For Artificer, you mention that tectonic surge lets you jump out of the special early. All of her abilities let her do that though. If you use her primary while in flamethrower, it cancels it instantly.

Another thing to note about mercs parry. You can negate the damage dealt by shrines (and the golem drone) that cost health with an easily timed parry allowing you to use them for free.

It was pointed out to me I didn't mention how to wavedash on pilot. All you have to do is jump, then use pilots alt util while ONLY holding the down key. Tapping left or right with halt your momentum. Works better the closer you are to the ground when you use it. Cheers

Sniper's melee primary pairs well with the default secondary. You can melee while charging. This allows you to: 1) hold a charge by swinging repeatedly, 2) stun enemies that get too close, 3) change your facing direction, and most importantly, 4) MOVE while charging by jumping and melee attacking in midair. Also, backflipping can be done while charging and even lets you flip your facing direction. You can use the backflip in a similar way to pilot's wavedash. If you backflip and then start charging, you are super slippery and keep sliding from the backflip momentum. For miner, the alt secondary can send you flying in any direction, including up and down. You can steer it while in flight too!

Great video. One thing to mention is that Pilots alt special does actually splash, and also seems to switch to a nearby enemy if it dies while under the effect. That said the default is probably still better but I use both.

Pilot's alternate special can hit multiple enemies, and also will spread to other enemies if the targeted enemy dies. The alternate is not explained well, but is great in massive mobs where it can chain easily. Also great for dot damage when avoiding danger.

For Han-D, I'd say to use hammer on the explosive drones, and saw on the attack speed drones, because the explosive ones really benefit from a lot of enemies being grouped together, and the saw gets insane when you get an attack speed chain going and get a saw that does five times the damage

Sick list, one thing I wanna add is that bandit going whip plus alt special turns your primary into a functional two shot, imo better for looping since you can't get consistent setup with it against providence but the value is absurd once you have ~20-30 items

Straight to the point, love to see a growing channel like yours. Keep up the good work!

This is the best video explaining every survivor's kit within a short time frame! BTW in my opinion Artificer isn't weak she just requires a very disciplined playstyle , I also struggled at first but once I figured her out the damage she can do is insane, maybe the only buff she needs is primary range increase

Drifters cube can be used to distract enemies. Or clump them together for other survivors to use. You can also stand on top of the cube to prevent being hit by SOME attacks, and slide on top of the cube while doing so to continue doing damage.

7:55 FYI, there's a must-have accessibility toggle in the options yhat makes holding your primary act the same as frame-perfect mashing. It gives Loader and Bandit a huge buff and makes them so much easier to play.

You can use the accesibility option "rapid fire" so you can have maximum attack speed from just holding the button instead of needing to mash it on Bandit, Loader, and Mercenary

Oh my God, I just want to say how much I appreciate you launching into the content rather than having an overly long intro that basically just recaps the title of the video

this is amazing I've been waiting for this type of content to come out of risk or rain returns

This was a fun video. Surprised about a few of them but glad to see variety in content for the game

I've been looking for advice for Arti since getting her unlocked...And it's not been very forthcoming, it seems like not a lot of people play her! I mostly agree with your picks here...The Spear isn't very good for most situations that the bomb is, the sun is too finicky compared to flamethrower, and surge is ok... She's ok when you have on-hit effects and cooldown reduction to chain flamethrower a bunch, but early fighting feels like a chore. I'm also hoping the developers do something to improve her more...Maybe something like her chakrams igniting or unfolding on contact with an enemy and maybe more burn damage? Her spear and sun alternates just need reworks....Spear kind of works but should do more damage on a successful pierce, but sun does not work with the kind of game Returns is =/

For Miner, I think you should mention the alt secondary can be used in different directions besides left and right, it’s a very useful movement tool.

Han D Saw is insane with any on hit proc items.. You need a way to stun to get it going but imo it shines more than the hammer mid-late game

i really liked how the characters synced to the music that was playing, really nice detail

I stan miniature sun as it carried me on my first monsoon run with artificer. Jumps dont make it move upwards, so you can run back and forth through a group of enemies while jumping to keep the sun centered and then it explodes for great damage.

"Welcome to moose world" *guitar kicks in I was wheezing

Great video - helpful insight - funny jetpacks. Enjoyed this very much.

