Remnant: From the Ashes is a Dark Souls-esque survival shooter that’s best played with your gamer squad. It’s free on Epic Games from now until the 20th of August so remember to download it! Remnant: From the Ashes is set in a post-apocalyptic nightmare world where you and your team will face off against a race of tree-like creatures called the Root. Vicious giant monsters from another dimension that is nothing to be scoffed at. Comparing any game to Dark Souls instantly means one thing, it’s going to be tough. Don’t let the steep learning curve of this game throw you though. With this guide, we’re going to help you be the strongest survivor in this dangerous world.
Your Starting Archetype
In the beginning, you’ll be given the choice between 3 Archetypes. Each Archetype comes with a different set of weapons and abilities. Choosing one will give you a taste of the different archetypes you can build into in Remnant. But you are by no means bound to the class you choose. The ONLY difference between the classes is how many points are pre-loaded into your starting traits. This is a minimal difference in the grand scheme of things and only applies to your first playthrough. You’ll be able to unlock everything from the other Archetypes later on. Don’t worry about the starting classes. But just to go through everything here are the available archetypes you can choose from.
Scrapper
The Scrapper starts with a Shotgun and gear set that encourages fighting closer to enemies for more damage. It also has one of my favorite weapon mods: Hot Shot. It adds fire damage to your ammo and has a chance to set your target on fire.
Ex-Cultist
The Ex-Cultist starts with a double-barreled Coach Gun and gear set to help charge your weapon mod. They’re known as the support class since their starting weapon mod puts a healing aura on the ground. This is also a favorite weapon mod for many even playing solo since it helps in tough situations.
Hunter
The Hunter starts with a Hunting Rifle and gear set that increases weak spot damage. Their starting weapon mod reveals all nearby enemies and increases your critical hit chance against them to 100 percent. I picked the Hunter first because I thought they looked cool. In reality, the Hunting Rifle is a strong weapon if you can aim well.
Focus Traits Early On Vigor & Endurance
When you first create a character, you’ll have three traits. Two of these traits are always the same regardless of the character: Vigor and Endurance. I can’t emphasize how important these two are because they play a role in your game at all times. As your character progresses, you’ll earn Trait Points that you can use to enhance your various skills and stats.
Vigor increases your health by 2.5 per point. It should go without saying that a larger health pool is always better. In addition to becoming harder to kill, you’ll rely less on consumable items and your Dragon Heart.
Endurance increases your stamina by 2.5 per point. Your stamina drains when running or dodging. Increased stamina means you can dodge more, and in some boss fights, you’ll want it. It gives you room to make a mistake when you have extra. Also, it makes running around a whole lot less frustrating when you don’t run out immediately.
Remember that you can respec your traits, so don’t worry too much about what build you go for at the beginning. Put your points into what you think will be most useful and you can undo any regrets later on.
Learn To Dodge and Roll
Like any Souls-like game, most enemies are capable of knocking off chunks of health in a matter of seconds and the same is true with Remnant: From the Ashes. To dodge an attack by pressing the dodge button without also pressing a direction (which would normally make you roll).
You’ll want to roll when you’re up against enemies that do a kind of power charge move. They’ll leap into the air, charge your position, or otherwise telegraph a powerful move before actually throwing a punch. In these instances, it’s good to roll out of the way as the attack is landing to avoid any damage.
You will need to dodge against repeatedly attacking enemies. So ones that will swing two to three times after closing the distance. These enemies tend to come in packs. Coming from all sides, their multiple strikes push you around. It’s in these instances that you’ll want to refrain from rolling, instead go for a dodge.
Remember to Melee
Ammo can be precious in Remnant: From the Ashes, so make sure to remember to use your melee attack. Not only does good damage but it can also conserve your bullets. If you find yourself up against a small handful of weaker enemies, it might be best to take them out with your melee attack. Obviously you should never put yourself in danger to save yourself some bullets. It’s better to use them on enemies and get to a checkpoint for a refill then die because you didn’t want to waste the ammo for your Ruin. But whenever possible start smashing and slicing to build up your ammo supply.
Weak Spots
Every enemy in this game has a weak spot, from the lowly critters to the massive bosses everything has a weakness that can be exploited for greater damage. Learning and remembering weak spots can be critical for quickly taking down tough opponents, conserving ammo, or just removing annoyances a little faster. For the majority of creatures, the head is a weak point. But you’ll want to experiment with each enemies weak points until you’re confident you know what to aim for.
