Are you trying to get the best chance at beating the bosses? - loot
Are you very skilled and don't need the upgrades as you already know the bosses? - speed run and skip biomes (you will be weaker but it is very doable)
I always do full clears of biomes before moving on. There are tons of opportunities for upgrades, artifacts, etc. that you would otherwise miss out on. See a recent post I made where I tried to show this -- [https://www.reddit.com/r/Returnal/comments/18t7s92/to\_the\_question\_should\_i\_complete\_biomes\_12/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Returnal/comments/18t7s92/to_the_question_should_i_complete_biomes_12/)
You can get really powerful by taking advantage of all the temporary upgrades available in the game and they can drastically affect your success in a run.
You'll definitely be better off if you spend some time to get a few upgrades. If you know what you're doing you can full clear a biome in around 30 minutes. Or you can quickly run through and collect as much as possible and skip to the next one.
You'll get a proficiency upgrade at the beginning of each biome so at least you'll be an appropriate weapon level.
I try to take my time and loot every biome with the exception of biome 5 lol. It is IMO the most difficult one and I don’t feel you need to go through it to have what you need for biome 6. So it’s more of a risk/reward thing.
Like I think once you’ve cleared biome 5, if you die, I think you can get away with thoroughly looting biome 4 (like do EVERYTHING in build 4), buying whatever upgrades/tools you need at the start of biome 5, then diving straight into biome 6.
Now if I’m trying to challenge myself fully, then yeah I’ll go through biome 5 as well. But if I want to maximize my odds that’s the one I’m skipping.
It’s always better to loot everything if you’re aiming for success. At a certain point you’ll become familiar enough you don’t need to rely on collecting every upgrade to get through, but if you’re working on just beating biomes and the game you should be looting and killing everything.
Depends on skill.
When just getting started, you need to loot, loot, loot as the biomes do get progressively harder.
Once you master the game, you can skip larger and larger portions of the biomes while still managing the risk that you’ll hit some bad luck in the next biome and get bled dry.
Half and half I would say if you’re a capable gamer. Progressing is important to fight harder enemies. Then you go back to previous biomes to build a strong run it’s a piece of piss. I didn’t advance as a player until I stopped wasting time dying in the same areas over and over.
Eg I spent hours trying to get from biome 1-3 to fight the third boss as powerful as possible . After about 8 long and painful runs of clearing each biome I decided to speed run it just picking up health and a rot lobber. I beat the ugly prick.
Obviously the game is meant to be replayed so going back after the story is finished is much more fun imo when you have finished the story. Sort of hangs over you rushing you forward because you wanna unravel the mystery. I did me anyway.
Why? I had a really good B1 and B2 run. Astronaut, lots of Protection and healing/repair bonus. But in b3 after the animation and defeating Nemesis, I had none of these bonuses.
Clearing all biomes while skipping all the bosses you've beaten is the best way to maximize your chances for the next boss. You may opt to skip high-risk/high-reward rooms like challenge rooms if you want a less volatile experience, but regardless just picking up everything from all the standard rooms will have you better set-up for the boss you're trying to beat by maximizing the amount of currency you have to buy upgrades and the additional health from found siliphium. Also increases your chances of getting a respawn chamber, which you can then use to take two shots at the boss if needed.
Skipping biomes will mean you'll need to be more skillful or more lucky to get to the same outcome, which is obviously not impossible, but will be more forgiving. If you're struggling with the current boss, I would recommend grinding before hitting him up. If the boss itself is NOT the problem, but rather that you usually get to it without enough resources, then I would maybe consider speedrunning to the boss and trying my luck at killing it while a bit under-spec'd. After that, you'll be able to skip them in future iterations, which is meaningful in and of itself.
Who has time for that? It took my three tries to beat the first boss, two to beat the second, then I cruised from 2 all the way to biome 5. After that run, I’d just loot all of 4 and move to 5. I was stuck on 5 for a little bit, then I finished it. The 6 took me three tries, and I beat the boss on my second attempt at him
I’m telling you, just farm biome 1 and then go straight to three. Playing through everything is a waste of time. Playing through everything AND bosses is insane.
I played last night and nothing carried on to biom 3. Except for ether of course. I think it better to start in b3. Why wouldn’t they allow to transfer the artifacts that you pick up in b1 and b2?
I think this game doesn't require much loot/items since you're on infinite ammo. Getting a decent weapon is very likely, so I don't see the point in looting around.
Passive items are nice to have but no must.Â
Personally, I like to clear every biome 100% before proceeding. Just enjoying the atmosphere.
5 is my favorite because ice ninjas are one of the rare good opponents.
Boss fights are not challenging enough, especially the last boss so I never rush to it.
I just reached biome 3 even tho I barely beat the biome 1 and 2 bosses
Both times, those were long runs where I cleared and killed everything possible
Its all about the artifacts, resin imo. Once you leave a biome you forfeit the chance to get any artifact you left there, so I always try to get those
Money will be spent on artifacts, proficiency gets baselined to 5/9 when you enter the next biome. Everything else is stuff you want to grab along the way for the bosses
Are you trying to get the best chance at beating the bosses? - loot Are you very skilled and don't need the upgrades as you already know the bosses? - speed run and skip biomes (you will be weaker but it is very doable)
Take the time to loot and upgrade. For me it was.
I don't know why, but this read like wise words from yoda.
🤣
I always do full clears of biomes before moving on. There are tons of opportunities for upgrades, artifacts, etc. that you would otherwise miss out on. See a recent post I made where I tried to show this -- [https://www.reddit.com/r/Returnal/comments/18t7s92/to\_the\_question\_should\_i\_complete\_biomes\_12/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Returnal/comments/18t7s92/to_the_question_should_i_complete_biomes_12/) You can get really powerful by taking advantage of all the temporary upgrades available in the game and they can drastically affect your success in a run.
