Remnant 2: BEST Ritualist Build [85+ Hours Experience]

The Ritualist Archetype in Remnant 2 is the newest and only archetype in the Awakened King DLC, focusing on a mage-like build that focuses on Negative Status Effects. The perks, skills, and the Archetype Trait mainly work by applying Negative Status Effects to you or surrounding enemies. As such, for a strong build, you should focus on these aspects and think strategically to get mid-combat bonuses.

My Best Ritualist Build 

Here’s a quick overview of the best Ritualist build in Remnant 2, detailing the weapons and other pieces of gear you’ll need for the setup:

Best Weapons

Weapons can be a divisive category since I’d usually recommend obvious choices like the Nightfall or the Atom Splitter. However, for a Ritualist build, I’ll be listing weapons that specialize in inflicting Negative Status Effects like Burning, Corroded, and other such debuffs.

Long Gun: Sparkfire Shotgun

When it comes to inflicting the Burn status, no Long Gun does it better than the Sparkfire Shotgun. As a shotgun, this weapon is a close-range beast, but its Burn buildup is the key reason I included it in my guide.

• Without any Weapon Mod or Mutators, the Sparkfire Shotgun can almost instantly apply the Burning Effect to enemies.
• Burning is easy to apply and has the ability to extend its duration, so a Ritualist build can easily take advantage of the debuff.
• The Sparkfire Shotgun is located in the basement of the Lighthouse located in the Derelict Lighthouse dungeon.

Melee Weapon: Krell Axe

Similar to the Sparkfire Shotgun, the Krell Axe does another devastating status effect on enemies – Shock. Its Weapon Mod, Krell Throw, lets you throw the axe and apply Overloaded to an enemy once hit. The hit does 225 Damage every 5 seconds for 13 seconds, totaling up to 450 Damage on a target after a successful hit.

• The main reason I picked the Krell Axe is because it applies a unique Negative Status Effect, which is exceptionally useful for the rings and amulets you’ll use.
• The Krell Axe is the only melee weapon that can do Shock Damage, and even as a regular weapon, I found it fairly reliable in my experience.
• You can pick up this weapon towards the end of Endaira’s End, a dungeon in Yaesha.

Secondary Weapon: MP60-R

Since I’ve already taken the Sparkfire Shotgun as the Long Gun for this build, I wanted a ranged weapon to which you can apply Weapon Mods. Although I prefer the Cube Gun over the MP60-R, this gun can be equipped with status-based Weapon Mods, making it an ideal addition to an optimal Ritualist build.

• With Fire to the Sparkfire Shotgun and Shock to the Krell Axe, I’d recommend equipping the Corrosive Rounds Weapon Mod to the MP60-R.
• Furthermore, with a wide variety of Negative Status Effects available in your arsenal, I’d also suggest equally using all your weapons together to get maximum DoT and added bonuses.
• To get the MP60-R immediately after completing the tutorial in Ward 13, go to the upper floor of Ford’s Quarters and enter the code 0415 on the lock of the chest to get the Cargo Control Key.
• Use the key on the door found on Ward 13’s northeastern edge to get the weapon.

Best Rings

Again, sticking with the debuff-oriented build, you should focus on getting rings that apply different Status Effects on enemies. Fortunately, the Awakened King DLC adds several new rings in Remnant 2 that are specifically designed to go alongside a Ritualist build.

Atonement Fold

The Atonement Fold is an exceptionally powerful ring that inflicts the user with Bleed but increases Crit Chance by 10%. Fortunately, the 1.1 Bleed Damage you get is extremely minimal from my experience, but that Crit Chance bonus is extremely good. It’s one of the reasons you can use the Atonement Fold with most builds in Remnant 2.

• The reason it works so well with the Ritualist is by trigging the Lighthouse Keeper’s Ring’s ability.
• You can even nullify most of the Atonement Fold’s debuff with the archetype’s Dark Blood Utility Perk.
• You can purchase the Atonement Fold for 500x Scrap from Leywise, found in the sewers of the Forlorn Coast in the Awakened King DLC.

Lighthouse Keeper’s Ring

The Lighthouse Keeper’s Ring can generate +3 Mod Power for every nearby entity, including yourself, suffering from a Negative Status Effect. This ability can stack up to 5 times, giving you up to +15 Mod Power, so it’s no surprise why I picked it as a top choice for the Ritualist build.

• Thanks to the Atonement Fold, you already get +3 Mod Power by default.
• By applying status effects on enemies, you can not only utilize the Ritualist’s perks and skills but also generate more Mod Power to boost your weapon’s attack power.
• You can find the Lighthouse Keeper’s Ring on the balcony of the Lighthouse in the Derelict Lighthouse dungeon in Losomn.

Stone Of Malevolence

The Stone of Malevolence is a hard-to-get but rewarding ring that grants +15% Mod Power for every type of Elemental Damage. Believe me, 15% is a noticeable bump, and since your Long Gun, Secondary Weapon, and Melee Weapon do Elemental Damage, you’ll often trigger this ability.

