Topic: Returnal

@Tatarimokke Parasites can be great but you'll get to know which ones work for you or not. If there was ever one which would reduce melee damage then I'd not take it as I used melee a lot. Things like increase malignancy chances I'd probably give a go later on as I stopped opening malignant items. It's amazing how even the downsides aren't always that bad though. I did one run that I basically decided to take every parasite I found, I think it was to get the trophy for that, and I ended up pretty powerful because I'd managed to negate some of the negatives.

Definitely good to experiment with them.

@Tatarimokke hey, fellow person who played Returnal here. Just piping in to say best of luck with the game, stick with it if you're struggling it's well worth it. One of the best controlling games I've ever played.

To pitch in with meaningful stuff, I used to love parasites, but only if the negative was something that I have to choose to do that wasn't too important (it's been a while so can't remember a specific example) but if it's anything like silphium damage or fall damage I avoided like the plague. I used to like ones that gave me bonus on successful overloads.

@render has just given the specific example I was thinking of (thank you!), I would always pick up increased Malignancy if I liked the positive, as I just ignored Malignant items. I actually had a run that had full parasites, all with effects I liked. That was a good run...

@Voltan @Just_2_milky @render ok I see. Obviously I didn't experience a big range a parasites so far as I'm still at beginning of the game but I'll definitely use the little guys if I find them useful and not too harmful like the one I mentioned above.
About melee attack: I found it very useful in certain situation. It's a one hit kill on small enemies but also very effective against large ones. Like the green tree guy if you stagger him with an alt fire shot then you need just a few melee hit and he's down.
Another thing i was thinking. Is it worth spending your time in the first biome hoping you find a decent weapon or just go to second straight away? Usually there is an item right at the beginning of the 2nd biome which gives me 4-5 level upgrade to my actual weapon straight away then few rooms later there is a chest with a level 5-6 weapon. So basically the only reason for staying in the first biome to get some obolites and buy the health upgrade and vial. Or am i wrong?
@NedStarksGhost thank you my friend! I definitely won't quit for a while. I feel I am improving every day a little bit:)

@Tatarimokke About weapons: building up your weapon proficiency doesn't upgrade your current weapon - it makes any future weapon drops better. The modular calibrator at the beginning of biome 2 (and every other biome you get to, in fact) is always there and it actually always brings your weapon proficiency to a certain level. So if you enter biome 2 with weapon proficiency level 4, it will get you to level 5 but if you go straight there with level 1, it will still get you to level 5.
So no, weapon proficiency and weapons in general are not a reason to spend time in the first biome. That said, you might wanna do that to get some health upgrades and artifacts/consumables.

@Tatarimokke “prepping” in the earlier biomes let’s you build up obolites, items, and build your integrity up.

But it will take longer and can be HIGHLY infuriating to die while you’re on that run and not even in the biome you’re on.

@NedStarksGhost I think that you can mitigate the fall damage curse by hitting dash right before you land. I can’t be 100% sure on that but I think I tried it toward the end of my playthrough and was kicking myself for not taking that debuff on more often since it’s pretty easy to neutralize the effect with a well timed dash.

@Tatarimokke I usually did half of Biome 1 before going to Biome 2. Enough to get to the fabricator shop and at least buy one useful thing like integrity boost, an astronaut, a large silphium vial, or the blade balancer.
But yeah, don’t spend time there for purposes of leveling up weapon proficiency because you get the automatic calibrator to level 5 no matter what. Take advantage of the game’s charity there! 😄

Also I found that on average there were more weapon chests in the first half of Biome 2 than in all of Biome 1. Seems like I always had 2-3 great weapon options within the first few sections of Biome 2, and sometimes you can go through all of Biome 1 and only get 2 or 3 good weapon option in the whole dang biome.
There is lots of silphium deposits in that large open section at the beginning of B2 also. Look for the yellow rocks and the side buildings and the collapsing floors, etc. The openness of the area makes for much easier avoidance of the enemy attacks. And the flying things shoot a sheet of orbs that is laughably easy to just dash forward through to avoid. All in all, it’s my favorite place to level up, get some currency and decent weapons, and just have a good time. Now the second half of the biome is much more intense…. 😅

So definitely take advantage of that shortcut to Biome 2.

