O N E. So, that said, THANKS FOR READING! Now (hopefully) you WON’T be that idiot who ruins it for everyone! And if you FIND an idiot, bring them here and FORCE THEM TO READ EVERY ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ WORD OF THIS GUIDE.
Have a wonderful time in Multiplayer!
P.S. Feel free to comment any extra tips that you think I forgot or otherwise left out. Multiplayer success comes from teamwork, and that teamwork isn’t just with the 1-3 other players in your game, it can come from the entire community!