Survival Mode tips - Remnant: From the Ashes
A few tips and tricks to help you make it further in Survival Mode, Remnant's excellent new roguelike mode.
Survival Mode has arrived in Remnant: From the Ashes, and it is going to majorly shake up how you play this game. Fans of the campaign and adventure modes will need to approach this new mode with a unique perspective, because it will challenge you in exciting new ways. Our Survival Mode tips will ensure you don’t just survive, but thrive out there in the apocalypse.
What is Survival Mode?
Survival Mode is Remnant’s take on a roguelike experience. Players are given a new, blank character with nothing but a pistol and a small allotment of scrap. From here, they must survive each encounter, collecting traits, weapons, armor and mods along the way. But as with any roguelike, death means your run is over and you will start back at the beginning.
It’s not all for naught though, as you can actually earn Glowing Fragments in the new Survival Mode. This is a new currency used to purchase armor skins from a vendor in Ward 13 on your main character.
The difficulty of the Survival Mode comes from the random nature of gear. You might not find something you want to use or you might be stuck with a weapon you’re not comfortable using. The other challenge comes from the timer. Every few minutes, the enemies will grow stronger. Spend too long searching for gear and you run the risk of making the boss fight more difficult! But speed through the level and you might not have enough good gear to actually defeat it.
Bring a friend, or two
Much like the campaign, playing Remnant solo is hard, really hard. If you get knocked down, there’s no opportunity to get yourself up and dust off your knees. You’re out and have to restart the run. To make things a bit easier (and you can offset this by bumping up the difficulty), bring along a friend or two.
Every friend you add will slightly alter the difficulty but the advantage is clear: reviving. Anyone that gets knocked down can be brought back into the fight, at the cost of a Dragon Heart. For this reason, you will need to think about healing more than you might in the base game (more on that below).
One important thing to note is that in Survival Mode, anything you pick up is yours and yours alone. You cannot drop anything for your friends. Pay close attention to what you find and ensure everyone on your team has a piece of the pie.
What to buy from the obelisk shops
Gearing up before you set out is critical to your success in Survival Mode. When you first start, you will only have 1,000 scrap to your name. With this small amount, you can buy items from the obelisks encompassing the center crystal.
These obelisk shops have a random assortment of gear. The items you see when you first enter will be different when you return after fighting a boss or dying. It’s also worth noting that there is only one of each item in the shop at a time. This means if you buy a Coach Gun, your friend will need to pick something else.
Before you go buying gear, coordinate with your teammates. Consider each person's playstyle and build your team around your strengths. If you’ve got the scrap, consider buying a piece of armor to help your survivability. Alternatively, stock up on some Bloodworts for more ways to heal during intense battles.
When you eventually return to the hub with scrap from defeating a boss, your priorities on what to buy will change. At this point, think about buying an extra Dragon Heart (or two), a trinket, or even a new mod.
How to heal
Because you only get three Dragon Hearts at the start, healing is a major deal. Heal too often and you risk running out of hearts before the boss fight. To solve this, there are some strategies you can use to ensure you rarely dip below three (until you can buy some more).
Firstly, whenever you level up you are completely healed. Use this to your advantage. If you’re low on health but the blue bar is close to being full, try and kill a few more enemies instead of using a heart.
Some enemies also drop Dragon Hearts. These don’t increase your total but they will replace one that you’ve used. A good strategy is to leave the heart on the ground and return to it when you’ve used one. They appear to stick around for quite a while, just make sure you don’t go through a loading zone to the next area.
Fighting bosses
For a lot of players, the majority of the bosses will be familiar. You will be able to go into the fight, know what you’re up against, and deal with it swiftly. But for some players that are yet to fight them all, an unknown boss fight can spell a quick end to a run.
To prevent an unwanted trip back to the hub, take your time and watch the boss. See what its attacks are and try to dodge while exploring the environment to find some good safe spots. Once you have a handle on what’s going on, start your attack. This will no doubt be easier if you’ve got some friends with you.
Remnant: From the Ashes’ new Survival Mode is an adrenaline-shot to the genre. It gives players an opportunity to try out new builds they might never be able to use over the course of a campaign run. While the new mode can be extremely challenging, hopefully these Survival Mode tips will help you fight through waves of enemies and dozens of bosses. For more helpful guides, check out the Shacknews Remnant: From the Ashes page.
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