I think especially compared to ror2 the vast majority of alt skills feel like sidegrades to the main ones with no real "better" option, which leads to a lot more room for experimentation and each survivor having several different possible playstyles. Here's some of my thoughts (mostly disagreements) on your picks -I just don't like the shield dash. Not exactly sure why but it might have to do with it placing you close to the enemies at the end? I like the normal bash's ability to create space better -I prefer Han-d's saw when using speed drones since it hits more times depending on your attack speed, allowing it to do insane amounts of damage with enough stacks (and with scepter it burns on every hit!)... although at base attack speed it's weaker than hammer and doesn't knock up, so for heal and blast drone I don't like it -Maybe I just need to play with it more, but I think Sniper's diagonal shot feels awkward to use, both as a mobility tool and as an attack. I prefer backflip for the very fast movement and I frames even with Improvise -Scrap barrier is so powerful that I can't justify swapping it out for short circuit, might also be because I like the green pylon which encourages staying put in fights rather than moving large distances. Also you can turn on the autofire accessibility option to attack at max speed with Bandit, Merc, Loader, and Drifter just by holding the primary button. Doesn't work on melee Chef or Arti for some reason despite them also attacking faster by mashing -I prefer Pilot's parachute and clusterfire but I think all his skills are very fun so I swap between them very frequently. Aerial support actually does have an aoe hitbox, so I'd say it's not terrible. Wouldn't take it with parachute though because then you miss out on some flight time with the primary special -Suffocate's execute is wild, I have a hard time picking between it and the spin which gives better mobility and can make enemies drop scrap on hit. Salvage and recycle are both amazing, no preference there. I think either cleanup should cost less scrap or cube should cost more because clearly cleanup's shorter cooldown and natural chance to crit, bleed, or slow isn't enough to make up for the cube's crazy damage

While I definitely disagree with some of these loadouts, this video was put together well. The reasoning you put behind using every skill also made me rethink some of my decisions. I'll try some of these builds in the future for sure. Well done.

thanks, newer player here, i finally won monsoon for the first time due to the fact that u told me to use the alt secondary on huntress, it deals so much more damage omg

Great vid! Though this is not useful for everyone, you can turn on Rapid Fire on the accessibility settings to not have to mash your primary with Loader,Merc,Drifter,Bandit etc. Hope this helps and remember to stretch regardless when playing

Good video, thanks for the insight

Loader is probably my favorite survivor. I would encourage players to at least try his alternate special. The tesla coils don't do enough damage per target (unless using glass) to justify the setup, in my opinion. The conduit, though, is amazing. It does damage to anything inside, and massively increases your attack speed and any imps or drones tagging along. It just embarrasses magma worms. It's great for procing on hit abilities, and it's broken if using equipment such as the unstable watch, shield generator, shattered mirror, back up, and even a drone repair kit.

The enforcers alternate primary is really good at proccing on hit effects. Because each one hits 3 times.

for artificer, you can use her platforms similarly to her ice wall in the way of blocking enemies. its a little jank though. If the enemy can jump (i.e. lemurians, clay men, etc.) then they can hop over it but if you put it too high it wont block them. the surge feels like necessity for runs where you might run negative stats for eclipse like difficulty becauss the movement is invaluable compared to the ice wall which can easily get outscaled health-wise leading to it popping like a balloon with barely any value

Note for the huntress, Blink definitely feels better in longer runs since warp dart becomes useless once you have high mobility and a hardlight afterburner. Warp Dart is extremely useful for short runs, as well as attempts to unlock stuff since it gives you crucial verticle movement for reaching secret areas.

You forgot about the best survivor robomando

Change your sound mixing abit (hard to hear you over music sometimes) and you got yourself a good ass video, cant wait to see more definitely drop an item tier list, havent seen one yet so it should get you out there, best of luck 🤞

Artificer is still one of my favourite classes and in my opinion is one of the best classes against most bosses and enemies (that do not release missiles) Although she does have some blatant weaknesses to balance out the insane dps output

Great vid. You interested in doing guides for the final providence trial with all the characters? It feels genuinely impossible for some of them

Is the loadout guide for pre or post 1.0.3? The miner kit you recommended got nerfed pretty hard in it. I personally use the alt secondary, mainly because you can bhop with it and it's all around a great movement ability

I’d say the beam turret becomes better in multiplayer. It doesn’t need any items to come online like the default turrets, so less items doesn’t hurt much. And the bouncing mines are great at keeping it safe.

Could you make a video about what to prioritize for healing? I know what’s good for damage but healing is so confusing for me

Pilot and Loader are so fun to play, probably because they have crazy mobility

You didn't mention what you think of Loader's super plasma tower. I like it and the tesla towers very much so deciding between them is difficult for me.

