Rogue Legacy 2, like its predecessor, is a roguelike. Given the name alone that shouldn’t be surprising to anyone. Dungeons are randomly generated. When players die they have to restart anew, leaving some items behind in the process. Rogue Legacy was one of the more accessible roguelikes of its time in 2013.
Rogue Legacy 2 is even more accessible than the original as it adds some assist features for starters. Now, as a roguelike, there are RPG elements. Spending gold on castle repairs will strengthen characters sort of like an elaborate skill tree. Health, for example, can be increased. With dozens of options available, it can be hard to decide what paths to follow. For beginners, these aaa things should be acquired as soon as possible.
8 Medieval Forgery
The Medieval Forgery unlocks a way for players to re-roll Relics and items held in Curio’s shop. Relics are small stat boosters or ability modifiers that players can pick up in their runs. One of the best, Hyperion’s Ring, revives players after they die. Curio’s shop can have anything from weapons to attack abilities held by other classes. Getting the Medieval Forgery and allowing players to re-roll will give them more choices in case the naturally selected items don’t look appealing. The more choices the better in any roguelike.
7 Career Center
The Career Center follows a similar path to the Medieval Forgery. It allows players to re-roll their choice of heirs. After players die, they get to choose one of three children to progress with. Each character will come equipped with a class and several other differences such as traits. Sometimes the selection may not suit what players need or want at that time. Re-Rolling characters is a standard among most RPGs so it's good to see it continue in Rogue Legacy 2.
6 Mediation Studies
There is nothing worse on a run than getting to a boss's door and being on the verge of death. There are very few ways to heal in Rogue Legacy 2 on a grand scale too. While this upgrade helps with bosses only, Mediation Studies should still be purchased.
Mediation Studies will heal the player’s HP and MP once they travel through the boss doors. The more ranks players put into this five-tier upgrade, the more players will heal. It may seem like a waste to invest a lot in it though since bosses are very limited in Rogue Legacy 2. At least put one rank into it.
5 Sage Totem
Normally it would be standard advice to tell players to avoid buying training dummies. The first game had one in the camp and all it did was allow players to test their weapons and abilities before jumping into the main gimmick of the roguelike. There is an unlock in the castle just like that called Dummy. Avoid that.
However, there is also the Sage Totem. This training dummy should be purchased because it allows classes to gain experience. All stat boosts raised between the dozen-plus classes will carry over between runs. It’s best to get this upgrade as early as possible to rack up that sweet RPG experience.
4 Foundation
Building the Foundation upgrade will bring the blacksmith to the camp. He can build armor and weapons in exchange for gold and ore. Even though all forged weapons look like swords, their power carries over to other weapons as well like hammers and lances.
Players should also buy the Enchantress’ Quarters close that on the upgrade chart. The Enchantress keeps track of Runes which can be equipped to add additional abilities to a character’s build. One of the best Runes allows players to damage enemies if they hit the player, for example.
3 Etching Quarters
To get the most out of armor, weapons, and Runes, their limits need to be raised. The better the ability or equipment then the more space it will take up. The Etching Quarters raises the limit of Runes, for example.
There are several more that will pop up on the right side of the upgrade charter. On the right are ways to raise the weight restrictions. Before buying a new Rune or piece of gear in Rogue Legacy 2, make sure to check if there is enough space to equip it. No need to waste gold early on in the game.
2 Offshore Bank Account
The Offshore Bank Account can be found just below the starting upgrade space. It unlocks Atticus the Living Safe, which is a sentient safe that steals gold from Charon. It’s unclear if the safe itself is alive or if someone is just hiding out in it.
Either way, the more players upgrade this feature, the more gold will be kept from Charon when players pass on to their next run in the roguelike. It’s an underhanded tactic, but Charon isn’t playing by the rules in Rogue Legacy 2.
1 Butcher’s Shoppe
As a broad statement, one thing players should buy as soon as possible are classes. They are scattered across the upgrade tree in this roguelike. What classes are better than others is not important for right now.
The main goal is to add variety to the heirs that will drop between deaths. The Butcher’s Shoppe is a good one to start off with as this class is strong with a lot of HP. The Pirate is a later class upgrade. One of its abilities can summon a mini airship. Riding on it can bypass a lot of content if played right.
Rogue Legacy 2 was released on April 28, 2022 and is available on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.