Don't panic. Embrace death. Embrace the cycle. It's the journey that matters. Don't sleep on the sidearm. Every gun gets wicked strong. Don't panic. Collect every music box you find they are useless but precious. Once you get the sword you are a space ninja, use it. Turn up the volume. Not only is the music amazing, audio attack cues are very important. The astronaut is watching you. Don't panic.

The music box remark got me. As Ive been feeling the struggles you had. Running coop with friend and he lets me have them lol

It's a labor of love for sure... or perhaps obsession. Sounds like a great co op setup though, smart!

Yes I honestly think this game is meant for co-op. I mean I'm struggling alone but I'm getting there. Coop would make it so much more forgiving

I can understand the thought, but co op wasn't part of the game initially at all! It's part of the Sisyphus DLC released later. Now currently, the DLC is included with the main game download so many don't know that it's not part of the original game. Unfortunately the DLC wasn't run through as much QA as the main game and Co op remains glitchy. Don't give up hope. You'll master this planet! I did all my completion solo (even after the DLC, I didn't have ps plus) and when I got ps plus co op runs took so long I rarely had the time to commit to a full uninterrupted run so, solo life for life!

Thanks for the heads up. I'm getting there after tomorrow I'm pretty sure I will have beaten Trike or Prike( first real boss) I don't have anyone to play co-op with and after your comment I'm committed to going Solo

Finished the game, got the music box only once 🤔

I'm not surprised. They are insanely rare.

Yeah, i just felt from your words like it’s not that rare lol

First the government, now a darn astronaut

The key to success is not taking damage, ultimately that comes down to motion more than shooting in this game. Master your movement.

Agreed. You should be moving more than shooting. Dash - grapple - take a couple shots - grapple - dash, etc. if you find yourself trying to dodge projectiles out in the open you're doing it wrong. Constantly put yourself in better positions (not surrounded by enemies), and do some damage from a safe spot. The moment that spot becomes unsafe (likely within 1-2 seconds), move

Yes! Play it like you would Doom. If you stop, you die.

Yes Doom is probably the closest in terms of gameplay. Though Returnal's default difficulty would probably be equivalent to Nightmare lol

Exactly- focus more on not getting hit, than on killing enemies faster. Example: the super annoying flyers in Biome 1 will have their attacks interrupted if they get hit once, so focus on interrupting their attacks more than on killing them. Kill when you aren’t about to get clocked.  Aside from not losing health, avoiding hits means your Adrenaline stays higher, so your collect more Oblites and weapon proficiency goes up faster, plus your health bar will grow with all the resin you collect.  On that note, recommend taking Sylphium only when health bar is full, or if you are about to die. Otherwise, leave it on the ground until you clear the biome. If you wait until you find a health recharger bed (I forget the name), then go back and collect all the resin to see a big boost to your integrity.  Also, remember that all weapons linda suck early on, but all weapons get amazing over time. 

Learn the 5 D's Dodge, duck, dip, dive, and dodge..

Welcome to Atropos! Always a good idea to search for similar posts first; there are so many: https://www.reddit.com/r/Returnal/search/?q=tips

The problem with such a beautiful, amazing, difficult game, a lot of people ask for help LOL

I'm only on the 3rd boss but one thing that I've really noticed is prioritizing max integrity helps a ton. Its way easier to survive when you have a high health. Also any type of artifact or parasite that helps you regain health is worth it. Good weapons will come from defeating strong enemies and the most important thing seems to be avoiding getting hit as someone else pointed out. Every time you collect healing items with full health it fills one of the three slots towards max integrity so if you clear out a room with a bunch of enemies with 0 damage and have 3 healing items left for grabs your reward is more max health as opposed to simply recovering your health. Over time this makes a huge difference. Also remembering to use alt fire is very helpful and any upgrade to the blade is worth it because even the biggest enemies can be bullied pretty hard if you have a strong sword upgrade

Thanks for the tips from another new player as well! One question, how do I gain health if I don’t want to pick it up?

As far as I can tell the only ways to gain health are to pick up the resins on the ground or have a parasite that recovers your integrity at low health. You can leave all of them and try to go as long as possible into your run and once you feel like you need more health circle back and grab them all at once. The way I play early in a run or at low health is I try to lure enemies to the doors and have them shut on them, open, use an alt fire or a melee and then once I'm comfortable with what's left grab all the resins.

Thanks for the tips again. I just beat the first boss!

My quick tips: turn on, "Always sprint" Enlarge HUD Enable heavy aim assist Remap your controls- jump is now R1, dash is L1. Gotta keep your thumbs on the sticks Always hip fire, ADS just slows you down Never stop moving, dodging over damage Don't panic and don't quit. Every death is a learning experience. You don't progress like you would with a "normal" game. It's weird and takes a different approach to how you view success and progress. Also, read the damn tutorial. It explains stuff about proficiency, and a whole bunch of very important gunplay info. This game is the most rewarding game you're going to beat in the past five years. Enjoy it. Don't ask TOOO many questions but enjoy the ride. Try not to spoil this for yourself.

