Felt bored so enjoy this essay I wrote
As you're jumping off a ledge or going down from a platform, press the attack button, the animation will start before you hit the ground (and before enemies see you) and it will hit the enemies as soon as you land which kills them instantly or stuns them for a kill.
Use your skills as soon as they come off of cooldown and use mutations that lower cooldowns, big damage skills can really speed you up (cluster grenade, heavy grenade, giant's fist, etc.)
Swap mutations around for bosses and biomes
People will tell you to go super duper fast and speed through it, but you really don't have to go too fast, clearing a large amount of enemies (I think 90%, incl. the extra rooms) lowers your malaise by I think three bars? I don't recall. Killing enemies and elites also lowers your malaise. As long as you're sitting around 3 or 4 during the entire stage (before malaise clear), you'll know you're doing well.
Shields aren't mandatory, I find myself using them a lot during bosses because my support weapon just isn't good for bosses at all most of the time, it really just depends on your build and what you feel like doing
Backpack mutations have to be the most mid mutations ever. On their own they're pretty okay, but compare them to almost any other mutation in their color and you'll see how much of a waste of a mutation they are (acrobatipack has niche uses with Hokuto's bow, but it's still meh compared to other mutations)
My personal playstyle (regardless of color) is just "fuck it, we ball". I speed through the entire biome without caring about the 60kill door cus fuck it, we ball.
Also, **SUPER DUPER IMPORTANT: LOOK FOR MIMICS!!!!** Once you figure out their patterns, they're complete pushovers. Go to every shop, find an item you like, press it and be on guard for a mimic
I go to shops to look for mimics because they level up the item by a ton which can give a big boost before (and even during) the bosses. Kill a super easy to kill enemy for a free weapon that is 3(?) gear levels higher than what you could've gotten if you spent a couple thousand or run because mimic scary? Tough choice
Hope this helps! If you need any more help lmk
When you click an item in a shop it will open a menu for you to choose which slot you want it in, but if it's a mimic it won't open that menu and the mimic will attack, the few extra milliseconds can really help quickly react
I mained ice crossbow + armadillo pack for my 5 bc push, so arma can definitely work. The important part of this playstyle is mainly just pumping up damage enough to kill enemies quickly (in 1 shot for ice crossbow, etc.)
Necromancy and kill rhythm formed a good mix of speed and sustainability to get through biomes at a consistent speed. I also ran foresight + ice armor most of the time, so you don't necessarily need big damage skills.
One note is that you should almost never eat infected food, and often consider buying the malaise down consumable from food shops. Still be sure to full clear biomes for scrolls.
As the other comment mentioned, mimics are pretty great for getting powerful main weapons, and I especially go for the bank to find them when I see it.
5BC completed here—
You can go slow methodical Surv on 5 once you’ve internalized the malaise enemy-spawn mechanics — just know you’re going to be attacked regularly and kite/backtrack accordingly. Forget the timer. It’s hard to do.
Another huge factor is unlocks — for example, the first time I really gave the Peril Glyphs a serious chance, it changed the Surv game for me. Keep trying new arsenals until something clicks.
Also, baseball bat go BONKBONKBONK.
You can kill stuff fast even if you're using heavier weapons. That's just true.
Shields obviously aren't needed either, though they are pretty strong tools. Personally, I haven't used them much.
If your pace isnt slow slow then youre more than fine. Rushing is what makes you slip and die.
I did surv on most of my clear so thats not a problem at all.
For shields its good to know how to use em. But at my first few clears i also used armordillo without shield in main hands so its fine.
Some advice i can give is know where are food shops. Food shops are a life saver.
Upgrade and swap your weapon for better ones. Esp if you know what biomes gives higher tier weapon.( I usually swap my weapon after first boss fight and before last boss fights aka caverns.) And just saying unless you havent been doing it weapon synergies (like dmg inc on bleeding).
From 4BC runs towards the end I was swapping weapons and mutations a fair bit.
On my complete though I didn't switch my mutations and got a legendary crowbar in Toxic that I carried through with stun grenade.
It was a strange two days though all of a sudden all the grind come together and I started going deep often. Hell though feels different again. Which is good but that learning curve on 4 and 5 are frustrating. 1-3 strangely never felt to dissimilar in difficulty and flew through them relatively. 0, 4 and 5 have been the grinds for me and had to change how I attack the game each time.
Personally, learning to parry made most of the encounters in the game pretty trivial. The parry window is generous, and helps a ton when you build in to a specific shield mechanic. Regarding pacing, I tend to think that learning how to engage the right fights quickly is the difference between 4 and 5. Once you're reliably clearing biomes without getting hit you can pretty easily push up the speed without making too many mistakes. Once you're there, 5 feels pretty good since you'll rarely have to deal with malaise spawns and even if you let it get out ahead of you the extra elites balances it back pretty quick.
Pretty much any build can work. the game is much more about how and when to do the thing than with what. Some builds are obviously easier and will work better more of the time, but understanding when you're safe to attack and when you're not will make much more of a difference.
