If you're just getting started in Cellar Door Games' Rogue Legacy 2, you might notice that things are quite difficult right from the start. There are many options available, and there is no definitive “best” option for courses. Especially if you haven't played the first game, you might not know what to expect to move forward to the best of your ability.
We're here to help with this tips guide, which includes tips for getting started in Rogue Legacy 2, including how the game works, what features to look for, the best upgrades to buy, and the best strategy for your runs.
The game is still very early in Early Access on Steam (sorry, folks: it's not on PS4, Xbox One, or Switch yet). He has a relatively long roadmap ahead of him, so things are subject to change. However, it should get you started no matter which patch or update you use.
How Rogue Legacy 2 works
Not to be too specific here, but you should know how your executions work in Rogue Legacy 2. Every time you enter the castle, you will encounter a series of procedurally generated rooms in which you will find gold, monsters , traps and more. Eventually you will die and bring all that gold back with you to the start. It's a roguelike after all.
But this is where things get interesting.
You can spend this gold on upgrades and gear, making your characters stronger for later runs. However, you have to spend it all (well, almost everything; more on that in a bit) because once you pass the screens where you can buy things, all of your gold is confiscated from Charon, the boatman.
This means that each run gives you a chance to be at least a little stronger, but upgrades get more expensive as you start buying more. You'll need long runs to gather enough gold to unlock everything!
With class
When choosing your character at the start of each run, you'll have a number of different classes to choose from, provided you've accumulated the appropriate upgrades from previous runs. Classes behave the same way, but there are a few key differences.
Knight
The Knight is the base class in the game, maneuverable with decent health and damage. The knight's talent allows you to block incoming attacks. It's a versatile class that's solid in everything and great for beginners learning the ropes.
Barbarous
The Barbarian is the strongest class with the highest health. It has a spin attack when jumping, allowing you to deal a ton of damage to multiple enemies in the air. However, you only accumulate mana when performing your regular standing attack, so keep that in mind. The Barbarian's talent is a shout that knocks down projectiles and briefly freezes enemies.
stomach
As expected, the mage is skilled in magic but physically weak. The mage's normal attack is a short-range blast that deals solid damage but is very weak up close. This class generates mana very quickly, but it has the lowest health in the game. The mage talent gives it two different spells, allowing you to put all that extra mana to good use.
Cleaning
The most unique class, the ranger wields a high damage bow and arrow. You can aim your shots to attack from afar, but the tradeoff is that you can't move while attacking. The ranger talent allows you to place a platform that provides safe ground to take out enemies.
Upgrades you should buy in Rogue Legacy 2
At the start of each run, you will be able to purchase upgrades for your castle, runes, and equipment. Many castle upgrades have multiple iterations, so you can increase your damage, health, mana, and other related attributes multiple times. However, there are a few that you should prioritize.
You'll probably want to unlock classes first. This way you can find out your favorite style of play and try to highlight it. There are four classes available in the initial early access release of Rogue Legacy 2, with more on the way in future updates.
Another important upgrade is the Living Safe upgrade. When you normally start a new run, any gold you cannot spend is lost. With the Living Safe upgrade, a percentage of this gold is transferred to later runs. When upgrades start to get expensive, you'll be very happy to have it.
Otherwise, buy upgrades as you can and focus on the ones that will benefit your preferred way of playing the most. If you like big hitters, increase your damage to destroy enemies faster. If you like casting spells, increase your magic.
The blacksmith and the enchantress offer extremely powerful upgrades, in the form of equipment or runes. You'll need to find them during races and then pay a good chunk of gold to unlock them. However, they are usually extremely powerful and we recommend that you always prioritize them over castle upgrades.
Every run in Rogue Legacy 2 is randomly generated, but you will start to see certain rooms that you recognize. If you find a particularly delicate part, it's probably complicated for a good reason – there's something important in it. It could be objects, secrets. Here are some things to watch out for:
Special Chests
If there's a chest in a particularly hard-to-reach area, chances are it contains an Equipment Blueprint, which you can then purchase from the Blacksmith. These unlock strong stat boosts for characters.
Fairy Chests
These are located in certain rooms, there will be special criteria to access them. You have to cross an area without taking damage or reach the chest within a set amount of time, for example. Fairy Chests almost always contain Runes, which you can then purchase from the Enchantress in future runs.
Inheritance
Heirlooms look like statues that, when approached, allow you to enter a special dungeon. Heirlooms are important for progressions and, like upgrades, only need to be unlocked once to be available to all characters.
There are two heirlooms in the game currently: Aesop's Tome and Ananke's Shawl. The tome allows you to read the mysterious "whispers" you encounter, giving you chunks of lore and unlocking certain areas. The shawl gives you the dash ability, which you will definitely rely on. You need to unlock both heirlooms to open the door to the first boss.
secret doors
You will sometimes find hidden passages in Rogue Legacy 2. You can identify most of them by the texture of the wall which looks a bit different, but some are completely hidden. Hit them with magic to open them; there is usually a very good treasure hidden inside.
Have a plan for every race
As you progress through Rogue Legacy 2, you'll begin to understand your playstyle. Once you've done this, it's much easier to differentiate if a run will be an "economy" run or a run. "progressive".
Economy races are all about winning as much gold as possible. This means working in every room, killing every enemy, attempting every Fairy Chest challenge, etc. These are reserved if you get a character with traits that give you a nice gold boost, or if you're stuck with a class that maybe isn't your best. You can always squeeze yourself out of an economy a bit.
As you begin to understand your style, you will also begin to care about certain classes, traits, and spells. If you find a character that you think will give you a good chance on a boss you haven't taken down yet, that's progress.
These races aim to avoid danger as much as possible to have all your stock of resources when you arrive at a boss. Try to find your way around difficult rooms, check your map often, and try to locate the boss room as quickly as possible. Also be aware that progress can turn into business cycles if things don't quite go your way.
It helps to learn how all moves and classes play. The platforming in Rogue Legacy 2 is fair but unforgiving, so mastering the range of your draw or drop hitbox is key to stringing together strong runs. Learn each class's talent, as some are more intuitive than others. However, they are all useful in the right situations.
That should be more than enough to get you going in Rogue Legacy 2. For even more helpful articles, like our Traits guide, check out our RL2 guides page. May all your runs earn you enough gold for a new upgrade!
