In this Remnant II Beginner Guide, we will be covering the essential things that you need to know before your very first playthrough of the anticipated sequel to Remnant: From the Ashes. We will focus on the things that you should be doing first as a new player in Remnant II, as well as Difficulty Modes, Level Progression, Archetypes, Build Optimization, and more helpful information that you need to know to get up to speed and make out most of your time from your very first moments.

Remnant II Beginner Guide – What’s New in Remnant 2?

The world of Remnant II is a perilous and complex one thus, getting overwhelmed when starting your playthrough is expected. Its main level progression tends to be convoluted mostly in the early parts of the game. The goal is for you to have a solid foundation and a solid understanding of what you should be doing first as a new player. We will also provide a brief overview of each Class. So you will know which one to choose depending on your playstyle. Later on, we will be covering more detailed Builds so stay tuned for that. But for now if you’re interested in picking up the game, you can use the link here to support the channel!

1. Which Difficulty To Choose in Remnant II?

In Remnant II, players will be given the chance to select the level of difficulty they will tackle which varies from Survivor, Veteran, and Nightmare. Survivor is the easiest difficulty. While Nightmare is the hardest selectable difficulty at the beginning, since Apocalypse is not immediately available.

Remnant II can be unforgiving due to its nature of being a Soulslike game, and if you are new to the franchise and haven’t played the previous title, Survivor difficulty is the way to go since it provides an easier gradient to understand how the game works and learn its mechanics. While for players who are looking for a challenge in general, playing on Veteran is what is recommended. Enemies and Bosses will hit harder compared to the Survivor difficulty, and it provides a balanced and demanding experience. Nightmare is not recommended until you have leveled up and acquired better equipment!

2. What Mode to Focus First in Remnant II?

As players progress through the game, game modes will eventually be unlocked, and there are two major modes in Remnant II: Main Campaign and Adventure Mode. I suggest focusing on Main Campaign first, especially for beginners, as it provides clear objectives that are easy to follow.

Adventure Mode on the other hand is like a “quick match” or arcade mode where players can dive into a specific world and complete its main objectives. This is helpful when hunting for specific loot or aiming to delve into a specific dungeon which we will talk more about later on. It is worth noting that the progress of the Main Campaign and Adventure Mode both have their own independent progress, progress that can be reset in the main hub which is Ward 13, while retaining your overall character progress.

3. How Does Level Progression Go in Remnant II? 

Remnant II’s character progression relies a bit on RNG. Instead of creating a massive world and putting in dungeons and areas for players to clear or explore in the order they see fit, progression is randomized so that in every playthrough, different versions of the same world will have different scenarios, enemies, dungeons, and even map layouts. Thus, looking for a specific dungeon to get specific loot may be time-consuming, since you will often need to “reroll” worlds many times to find what you are searching for. If you decide to do so, playing in Adventure Mode is the way to go since you can access different randomized worlds per “reroll” while retaining your Main Campaign progress.

4. Basic Starting Class Overview in Remnant II

In Remnant II, players can access four to five classes to start with depending on whether or not you pre-ordered the game. Starting classes are the Hunter, Challenger, Handler, Medic, the Gunslinger. Each class has a specific role in battle, especially when playing with others.

The Hunter is good at dealing damage from a distance, marking targets, using sniper rifles, regular rifles, and other weapons. The Medic helps the team by giving them helpful boosts like reducing damage and healing them when they’re badly hurt. The Handler is a versatile class that fights alongside a trusted companion, which can provide buffs to the party’s offense and defense. The Challenger specializes in close to mid-range combat with shotguns and similar weapons. It has impressive skills with melee weapons and can absorb damage and protect the party as a tank.

Lastly is the Gunslinger, which you can play from the beginning of you pre-ordered the game. It is a pure DPS Archetype that deals a hefty amount of damage during enemy encounters, focusing on reloading, quick weapon swaps, and massive critical hits, perfect for DPS-type oriented players. As mentioned, these are just basic overviews of the starting classes, and others can be unlocked by playing the game.

5. How to get More Archetypes

Having more Archetypes to experiment with as a starting player is a must, and this is one of the things that I wish I would have known from the start. Players can unlock more Archetypes by getting Engrams scattered around the worlds that they will be exploring. Engrams are special items or crafting materials that need to be crafted by Wallace in Ward 13.  Once crafted, players can change their main Archetype in the Archetype menu or even equip it as a second Archetype.

To be able to equip 2 types of Archetypes is one of the best additions of Remnant II. Mixing and matching Archetype combinations brings value and more gameplay hours on the table, and most of the starting Class Engrams are available in Ward 13. Players can buy the Rusty Medal from Brabus to unlock the Hunter Archetype, The Old Metal from Reggie Malone to unlock the Challenger Archetype, and the Medic Pin from Dr. Norah that unlocks the Medic Archetype.

6. Don’t Be Afraid To Spend Your Trait Points

Traits are very useful passive abilities that players can level up and take advantage of. Players will start with four basic Traits at the beginning of their first playthrough which are Vigor, Endurance, Spirit, and Expertise. It is a must to concentrate on these basic Traits at the beginning, when no other Traits are available, since they will make your life much easier while you find new ones.

