It can be key to take mental note of what you actually died of each time - and take appropriate action. Like literally make a note, spot the trend: Too aggressive? too passive? Running after loot? not afraid enough of getting hit or maybe just not practiced enough in dodging?

After getting blown up repeatedly and making notes of what killed me i now know that im loot addicted, i loose focus, and i try to be waaaay to clever :)

I haved assembled a list of common phenomenons that might be presenting themselves to you, along with appropriate measures. Maybe one of the following is your favorite nuclear death.

Spawning in a crowd of enemies may seem like bad luck to the extent of sure demise. The game however provides you with appropriate tools for this situation.

Try always having a lifesaver gun on you, with sufficient ammunition. Something that shoots fast? Something with an insanely inefficient spread? Yes please! Pick up a weapon that blows up the entire screen! Have it selected before you enter a new stage so you can get a head start.

Use it whenever you feel threatened or when your screen is so full that you don't know where you are any more. It's better to run of ammo than to get trampled. Don't hesitate, don't retreat, waste the entire screen as fast as possible!

Some good panic weapons are:

• Smart Gun
  
• Minigun
  
• Heavy Machine Gun
  
• Pop Gun
  
• SMG
  
• Triple Machinegun

You might experience dying because you run out of hit points. But fear not, there are a lot of mutations which can really help you with that. Try picking them with top priority.

Defensive mutations in order of helpfulness:

• Strong Spirit: Prevents one death. Everyone tells me this got better, i'll have to try this out some more. Thanks Sevro!
  
• Second Stomach: Get more health out of health kits
  
• Rhino Skin: Gives you more health and also heals you once
  
• Rabbit Paw: More drops, also more health kits.
  
• Bloodlust: Kills sometimes give 1 health. this will only help you if you already take little damage overall. It wont get you out of a tight spot very often. but its been giving me more health lately i think so i moved it up a notch
  
• Plutonium Hunger (and Throne Butt with the character Eyes): Pick up health kits at an increased range
  
• Last Wish: Ammo and health recharge. It's desperate, but you'll live another day

The Boiling Veins mutation might seem like a waste to some but it helps against parked cars, flying cars, blowing yourself up with that damn grenade launcher and standing too close to the dying boss. And those damn fire nozzles in the Scrapyard! You won't go below 4 HP from those effects.

Endeavor these quite different approaches to get hit less often. Maybe one works out for you. It might take a moment to get used to each, so maybe try each for one run or so.

• Method A : watch your step more than your aim
  
• Method B : concentrate on a spot between your cursor and your character
  
• Method C : look at the cursor, but only concentrate on dodging

Also try the character Plant and the mutation Extra Feet for extra speed. Or Fish. Fish can roll.


This game is made for dodging, you can't just stand around shooting. Playing as the super fragile character Melting will sharpen your reflexes and set your priorities straight.


If dancing in bullet hell isn't your thing, try out the character Eyes with the Throne Butt and Euphoria mutations. Your right mouse button skill will stop all but the fastest bullets but also pull in enemies. Its a bit of a timing thing sometimes. Also you'll be like, whoa, Matrix dude!

If you keep running out of ammo try picking ammunition friendly mutations. However if you usually don't run out of ammo consider investing your rads in in more offensive or defensive mutations instead.

Ammo conserving mutations include, in order of usefulness:

• Rabbit Paw: Get more ammo from enemies. Extra good if you got a magnety mutation to attract the ammo (Plutonium Hunger and also Throne Butt as Eyes).
  
• Lucky Shot: Get random ammo. Useful if you swap weapons a lot. I hear they buffed this.
  
• Back Muscle: Hold more ammo. Highly recommended for fast firing weapons like the minigun!
  
• Last Wish: Ammo and health recharge. It's still desperate, but hey
  
• Throne Butt for the character Steroids: Sometimes restore ammo, especially when firing two guns.
  
• Open Mind: More ammo chests
  
• Recyling Glands: Gives you a lot of free bullets ... if you don't miss all the time. Only for regular bullet guns, not shell or pop weapons. Use it to make miniguns etc more viable.
  
• Gamma Guts: Touching enemies damages them. Probably good with the Scarier Face mutation, as you dont loose health if you kill an enemy right away. I'll have to try that out some more.

Additional hints:

• Even though this isnt the best reason to choose a character, it might be noteworthy that the character Fish always gets a bit more Ammo. And Fish can roll.
  
