Time to Git Gud – 5 Beginner Tips for Nuclear Throne

Overview

New to Nuclear Throne? Here’s five basic gameplay tips to get a handle on the roguelite’s gameplay, including: character choices, abilities, weapon combinations, mutation choices, and accepting death. Just remember – this game might not be easy, but if you keep at it, you’ll git gud fast.

An Introduction of Sorts

Like most roguelikes, Nuclear Throne is a difficult game. Health is limited, ammo needs to be conserved, enemies are rediculously dangerous, bosses can easily take you out in just a few shots, and you’re bound to die within the first five to ten minutes of your run. Don’t be fooled – Nuclear Throne is brutal, and getting good requires a lot of time playing through the game.

But, even though Nuclear Throne is difficult, it’s still easy to pick up and learn the game. As Vinesauce puts it, “This game will kick your [booty] left and right before something clicks and you’re a killing machine.”

So, want to ease the gap between getting your [booty] kicked and doing the [booty] kicking? Well, while certainly not definitive, these tips will help keep you alive and brace you for the Wastelands ahead.

Tip #1 & 2 – Pick Your Characters Wisely and Learn Their Abilities

Your runthrough is dictated by the mutant that you choose. Each character plays differently, and some are easier to learn than others. So choose your player character wisely, and avoid more difficult characters while you’re still learning the game.

Remember to also learn your mutant’s active and passive during play, and make the most of both in the Wastelands. Fish’s roll can save you from oncoming enemy fire, for instance, whereas his passive will prevent you from burning through ammo way too quickly. Actively using your characters’ abilities will make them second nature over time, and keep you alive longer during each playthrough.

As a rule of thumb, Fish, Crystal, Plant, and Chicken are all excellent starting characters. Each of them have an active that’s easy to use, and a passive that will benefit you immensely during play.

After you’ve gotten the bare basics down, try experimenting with Yung Venuz, Robot, and Steroids. Be mindful of how their actives can be overused, however. Yung Venuz’s pop pop can quickly burn through ammunition if you aren’t careful, for example, whereas Robot might eat your favorite gun with an accidental right click.

Lastly, try to avoid Eyes, Rebel, Rogue, and Melting until you’re confident in your ability to navigate the Wastelands. These characters have complicated passives and actives that might be frustrating to use until you’re more familiar with the game.

Rogue in particular is intended as a rush character, and begins the game with an orbital strike and IDPD spawns. Although she’s extremely fun to play, Rogue is extremely difficult until you’ve experienced several hours of the game.

Tip #3 – Balance Weapons

– Yung Venuz, Wasteland King, Gun God, Venusian Rapper

Nuclear Throne is all about the guns. Choose the wrong guns, and you’ll die a needless death. Pick the right combination, however, and you’re sure to awaken your inner gun god.

Granted, a whole guide could be written on picking the best guns for your playthrough. Suffice to say though, there’s a few cursory starting tips you can use right away in order to improve your gun choices:

• Balance your ammunition types throughout play. If you already have a good bullet weapon, try to pickup a shell, energy, bolt, or explosive gun instead. This will not just balance your firepower, but conserve your ammunition pool in the long run.
• Choose weapons with two different ranges. If you already have a short-range weapon – such as a shotgun – consider picking up an assault rifle, laser rifle, grenade launcher, crossbow, or any other long-range weapon.
• Pickup weapons with two different fire rates. If you already have a burst or automatic fire weapon, consider picking up a bolt or single-shot gu. Shotguns balance out with assault rifles well in early/mid-game, as do laser rifles with super crossbows.

Don’t be afraid to experiment with weapon choices, and find the guns that work best for you. Just make sure to balance your loadout, and conserve your ammunition when possible.

Tip #4 – Build Mutation Combinations

Like weapons, a whole entire guide could be written on the dynamics at play with mutation choices. Don’t consider this section a thorough look at mutations; rather, use these tips to consider the various ways in which mutations can combine with one another and help your advance throughout the game.

When presented with a new mutation choice, think carefully about three things before you pick:

• Would this mutation expand on my character’s current abilities?
• Would this mutation improve a weapon or ammunition I’m relying on?
• Would this mutation make up for one of my weaknesses?

In the video above, I suggest that players should combine Bloodlust and Rhino Skin – both mutations play well with one another, and can help keep the player character alive so long as they’re making kills during play.

Don’t forget to consider your mutant’s active ability while picking mutations, too. Impact Wrists combines well with Yung Venuz’s pop pop, for instance, and allows him to kill large groups of enemies with his active by riccocheting corpses off one another.

Try to combine mutations, and experiment with your choices during play. You’ll naturally get better over time with creating combinations that fit your playstyle, and help you get a little closer to the Nuclear Throne.

Final Tip – You’re Gonna Die. Just Accept It Already!

The next time you play Nuclear Throne, your character will get killed. It might not be right away, but I can promise you that you won’t last forever. Death is inevitable, and somewhere along the line, you’ll die and have to start over.

That’s okay. When you inevitably lose, don’t hang your hand in shame – instead, try to look at your death as an opportunity to get better. How did you mess up? What could you do to improve in the future? Was there a mistake you made while initiating an enemy? Or perhaps you chose the wrong weapons/mutations earlier in the game, and your decisions finally came back to bite you?

Keep these things in mind as you play, and try to reflect on your death. Figuring out why you died and how you can avoid it the next time through will improve your runs very quickly. By ending bad habits fast and learning how to avoid easy deaths, you’ll overcome starting enemies faster than players who simply can’t figure out why they died.

Conclusion

Everyone starts out bad at Nuclear Throne. Over time, we learn how to get better at the game. Practice makes perfect, and playing the game more often will make you better at it. So make the most of it, and don’t be afraid to experiment!

Thanks again for reading through this guide. I hope you enjoyed it, and look forward to seeing you top the Daily Run leaderboards!

One last thing…

If you’d also like to check out some of my other work on Nuclear Throne, I’ve also published a video comparing the current Early Access version to the Wasteland Kings prototype.

While not explicitly a tip nor a trick, the video itself might prove of interest if you’d like to know more about Nuclear Throne’s changes since Wasteland Kings.

Feel free to give it a view. Have fun out there mutants!