Risk of Rain Analysis and Videos Index

This was something of an experiment, one I consider a useful learning experience but not an example to be imitated. I held myself to a once-a-day update schedule for it, but proved unable to sustain that for more than a month, having spent a month beforehand prepping. Similarly, in part due to said pace and in part deliberately, I veered away from my usual wordy style, which doesn't seem to have made these posts particularly more appealing and has left me dissatisfied with how un-analytical the posts themselves are -I may someday do a new, more wordy and analytical set of posts for Risk of Rain, as it's a game I feel merits such.

Still, if you mostly want to see videos of the gameplay in action without anyone talking over them, this series is functional enough.

Basic

I started out with a vanilla run of each character, to provide a baseline.

 

Commando analysis and vanilla run. I also go over some basics of the game and opinions therein.

Bandit analysis and vanilla run. I also touch on Boar Beach, since I got into it in this run.

Enforcer analysis and vanilla run. I'm still surprised Providence is susceptible to so many status effects.

Sniper analysis and vanilla run. I also delve into damage mechanics a bit, because it's important to understanding the Sniper's strengths. (And weaknesses)

Acrid analysis and vanilla run. Acrid's cool, I like Acrid.

Huntress analysis and vanilla run. My personal favorite class.

CHEF analysis and vanilla run. I still don't get why CHEF's numbers are so absurdly uneven.

Engineer analysis and vanilla run. Mobile, yet not, vulnerable, yet not.

Miner analysis and vanilla run. I really wish the Miner was better and more interesting to play...

HAN-D analysis and vanilla run. HAN-D is such a fun idea, and can even be fun to play late in a run, but wow is it hampered by default.

Loader analysis and vanilla run. I quite like the Loader.

Mercenary analysis and vanilla run. The Commando of melee classes, except not as bad as that sounds.

Artifacts

I then moved on to showing off the assorted Artifacts, holding myself to not repeating characters. Artifacts, by the way, being optional modifiers for a run that you have to unlock by finding them in the game world. I don't show off how to acquire most of them, in part because I'd gotten them all before I started recording these videos and would've had to erase my progress to be able to show getting them, and in part because there's enough RNG to acquiring any given one that it wouldn't have been a particularly smooth process.

Glass Enforcer. The funnest, best-designed Artifact.

Spite Huntress. One of the least interesting, least fun Artifacts, unless you just enjoy chaotic messes that regularly kill you. I also touch on how enemy generation is handled.

Honor Sniper. I also show off a failed Bandit run, and a Glass+Honor Loader run.

Kin Bandit. I delve a bit more into spawn mechanics, because they're very important to how Kin plays out.

Distortion Chef. Did you know Distortion lowers the cooldown on skills? Neither did I before this video!... I also included a Glass Distortion Commando as a comparison point.

Enigma Acrid. Could've been a much more interesting Artifact with just a minor tweak...

Sacrifice Loader. I like the idea of Sacrifice, but its actual execution is so frustrating.

Command Engineer. I talk a lot about the implications, jank, and interesting elements of Command. I also show off a Glass+Command Commando run to show off how much the Commando benefits from those two Artifacts, as well as a Glass+Command Bandit run to show off the potential to one-shot Providence via Crowbar abuse.

Spirit Miner. Spirit is one of the weirder Artifacts, which makes it surprising how uninteresting it ends up in practice.

Origin

Origin is the one Artifact I did show off how to unlock, starting off with the character I felt was best-suited to making it happen. Then, once I'd actually showed off Origin itself, I went on a mad streak of recording runs for every character unlocking Origin, pretty much entirely for the sake of challenging myself.

There also ended up being a couple of miscellaneous runs stuffed into this portion of things: one showing off looping some, and another I did purely for my own enjoyment but uploaded anyway.

Unlocking Origin Sniper. Showing off how you unlock the Origin Artifact, and explaining the mechanics in more detail. And also complaining about what an unpleasant mess actually doing so. Including several failed runs to show just how bad it can be.

Origin Huntress. And then Origin isn't even an interesting, worthwhile Artifact!

Unlocking Origin HAN-D. Yes, I did insist on a series of runs showing off what unlocking Origin looks like with other classes at the wheel, having complained extensively about how badly designed unlocking Origin is.

Unlocking Origin CHEF. Spite Bombs...

Unlocking Origin Huntress. Parent Spite Bombs are horrific.

Unlocking Origin Commando. Dozens of tries to get there, but I managed it. It is possible without demanding godly luck.

Unlocking Origin Bandit. Almost as rough as the Commando, surprisingly.

Unlocking Origin Enforcer. Yes, I did this to myself.

Unlocking Origin Acrid. If you just want to get Origin unlocked with minimal fuss, Acrid is my go-to recommendation. He's probably the best-suited of the lot.

Unlocking Origin Mercenary. Painfully bad at the job.

Unlocking Origin Engineer. Did you know Elder Lemurians do percentile damage on their attack, instead of raw damage? Did you know their Spite Bombs inherit this? Yeah, that's why them releasing dozens of Spit Bombs is so incredibly prone to instagibbing you. No amount of HP is adequate protection.

Looping Glass Mercenary. Done for fun as a break from my attempts to do an Unlocking Origin Miner run.

Unlocking Origin Miner. The final Unlocking Origin video done! With arguably the worst class at the job!

Glass Huntress. A for-fun run I posted much later than the rest of these, basically because I lost track of it.