@NedStarksGhost @Th3solution Yes, if you dash before landing you negate all damage.

@Tatarimokke I would go straight to Biome 2 after clearing out all rooms as I go along that I had been in. If it was in the first room, I’ll clear that out, and move one. If it was in room 3, I’ll clear out room one, then go to 2, then clear 3, then go into the biome

@Just_2_milky @Th3solution yep you can, I just personally wasn't a fan of it as during combat that were usually enough to think about without having to think about having to dash before landing.

@Voltan @Th3solution @Just_2_milky @Thrillho yes that's what I'm doing. Spend as little time in biome 1. What I experienced in biome 2:
The first part of the biome ( until you need to teleport far away) is absolutely manageable but then it's getting more complicated. Those severed ones quite tough. I also run into a mini boss ( think it was, I've never seen enemy with orange health bar so far apart from bosses) just right before the boss battle so i was weakened enough to die in the second phase of the boss fight. But that's fine. Any idea how to avoid his rush attack? He's running from one corner to the other leaving some kind of energy wall behind him. I couldn't managed that. I'm on my second run in biome 2 at the moment so will see how far i can go this time. Also what's your opinion about the hollow gun? Its alt fire shoot seems quite powerful.

@Tatarimokke I actually have no advice on the second boss as I literally only fought him once
But FYI: alt-fires are not specific to a weapon type. Any weapon can have any of the alt-fires.
Also, the Hollowseeker was my favorite weapon in the game but it becomes way more powerful with some of the traits you can get at higher levels.

@Tatarimokke First off the Hollowseeker is one of my favorites. The accuracy is ‘meh’, but it unloads so many rounds that it doesn’t really matter. Also the traits can be absolute life-savors. There’s two traits, a turret, and a beam laser (forgetting the name now), which can independently fire at enemies while you’re running and dodging around. So it’s worth unlocking those traits ASAP.
And there is actually different alt-fires for all the weapons, so just like the traits on the gun are random, the alt-fire is too so won’t necessarily be the same the next time you find the gun.

As to the B2 boss — those rush attacks are actually easy to avoid if you position yourself on one side toward the end of the arena. The projectiles won’t really be able to reach you there. So you just need to not be running around in the middle of the arena with him during those attacks. It’s one of the battles where you need to actually be a little more still and patient and place yourself strategically during some of the phases.

Good job though ! Amazing that you’ve done so well! And yeah; the severed are effin’ horrible 😅

@Th3solution Pretty sure you don't unlock Portal Beam and Portal Turret until you reach Biome 4... but they are the better traits available.

@Tatarimokke Any thing that does continuous damage after you've stopped firing is your friend in this game. So at your point in the game the traits Serrates Projectiles will do this, but I also found Waves handy.

As for Alt-Fire, it is probably best to experiment a little with these to see which ones you prefer. I did find some more useful than others, and some guns I didn't bother with if they had a certain Alt-fire. But they can be really handy against more powerful foes.

@Voltan @Th3solution I was lucky enough to dispatch the second boss too on my second attempt. He was though but felt easier then Phrike. The hollowseeker is a fantastic weapon definitely my favorite so far!
Now head to biome 3! You guys said it's going to be challenging. Any specific thing I need to care of? Did you spend any time in biome 2 to strengthen up? I think I'm going to.
Thank you everyone for the tips, without you I would be still in biome 1 i guess...

@Tatarimokke watch out for the drones. They are the only enemy in that will be in the air, and when you have them with low health, they will come after you in a suicide mission

@Just_2_milky The drones made me take off a full mark from the game. Great game but f**k those drones.

@Tatarimokke how many deaths and how long you been playing now? You seem to be getting through it no problem

@Tatarimokke Well done on your progress with Ixion, great job dispatching it on your second try.

