Risk of Rain Returnsrevisits the classic 2D sidescrolling roguelike with some newly added polish and a bunch of new content. In particular, Returns adds in a new game mode - the Providence Trials. Named after the guardian of Petrichor V, the Providence Trials are unlocked once any survivor - not including Commando and Huntress, as they’re unlocked by default - is unlocked. The Providence Trials provide a whole host of challenges for you to complete, each one tailored to a certain aspect of a survivor’s moveset. As you complete the Trials, you’ll unlock bonus skills, skins, and items as a reward - eventually, unlocking the final Providence Trial, Judgement.
Risk Of Rain Returns: What Are Providence Trials?
Confused about the new feature in Risk of Rain Returns, the Providence Trails? Here is a complete breakdown on what they do in-game.
Judgement is fairly simple in its concept: choose a survivor, and fight through nine waves of enemies to complete the challenge. Sounds simple enough, right? Well, things get complicated, fast. Starting off, your health regeneration is disabled - so any hits you take are effectively permanent, though can be healed through a limited number of health pickups available in the rest areas in between waves. Secondly, you have to use your character’s default moveset, so you’ll be out of luck if you can only play a survivor with their bonus skills equipped.
There are rest areas in between waves where you can get four items and a health pickup - though there’s only five of them across the whole run, so be careful.
Available Items:
Monsters: Lemurian, Trokk, Rock Golem, Jellyfish, Wisp, Greater Wisp, Colossus
The first wave takes place in Desolate Forest and is arguably the hardest wave mainly due to your lack of items. you’re able to only choose one of the above to take with you going in, so make sure it counts - the item you pick will vary based on your survivor. The Hit List is good for mobile, ranged survivors like Huntress, as it provides a permanent damage buff that carries over between waves. Guardian’s Heart is also very helpful, providing a buffer should you accidentally take a hit. If you’re playing a less mobile survivor, try taking out the three Lemurians that spawn on the platform. They’re arguably the easiest targets that spawn in, and will give you some experience. The Two Volatile Lemurians will be the toughest enemies starting out, as they take a lot of hits and deal a lot of damage. If you’re lucky, they may just walk right off the edge of the arena - though don’t count on it.
Monsters: Sand Crab, Lemurian, Wisp, Tuber, Jellyfish, Magma Worm
The second wave can trip you up as well, as it brings in a Magma Worm halfway through. The Worm is a difficult opponent, to be sure, but if you’re good at kiting and can maneuver around its attacks, it won’t be as much of a problem. The Tubers that spawn in this wave can be annoying, as they like to burrow themselves into the ground, halving the damage they take. For your items, the Hardlight Afterburner is recommended if you use your utility skill a lot - on characters like Huntress and Commando, it’s practically a must-have. If you didn’t grab a Guardian’s Heart at the beginning, you can grab one here. The Barbed Wire is handy as you’ll often be moving around the stage through enemies, so getting off some chip damage can go a long way.
Monsters: Lynx Tribe, Mushrum, Spitter, Imp, Tuber, Lynx Totem
You should be starting to get into the rhythm of things by now. If not, don’t worry, as the Hail Mary of Judgement is available - the Unstable Watch. This equipment will freeze time for 7 seconds - or, if you pick up the Beating Embryo, 14 seconds occasionally. The utility of this cannot be understated - that’s essentially 7 seconds of free damage with zero repercussions. Overwhelmed? Stop time. Need to get some quick damage off? Stop time. Want to stop time just because you feel like it? That’s right, stop time. As for the enemies you’ll face, the Lynx Tribe can be tricky - they’re small and quick and come in a variety of elite types. Some Spitters spawn halfway through the wave - try to take them out quickly as dealing with their shots while you fight the other enemies can be tiring.
Monsters: Child, Parent, Wisp, Greater Wisp, Imp, Bramble, Jellyfish, Ancient Wisp
Be careful this wave, as you’ll encounter a lot of Wisps. Wisps on their own aren’t too dangerous, but their ranged attacks can nick you, taking bits of your health that, as a reminder, don’t regenerate. The Greater Wisps in particular are deadly, as they deal a lot of damage at a distance - you may need to pop Unstable Watch here just to take care of them quickly. Otherwise, this wave is fairly easy beyond that, consisting mostly of Children and Parents.