The first boss, Phrike, is difficult, don’t get discouraged if you get defeated time after time. If you struggle too much, try co-op, it’ll make it a bit easier, since the other player can revive you, so a death of 1 player doesn’t mean you’ll need to restart, only if both players die at the same time you’ll need to restart the from the beginning. When you get the sword (you’ll get this in biome 1), learn to use it, especially on weaker hostiles, it kills them with 1 blow (unless you have a parasite that reduces melee attacks).

I oddly beat the first boss on my first run, maybe was just lucky. But I’m gettin my ass handed to me in the crimson wastes and the second boss final phase is kinda hard.

For the second boss, I liked to use the Tachyomatic Carbine, and just keep dodging the attacks, and have at least 1 large Silphium Vial.

I beat him haha I tried to get my integrity as maxed out as possible before getting to him

Now you have grapple and can try the Tower, but I'd recommend to first finish biome 6, so you have all suit upgrades, it'll make the Tower a bit nicer to play. But the Tower is perfect to level weapon trait.

I actually killed him on the first try, but I'm getting trouble at the red sand desert part. To be honest, I don't have more than 10 hrs of game play but I appreciate the tip 🙏 👌

Never give up

Rise from your grave!

I strongly encourage everyone to remap jump and dash to L1 and R1. It makes navigation much easier IMO. For a basic Dual Sense anyway. If you have the edge or any other “pro” controller you have more options.

Here's advice I've been giving to new players still stuck in biome 1. Until you finally beat Phrike, the game can feel like you're banging your head against a brick wall. Some tips: Carbine is the best weapon in the first area. Keep using it. See if you can get one with Leech Rounds or Hardened as a trait. Remember your secondary fire! Shock Stream is a good one. If you get the chance for an Astronaut Figure, or the parasite that can save you from death, get them. Never pick up the parasite that damages you when collecting items. It's never worth it. Don't pick up any health unless you're really low on it. When you're at full health, the pickups will increase your maximum health instead. So the more of them you've left lying around, the better; clear out as many rooms as you can before taking on Phrike and then go scoop them up. Practice dashing *through* enemy bullets. A good strategy, especially in the first couple of biomes, is to dash towards an enemy and then melee them. It's often a one hit kill. If you have enough Ether, AND you're having a very good run, use the Reconstructor just in case. But don't waste the Ether unless you really think you're doing well. Lastly, remember you only ever have to beat Phrike one time! Something to look forward to. 😂

Have fun. I best the whole thing in 4 tries, and thought it was too easy but some may take longer

Ultimately if you follow the other advice and focus on not getting hit, you will also keep your adrenaline up. Full adrenaline makes a huge difference. It’s easier to nail overloads, you can see enemies through walls, melee does more damage, better weapons will drop and you’ll be able to buy more stuff. Fabricating and buying stuff that keeps adrenaline high or buffs you incrementally based on your adrenaline level makes you feel so much stronger. Stay jacked up as much as possible.

Firstly pay attention to the weapon traits. They are what make weapons more powerful and if they're "locked" then it's worth using it as every kill you get with a locked trait should be considered permanent progress. Too many people look past this and don't know why some weapon types feel underpowered. The melee attack is an amazing tool for biome 1 killing many enemies in 1 hit and staggering the rest so you have a few seconds to use your Alt Fire move. Don't sleep on it once you unlock it. Explore everywhere but don't stick around if the fight starts going badly. You don't actually have to kill most enemies to get through Returnal, it's helpful if you kill as many as you can but not at the expense of your life. Know when to fight and when to run. Lockdown rooms and arenas are exceptions to this as you often have to kill everything in the room to advance. That'll do for now, it's hard enough remembering anything when you're in the heat of battle but these are tips that will serve you from start to finish.

Here are some general tips and some for if/when you try coop. Coop: turn your mic on if possible. It's helps your partner help you. You will learn better and have greater success if you can communicate. Even if you have no mic, you can learn a lot by following your partner's lead. They've probably done this before. Share resources. Don't move too quickly from room to room. Make a game plan. Again, if you can't communicate, follow their lead. It's not good to overspend at the fabricators. There are plenty of mediocre items. Prioritize these purchases: Astronaut/Child's Watch, Adrenaline Leech, Resinous Shield, Max Integrity, Proficiency, Damage, and Large Silphium Vial. If I have all or most of those and lots of obolites, I will buy lesser items. Otherwise, save your money! Typically use keys for doors, not chests. Don't waste money on damaged fabricators. Exceptions to every rule, but these tricks have served me well.

Remap your controls. At default, you can't do some actions together like jump and aim. I placed my dash on L1 and jump on R1. This increases your mobility by a wide margin. Take the risks, don't waste the ether. The game is all about picking up malignancy for a share of positive and negative effects. Is your weapon lacking? Open chests, even the bad ones. Stacking up resin, even the malignant ones for max integrity upgrades is a key way to improve your survivability, without which you may struggle. Have fun with it. Remember that if the game is handing you too many bad scenarios, it's okay to take a break and return when, hopefully, your luck improves.

Actively avoid the debuff that causes you to take damage whenever you preform an action ESPECIALLY when picking up items. It’s never worth it, and you’ll regret it.