• Mind that picking up ammo hungry powerful weapons early can drain your ammo fast.
  
• Equip the right weapon before running into an orange ammo chest
  
• Red/orange "gift wrapped" ammo chests give you ammo for weapons you dont have, but if they get opened by a nearby portal you get regular ammo clips.

The amount of damage you deal doesn't only depend on your weapon. If you feel like you don't pack enough punch, opt for these mutations, which also conserve a bit of ammo:

• Scarier Face: More damage!
  
• Throne Butt for the characters Plant, Melting, Y.V, Rogue and Horror
  
• Trigger Fingers (or Stress if youre often half dead): Higher rate of fire
  
• Eagle Eyes: Can focus your damage with spread weapons. Makes the SMG a really neat regular gun!
  
• Laser Brain: Use it with a good energy weapon
  
• Impact Wrists and Shotgun Shoulders: Bouncing corpses and shells do translate into damage, especially when there are a lot of enemies
  
• Sharp Teeth: Enemies share your damage... good if you plan on getting hit i guess?

Though I love taking damage increasing mutations I have to admit that not dealing enough damage is rarely what kills me in the end. But what about you?

While it's best to be super careful around those portal squares you'll sometimes have to answer to the law.

Do some runs with the character Rogue to learn about the different cops. She's a cop magnet.

Their powers resemble those of the heroes. The one that shields like the character Crystal is best dealt with using a weapon that doesn't reflect off him, like a laser or a crossbow.

Also keep moving and watch for the blue sparks of their grenades!

Don't get surprised by a boss fight. They're at stage three of every zone and most profit a lot from having the right weapons and a bit of an online read up if they annoy you too much.

See transition levels and the first two stages as a preparation for the boss stage, try getting into shape and avoid risks.

Big Bandit: Keep moving and know your cover. Try going in a circle and hit him with a focussed ranged weapon like the machine gun or a crossbow. He will not change his aim when he started shooting. If you get too close he might run you over.

Big Dog: First off, don't get cornered. A ranged weapon with high rate of fire can down him rather fast. Don't be anywhere near when he blows up, unless you're on the Boiling Veins mutation.

Lil' Hunter: Clear the screen of enemies as fast as you can. Then keep moving OH GOD THERE HE IS AAARRRGH!

And when you're past that you're pretty much past this guide i guess ;)

It's not all about skill

Shoot, then loot
I had a hard time learning to not loot every vanishing rad and ammo clip on the screen like a crazy loot addicted person. You might be surprised to live on if you don't start running forward when a radiation canister explodes at the other end of the level.


Hit and run
Get into cover and only dash out for a split second when attacking. You don't have to stand there and watch if you really hit and if anything might be coming back at you.


Your level, your rules
The last enemy can be a surprise warp to the next level. Leave a harmless enemy behind if you can afford it - and you can pick the level clean and decide for yourself when a stage is over.

Rhythm
Its all about finding your own rhythm of progress. Try doing some stages in one of the following different rythms and see if it does you any good:

• Rythm A : going double your usual speed
  
• Rythm B : going fast, then prepare for the next rush
  
• Rythm C : controlled progress, securing every area

Also try listening to different music. Although I like the ingame music, especially on the secret levels, it can inadvertently set your pace. Mind that you wont hear the bosses getting activated if you have the boss intros deactivated, but you'll notice soon enough. Well maybe not soon enough, but you'll notice :)

Also recently ive noticed good progress playing in silence. I've noticed that phenomenon since the dawn of gaming and i never liked the idea. Its good for the score sometimes, but music is a sweet thing. I've come to terms with myself only muting the game on daily runs when i feel like it.

You can pause the game at any time, even on a daily run. Taking a short break every now and then can help against lack-of-concentrationy mistakes. I recommend taking breaks at end of levels. When you pause a boss fight you might take too long to get your priorities right.

A lot of things can distract you. Try turning off all sound, other screens or whatever may nag your brain.

Don't optimize the unoptimizable
My advice in reading guides and looking up infos on the wiki is to try out stuff to find what you like. You can have the best theoretical setup but your gameplay will be best when you do the things you like. Take mutations and weapons that feel best to you. Take the character where you don't constantly forget that you have a special ability. Having fun is half the throne.

Also sometimes you might just not be in the most efficient mood or get dealt bad cards, don't let it go to your head.


I hope you found a bit of inspiration here.

Enjoy - and see you in the loop!