Here’s our Vampire Survivors beginner’s guide with five quick tips that will make you a better Vampire Survivor in no time.
1) Choose your character wisely!
Each run begins with your character selection. Vampire Survivors has 24 unlockable characters, as well as a handful of secret characters.
While you may be tempted to pick the coolest or best-dressed character, your choice of character will actually impact your game quite a bit. Each character starts with a different weapon and has a unique passive ability that enhances your playthrough in a different way.
At first, your only option is Antonio Belpaese. Unfortunately, his starting weapon, The Whip, is one of the weakest weapons available. Break away from Antonio as soon as you unlock anyone else.
Imelda Belpaese will more than likely be the first character you unlock, as she is available by default and costs only 10 gold. Imelda is actually a fantastic choice that you may just end up playing hours and hours with. This is because Imelda starts with the fantastic Magic Wand and has a passive that can help you unlock more items and gain more coins – very useful for your early playthroughs.
Once you get your footing and start gaining more and more gold, you’ll be able to unlock more characters.
Arca Ladonna costs a cool 500 gold and is unlocked by getting your Fire Wand to level four during any of your runs. She, like Imelda, is a fantastic choice due to her excellent starting weapon, The Fire Wand. Arca’s passive offers a 15% weapon cooldown reduction, which is an excellent stat that scales well with any load-out.
Mortaccio is another must-buy. He is unlocked by spending 500 gold after killing 3000 Skeletons cumulatively in your runs. Mortaccio’s passive is possibly the best in the game. During the course of your run, Mortaccio can obtain an additional three projectiles for his weapons, another passive that synergizes with any load-out.
While indeed some characters are objectively stronger than others, feel free to experiment and try out different options and load-outs. You don’t have to commit to any one character!
2) Choose the right map
In the beginning, your only option is to play through the haunting Mad Forest. Like your starting character, break away from the Mad Forest as soon as possible.
The Inlaid Library is the second level of Vampire Survivors, and it is arguably your best choice if you’re looking to succeed. Unlike most of the other maps, The Library is a strictly horizontal map and enemies cannot spawn from the top or bottom. As such, you do not need to be vigilant of every corner of the map and you can position with more ease.
Other maps are great for a challenge once you’ve outgrown the Library’s simplicity and relative safety.
3) The best defense is a good offense
It is easy to be tempted by items such as Garlic and the Laurel, because they increase your survivability. In truth, defensive items and passives only delay the inevitable. In Vampire Survivors, being able to instantly kill an enemy is far more valuable than being able to outrun them or sustain damage without getting a Game Over.
4) Get Powered Up
Once you’ve unlocked Imelda, save your coins and spend them on Power-Ups. Your character starts every run with your purchased Power-Ups. For early playthroughs, MoveSpeed and Magnet are the best choices. These will make positioning significantly easier, as the mobs will not be able to outrun you, and you won’t need to risk getting too close in order to pick up gems. Greed can be a worthwhile investment, as it will increase the number of coins you get each run.
Like with everything else in Vampire Survivors, feel free to experiment a little and see what you find the most success with. Luckily, you can refund your purchases at any time, so there’s plenty of room for trial and error.
5) Practice, practice, practice
The more you play, the better you get at positioning, and the more coins you earn for unlocking better characters and stronger Power-Ups. Vampire Survivors is a game that rewards perseverance.
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Vampire Survivors is available to play on Steam.