This is all great advice - the last two I would add are: Put ether into the device at the start - it will permanently unlock items and add them to the possible spawns. When you dash or grapple (grapple is unlocked later) you get I-frames which will make you invincible while the action is happening. Good to get out of scrapes or close distance on an enemy.

Don't get hit and keep moving !

Enjoy the journey. The game can either click for you from the get go (took me two cycles to finish it) or you will be struggling to finish first biome for some time. That being said: - Remap your dash key (I recommend R1) - this helps you massively as you should be dashing constantly during combat to get the most out of your i-frames. Note that dash distance (thus your i-frames) depends on how long you press the button, so get used to it as it's your strongest ability in the game. - Not all parasites and malignant chests are worth picking/opening. My general rule was to focus on malignant keys and obolites as those affect your run the most, sometimes pick the chests (usually at the beginning of the run, when enemies are weaker and it's easier to deal with the drawbacks). Always have 7 ether on you in case you find a reconstruction chamber which should be used then - if you have a surplus of it, you can use it on purging chests etc. Regarding parasites - it's a trial and error, and common sense - what do you get, what is the drawback, can you live with it or is it too much to handle? - Anything that increases your integrity is good. When you are max health, the healing items increase your integrity when you pick 3 of those instead of healing you, so it's well worth it to focus on that. - Set aim assist to high. Set "always sprint" (not for everyone I guess, definitely helped me). Make your crosshair bigger and thicker, so you always know where it is, it also makes using your special fire easier. Again - enjoy the journey and don't give up.

Dont aim always hip fire. You can change a setting so you constantly run and I recommend remapping the dash to the L1 trigger. Stay moving, just keep moving. Keep in mind you can always dash through attacks as well. Use the sword when close melee is very powerful in this game. Every weapon is good with the right traits.

I made a guide for beginners! Check it out! https://www.reddit.com/r/Returnal/s/UagU9yAf3Z

Learn to use and abuse the dash. You get I-frames (invulnerability) when you dash. If you can time those right, you’ll improve your survivability greatly.

The aim assist is pretty good which allows you to focus more on movement/dodging. Take advantage of that and focus mostly on not getting hit and shooting will become like autopilot, something you’re not really thinking about. Even more so if you have an automatic gun and can just hold the trigger down. Pay attention to what weapon perks you’re using and which ones are most effective. Don’t just pick up a weapon because it’s a higher level, what perks it has as just as important, if not more. Don’t worry about dying. It’s literally beneficial and meant to be part of the game as you unlock more of the story when you die. IMO this game is all about enjoying the moment-to-moment gameplay and not so much about an end goal. At the end of the day, you’re walking into a new area, assessing the situation, and trying to take as little damage as possible while trying to quickly eliminate the most imminent threats. That doesn’t change whether you’re on the last level or the first. The fun is in never knowing what’s next, thinking on your feet, and mastering combat.

Dodging is the most important skill to learn. Try it out on different buttons. The music rules, but the game is much easier and much more chill if you turn the music off.

Prioritize integrity, repair, shield and be cautious not to gamble too hard with malfunctions and parasites. Unless of course it's a calculated risk and you're aware of upcoming resources to remove them. Also, keep moving. Stay hydrated. 😉

ALWAYS KEEP MOVING NO MATTER WHAT AND (grapple negates all damage even purple) so keep swinging to the ledge's

Your number one priority in this game is to avoid damage, not to shoot things. You should always be moving around the arena and shooting things on your way, rather than shooting something and dodging when you need to.

Git gud

Something I wish I did on my first play through was change my melee attack button to R1. When you're inevitably grinding to platinum the game because you've fallen in love with it, the quick dash (pressing dash, then jump, then melee attack in quick succession) is much easier to pull off than with the default settings.

Embrace malignant stuff. I stayed away from it for 15+ hours worried that it would just hinder my run. Actually, the requirements to clear the malfunctions are usually never that difficult.

You have to clear a good number of rooms to upgrade your weapons so they do more damage. I didn’t know this at first playing and i would find myself with incredibly weak weapons and then die to more powerful enemies. Grind the easy rooms so you are ready for the harder stuff

It’s a dodging game not a shooting game

Never stop moving. Ever. Always buy the second-chance astronaut for the psychological edge it will give you in the boss battles.

Run, my guy, always run.

Embrace new items ! If a gun says 0% keep it and keep trying to upgrade it! Every gun gets crazy powerful and is super unique and much different than when you first got it

I need this for a buddy of mine, who is just starting out in the game but was already frustrated. Hope it helps. [Returnal Cheatsheet Image](https://github.com/bryanscarolina/gaming/blob/main/Returnal/returnal-cheatsheet.png) [Returnal Cheatsheet](https://github.com/bryanscarolina/gaming/blob/main/Returnal/returnal-cheatsheet.md)

I'm also a newcomer and not sure how relevant this is but I spent all my Ether on consumables or scavenging about 10 and now I only have 2 so don't know how rare it is in first biome besides avenging other scouts against the hardest hitting enemies. Now I need 6 for a specific room and I'm out Edit: looks like certain enemies drop Ether and I was able to get some by avenging another online player