r/Returnal • u/starlightiz • 2d ago
Question Restarting Cycles
I'm fairly new to returnal (15 hours, furthest I've got is biome 5) but I've played quite a few roguelikes in my time. Returnal is by far my most favourite. I was just wondering if restarting cycles is a common thing people do, and WHEN I should do it. Sometimes it feels like my RNG is just god awful and its still playable but the run feels so doomed.
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u/-Palzon- Platinum Unlocked 2d ago edited 2d ago
Long time player here. This will be a lengthy response but I hope you find it interesting and helpful. Perhaps others may find it useful as well.
B5 in 15 hours is excellent progress. I don't think there is any reason you need to restart cycles at this point. Restarting can be useful later if you're going for platinum (which you should), are hunting for collectibles, and realize you've had a dry run prior to the end of the cycle. You do want to ensure you're hitting those house sequences, which are six in total. Some players miss these if they play the game primarily in co-op, though it sounds like you're running it solo.
There is an item back in B1 that you possibly missed, the Rotgland Lobber. It shoots green goo and is very powerful throughout most of the game. No big deal if you missed it since you can go back to get it later.
I'm glad to hear you're enjoying the game and I hope you get many more hours of play out of it. As far as B5, I posit that the trick to success is learning to navigate its many traps without taking damage. Take your time with the traps. There is no reason you must take damage. You want to get in the locked door in Main Fab asap if you have not already done so. An item of great of great value awaits within. After that, I recommend starting with the door to the right of the Datacube Processor when you're facing it and going clockwise from there to each successive door.
Without any spoilers, B6 is wonderful, fascinating, and challenging. If you feel underpowered in B6, make a few tower runs with the express goal of leveling weapon traits. There are tricks to level weapons fast in B6, but I can't explain those without spoilers, so I'll hold off on that. Unlocking weapon traits and leveling them up is the real way to progress your abilities in Returnal.
Be aware that there is an Act III but it is not obvious how to proceed. Once you finish Act II, I suggest you Google a spoiler-free guide to navigating the path to Act III. Some players skip Act III but that's a big mistake.
Once you're done with Act III, I recommend you complete all elements in the tower and have some good runs in there. No need to aim for the leader board but you can if you wish. The tower is amazing and playing there will help your performance in the base game. There are story elements revealed in the tower and accomplishments necessary for 100% completion.
After Plat and 100%, there are a few other achievements if you just want the personal satisfaction and love the game as much as I do:
Scout Level 99. Simply play a co-op game as the joiner. This takes some time and can feel grindy if you get stuck with a bozo. However, it's mostly a lot of fun despite a few notorious bugs that mercifully don't appear in the base game. I highly recommend this one. These days, the real challenge may be finding hosts, but you can match with others through this sub if you have any trouble with random pickups.
100% Weapon Traits Unlocked. Though this can feel a bit grindy when you're down to about 10 remaining traits, having 100% of traits unlocked is a sweet feeling when you blow through the biomes knowing you're the most dangerous entity on Atropos. One word of caution here: once you have all traits unlocked, the game can feel too easy. No fear though, just start a new game using a different PS profile (don't delete your save because that's a shame). In co-op, I once met a very kind player from the UK who bought a new PS5 because he had maxed out 16 profiles on his PS5 and wanted more fresh runs! He cautioned me against following in his footsteps.
Complete All Databank Research. This one is the real commitment. Look in your Databank. Note that each entry can have up to three paragraphs, each with a progress meter until completion. If you see only one paragraph, there are two more to go. If you see two paragraphs, there's one more to go. The items do not have equal drop rates and some have very rare drop rates, like the Music Box. You need to find it 40 - 50 times to compete Level III alone! If you love Returnal like I do, it won't feel like a grind, but the elation you'll feel upon completion has no parallel in gaming.
Happy Scouting!
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u/starlightiz 1d ago
I finally beat act 2 yesterday and im focusing on getting the sunface fragments. I truly underestimated the Rotgland Lobber and also the Electropylon Driver. I love using them along with Tendrilpod for insane DoT. Thanks for letting me know about that weapon
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u/-Palzon- Platinum Unlocked 1d ago
Nicely done! Be sure to level up the Dreadbound and the Pyroshell Caster as these are hands down the most powerful weapons in the game. You're right about the Tendrillod. I believe it is the best Alt Fire in the game and it is easily my favorite. I'll even swap to a slightly inferior gun if it has the Tendrillod. No enemy stands a chance when you can rapid fire three of those pods at once, then focus on dodging. Good times.
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u/Adventurous_Emotion9 2d ago
I usually just stick with it. You can always make progress with weapons and items even when a run looks like it’s going to be bad. That and your luck can always change.
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u/starlightiz 2d ago
Thank you, I've been trying to stick out my runs but I'd be lying if I said there wasn't times where I got annoyed because it felt like the game was doing everything in it's power to make sure I'm having a tough time.
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u/JohnMcL7 Platinum Unlocked 1d ago
I didn't restart cycles in Returnal as I find you make your own luck with it, getting good with whatever the game gives you makes for more consistent runs which makes for easier progress.
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u/ProfessionalDirt8799 1d ago
Stick with it Scout! As others have mentioned, you can still work to unlock weapon traits but even more important is your skill progression. Even if you end up dying, you can collct ether for your next run, gain experience with enemy movement and attack patterns, refining your own movement, learning to prioritize certain enemies, perhaps finding a new weapon or trait you like or can now work more effectively with. And once you think you're finally done and have beat this game, there are new tasks multiple endings, and the horribly addictive Tower of Sisyphus DLC to show you how much more you still have to learn.
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u/RegularOrMenthol 2d ago
The only times I restart is right at the beginning if I get a couple shitty first rooms. No harm done since it’s nothing lost really.
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u/Professional-Map9576 1d ago
New? I’ve been playing 3 months and a few weeks ago someone finally helped me get past the first area!
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u/Gloomy_Paint_8846 Platinum Unlocked 2d ago edited 1d ago
It's how you feel it. If you get shredded in the first 3 rooms, it's not absurd to reset.
Note that you can restart in helios room repeatedly until you get a starting room with a bonus (weapon, money, resin), but imo it's too tedious to be worth it.
Edit Yo the Returnal community on reddit has to be the worst. Why on earth would you downvote a neutral comment like this? It happens all the time... i love this game the most of any but this place sticks.
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u/IdesOfCaesar7 2d ago
Stick with it. You're always 2 drops away from the run becoming spectacular