There are an infinite number of different 'builds' to mess around with in any Risk of Rain game, and that includes Risk of Rain Returns. These games are built on the idea of players gradually feeling more and more powerful as they gather randomized items, so the items (by design) all synergize with each other to varying degrees.

Related

Risk of Rain Returns: 10 Beginner Mistakes To Avoid

The Risk of Rain games are by no means easy, and Risk of Rain Returns is no exception. So, here are some mistakes to avoid to make things easier.

That said, obviously some item combinations are better overall and some are a lot better on specific Survivors. So, let's go over some of the best combinations we've noticed in Risk of Rain Returns.

10 Money = Power

Golden Gun & Smart Shopper

First up is a combination players should almost always aim for if possible. Granted, these games don't exactly give players the most agency over which items they get, but the roulette item machines as well as the three-item choice machines can absolutely be used to get specific items for a build.

Regardless, getting both Golden Gun and Smart Shopper in the same build just means that players will be earning more money from killing enemies and dealing more damage to enemies overall at the same time.

9 Acrid's Dream Build

Hunter's Harpoon, Fireman's Boots, Gasoline, & Will-O-The-Wisp

While Acrid isn't nearly as strong in Risk of Rain Returns as he was in the original Risk of Rain or in Risk of Rain 2, he still has a lot of potential. Granted, most players end up confused about what items work with his poison abilities and end up building him inefficiently anyway, which contributes to him feeling 'underpowered'.

So, try this combination with Acrid (it works on really any Survivor that kites a lot) to leave behind a trail of poisonous fiery death that will often start a chain reaction of explosive kills.

8 The 'l Feel Invincible' Build

Hermit's Scarf & Prophet's Cape

There are a few item descriptions in these games that are phrased oddly which can cause some real confusion. For example, the green-rarity item called Prophet's Cape not only causes blocked damage to heal the player, but it also briefly blocks all incoming damage when hit (with a cooldown of 15 seconds).

Related

8 Games That Subvert Expectations In Their Final Boss Fights

These final boss fights weren't what players expected...

This, combined with all the other items and Survivor Skills that end up 'blocking' damage, can lead to a lot more healing than most players probably expected. Throw the Hermit's Scarf on top of that, and players will be taking real damage much less often, or just ignoring it altogether.

7 The Melee Character Starter Pack

Barbed Wire, Frost Relic, Chargefield Generator, Decaying Sample, & Tesla Coil

Next up is a build that includes quite a few items, but not all of them are 'mandatory' for the build to work. Essentially, this is just a build recommendation meant to inform players that, when using characters that are in melee range of enemies often, grab passive AoE damage items whenever possible. Barbed Wire and Tesla Coil, in particular, can make characters like Robomando, Acrid, or Loader, suddenly feel twice as powerful as they did just a second ago.

6 A Perfect Run-Starting Combination

Warbanner, Topaz Brooch, & Locked Jewel

The first big hump a lot of players are often struggling with in Risk of Rain Returns is the concept of actually getting a proper build going. Chests are a lot less common than they were in the original Risk of Rain, and it can feel like a build doesn't really 'come together' until Stage 3 or so.

That said, if possible, try and aim for items like Warbanner, Topaz Brooch, or Locked Jewel. These three items are a huge help for getting through the first stretch of a run where a player feels weak, and this is especially true when combined. Essentially, as long as the player is exploring the map, using interactables, and kiting enemies back to their Warbanner Aura, they'll find it's a lot easier to get a run 'going' than it was before.

5 Hurting The Engineer's Turrets Is A Bad Idea

Timekeeper's Secret, Energy Cell, Leeching Seed, Dead Man's Foot, Panic Mines, Medkit, Spikestrip, & The Toxin

Next up is another Survivor-specific build, and this one is even more specific to the character in question than the Acrid was to Acrid. Essentially, Engineer's Turrets in Risk of Rain Returns have the passive effect of inheriting their creator's items when placed.

Related

Wizard With A Gun: Best Guns, Ranked

There aren't actually all that many different guns to use in Wizard with a Gun, but the choice still matters. So, here is the gun ranking order.

This means that any item with an on-hit effect chance, a contact effect chance, or an effect that triggers on low health will all trigger with the turrets. Again, this isn't a build where players need all the items listed above to make it work, rather these are just all the items that work best together for this concept. However, the items in particular to look out for the most are absolutely the Timekeeper's Secret & Panic Mines.

4 Survivability Build 101

Medkit, Monster Tooth, Guardian's Heart, Topaz Brooch, & Prophet's Cape

Risk of Rain Returns is a brutal game. Even veterans of the original game and veterans of Risk of Rain 2 are struggling with its difficulty. That said, Risk of Rain Returns does share something in particular with its other two titles, and that's players complaining about feeling 'weak' but not realizing they aren't building around survivability at all.

Damage items, Attack Speed items, and Move Speed items are all well and good, but none of that matters if the player dies. Getting at least one of all (or just a few) of the items listed above will have players living a lot longer so that they can actually get their build to a place where they feel powerful.

3 The 'Speed Racer' Build

Goat Hoof, Hopoo Feather, Rusty Jetpack, Red Whip, Mocha, & Hunter's Harpoon

Kiting enemies in Risk of Rain Returns is a vital skill players are going to need to pick up quickly in order to make it through a run. And, while damage and survivability matter a lot when it comes to kiting enemies, movement speed also has a huge impact.

Additionally, a lot of playable Survivors in RoRR don't have a mobility Skill or if they do it's very slight. So, by getting even two or three of the items listed above, players will find it's a lot quicker to search a level for both the Teleporter and for chests, and it's much easier to keep enemies at a distance. Don't invest too heavily into this build, however, as players do need to switch to focusing on damage items at some point.

2 The Unkillable Loader Build

Alien Head, Backup Magazine, & Prophet's Cape

Loader is such a strong Survivor in Risk of Rain Returns. Granted, every Survivor (save for Artificer, unfortunately) can easily become overpowered if played or built correctly. But, the Loader feels like its baseline utility is just higher overall thanks to the Debris Shield Secondary Ability.

This Ability by default has such a short cooldown, and since it's the Secondary Ability rather than the Utility Ability, players can abuse the invincibility of this Ability just by grabbing a few Backup Mags. Not only that, but this Ability synergizes perfectly with Prophet's Cape. Of course, getting Alien Head to top it all off would be amazing, but it's almost impossible to get specific Red Items in a run.

1 Spin To Win Drifter

Lens Maker's Glasses, Razor Penny, Wicked Ring, Leeching Seed, Meat Nugget, & The Toxin

Drifter is one of the new Survivors introduced in Risk of Rain Returns that was not in the original game. They're designed to be more of a support-type character with unique abilities and the power to spawn Temp Items after gathering Scrap. However, it turns out they're just absurdly overpowered as a damage-type character as long as players know how to utilize the Scrap Cube and Tornado Slam abilities.

Scrap Cube is a whole other monster in of itself, but this build centers around having Tornado Slam up constantly, feeling invincible while using it, and having fun getting around with increased movement speed and lower gravity. Basically, with high Crit Chance and the Wicked Ring, Tornado Slam almost always gets itself off cooldown while hitting an enemy. Then, combine that with the on-hit healing from Leeching Seed and/or Meat Nugget, and players will be free to build on-hit damage from here and spin to win all the way to Providence and beyond.