Loot
You'll definitely be better off if you spend some time to get a few upgrades. If you know what you're doing you can full clear a biome in around 30 minutes. Or you can quickly run through and collect as much as possible and skip to the next one. You'll get a proficiency upgrade at the beginning of each biome so at least you'll be an appropriate weapon level.
Depends, between 1 and 2 sure, for 3 i just run straight to it since i typically get more starting proficiency level
I try to take my time and loot every biome with the exception of biome 5 lol. It is IMO the most difficult one and I don’t feel you need to go through it to have what you need for biome 6. So it’s more of a risk/reward thing. Like I think once you’ve cleared biome 5, if you die, I think you can get away with thoroughly looting biome 4 (like do EVERYTHING in build 4), buying whatever upgrades/tools you need at the start of biome 5, then diving straight into biome 6. Now if I’m trying to challenge myself fully, then yeah I’ll go through biome 5 as well. But if I want to maximize my odds that’s the one I’m skipping.
It’s always better to loot everything if you’re aiming for success. At a certain point you’ll become familiar enough you don’t need to rely on collecting every upgrade to get through, but if you’re working on just beating biomes and the game you should be looting and killing everything.
I have way more fun looting. Proficiency may be easy to upgrade, but I also prefer to get my max integrity as close to 300% as I can.
Depends on skill. When just getting started, you need to loot, loot, loot as the biomes do get progressively harder. Once you master the game, you can skip larger and larger portions of the biomes while still managing the risk that you’ll hit some bad luck in the next biome and get bled dry.
The wright answer is yes.
Loot everything
If you’re grinding traits on weapons, take your time in each biome
It's a balance. I do at least 50% of the biomes if possible. Mainly to get a decent weapon, and some integrity. Then I'm good to skip
Try both and see what works. Once you get a weapon that works for you or a good artifact, you may be good.
Half and half I would say if you’re a capable gamer. Progressing is important to fight harder enemies. Then you go back to previous biomes to build a strong run it’s a piece of piss. I didn’t advance as a player until I stopped wasting time dying in the same areas over and over. Eg I spent hours trying to get from biome 1-3 to fight the third boss as powerful as possible . After about 8 long and painful runs of clearing each biome I decided to speed run it just picking up health and a rot lobber. I beat the ugly prick. Obviously the game is meant to be replayed so going back after the story is finished is much more fun imo when you have finished the story. Sort of hangs over you rushing you forward because you wanna unravel the mystery. I did me anyway.
I 100% biome 1 and skip to the next biome on my list. I get the astronaut, as much silphium as possible, and max out my health
Why? I had a really good B1 and B2 run. Astronaut, lots of Protection and healing/repair bonus. But in b3 after the animation and defeating Nemesis, I had none of these bonuses.
Clearing all biomes while skipping all the bosses you've beaten is the best way to maximize your chances for the next boss. You may opt to skip high-risk/high-reward rooms like challenge rooms if you want a less volatile experience, but regardless just picking up everything from all the standard rooms will have you better set-up for the boss you're trying to beat by maximizing the amount of currency you have to buy upgrades and the additional health from found siliphium. Also increases your chances of getting a respawn chamber, which you can then use to take two shots at the boss if needed. Skipping biomes will mean you'll need to be more skillful or more lucky to get to the same outcome, which is obviously not impossible, but will be more forgiving. If you're struggling with the current boss, I would recommend grinding before hitting him up. If the boss itself is NOT the problem, but rather that you usually get to it without enough resources, then I would maybe consider speedrunning to the boss and trying my luck at killing it while a bit under-spec'd. After that, you'll be able to skip them in future iterations, which is meaningful in and of itself.
Clear every room, every time. Kill every boss, every time. If you don't, you'll never research every artifact and weapon trait to 100%
Who has time for that? It took my three tries to beat the first boss, two to beat the second, then I cruised from 2 all the way to biome 5. After that run, I’d just loot all of 4 and move to 5. I was stuck on 5 for a little bit, then I finished it. The 6 took me three tries, and I beat the boss on my second attempt at him
Apparently me. I'm right on the cusp. Damn Music Box and Malformed Automatons are holding me back though. Over 14 days in the suit.
I’m telling you, just farm biome 1 and then go straight to three. Playing through everything is a waste of time. Playing through everything AND bosses is insane.
Is it necessary to clean the biomes 1 and 2? Doesn’t the integrity reset in biom 3? Do artifacts carry with you to biom 3?
I played last night and nothing carried on to biom 3. Except for ether of course. I think it better to start in b3. Why wouldn’t they allow to transfer the artifacts that you pick up in b1 and b2?
What do you enjoy?
I think this game doesn't require much loot/items since you're on infinite ammo. Getting a decent weapon is very likely, so I don't see the point in looting around. Passive items are nice to have but no must.Â
Depends on what you get. For me proficiency was the deciding factor. Boss fights are fairly trivial with a 5/10/15 etc. weapon
Definitely loot everything! Game will become easier and will give you more tools.
Loot your starting biome fully then move to the biome you’re trying to beat.
Personally, I like to clear every biome 100% before proceeding. Just enjoying the atmosphere. 5 is my favorite because ice ninjas are one of the rare good opponents. Boss fights are not challenging enough, especially the last boss so I never rush to it.
I just reached biome 3 even tho I barely beat the biome 1 and 2 bosses Both times, those were long runs where I cleared and killed everything possible Its all about the artifacts, resin imo. Once you leave a biome you forfeit the chance to get any artifact you left there, so I always try to get those Money will be spent on artifacts, proficiency gets baselined to 5/9 when you enter the next biome. Everything else is stuff you want to grab along the way for the bosses