Remnant: From The Ashes is a third-person Soulslike horror game with lots of action, nightmarish bosses, and unique weapons. Players that descend into the onslaught of content in this game will encounter a post-apocalyptic world that’s been overrun by creatures from another dimension.
It can be a tough game at times, especially with its unique combat, and many players are thrown by how steep the curve is to become a strong survivor in this miserable world. That being said there are some general tips to get beginners started in Remnant: From the Ashes or even just some lesser-known tips that'll help experienced players overcome that barrier holding them back.
Updated April 6th, 2023 by Jacob Buchalter: As of the last couple of months (at the time of updating this), Remnant has been seeing a brand new resurgence. The game finally got a Nintendo Switch port, tons of new people are experiencing the game, and it even has a sequel in the works. That said, Remnant looks like a standard Soulslike game on the outside, but its gameplay is radically different than what fans of that genre likely expect, simply due to the fact that players will be using guns primarily instead of melee weapons. Additionally, the way this game's roguelite aspects are set up can also confuse many players, so let's go over a few of the best tips to help make that initial period of learning all the quirks of Remnant: From the Ashes just a bit easier.
15 Avoid The Impulse To Use A Controller
This may seem a bit backward for a Soulslike game, but it's highly recommended to avoid using a controller with Remnant: From the Ashes, at least for those on PC. While almost every other game in this sub-genre is massively improved by using a controller because of dodge timing and combat in general, Remnant is the opposite.
This is simply because Remnant has one specific gameplay mechanic that separates it from all the other Soulslikes, it's a third-person shooter. While there are ranged builds in other games like it, such as Bow builds in Dark Souls or even something funnier like Jar Cannon builds in Elden Ring, Remnant is a game where the core gameplay loop demands very precise aim, and that seems to be something that'll only increase with new classes in the sequel game. And, using a controller to aim when there's a mouse and keyboard nearby just doesn't make any sense. Of course, on consoles, this doesn't really apply as console games/ports are designed around players using controllers and the aim assist is a lot better overall.
14 Have A 'Rainy Day' Loadout
This next tip will be useful in most of the other games similar to Remnant as well, and it's the concept of a 'backup loadout' or 'rainy day build'. While players can easily get through multiple playthroughs of Remant or its various modes, be it Adventure, Hardcore, or Survival with one core build, that doesn't mean it's the most 'optimal' way.
Some bosses are very resistant to certain damage types, some are weak against specific elements, and others take critical damage in spots that aren't just their head. And, in those circumstances, it's great to have an alternative setup 'on call' that players can quickly switch to for the relevant fight before switching back. This is especially true for melee builds, as there are a handful of bosses that pure-melee builds won't even be able to attack, such as the Ixillis fight. Even outside of melee builds, sometimes its just better to switch to a sniper-type gun instead of a shotgun-type one for specific boss battles.
13 Join & Help Other Players
Not only is this just a great tip that improves the Remnant community as a whole, but it actually goes a long way towards helping completionists collect everything in this game (which is very difficult) or just helping newer players get used to the game. Remnant: From the Ashes has a lobby-based multiplayer system, which means players can actively search for open lobbies. And, while they're in these lobbies and playing with random players, they'll still gain all the resources they normally would such as XP, item pickups, and more.
And, where this especially comes in handy is when players join lobbies where the host is going through a version of a Realm the player hasn't seen before. This way, players can experience all the variants and permutations Remnant offers for the 5 separate Realms without having to constantly re-roll their own Realms. It's especially helpful because as soon as any one person picks an item up, the rest of the party receives the item as well, which includes gear and equipment. Here's hoping that Remnant 2 is a day one Game Pass release, as doing so will massively increase the amount of co-op and party play the game gets on launch.
12 Take Your Time
Again, this will probably seem like a common sense sort of tip for some players, but it still absolutely needs to be said for those who think that trying to speedrun these types of games is the best way to get through them with minimal roadblocks. As far as Soulslike games go, Remnant: From the Ashes might have the highest amount of replayability due to all the level permutations, Adventure Mode, Survival Mode, Hardcore Mode, and all the different potential builds.
