Topic: Returnal

@Tatarimokke these might help you out (they helped me a lot!)

https://www.pushsquare.com/guides/returnal-how-to-not-die

https://www.pushsquare.com/guides/returnal-guide-tips-tricks-...

@Voltan @render Thanks again i really appreciate your help guys. About the adrenalin that was my only achievement yesterday i reached max level of adrenalin and get a trophy for it:) I thought ok it seems i am getting better...then i just died in the next room...
I know it is an amazing game so i'm going to jump back today.
Just one more thing. Is there any checkpoint in the game somewhere or you need to start again from the beginning if you die in he 4th biome for example?

@Just_2_milky thanks yes of course every little info drops help me to keep me going! i'll check it out the guides too!

@Tatarimokke After getting to biome 4, you will start there after death.
Also once you unlock biome 3 (and later 6) you can go there directly from 1 (or 4) - it’s up to you how much time you want to spend in the previous biomes (as it will take time but will also allow you to upgrade your health and collect artifacts).

@Tatarimokke Yes once you get to B4 you will then respawn there if you die in any of the further biomes. Otherwise you will always come back to B1.

Just to add another tip into what Voltan was saying earlier about dashing forward. If you dash forward not only are you going to better avoid any projectiles but you will also be able to collect more obolites which will mean you can buy more items from the fabricators. I know there are people that prefer to play defensively but if you do then you really miss out on being able to get more items to help you later on, so would definitely recommend trying to play offensively if you can.

@Voltan I see. So probably better if I'd go through every biome again after death otherwise i'll be too weak for 3rd biome without upgrades and proper weapons?

@Just_2_milky i didn't know what to do with the red sphere things so thanks for that. Yes they spawn even if you don't have the sword. I saw turrets mostly so i just run across the room to avoid them

@Tatarimokke Honestly, personally I died a bunch of times in biome 1 and then when I finally managed to kill the 1st boss, I somehow made it all the way to biome 4 in the same run, so I don’t think I could give advice on that
In the 2nd act, I’d usually go to biome 6 as soon as I could (you have to go through about 1/3 of biome 4 to get to the portal) but that’s just me and my YOLO play style. I didn’t really mind dying a bunch in this game
It’s probably smart to clear out the 1st biome (minus the boss) before going to 3.

@Tatarimokke Some excellent advice already given, but I’ll throw in my 2 cents.

As far as strategy and things to try early on —
(And I’m borrowing these tips from others who told me when I was expressing similar frustration early in the game) — In the settings there are some tweaks to make which can help:

• Namely, you can change the sprint to be ‘always on’ and that’s a key adjustment to make. In this game it’s better to just be always sprinting rather than have to click a button to sprint. It will make evasion and movement through the chaotic firefights a tiny bit easier. You’ll have to adjust your timing and get used to it because at first you might sprint off a cliff from time to time.
• I believe there is a way to dial up the aim assist in the settings, which helps a tiny bit.
• you can actually adjust the size and visual density of the reticle that @Voltan was mentioning to hit your overloads. It takes a little away from the immersion and I usually like minimal HUD getting in the way of my seeing my game, but in this case, having the reticle window more prominent makes it a little easier to focus on that overload bar. Adjust as you see fit for your playstyle.
• Consider remapping the dash button to a shoulder button like R1. (Some people also remap the jump button to L1, which I didn’t do, my brain has ‘X’ too strongly associated with jump). It a small thing, but being able to use your right thumb to rotate the camera while you dash or immediately after dashing will save milliseconds when enemies and projectiles are surrounding you. It will take a couple hours to get used to, but for me it became second nature after a while and I do think it helped

And yes, those gorilla tentacle brutes seem insurmountable at first, but actually are quite slow and just stand around mostly until they pounce. So like Voltan says, just watch for the easily telegraphed color and tentacle change which telegraphs the jump and a quick dash away and it’s easily missed and then you can pummel him for a little while while he gathers himself again.
I think the teleporting green tree creatures are much harder. Those don’t have nearly as easy a way to avoid.
When multiple big enemies are in a room, I’d often cheese the situation and hide in the previous room and take pot shots from a safer vantage point. But the tree guys will teleport into the room with you so watch out. 3D headphones help here because you can hear if one appears behind you.

And know this — the rooms are random and sometimes you just have bad luck with a really tough room and your next run won’t necessarily have a room like that packed with multiple stronger enemies. Sometimes the deck is just stacked too much against you.

