The Whip is the first weapon players will use when playing Vampire Survivors for the first time. This is because there is only one character available for beginning players, Antonio. The Whip is Antonio's starting weapon, and many players consider it to be a middling weapon in terms of usefulness.

Perhaps it's because players start with the Whip that it has developed a less than desirable reputation. It's classic case wooden sword syndrome from Legend of Zelda: Link starts with the wooden sword, then over time gets better swords to replace his lowly starting weapon. The Whip is a great weapon in Vampire Survivors though, and through limit breaking, the player can easily complete a run only using this weapon. This can't be said for a lot of the other weapons in this game, but here's how to do it with the whip.

Getting Started

Selecting Antonio in Vampire Survivors

If the player wants to use the Whip and only the Whip on a run, they are limited to three characters: Antonio, Minna, and Big Trouser. Antonio starts with the Whip, and Minnah starts with the evolved form of the whip, called Bloody Tear. The third choice is one of the newest characters, Big Trouser, who starts with the Candy Box. The Candy Box allows the player to choose any unlocked base weapon.

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One alternative is to pick Divano, and hope to get the Whip as a choice with the free level at the start of the run. This will (hopefully) give the player the Laurel and the Whip. The Laurel can't be limit broken, so it won't interfere with the limit breaking options the player has with the Whip. However, other than a small boost to Luck (+30%), Divano's passive bonuses won't really improve the Whip's performance, and there's always a chance the player won't be offered the Whip with Divano's free level, even after exhausting their supply of Rerolls.

Big Trouser's passive bonuses are geared toward collecting gold, and (like Divano) will also not help the Whip perform better. This leaves Antonio and Minnah as the prime choices when deciding to use the Whip exclusively.

Limit Breaking The Whip

Limit breaking the Whip in Vampire Survivors

The Whip is a great starting weapon. It has a short cooldown time, a reasonably good reach, covers the left, right, and above sides of the character, and does decent damage. Players should have a fairly easy time until around ten minutes into a run. At this point, regardless of which stage the player chooses, the enemies will start becoming powerful enough to withstand multiple hits from the Whip before dying. However, there are ways to get around this problem.

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Passive Items

It is advisable to get the Spinach passive item, which increases the weapon's damage. Players should also get the passive item Torrona's Boxif it's offered — just be sure to banish it at level nine.

Other passive items that work well with the Whip include the Duplicator, Empty Tome, Candelabrador, Clover (for critical hits), and the Hollow Heart. The Hollow Heart in particular is necessary for evolving the Whip into Bloody Tear. The Silver Ring is also a great passive item when using the Whip, but not necessary.

How To Limit Break The Whip

When all items have been fully leveled and the player can start limit breaking the Whip, they should focus on Amount first, then Area, and then Might. Players should improve the Whip's Might for every two or three improvements made to its Area. The Amount upgrade should always be selected when offered. Raising the chance for a critical hit by 2.5% is also an option, but if the player has the Clover passive item or Slash arcana, this isn't needed.

Following this formula will eventually turn the Whip into a column of spinning whips that resemble helicopter blades. It is very easy to get the Whip's area to extend beyond the boundaries to the screen. Even enemies approaching from below will be unable to reach the character. The best arcanas to pick when using the Whip are: Slash, Sarabande of Healing (with Bloody Tear), and Beginning.

Vampire Survivors was released on December 17th, 2021, for the PC and macOS.

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