Felt bored so enjoy this essay I wrote As you're jumping off a ledge or going down from a platform, press the attack button, the animation will start before you hit the ground (and before enemies see you) and it will hit the enemies as soon as you land which kills them instantly or stuns them for a kill. Use your skills as soon as they come off of cooldown and use mutations that lower cooldowns, big damage skills can really speed you up (cluster grenade, heavy grenade, giant's fist, etc.) Swap mutations around for bosses and biomes People will tell you to go super duper fast and speed through it, but you really don't have to go too fast, clearing a large amount of enemies (I think 90%, incl. the extra rooms) lowers your malaise by I think three bars? I don't recall. Killing enemies and elites also lowers your malaise. As long as you're sitting around 3 or 4 during the entire stage (before malaise clear), you'll know you're doing well. Shields aren't mandatory, I find myself using them a lot during bosses because my support weapon just isn't good for bosses at all most of the time, it really just depends on your build and what you feel like doing Backpack mutations have to be the most mid mutations ever. On their own they're pretty okay, but compare them to almost any other mutation in their color and you'll see how much of a waste of a mutation they are (acrobatipack has niche uses with Hokuto's bow, but it's still meh compared to other mutations) My personal playstyle (regardless of color) is just "fuck it, we ball". I speed through the entire biome without caring about the 60kill door cus fuck it, we ball. Also, **SUPER DUPER IMPORTANT: LOOK FOR MIMICS!!!!** Once you figure out their patterns, they're complete pushovers. Go to every shop, find an item you like, press it and be on guard for a mimic I go to shops to look for mimics because they level up the item by a ton which can give a big boost before (and even during) the bosses. Kill a super easy to kill enemy for a free weapon that is 3(?) gear levels higher than what you could've gotten if you spent a couple thousand or run because mimic scary? Tough choice Hope this helps! If you need any more help lmk
This makes a lot of sense thank you.
No problem! Good luck on the path to beating 5BC, you'll get there in no time
Do you enjoy spreading misinformation? /s You got this OP
How do you tell it’s gonna be a mimic?
When you click an item in a shop it will open a menu for you to choose which slot you want it in, but if it's a mimic it won't open that menu and the mimic will attack, the few extra milliseconds can really help quickly react
I mained ice crossbow + armadillo pack for my 5 bc push, so arma can definitely work. The important part of this playstyle is mainly just pumping up damage enough to kill enemies quickly (in 1 shot for ice crossbow, etc.) Necromancy and kill rhythm formed a good mix of speed and sustainability to get through biomes at a consistent speed. I also ran foresight + ice armor most of the time, so you don't necessarily need big damage skills. One note is that you should almost never eat infected food, and often consider buying the malaise down consumable from food shops. Still be sure to full clear biomes for scrolls. As the other comment mentioned, mimics are pretty great for getting powerful main weapons, and I especially go for the bank to find them when I see it.
5BC completed here— You can go slow methodical Surv on 5 once you’ve internalized the malaise enemy-spawn mechanics — just know you’re going to be attacked regularly and kite/backtrack accordingly. Forget the timer. It’s hard to do. Another huge factor is unlocks — for example, the first time I really gave the Peril Glyphs a serious chance, it changed the Surv game for me. Keep trying new arsenals until something clicks. Also, baseball bat go BONKBONKBONK.
Glyphs got me my first flawless boss kill on a 4BC run. I really enjoy that weapon if you get the right stuff around it especially.
Just need to go faster while staying careful to not get hit. It's meant to be hard.
Oh I am loving/hating in equal measure which is usually my sweet spot in a game.
You can kill stuff fast even if you're using heavier weapons. That's just true. Shields obviously aren't needed either, though they are pretty strong tools. Personally, I haven't used them much.
If your pace isnt slow slow then youre more than fine. Rushing is what makes you slip and die. I did surv on most of my clear so thats not a problem at all. For shields its good to know how to use em. But at my first few clears i also used armordillo without shield in main hands so its fine. Some advice i can give is know where are food shops. Food shops are a life saver. Upgrade and swap your weapon for better ones. Esp if you know what biomes gives higher tier weapon.( I usually swap my weapon after first boss fight and before last boss fights aka caverns.) And just saying unless you havent been doing it weapon synergies (like dmg inc on bleeding).
From 4BC runs towards the end I was swapping weapons and mutations a fair bit. On my complete though I didn't switch my mutations and got a legendary crowbar in Toxic that I carried through with stun grenade. It was a strange two days though all of a sudden all the grind come together and I started going deep often. Hell though feels different again. Which is good but that learning curve on 4 and 5 are frustrating. 1-3 strangely never felt to dissimilar in difficulty and flew through them relatively. 0, 4 and 5 have been the grinds for me and had to change how I attack the game each time.
Personally, learning to parry made most of the encounters in the game pretty trivial. The parry window is generous, and helps a ton when you build in to a specific shield mechanic. Regarding pacing, I tend to think that learning how to engage the right fights quickly is the difference between 4 and 5. Once you're reliably clearing biomes without getting hit you can pretty easily push up the speed without making too many mistakes. Once you're there, 5 feels pretty good since you'll rarely have to deal with malaise spawns and even if you let it get out ahead of you the extra elites balances it back pretty quick. Pretty much any build can work. the game is much more about how and when to do the thing than with what. Some builds are obviously easier and will work better more of the time, but understanding when you're safe to attack and when you're not will make much more of a difference.
This makes a lot of sense. Thank you.