Vampire Survivors Beginner’s Guide: Staring at Death

Vampire Survivors surprised the world as one of the most addictive Rogue-lite experiences out there; The 2D pixel auto-shooter will make you drool after the endless number of deaths. But the best part is that this heavy hitter has sneakily made its way to Android as one of the best Android games out there, all while also knocking the best Vampire Survivors clones out of the park. Thanks to this deliciously free version, you now have an excuse to load up on phenomenal titles on your favorite Android gaming phone.

how to play vampire survivors

Vampire Survivors is a progressive rogue-lite bullet hell game. The objective is to survive waves of monsters that attempt to whittle your health down to zero for 30 minutes (or 15 minutes, depending on the stage); Most failed attempts will leave you with some currency (gold) which is used to buy new characters and power-ups.

The bullet hell part of the game is how enemies are generated, whether through a flying swarm of bats or an enclosing ring of plant monsters traveling near you. The longer you survive, the more aggressive the waves will be generated, so it’s best to prepare effectively for this ongoing onslaught.

control movement

Getting comfortable with movement is important in Vampire Survivors as the game is primarily operated via touch controls (in the Android version), although controller support is also included. In addition, some characters use projectile attacks, and there are in-game upgrades to add projectile weapons, so your character’s face is the direction the projectile will shoot.

You can turn off the joystick displayed from the main menu and tap Option , Visible Joystick (page 3). Sometimes the on-screen joystick obscures the vision around the character, so turning it off may improve your experience if you choose to play with native touch controls.

Choosing a Character in Vampire Survivors

Vampire Survivors offers 41 characters, but unlocking them all will take a major chunk of your time. Each character provides a starting weapon, close-range or long-range based, and a unique passive. The starting character is Antonio, who is more capable and will help you grab the starting bank of gold. But after that, you’ll want to unlock Imelda Bellpeace (one of the coolest characters in Vampire Survivor); Her Magic Wand is a beginner-friendly projectile weapon, and her passive gives you a sweet XP boost to jump through those early levels.

Avoid playing Arka, as his Fire Wand takes time to upgrade, and projectile speed is slow. It’s also expensive to buy during your first few tries.

Level up in Vampire Survivors

The key to success is leveling up your character as quickly as possible so that you’re ready to demolish enemies before they become a hindrance. Collecting blue orbs provides experience points for your character; Patience is key to lifting the jewels within the 5-minute mark. Otherwise, if you don’t plan your path carefully, you risk unnecessary damage on contact.

Levels add weapons and upgrades. Always choose damage upgrades and weapons to add to projectiles. For example, try using Ax and Whip and then upgrade your Whip (especially if you’re using Antonio) to fire a second projectile.

It is tempting to build a beefy (more HP and Defense) unit with these upgrades. Still, Vampire Survivors is a DPS (damage per second) check first and foremost, so you’ll want to put all of your points into area coverage for extra damaging weapons. However, using Garlic creates a circle around your character, which is helpful on a slow projectile-dependent character like Arka.

get power-ups

Collecting treasure chests and watching ads to collect more gold is the best way to pay for power-ups. Power-ups are purchased in the main menu and carried over to all of your unlocked characters; Some upgrades are more expensive than others, but you should aim to buy Might, Magnet, and Growth for your initial power-ups.

Don’t forget to watch Vampire Survivors

The surprise drop of Vampire Survivors on Android is the most fitting end to 2022 that anyone could ask for. The simplicity of the gameplay, addictive progression track, and easy-to-use friendly touch controls, without spending a single penny to play, are the reasons why the game deserves to be added to your gaming library right away. It really is one of the best Android games ever, and even if you’re new to rogue-lite games, it’s got enough content to make it a great introduction to the genre.