The latest free update is The Weird One, and it has something for players with “nothing left to unlock”
Vampire Survivors has become my go-to unwinding game, and I don’t see anything else kicking it off the throne this year — not when it’s already this good and only getting better with updates. The latest free patch, dubbed “The Weird One,” is surprisingly big.
Sharing the summary for update 0.6.1 on Steam, Vampire Survivors developer poncle said to expect “less content than usual” — but players have already unearthed significant content, including a merchant, new playable characters, and a way to keep the game fresh once “there’s nothing left to unlock.” That said, the creator doesn’t want to pressure players, noting: “please don’t feel like you have to grind for these new bonuses.”
Here’s an attention-grabbing teaser video for the new patch:
What’s new with patch 0.6.1
Officially, the patch has five new achievements, one bonus stage, one relic to access two minor gameplay mechanics, two new Arcanas, and one more rank for the Skip power-up, as poncle puts it. Other tweaks are in here, too — bonus Armor points now also increase retaliatory damage by 10 percent, and Rerolls can be used to draft Arcanas.
That overview is a good starting point if you’d like to discover everything on your own without following a guide. There’s more to find, though. Some spoilers to follow.
I’m not out of things to strive for yet — I’m “only” 22 hours into this soothing three-dollar game, and am still figuring out my ideal character builds and survival strategies — but I tried the 0.6.1 patch last night and had a blast figuring out the wild new bonus stage.
How to unlock the new bonus stage, relic, weapons, and characters
To access Moonglow and get the “I can’t see anything…” achievement, you’ll first need to have Hyper Mode unlocked for the four normal stages (which is done by surviving for 25 minutes and killing the boss that spawns). From there, you’ll want to hop into the Moonglow level with a non-secret character and survive for 15 minutes, at which point things will go haywire; keep running to the right during this trippy escape sequence, and pray. If your run is anything like mine, expect a nail-biter.
If you make it through the gauntlet, you’ll have the Yellow Sign — a new relic that shows the locations of the Silver Ring, Gold Ring, Metaglio Left, and Metaglio Right pickups. The two rings feed into the Clock Lancet evolution (known as Infinite Corridor), and the left and right items go with the Laurel (evolving into Crimson Shroud). Max ’em all out.
With Infinite Corridor and Crimson Shroud, you can even defy Death.
Naturally, there are new characters to go along with these evolutions: Iguana Gallo Valletto and Divano Thelma, respectively. I’ll also point you to Boon Marrabbio. (The character names in Vampire Survivors are out of control, but it’s part of the charm.)
Permanent stat bumps with Golden Eggs
While you’re in Moonglow, make sure to give the merchant 10,000 gold for the Glass Vizard relic; they’ll then show up to sell their wares in the other stages.
Speaking of which, about that new mechanic for players who need something fresh to throw their gold at — Golden Eggs will permanently improve a random stat “by a tiny amount” for your current character. Which yeah, that’s rad for grinders. That said, some players are hoping for a way to turn off perma-upgrades for the sake of leaderboards.
Every minute I’m writing this article is another minute I could be playing Vampire Survivors, so uh, excuse me! I am obsessed with knocking out all of these achievements. Even though the game’s in Early Access, don’t let that hold you back. The grind is so fun.
Published: May 24, 2022 06:00 pm