There are hundreds of items in the game including armor sets, rings, amulets, weapons, Weapon Mods, and more. Not only that, but each Realm has a large 'pool' of potential zones and events the player will encounter as well as Dungeon and World Bosses. So, there's no reason to rush through the game, as it's quite literally 'designed' for players to be able to sink hundreds of hours into it. And, the players that do take their time and check every corner will find themselves with so many more options in terms of build variety thanks to their extra pieces of Equipment.
11 Upgrade The Dragon Heart Whenever Possible
The Dragon Heart is the lifeline for all Remnant players, as it's this game's version of an Estus Flask. But the default 3 charges this thing has is just not enough, especially for newer players getting used to the game's combat. So, it should be a top priority to upgrade the Dragon Heart as soon as possible, which is done by using Simulacrums at the Root Mother NPC once she appears in Ward 13.
That said, Simulacrums are hard to come by and even when they are found it might feel more tempting to use them to instead upgrade a weapon to the max level. But, it truly is more immediately beneficial to use Simulacrum to upgrade their Dragon Heart. There are plenty of different ways to 'farm' Simulacrum to make this easier, but a lot of these methods tend to turn the game into a tedious grind, so it's better to just play through Adventure Mode whenever possible and slowly build up this resource that way if players really just want to get their Dragon Heart upgrades out of the way.
10 Go Trait Hunting
Unlike how other games in this genre have the same old basic stats such as Strength, Intelligence, Luck, and so on, Remnant uses the Trait system. These 'Traits' impact a gigantic range of different stats and are unlocked in a variety of different ways while playing through the game, whether that's by beating a boss or by finding some secret item. Because of this, it's honestly worth it for players to look up Traits and see which ones fit their intended 'build' the best. Or, at the very least, see what Traits would impact the build they want to go for the most.
So many players have spent all their hard-earned Trait Points on the best Traits they have available only to find that the Trait they wanted most could've been unlocked so much earlier. With that in mind, doing a bit of research to see what Traits look the most appealing to a player, and how those Traits are unlocked, can have a huge impact on a player's experience with Remnant overall. For example, the Cold as Ice trait makes a massive impact on the playthrough of someone who wants to sneak around a bit more, so learning that it's found on Earth by encountering Brabus with a co-op partner is something that's worth knowing ahead of time.
9 Weapon Mods Should Almost Always Be Used Off Cooldown
Weapon Mods are powerful alterations to weapons that grant special abilities for all sorts of different effects. To give a few examples:
- The Undying mod can bring a player back from death (once per 'life') with a third of their health, extra damage reduction, and brief immunity to status effects.
- A variety of Mods such as Seed Caller or Beckon summon enemies that are allied to the player character and fight enemies completely on their own. Imagine running multiple Summon Mods in Remnant 2 on the Handler Class, the game would basically play itself at that point.
- There's even a mod called 'Banish' that literally banishes the enemy hit by it to a different realm for 4 seconds, before coming back weaker than before and taking more damage from gunfire for a brief period of time.
A common mistake newer Remnant players seem to make is that they try and 'save' their Weapon Mods for difficult moments. While keeping one of the two Weapon Mods active at all times is a decent strategy, the game encourages liberal use of the Weapon Mods. Cooldowns for these abilities are never very long, and there are tons of different ways to reduce these cooldowns even further.
8 Do Some Grinding
Remnant: From the Ashes is a game that works off of an XP system. And, with every level players get Trait Points they can use to increase their stats through the leveling of different Traits. Remnant is also a game where stopping for a bit and doing some XP grinding can absolutely help players that are struggling with the difficulty overcome that issue.
It's very easy to 'grind' in this game, even more so if the player is open to using the Lobby System and joining random other Remnant players. So, if ever there's a time where a player is stuck on a difficult section, just step back, grind some XP in a different Realm/area, and come back.
