PlayStation Official Returnal Discussion

[Dinkin_Flicka]

Man I haven't even ventured back into Act I in a while. Weapons being so low leveled annoyed me. But I am burned out from running those weapon leveling up runs. I am actually breaking the game when i am doing my runs. It stutters and freezes hard at in some of my runs. I guess have several dozens of weapons on the ground is fucking up with this game. Might be a glitch with the latest patch..

I do need to go back to biome 1 but i ran into some REALLY hard mid bosses with some shitty weapons and i couldn't kill them and fled back to Act 2. I do have to go back and finish up my trophies...

I still haven't patched my game so the debug mode is still active in my game. I started in act 2 and made it to biome 6, then used the debug restart back to biome 1, but the debug restart keeps all of your gear. So I pretty much went back to the start with max proficiency and tons of artifacts. I'm just blasting through the early content with end game traits just flying through the Act I biomes. Blitz through the 3rd biome and debug restart. Takes about 45ish minutes and found a few of the needed research items, but even with the debug mode it's still a slog.

 

[SaiWa]

I still haven't patched my game so the debug mode is still active in my game. I started in act 2 and made it to biome 6, then used the debug restart back to biome 1, but the debug restart keeps all of your gear. So I pretty much went back to the start with max proficiency and tons of artifacts. I'm just blasting through the early content with end game traits just flying through the Act I biomes. Blitz through the 3rd biome and debug restart. Takes about 45ish minutes and found a few of the needed research items, but even with the debug mode it's still a slog.

i hate u.. lol

 

[SwamiLeoni]

I spend so much time leveling up in Biome one just to level up my integrity for biome 3 and I either die on the way to the boss from those heatseeking drones or die at the boss. Those things are ridiculous. There is so much to love about this game and one thing I’ve noticed are the gun selections. People seem to have differing opinions on the best gun which is a good thing. Personally, I’ve gotten used to the Rotgland lobber. It’s almost cheat mode because you just need to hit smaller enemies one and bigger ones a couple of times. It really frees you up from having to focus fire on an enemy until they’re down. That said, I’m not sure how effective it is against bosses.

I think these next play throughs I’ll try to find a stronger gun in Biome 3 and just find a way to cheese if possible. Nemesis isn’t super strong but I’m always low life or get a bad roll by the time I get to him. I have noticed that saving keys for red doors is something to focus on.

 

[SaiWa]

I spend so much time leveling up in Biome one just to level up my integrity for biome 3 and I either die on the way to the boss from those heatseeking drones or die at the boss. Those things are ridiculous. There is so much to love about this game and one thing I’ve noticed are the gun selections. People seem to have differing opinions on the best gun which is a good thing. Personally, I’ve gotten used to the Rotgland lobber. It’s almost cheat mode because you just need to hit smaller enemies one and bigger ones a couple of times. It really frees you up from having to focus fire on an enemy until they’re down. That said, I’m not sure how effective it is against bosses.

I think these next play throughs I’ll try to find a stronger gun in Biome 3 and just find a way to cheese if possible. Nemesis isn’t super strong but I’m always low life or get a bad roll by the time I get to him. I have noticed that saving keys for red doors is something to focus on.

Don't get discouraged. It's normal. The RNG on weapons plays a big part in this. Once you level several different types of guns you'll have insurance on that RNG.

Those headseeking drones are a bitch. Cheese the shit out of them. Walk slowly forward and it'll trigger a few instead a bunch of them. Don't be afraid of falling back hard and fast and let them chase you. And when i say falling back i mean swing out of the area you're in and make them bitches come to u. No shame in it.

 

[SwamiLeoni]

Don't get discouraged. It's normal. The RNG on weapons plays a big part in this. Once you level several different types of guns you'll have insurance on that RNG.

Those headseeking drones are a bitch. Cheese the shit out of them. Walk slowly forward and it'll trigger a few instead a bunch of them. Don't be afraid of falling back hard and fast and let them chase you. And when i say falling back i mean swing out of the area you're in and make them bitches come to u. No shame in it.

Thanks for the tips. I usually cheese those things as much as possible, but getting caught out in the open is usually what gets me (like on the bridge). What are your tips on those big dude with the machine guns? Would you recommend leveling up a gun prior to jumping into the boss? The last few times my weapon has been level 9 or 10.