Worth noting two things: -Cheff's cook has a secret 10% execute which isnt mentioned in the description -Any skill can cancel Artificers flamethrower, not just tectonic surge

A few interesting notes I've come across for moves you decided against that might be labworthy Artificer's speed reduction while using nano bomb doesn't affect small sun, letting you do a bit more for remote controlling it Drifter's back pack spin resets her fall timer, scales with attack and movement speed, and can be jumped during for higher jumps, imo, it's probably the best movement ability in the game that isn't on pilot, especially in lategame.

for commando, if you're going for deep late game runs full metal jacket might be better. I remember getting some runs in the original game where i had 0 cooldown on the skill and it basically became my primary

Im interested to see for those who have played ror2 and rorr, which is harder? Personally ive had it much more difficult on returns.

You look like a pro risk of rainer

Oh yeah, time to risk the rain

Honestly, Commandos piercing is slightly better than knife in my opinion simply because of the item that gives enemies a scaling debuff if you touch them. Seeing as touching most enemies in this gane doesnt equate to damage, its way better to just run through a crowd to debuff them and then use your piercing for more damage.

Blinding assault eye frames 🔛🔝

you guys are sleeping on artificer pulse spear and localized sun, her full alt loadout (while hard to use) works really well for me

why did your voice get higher?

Artificer. Ice wall. Mini sun. Primary attack. Big fat damage stack.

It feels like you only focus on how the ability looks on paper and not the actual practice of them. Commando’s knife is nice, but in a dangerous situation, a knife shotgun is gonna get you killed. His default is much better for crowd control and consistent damage in a high stress situation. Huntresses dart has more distance, but a much longer cooldown. Blink, like in ror2 is good to make a quick getaway out of a bad situation with almost 0 delay, and also helps you jump around cyclone easier. Bandit full alt is probably the best and easiest build in the game. Flash bang groups up and incapacitates enemies, allowing you to whip them safely, which damages all of them, making it much easier to stack standoff, which further increases damage of everything else, and it snowballs extremely quickly. Blast’s damage is just really bad, and the pierce is more valuable. Light’s out is really fun to use but if we’re going for optimal builds standoff has the advantage. For sniper, there is one simple solution. The backflip bunnyhop. You can charge the snipe while backflipping, and apparently charging it reduces friction, allowing you to go flying away while charging the full thing. For acrid, while bubble has its uses, i find spit better for quick damage and actually process things. Poison ticks don’t trigger items, so bile spit is great for this reason, and a quick get off me tool. Poison falls off eventually, and that backup damage is gonna help. For merc, i think the utility is like the special. Both are useful, and usually blinding assault is better with clones, providing i frames that clones doesn’t, and also multiple dashes back and forth stun locks enemies while skyward is better for the burst damage. Tip for loader: turn on hold to attack to save yourself from arthritis. Also default secondary paired with the buff pylon is really good to melt anything or to just escape since it increases speed and gives i-frames. Pilot’s alt special does actually hit groups around the targeted enemy. Also any kind of passive damage is always really good to have. With artificer, ice wall is pretty necessary for her to actually do damage. Early stages can be made easy with ice wall + chakrams, and you can use flamethrower in the air to float, hitting enemies below. This combined with ice wall makes for incredible safety and burst damage, just watch out for flying enemies. Nano bomb is good but kinda hard to make effective bc of the charge. Spear is a little better for a quick crowd burst. Just throw it and mash right click a couple times as you run away, it should work well enough. For drifter, while the execute is incredible, but you should still talk about her alt. Incredible movement, and more damage than any movement tool out there. Both are really good. I just think for a vid like this, it’s better to mention the other abilities instead of just the ones you prefer more often.

As powerful as the wavedash on pilots alt utility is i think the instant vertical mobility and air time the default provides is still incredibly difficult to match 90% of the games enemies are either incapable or have extreme difficulty hitting you if youre in the air so having a way to stay airborne while continuing to do damage and move around is genuinely too powerful for me to pass up

Only thing you forgot was the final secret survivor!

Missed robomando smh my head

You forgot to do a loadout of Robomamdo 😕😕

Im an enforcer main and while i agree with your loadout im a big fan of grenade launcher and shield slam

Come on man…i needed to know the best build for robomando, i just cant decide 12:07

Your screen is so huge!

you forgor robomando

Have you people not heard of infinite suns?

do more ror

I really would like to know what were they thinking with artis alt special, it is hot garbage

ALTERNATIVE ENFORCER SECOUNDARY MAKES YOUR SHIELD COMPLETLY USELESS

why would you *ever* not run green pylon /invincibility shield? you can no-item up to stage 4 with that loader setup.