Monsters: Swift, Snow Golem, Clay Man, Bighorn Bison, Mechanical Spider, Ifrit
I hope you’ve been stacking Lens Maker’s Glasses, as here is when it starts to pay off. Predatory Instincts boosts your attack speed significantly as you land double-damage critical hits, and the AtG Missile Launcher is a tried-and-true reliable damage item that will be of great service to your run. If you haven’t picked one up already, ensure to grab the Hopoo Feather - an extra jump will come in handy in a few waves. Otherwise, this wave is honestly a bit of a breather level, being the least difficult. Just jump to avoid Ifrit’s attacks, and it’ll go down easy. The only thing to worry about is the Swifts - they’ll divebomb you, and they’ll often nick you just barely.
Monsters: Sand Crab, Clay Man, Macrobe, Black Imp, Whorl, Jellyfish, Wandering Vagrant
Up until this point, there was a second, blue teleporter in the rest area that would take you to this level. It’s advised you don’t use this unless you’re absolutely sure of what you’re doing - you’ll be missing out on valuable levels and items.
The Repulsion Armor and Permafrost are very valuable items, and you’re able to only choose one or the other. If you’re worried about taking hits, grab the Repulsion Armor - it’ll grant invulnerability if you get hit six times. If you’re worried about keeping enemies away from you, grab the Permafrost - it’ll grant a chance to freeze enemies, significantly slowing them and preventing them from attacking you. Enemies to look out for here are the Macrobe and the Whorl - the Macrobe will bounce around, damaging you on contact and making it difficult to hit. The Whorl, meanwhile, is fairly easy to hit, but can apply slowness with its attacks. Being slowed can make it hard to outrun enemies, dooming you to get obliterated by a stack of enemies.
Monsters: Wisp, Elder Lemurian, Bighorn Bison, Mechanical Spider, Evolved Lemurian, Macrobic Predator, Cremator
This wave features the Magma Barracks, so be wary of the lava beneath you - there are small holes in the floor that you may fall into here. It’s relatively simple to jump out but keep that in mind. This wave shouldn’t give you much trouble - watch out for the Cremator and the Evolved Lemurians, as they can get easy damage on you if you don’t keep moving. The Toxin is a good item to pick up here - it applies a debuff to enemies when you touch them. Since you’ll be moving and thus touching enemies, this item is very valuable to have.
Monsters: Gup, Parent, Spitter, Evolved Lemurian, Toxic Beast, Boarlit
This wave can very easily end your run, so proceed with extreme caution. You should have picked up a Hopoo Feather and / or the Unstable Watch - otherwise, this next wave will be very hard. The primary threat of this wave is the Frenzied Toxic Beast that spawns immediately - this thing will trample you, dealing damage very quickly, and can easily kill you before you have a chance to react. As it passes over you, make sure to jump while getting hits in as it turns around for another pass. Or, alternatively, use the Unstable Watch to get some hits in while it can’t attack you.
Monsters: Temple Guard, Clay Man, Evolved Lemurian, Bramble, Imp Overlord
Congrats, penultimate wave! This wave can be tricky as it’ll require dodging a lot of projectiles. The Temple Guards that spawn here will have no problem sniping you from their perches. Their shots are easily dodgeable, having a signifier that tells where they’re aiming - but keeping track of that while juggling hordes of monsters can be tricky. ensure to take care of them when you can, as they can easily hit you for big damage. In terms of items, you now have access to healing items in Monster Tooth and Harvester’s Scythe. Monster Tooth can be good, but it requires you to kill an enemy, which is easier said than done sometimes. Harvester’s Scythe, if you’ve been picking up Lens Maker’s Glasses, is a much better alternative, though it can be a tad inconsistent.
Monsters: Providence, Gilded Wurms, Umbras of Enforcer, Sniper, HAN-D, Mercenary, and Bandit
This is it - the final round. This wave is arguably the least hectic, consisting of one major threat - Providence. Alongside Providence, though, are special Umbras of a few survivors. Their moves are fairly telegraphed and serve mostly to proc on-kill effects, but keep them in mind as you battle Providence. Providence himself is your only target, as killing him will complete the challenge. Be ready to move on a moment’s notice, as Providence has plenty of attacks both melee and ranged that can overwhelm an inexperienced player. In particular, during his fourth phase, stay away from the giant lasers he summons - those can quickly shave off large portions of your health, and the areas of effect he spawns will often be right in your path, so attempt to avoid getting caught in their blast. Should you best Providence, you’ll be rewarded with a Providence-themed skin for your survivor - complete with a crown. Now, you’ll just need to try again to beat your high score…