 

[SaiWa]

Thanks for the tips. I usually cheese those things as much as possible, but getting caught out in the open is usually what gets me (like on the bridge). What are your tips on those big dude with the machine guns? Would you recommend leveling up a gun prior to jumping into the boss? The last few times my weapon has been level 9 or 10.

It's all about making sure you have something to protect you. Don't get caught in the open. There is generally always something for you to hide behind. The side/corner of a wall, a pillar, etc... Back off hard and fast and lead them towards something you can protect yourself against. You die if you are out in the open like that cause he'll shoot and shoot for a while before reloading. I think its near impossible to dodge the continuous hail of firing from that dude. At least i have never managed to successful dodge it. You can use angles. Like in one room (biome 6) all i had was a set of stairs (that go up to a platform and stairs that go back down. everything else was out in the open) so i would be on the stairs while he's on the ground or vice versa and i position myself so the stairs are blocking his shots and fire back immediately as soon as he's reloading. I play very defensively against that machine gun dude.

I mean sometimes you caught in the open and there's nothing you can do but it's very rare and you just have to retreat and shoot from afar... that's what i do unless i geared to the max (re-heal from killing, great weapons, etc..) and looking for a fight.

 

[Dinkin_Flicka]

Thanks for the tips. I usually cheese those things as much as possible, but getting caught out in the open is usually what gets me (like on the bridge). What are your tips on those big dude with the machine guns? Would you recommend leveling up a gun prior to jumping into the boss? The last few times my weapon has been level 9 or 10.

Miya situational due to the RNG, but if you can get your hands on an Electropylon Driver or Rotgland Globber, it really allows you to utilize cover. They both do a ton of damage over time, so you can pop from cover and unload some quick shots, then stay behind cover as the DoT’s do their work. They work great against smaller enemies too where your not so concerned with taking cover from high damage attacks, where you can tag mobs with an initial volley and let the DoT do the work while you concentrate on dodging fire.

another trait to look out for on the Carbine is Leech Rounds. Applies health back as you inflict damage. Great trait to keep your health topped off and can apply resin to health upgrades rather than restoring health.

 

[SaiWa]

if you get hit with a malfunction and you have to collect obelites to resolve it then you can collect the purple contaminated obelites without getting hit with any additional malfunctions till the first malfunction goes away. A few runs I needed more obelites and just started grabbing the purple large ones and noticed I wouldn’t get hit with more malfunctions when it was that specific one.

 

[SwamiLeoni]

Thanks guys. Took my time in Biome 3, cleared everything with the Rot and found a lvl 15 thermo gun for Nemesis. It was a little difficult fighting him with it since the missiles love ledges but I was pretty stocked with health vials. Taking cover and cheesing was definitely the best method. I was able to kill one of those giant clunkers through a door because his arm was stuck with the Rot. Biome 4 looks creepy and just picked up the electro gun. Curious how difficult this one is going to be. Appreciate the tips!

 

[Dinkin_Flicka]

Nice! Clearing the 3rd biome really feels like a huge hurdle cleared in the game. Biome 4 is actually pretty tame in comparison. I found Biome 5 to be the hardest, a lot more of the those missile drones. Same hit and run tactics work well using weapons with DoT and taking advantage of doors. Nice thing is though that the 5th biome doesn't have a boss, so when you finally make your way through the level you get a hit of a break.

 

[SaiWa]

Nice! Clearing the 3rd biome really feels like a huge hurdle cleared in the game. Biome 4 is actually pretty tame in comparison. I found Biome 5 to be the hardest, a lot more of the those missile drones. Same hit and run tactics work well using weapons with DoT and taking advantage of doors. Nice thing is though that the 5th biome doesn't have a boss, so when you finally make your way through the level you get a hit of a break.

don’t spoil it for him! (5th biome lol)

 

[Dinkin_Flicka]

Whoops, I get excited sometimes.

 

[Fraz]

Fs did like 3 runs trying to find the sunface fragment in abyssal scar and can't get the room it's in, is it sometimes behind the locked doors? Every time I go to abysal scar I never seem to have any keys.

 

[SaiWa]

Fs did like 3 runs trying to find the sunface fragment in abyssal scar and can't get the room it's in, is it sometimes behind the locked doors? Every time I go to abysal scar I never seem to have any keys.

it shouldn't be. you need to look for a light off the side that switches on lighted platforms and jump around to a small area/real platform where it'll be there. it won't show up on your map. you have to keep an eye out for it - check corners, areas beneath you. check every corner of the map and then look on the sides. most of the time i saw that "platform" in the areas before the first giant drop.