Regarding weapons, you will definitely find that your favourite changes depending on where you are in the game and also what traits you’ve got on it. It’s interesting that a month after the game was out the hollowseeker was the favourite weapon where as the last stats from housemarque now say it’s the carbine. I bounced from one to the other but generally have those that I just don’t bother with at all. Still can’t beat the Hollowseeker for controller feedback though.

@nessisonett Drones are d***s.

@Tatarimokke Yeah, if you get a room full of drones, run.
@nessisonett the drones are crazy in how much damage they do, and I think a part of it is the auto-lock has a hard time with them

Returnal has been sat in my backlog for about 4-5 months, but this thread has finally convinced me to kick it off!

After completing Sekiro (just one run, no plat) I needed a bit of a break from 'punishing' gaming - and have since completed FF7R/INTERmission and also Hades, both of which I loved.

Now I'm finally ready to take on something with more bite/challenge and this game is really fitting the bill for me.

Absolutely incredible from the start, and a great showcase for PS5 capabilities. The atmosphere is unlike anything I've played before... very 'Prometheus' with a twist of Souls-like. The controls are very tight, and it doesn't take long to understand the loop/concepts needed to prevail.

IMO the RNG isn't too unfair, with most of my runs seeming to be very 'middle-ground' as opposed to the extremes of good/bad.

I've been taking my time, soaking up the mechanics and having fun, now finally at the first boss (Phrike?). I've only tried once, with about half-integrity, but managed to get nearly to the end of phase 2... before getting smoked ha

Some questions I have -

• What weapons do people generally favor? I am leaning most towards the machine gun (Carbine?) but conscious this may not be the best choice for Phrike?
• How long before my consumables capacity can increase? Currently just have 1 slot... which of course I'm reserving for the Astronaut ha (when RNG permits...)
• Any general tips for strong runs and survival? I'm still on the fence about utilisation of anything that comes accompanied with malfunctions... many cases seem that the concession far outweighs the benefit?

(I'm a dirty casual gamer btw, but feel that if I can overcome Sekiro then this game should be doable?)

@CJD87 Welcome to the Returnal fandom! It’s a spectacular game. Glad you’re enjoying it so far. The fact you’ve made it to Phrike means you’re well in your way toward “gettin’ gud” but a few pointers that I’ve been giving have been — try to max your integrity as your main focus. It is the most valuable commodity in the game. I found success in clearing most Biomes by focusing on building that integrity bar, which means trying not to get hit because if you can stay at max integrity then the silphium pick-ups turn into resins and work toward adding more health. Then stop by the fabricator shop and get a large silphium vial and also the 20% (or whatever the percentage is, I forget) boost in integrity before going to the boss. And yes, definitely pick up the astronaut if it’s there. It’ll be tough to have enough obolites to afford those three things, but if you can save up for those I think that’s the best investment to get past Phrike. (And a similar strategy would apply to most of the bosses. The more health you have the better your chances)
And so, to clarify, the astronaut doesn’t take up a consumable slot. It’s actually an artifact.
I don’t remember when your consumable slots are upgraded. Seems like maybe you gain your first extra one after Biome 2, but I can’t remember. Your consumable capacity grows gradually through the game. Honestly, I never found consumables to be of much use, except of course for silphium vials. There are a few of the offensive ones that are nice in a pinch, but I never depended on any of them much.
At the stage you’re at now, the carbine is probably your best weapon against Phrike. The Spitmaw was one of my least favorite weapons in the game. As you progress, there are quite a few other weapons that are really great, but I used the Carbine off and on throughout the game.
And yes - you’re right about malfunctions. For the most part I found it was too risky to pick up malignant items. A bad malfunction can just ruin a run. If you’re desperate then sure, pick one up and just deal with the consequences as some of the clear criteria is pretty simple. But the closer you get to the boss, be less and less risky with picking those things up because it could ruin the chance at the boss if it’s something you don’t have time to clear off of.