The Stone of Malevolence is a random drop in Remnant 2, but from my experience, you might find it in the Palace of the One True King. For more details on getting the Stone, I have a guide on the best new rings in Remnant 2, where I thoroughly talk about its use cases and location.

Timekeeper’s Jewel

While you can interchange between some of the rings in my guide, the Timekeeper’s Jewel is a must-have for a Ritualist build. This ring increases the duration of Status Effects that you’ve applied to enemies, which becomes an extremely overpowered ability when combined with the Ritualist’s perks and skills, like Miasma and Wrath.

• It’s worth mentioning that the added Status Effect duration varies per status.
• The Timekeeper’s Jewel can be found inside a chest at the Forsaken Quarter, a dungeon in the base game’s Losomn.

Best Amulet: Death-Soaked Idol

The Death-Soaked Idol is one of the newest amulets in Remnant 2 and is a perfect fit for a Ritualist build. This amulet increases all Damage by 5% for each entity within 20m suffering from a unique Negative Status Effect. The effect can stack up to 5 times, so you can get a Damage Bonus up to 25%.

• The Death-Soaked Idol works very similar to the aforementioned Lighthouse Keeper’s Ring, so you can generate extra Damage and Mod Power by applying status effects like Burn, Corroded, and many more.
• You can get the amulet after completing the Ethereal Manor Event in the updated Losomn world in Remnant 2’s DLC.

Best Mutators

Mutators are additional add-ons that you can equip onto enemies to gain additional abilities – offensive, defensive, or healing-based. On all the weapons I’ve listed above, you can equip 1 Mutator onto their respective Mutator Slot.

Melee Mutator: Tainted Blade

The Tainted Blade Mutator mostly relies on the Corroded effect since it increases Melee Damage per stack of Corroded on the target. On Level 10, the Mutator can also apply Corroded after a Charged Melee Attack, so the item becomes self-sufficient at that point. So, you’ll need to level up this Mutator before you can start using it effectively.

• Tainted Blade is a great addition to the Krell Axe since the weapon will now apply the Shock and Corroded effects.
• With 2 unique Negative Status Effects, you’ll be able to stack more Damage via DoT, the Stone of Malevolence, and the Death-Soaked Idol.
• You’ll also get more Mod Power thanks to the Lighthouse Keeper’s Ring.
• The Tainted Blade can be purchased from the Dwell NPC at Ward 13 for 75x Relic Dust and 500x Scrap.

Gun Mutator: Twisting Wounds

The Twisting Wounds Mutator increases the Ranged Damage of a weapon to Bleeding targets. Like the Tainted Blade, this Mutator becomes self-sufficient at Level 10, where it applies Bleeding with the weapon’s Ranged Weakspot and Ranged Critical Hits.

• I’d recommend applying Twisted Wounds to the MP60-R to make a trio of weapons that ultimately apply Burn, Overloaded, Corroded, and Bleed simultaneously.
• Here’s a YouTube video you can watch to find the Twisting Wounds in Cotton’s Kiln, one of the dungeons in Remnant 2’s base-game Losomn.

My Take After Using The Ritualist For 20+ Hours

One of my favorite archetypes in Remnant 2’s base game was the Invader Archetype, which I loved because of how simple, versatile, fun, and sometimes overpowered it was. However, I couldn’t really find a suitable secondary archetype for it until I unlocked the Ritualist Archetype in the DLC. It’s honestly staggering how creative you can get with a build for this and how many different playstyles you can incorporate with it.

However, it was obvious that my Invader archetype and the Ritualist couldn’t work hand-in-hand. In fact, no archetype could since this new class is so unique that you rarely find any abilities that can improve it. Nonetheless, I did enjoy my time with it, and I highly recommend picking up this archetype for exploring the DLC.

That wraps up my extensive on the best Ritualist build in Remnant 2, detailing the weapons, rings, amulets, and mutators to go along with your archetype. From what I’ve tested, the Ritualist is diverse and open, so you can swap out most items I’ve listed for others to be creative. Who knows, maybe you’ll find a combo more suited to your playstyle. In the meantime, you can use my build to breeze through hordes of enemies and bosses.

Be sure to check Usama’s review of Remnant 2’s Awakened King DLC to see where this new expansion excels and where it falls short. For other setups related to fun and viable archetypes, check out my Gunslinger Build, where I dive deep into the items and weapons you’ll need. And if you want to explore some niche in-game builds, here’s Irfan Ansari’s detailed guide on the best bow build in Remnant 2.

Next:

• Remnant 2: Vault Of The Formless
• Remnant 2: Void Vessel Facility Locked Door
• Remnant 2: How To Unlock And Upgrade Ford’s Scattergun?
• Remnant 2: How To Get Unsullied Heart Relic