Risk of Rain 2 Is So Back

The other week Risk of Rain 2 dropped its newest DLC. I enjoy Risk of Rain 2, but I have to admit that I haven’t touched the game in a while, and the DLC’s release kind of caught me off-guard. The last time I really got into it was around the time the “Seekers of the Storm” DLC launched. That being said, the new “Alloyed Collective” DLC definitely impressed me, and I’ve been having a lot of fun with it ever since it launched.

“Alloyed Collective” introduces two new survivors, and these are the most impactful additions in my opinion. First is Operator, whose focus is on recruiting all the drones around the map. Operator is fun. Drones had been an area of the gameplay that I previously neglected, but they’re a lot of fun, and this DLC made them even better. Another major focus and inclusion of the DLC is the addition of seven new drone types. They all feel strong and interesting in their own unique ways, and I’m glad drones received some attention. They were an untapped niche that this DLC does a good job of fleshing out. You can also upgrade drones now by combining duplicate ones together, resulting in a stronger version. Again, it’s a really cool new addition that adds some interesting depth to the game. The other new survivor is Drifter, and she is very silly. She boasts some crazy abilities, with her focus being on a resource called junk that she collects by attacking things. She can use junk to bypass skill cooldowns and spawn temporary items. I’ll touch on those in a minute. She can also kidnap enemies, or almost any item on the map, with her sack and use them to bludgeon other enemies to death, or just throw them off a cliff. Drifter is a ridiculous survivor, both in terms of how funny her abilities can and how strong she actually is.

“Alloyed Collective” also introduces a new type of item: temporary items. Temporary items are exactly what they sound like–regular items that you can only have temporarily. On paper, this doesn’t sound very interesting, but in practice they’re a lot stronger than I gave them credit for. Temporary items are primarily spawned by Drifter and Junk Drones, and when they’re spawned, it’s usually in batches of four. However, they don’t start disappearing until after you pick them up, so you can quite literally fill an entire map with temporary items before grabbing them all. Temporary items also don’t decay all at once but instead decay one stack at a time. You can also extend temporary item duration through other items, which can end up snowballing into pure insanity where your temporary items effectively become permanent.

Just like with the previous DLCs, “Alloyed Collective” includes a new final boss, and plenty of content leading up to it. There are a few new stages that you can encounter normally through just playing the game, and they aren’t bad by any means. It’s always nice when new stages get added because it can really make your average run feel fresh again. The progression to reach the new final boss, Solus Heart, can be rough. Once you go through the new portal introduced in the DLC, whether it spawns naturally or you interact with the new Data Node present on various maps, you need to navigate a sprawling map, collecting a specific new item that drops from enemies and placing them down to progress. It’s interesting because most Risk of Rain 2 stages tend to devolve into “find the teleporter; kill the boss; move on,” so it is refreshing having something that feels more like an objective that you need to complete in order to progress. This stage ends with a teleporter event, but it gets interrupted by a surprise boss fight. It’s a cool bait-and-switch that can be quite intense. After the first stage, you get to fight the Solus Wing. Solus Wing is a massive Solus unit the size of a room, and while it remains stationary, its AOE attacks are absolutely devastating. It can be a very tough fight, but it’s a lot of fun. After Solus Wing, you’re actually able to unlock Drifter by solving a puzzle, which is cool because it means Drifter isn’t locked behind the actual final boss. After defeating Solus Wing, you receive an item that you can take through a portal. You end up in an area that’s very neon and computery (think the Vex network from Destiny 2). If you take the Solus Wing item to the hidden chef waiting behind a waterfall, you can combine it with some other items, then present it to another NPC. You’re then transported to the final boss of the DLC: Solus Heart. Solus Heart is really cool aesthetically, even if the fight quickly devolves into a “I have no idea what’s going on.” He’s definitely challenging for sure, but overall he’s another stellar final boss fight.

Since “Alloyed Collective” is focused on the Solus enemies, there are a bunch of new ones. The two most deserving of discussion are the guys that spawn landmines and the invalidators. There are others, like the drillers, but they’re fine. The landmine guys can be very dangerous since they pump out mines, but they aren’t the worst by any means. They definitely make for a unique challenge. The invalidators are rough. They charge up an attack that will disable all of you items for three seconds. It’s just as scary as it sounds, which has quickly turned them into kill on sight enemies for me whenever I’m playing.

Turning to the items, “Alloyed Collective” adds in quite a few. The common items include Eclipse Life (gain a small barrier when a skill comes off cooldown) and Hiker’s Boots (higher crit chance and damage when attacking from above). Both are good and have their uses, though I find Eclipse Life a bit more useful, at least in the early game. Uncommon items include Box of Dynamite (get a new drone and your drones drop bombs on enemies), Collector’s Compulsion (picking up items temporary buffs stats), Faraday Spur (sprinting charges it and can make you move faster and jump higher, discharging electricity the next time you jump and resetting the charge), and Kinetic Dampener (gives you shield and you deal AOE damage when your shield breaks). Again, these items are all pretty solid. I do find Collector’s Compulsion to be one of the more forgettable ones, but it can definitely have its uses on characters like Drifter. Legendary items include Networked Suffering (infect enemies and chain damage to them), Orphaned Core (spawns a friendly Solus unit that slams into enemies; yes you can pet the friendly Solus unit), and Substandard Duplicator (picking up an item creates a temporary copy and extends the duration of temporary items). The legendaries are all super solid and a ton of fun. There are a few new boss items, though some of them aren’t meant to be hoarded like a normal item, but are instead supposed to be used to progress in a stage or access a secret boss. The two real new boss items include Faulty Conductor (release energy AOEs that buff electric damage) and Functional Coupler (you can hold another equipment). Both are good. There is one new piece of equipment with the Deus Ex Machina (lets you parry all damage, giving you a bunch of buffs for your next attack). It’s not bad, but I struggle to use it effectively. Finally, there is one new lunar item with Neutronium Weight (the weight is passed around between you and enemies, lowering the holder’s stats). It sounds like a very silly item, thought I must admit that I don’t really use lunar items very much.

Overall, “Alloyed Collective” is a good DLC. For $15, it’s a great deal. It introduces enough new content to add some more variety into the game. And just like with some of the previous DLC content, it’s so well-implemented that sometimes I have to double-check if a stage or enemy or item is new from the DLC or had always been in the game. That’s a pretty good sign in terms balance and implementation. If you’re a fan of roguelikes, and especially Risk of Rain 2, give “Alloyed Collective” a shot. It’s definitely worth the price. I’ve been having a ton of fun with it, and I look forward to doing more with it in the future.