Getting new Traits is possible by exploring the available worlds, and you gain Trait Points by finding Tomes of Knowledge along the way. Don’t hesitate to spend these Trait Points on our suggested Traits since you can always reset your Traits anytime by speaking to Wallace in Ward 13 with the use of crafting materials. This allows you to get stronger early on, and then change your build as you find better Traits later in the game.

7. Check Cass For Easy Crafting Materials

Cass is one of your main supporting NPCs in the game and she has set up her own shop in Ward 13. Whenever you return to the main hub, be sure to check her out as she offers crafting materials to upgrade your weaponry and even accessories such as Rings. She replenishes her wares after some time and this may help your progress significantly in terms of weapon upgrades rather than relying on random chests or loot when exploring the various worlds of the game. Following this tip will save you time especially when upgrading multiple weapons simultaneously.

8. Armors Set Changes

The Armor Set system has been tweaked in Remnant II and Armor no longer provides Set bonuses. Armor Pieces still have stats and overall elemental resistance however, each piece cannot be upgraded. In this manner, players have been given the freedom to customize their looks without worrying about any kind of set bonuses like in the previous title. One determining factor, however, is the total weight of the Armor you’ve equipped, as this affects your rolling capabilities. Armor sets can be acquired when exploring the world or buying the basic sets from Whisper in Ward 13.

9. Getting More Weapons

As a new player, experimenting with different kinds of Weapons and Archetypes is going to be a normal thing during your first playthrough. Weapons can be earned by getting special crafting materials that drop from main campaign Bosses. After getting a special crafting material, Ava Mccabe in Ward 13 can craft and turn these into a weapon for you. Or talk to Brabus which sells a handful of standard weapons that synergize well with most of the basic Archetypes available in the early game. Each weapon type has its strengths and weaknesses, and finding the right weapon for your desired build may take time and Brabus’ collection of weapons will give you a head start when grinding in the early game, before you’ve acquired better ones.

10. Pay Attention To Your Weapon Upgrades

Mods in Remnant II are one of the major determining factors that affect character builds, thus understanding the effects of these Mods and what they can bring to the table will yield great results. For example, having a character build that focuses on critical hits and weakness damage, may find the Bore Mod extremely useful. What this Mod does is inflict continuous damage to a target while exposing its weakness for a short period. While the weakness is exposed, players can burst their targets down within seconds or deal a significant amount of damage to bosses. Note that Unique Weapons have fixed Mods, just like the first title, and you cannot change these.

A new addition to Remnant II, is Mutators. Mutators can further enhance your Weapons as they add more stats or passive abilities, and each weapon has a Mutator slot, including Unique Weapons. You can find more Mutators from Dwell in Ward 13 or by finding secret areas around the game that contain Abberations, and defeating them.

You can even upgrade Mutators improving their effects, but upgrading these Mutators takes time since it requires rare materials such as Corrupted Lumenite Crystals and Relic Dust. Hence, carefully selecting the correct Mutator for your build and focusing on it will yield better results than trying to upgrade several Mutators at a time. When a mutator reaches its maximum level which is level 10, it will unlock an additional effect, and these are extremely powerful in most cases, so you’ll be wanting to level these up as quickly as you can.

11. Choose The Right Relic For Your Character

Players will have a Dragon Heart as their first Relic in Remnant II, and its main purpose is to restore your Health Points in combat when you have taken severe damage. However, as you progress, you will get different types of Relics that provide added abilities such as a temporary boost to defense, or other offensive types of buffs. Finding the right Relic for your build will help tremendously as each of these Relics is tailored to specific jobs. Like the Crystal Heart Relic that regenerates 100% of the user’s health over 10 seconds, while reducing overall movement speed by 50% and reducing damage received by 25%. This fits tanky builds such as the Challenger which fights at close range and does not need to move around a lot.

You will also gain Relic Fragments that can be slotted to your current Relic that further boost your stats. This is just another way in which Remnant II increases character customization, which helps improve build diversity.

12. Find The Right Build For You

Lastly, optimizing character builds is one of the core mechanics of Remnant II and finding the right build that will suit your playstyle will take time and is usually a rigorous process. It is ok to use whatever you have in the early game, but once you’ve explored a few worlds and gained more equipment and Traits, you will begin to form the concept of your first Build.

Once you’ve begun this process, not only will your character perform better in Combat, but you will also have a better experience overall. Better character builds can clear advanced content such as higher difficulties or beat more challenging end game Bosses. A half-baked build will only get you so far since enemies get stronger and tankier as you progress. So carefully inspect and play with your current equipment pool and see what you have and start from there.

We’ll also have several Build Guides out over the next week or two, so if you’re looking for good Build ideas then keep an eye on the channel, and hopefully one of them strikes your fancy or at least points you in the right direction with your own Build. And if you need further assistance, be sure to check out the Wiki which should be updated very shortly with all the equipment in the game, as well as their locations.

That goes for our Remnant II Beginner Guide. These tips will equip you and point you in the right direction before starting your first playthrough. If you have questions, let us know in the comments we would like to hear from you.

If you’re looking for info on weapons, armor, builds, locations and more head to our Remnant 2 wiki for all the latest.