 

[Fraz]

it shouldn't be. you need to look for a light off the side that switches on lighted platforms and jump around to a small area/real platform where it'll be there. it won't show up on your map. you have to keep an eye out for it - check corners, areas beneath you. check every corner of the map and then look on the sides. most of the time i saw that "platform" in the areas before the first giant drop.

I found it like ten seconds after reading your post no joke lol

 

[SwamiLeoni]

Thanks guys, I knew one of the Biomes only had starred rooms. I cleared Biome 4 with absolute ease, it was ridiculous. It was far an away the easiest Biome for me. Barely broke a sweat. Now onto 5. I hate those dudes with the swords. They’re difficult to cheese because they’ll chase you through doors.

 

[SwamiLeoni]

Finished Biome 5 within a few tries. I must have had a good roll clearing out Biome 4. I was close to dying against the boss room with the 3 or 4 elites, but made sure I left some health when I didn’t need it the arena. The augment that gives you health per adrenaline level makes you pretty OP. Mix that in with the lobber and cover fire and you’re pretty much unstoppable through the level.

So far, the Biomes from easiest to hardest

4 > 1 > 2 > 5 > 3. The Drones in 5 are sooo much easier than the drones in 3. Not even close.

 

[Dinkin_Flicka]

I found 6 to be easier than 5 if you go in prepared. If you start a fresh run and take the short cuts to rush into 6, you can get smoked pretty easy. A few of the enemies launch the pink heat speaking shots that hit you with a malfunction that's super fucking annoying. The large orb enemies change their attacks up as well and launch this shock wave attack that goes across an X/Y axis and launch wave after wave after wave that seem to travel forever. Easy enough to avoid if you take out from a distance and alone, but when you get dropped in a tight area with lots of enemies they can really wreck your day.

 

[SwamiLeoni]

I found 6 to be easier than 5 if you go in prepared. If you start a fresh run and take the short cuts to rush into 6, you can get smoked pretty easy. A few of the enemies launch the pink heat speaking shots that hit you with a malfunction that's super fucking annoying. The large orb enemies change their attacks up as well and launch this shock wave attack that goes across an X/Y axis and launch wave after wave after wave that seem to travel forever. Easy enough to avoid if you take out from a distance and alone, but when you get dropped in a tight area with lots of enemies they can really wreck your day.

I did a run through 4,5 & 6 in one go. The first act was more difficult overall I felt. Biomes 2 & 3 were harder than 4 & 5 or 5 & 6, imo. I’m not one to replay games after I finish them so I just watched a story explanation on YT. After knowing more, I thought the story was fantastic. Everything about this game was amazing and it had me complete hooked. What a sleeper and a fantastic ride. It was creepy and it had me jumping all over the place. The studio deserves all the credit in the world for this title and I’m glad Sony has recognized that and has added the game to their top IPs.

You do become a bit OP with the damage siphon tbh. Insanely strong perk. The lobber probably wasn’t the best gun going into the final boss. I had a 4 perk hallowseeker close by that I decided to pass on but thinking back, it was the better choice considering the mechanics. So far, this is my GOTY. Decided to move into Control now. Days of play almost got me to pick up Phoenix Rising but I have a very large backlog.

 

[SaiWa]

I did a run through 4,5 & 6 in one go. The first act was more difficult overall I felt. Biomes 2 & 3 were harder than 4 & 5 or 5 & 6, imo. I’m not one to replay games after I finish them so I just watched a story explanation on YT. After knowing more, I thought the story was fantastic. Everything about this game was amazing and it had me complete hooked. What a sleeper and a fantastic ride. It was creepy and it had me jumping all over the place. The studio deserves all the credit in the world for this title and I’m glad Sony has recognized that and has added the game to their top IPs.

You do become a bit OP with the damage siphon tbh. Insanely strong perk. The lobber probably wasn’t the best gun going into the final boss. I had a 4 perk hallowseeker close by that I decided to pass on but thinking back, it was the better choice considering the mechanics. So far, this is my GOTY. Decided to move into Control now. Days of play almost got me to pick up Phoenix Rising but I have a very large backlog.

The Damage Siphon + Resin shield is the best IMO. You're walking into every encounter with a shield. I had a few runs with that combo and was literally full heath going into almost every room.