7 Break Everything That Can Be Broken
Speaking of exploration, an important thing to keep an eye out for is crates, boxes, and any other breakable objects. Spread throughout each of the 5 Realms of this game are thousands and thousands of breakable objects hiding Scrap or other Crafting Materials that players can simply shoot or roll through to break. In Rhom alone, there are hundreds upon hundreds of little pots, boxes, and other small objects in each house that players can individually break to steadily farm a ton of Scrap and Crafting Materials.
And, the way players interact with these breakable objects differs from player to player as well. Some use a basic pistol to break everything and rely more on their Long Gun for combat while others have a Melee Weapon equipped with some large AoE attack to slam around and break multiple objects at once.
6 Learn Weak Spots
Every enemy in this game has a weak spot, from the lowly critters to the massive bosses everything has a weakness that can be exploited for greater damage. Learning and remembering weak spots can be critical for quickly taking down tough opponents, conserving ammo, or just removing annoyances a little faster.
For the majority of creatures the head is a weak point but take a moment to safely and carefully experiment with weak points and crit damage to figure it all out. For future reference, red damage numbers mean that the area being hit is a weak point while yellow numbers mean that the damage has just crit, and these are two different things.
5 Upgrade As Soon As You Can
A big part of the player's strength as a character is reliant upon the strength of their weapons. A player may have put a ton of Trait Points into Bark Skin and Vigor to survive longer, but that won't matter if it takes them 3 times as long to kill an enemy as it should.
It might be tempting to conserve resources for better weapons, but this is largely unnecessary. The basic crafting materials are found incredibly easily and it's not too difficult to farm the more advanced materials either. So, spend those resources on weapons as soon as they're gathered, as this is the easiest way to enjoy the game more and also get the most out of each weapon.
4 Become Familiar With Ward 13
Ward 13 is the 'Hub Area' of Remnant. This is where all the shops, NPCs, and major story events are. Still, many players make the mistake of just going there for what they need and not giving it any more thought. But, remember, this game incentivizes exploration so it only makes sense that Ward 13 would also have a lot left to be explored. And thankfully it does, and players who find this out early will get a huge advantage over players who don't.
This is because players who routinely explore this area throughout the game will uncover helpful secrets, new Traits, and even extra weapons.
3 Rerolling Is Usually A Trap
The game presents the opportunity to reroll a world to create a new environment and populate it with new enemies, zones, and events. Frankly, this reroll system is one of the most unique things Remnant adds to the Soulslike genre. That said, it can be a trap at times to reroll in this game, as it won't make the Realm any easier, just different.
Plus, if players are rerolling to find new events, bosses, and items that they didn't encounter the first time through, that's exactly what the public lobbies are for. Join random players instead and use their rerolled worlds to search for new items instead.
2 Prioritize Vigor
Arguably every trait in the game has its use and would work as the focus of its own build, but the Vigor Trait is pretty much universally worth maxing out early on. And, the reason for this is simple, Vigor is the HP stat, and more HP equals more time spent alive.
Sure it’s also important to level up Endurance for added stamina, Scavenger for more scrap to cut down on farming, and so on. But, those can be leveled up at any point to slowly start showing their benefits while leveling up Vigor early can show massive immediate benefits.
1 Learn To Love The Randomness
Players coming in from similar games like Dark Souls or even Bloodborne will be surprised by the randomly generated levels and some will be horrified to find that walkthroughs are sort of broken up into pieces depending on the world generation each player has.
Be prepared for this and embrace this unique feature. Yes, it may make things confusing or tedious at times, but this randomness is one of the biggest reasons why Remnant is so replayable and also so fun with each replay. One of the greatest experiences in this game is beating it and then hopping into a friend’s world and somehow having an entirely different experience with different events, zones, and bosses. Embrace the chaotic nature of this game and it'll be a lot more fun as a result.
Remnant: From The Ashes was released on August 16, 2019, and is available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.