Other basic things I wished I knew early on:

• A malignant debuff can just ruin a run sometimes. Honestly I avoided malignant items for the most part, unless I was desperate or just feeling lucky 😄. Especially if you have a good run going, probably steer clear of them. Others may feel differently, but for me, the risk seemed too great.
• Integrity (health / health bar) is your most valuable asset in the game. Thus, trying to max out the resin upgrades like Voltan talked about. To have a chance at the boss you’ll want to hopefully have a decent sized health bar. Prioritize upgrading that health bar, if you can.
• In my early runs to the boss I used my obolites (the currency of the game) to buy a large health pack and the integrity upgrade (I think it’s 20% or 25%, I forget) both of which are always available at the fabricator shop. Not sure if you’ve made it to the point yet but there is one other important item that’s nice to have for the boss fight but it’s a spoiler but you’ll know it when you get it.

The bosses only have to be beaten once. After beating one, you can optionally fight them again, but you do not have to do it again and there will be short cuts to the next biomes, so don’t worry — you’ll not have to play the entire Biome 1 again if/when you clear the boss. However, most of us spent some time optionally in Biome 1 buffing ourselves anyways so as to be a little better prepared for the higher biomes, but you won’t have to.

Sorry, that’s a lot. I’ll pause there for now 😅
I will say, I’m not that skilled of a gamer, honestly. I did beat Bloodborne after much difficulty, but gave up on Dark Souls my first time trying it. I feel like you can get the hang of this. I died way more times before I beat the first boss. Probably 15-20 times.

@Voltan haha i can't even imagine at the moment how did you manage that...
Thanks everyone for helping me i hardly wait to go back to Atropos after work. How long is the game anyway?

@Tatarimokke Anywhere from 5h to eternity, depending on your performance and luck, I guess.
Seriously though - for me it was 23 hours to beat act 2 and 59 to get the platinum trophy - but I think that might be better than average (although I've certainly seen much shorter times too).

@Tatarimokke I think my game time was in the neighborhood of 60-70 hours when I finished. Maybe a little longer. I think it took me about 12-15 hours of game time to finally clear Biome 1. Then Biome 2 felt much easier and it only took me a few runs to clear. Then Biome 3 is another difficult one for most people. Biome 4 was probably the easiest for me, then 5 and 6 were harder but by then you’re an expert and you don’t doubt your skills anymore. Overcoming Biome 1 and Biome 3 are the hardest mental hurdles in my opinion.

Edit: by the way, I never got the platinum, but did complete all 3 Acts. I’m honestly not too far from the plat, but I have too many other games to play. 😅

@Th3solution thanks you helped me a lot . Yes i experienced those green trees are pain. My final moments yesterday was in a room (after i reached a house i couldn't get in ) filled with 2 big gorilla guy and 2 green trees plus a bunch of small enemies and i couldn't last long even with upgraded health. It's good to know i won't experience exactly the same room on my next run

Thanks everyone i think i'm going to print all of your advices on a paper and put it next to me while i'm playing:)

@Tatarimokke Some of the lockdown rooms with a bunch of enemies are actually harder than the bosses. The challenge rooms (you haven’t got the opportunity to open those yet if you don’t have the melee sword yet) are too hard to try early on, so I’d suggest leave those alone unless you have a throwaway run going and want to just try it out. Same applies for the scout corpses (the online only content) — early in the game the mini bosses that spawn from the corpses are much too hard to be worth the reward you get.

edit: and you’re very welcome! The game is fantastic and we who played it are passionate about it. Feel free to come to this thread often to update us how you’re doing and if you need more advice or just to voice frustration! 😄

@Tatarimokke Yeah like @Th3solution said keep us posted, can't wait to see how you get on. I know you can do it because I once did it 😁

@Th3solution Thanks will do! just one more thing. Are the lockdown rooms part of the main path ( you couldn't get out or go back to previous rooms until you kill everyone) so i can't actually avoid them? That's where i finished yesterday. And the challenge rooms are those which you usually drop down below to fight with a mini boss, aren't they? Those are usually in the corner with some yellow glowing crystal if i am right. Am i?

@Tatarimokke it's definitely a brutally tough game (I've only recently made it to biome 3) but the way it plays and feels - you will keep being drawn back in. It might not feel like you're making progress but you are - each run you will improve your reflexes, learn from mistakes and keep expanding your knowledge of enemy behaviour.

I do still wish there was some sort of save feature though, I like to level up a lot in biome 1 & 2 before going to 3, by which time a good couple of hours or more have passed and its time for bed.

This forum has been very good for tips and encouragement. Good luck and I'm sure you'll be completing the game before me!

@Tatarimokke Challenge rooms are the ones displayed as yellow door with a star on your map (there's one per biome). You get several waves of enemies in them and a few items if you survive. Lockdown rooms can occur on the main path. I’m not entirely sure if you’re 100% guaranteed to get at least one on every run but you’ll get them on most for sure.

@Tatarimokke if you see an astronaut figure, pick it up, it helps alot.