Looking like a game that would have been made 10 years ago, Vampire Survivors is an indie roguelike where the goal is to survive for as long as possible. With simplistic mechanics and a constant stream of enemies, players may be surprised when they enter the game and find that the only thing they can do is move the character. Things like attacking and picking up items are all done automatically, leaving the player with nothing to do but to move around, collect gems, and select upgrades when prompted.
Despite that minimalistic premise, the game has a simple charm that several people enjoy. But even this game will require a bit of strategy to excel. The main gameplay loop can essentially be reduced to "kill enemies to collect gems and try to survive for as long as possible." But with the number and strength of enemies continually climbing, players need to keep a steady pace of advancement if they want to last for more than 10 minutes.
For new players, surviving longer than 10 minutes can be challenging, particularly when the game also offers things like unlockable characters, new levels, and a small plethora of buyable upgrades. To make use of any of these parameters, a player must first understand the basics of weapon evolution in Vampire Survivors, enemy varieties, and what can lead to an ideal build. So below are some significant tips and tricks for beginner players to take note of so they can survive and slay as many enemies as possible.
Tips for Beginners in Vampire Survivors
It may be tempting to directly approach enemies to kill them swiftly, but there is much to be said about the value of patience in Vampire Survivors. Charging in blindly can easily result in the player getting surrounded and taking a lot of damage, and trying to tank damage through a small group of enemies to reach a treasure chest can easily result in death. Therefore, unless the player's build has reached the point that weak enemies die almost instantly upon contact, beginner players in Vampire Survivors need to focus on enemy evasion to slowly but surely collect gems to level up.
If the player needs to leave a chest behind so they can circle back around for it later, then so be it. It is not worth dying over. Just keep on walking, get used to the automatic timing of the attacks, and only approach enemies to get them in attack range. Slow and steady can win this race, provided the player isn't too slow about it. The game gets progressively more difficult the more time goes on, with each level entering a new phase roughly every 5-10 minutes.
Using an AoE Weapon in Vampire Survivors
It has been said that the waves of enemies are endless, but it really needs to be emphasized just how many enemies can end up on the screen simultaneously. If the player survives long enough, there will be swarms and swarms of enemies coming after the player, each one determinedly marching toward the player's location. There will be so many of them that it may be impossible for the player to walk about unscathed.
It is highly recommended that the player obtains an area-of-attack weapon of some sort. It will give the player a little bit of breathing room, and if upgraded enough, it will even begin mowing down weaker enemies as soon as they come into contact with it. Weapon choices that fulfill this function early on include Garlic and the King Bible, though almost any evolved weapon in Vampire Survivors has the potential to destroy or push back swathes of enemies in a specific direction.
Weapon Evolution and Treasure Chests in Vampire Survivors
To advance in Vampire Survivors, players will have to learn how to develop their weapons quickly and how they can be improved upon. Weapons are eligible for a new form when they reach level 10, but most will only evolve when the player has another supporting item equipped. Here are some examples:
Garlic: Needs the Pummarola to evolve into a Soul Eater
Magic Wand: Needs the Empty Tome to evolve into a Holy Wand
King Bible: Needs the Spellbinder to evolve into Unholy Vespers
So new players will want to experiment with weapon and equipment combinations to see if they can get a cool new weapon by the end game. If the player feels like they are not leveling up their weapons or gear fast enough, then they can try obtaining a treasure chest to get a free upgrade (or two).
Treasure chests are dropped each time the player defeats a boss or mini-boss, and these entities can usually be identified by their unusual size and design. They are also dropped whenever the player defeats either black or silver-glowing bats in the early game.
The chests come in at least three different varieties based on their rarity and quality, and obtaining even one can help advance the player's survivability. But bear in mind that these treasure chests are not guaranteed. For example, sometimes mini-bosses drop red gems that hold an excessive amount of experience. It is also important to note that treasure chests can only upgrade weapons that the player already has. So don't loot a chest expecting to find a new piece of equipment.
Destroy Light Sources in Vampire Survivors
Light sources may take a different form depending on what level the player is in, but their function in the game is exactly what players would expect. If those light sources damage, they will be destroyed and drop gold or an item that will immediately activate once the player picks it up. A good deal of these items are pretty useful, and they can range from healing chicken to time-stopping power rings.
The chance that a usable item, or "pickup," is dropped is highly dependent on luck in Vampire Survivors. But regardless, beginner players in a tough spot should strive to break as many light sources as they can until they discover (but not immediately use) an offensive pickup like a Rosary or the fiery food bar that is called Nduja Fritta Tanto. The Rosary can destroy all enemies on the screen (including bosses), and the Nduja bar will have the player spewing flames out of their mouths for the next 10 seconds. Both are incredibly useful if the player is surrounded by hordes of enemies they aren't prepared for.
The Value of Gold in Vampire Survivors
Despite having a limited number of features, the game still has something that most would call a progression system. The gold players collect in the game can be spent on powerups on the main menu screen. These powerups can be spent toward various minor buffs, and they can increase almost anything from a character's armor rating to a character's overall luck. Furthermore, these powerups can be applied to every character they happen to pick. Finally, while there is technically no "unequip" option, the game currently allows characters to get a full refund for all of their powerups if they want to try a new build.
Gold can also be used to unlock new characters, though even obtaining the option to buy them will require the player to fulfill some other requirement. Krochi Freeto, for instance, needs the player to defeat 100,000 enemies before the player gets the option to purchase him for 950 gold. If players need to gather gold more quickly, they should try replaying a level in hyper mode, which unlocks when players beat the monster boss that appears at the 25-minute mark.
Vampire Survivors is available on PC