Risk of Rain 2 Bandit: [Expert’s Opinion + Experience]

In our Risk of Rain 2 Bandit guide, we are going to talk about his abilities along with items that suit his style the most.

Bandit is one of the newest characters to get added to Risk of Rain 2. He arrived through the Risk of Rain 2 Anniversary Update which went live back in March. The thing that I love about Bandit is that he is a fast-paced character. In addition to this, he specializes in taking his enemies down from far away.

Key Highlights
  • Bandit is the newest fast-speed character in Risk of Rain 2, which can take down his enemies in one strike.
  • To unlock Bandit, you have to complete the ‘Warrior’ Challenge by completing the 3rd teleporter event. Having a Huntress Character can also directly unlock Bandit.
  • Several abilities that can help Bandit in the overall journey, include Backstab, Bust, Serrated Dagger, Smoke Bomb, and Lights out.
  • There is also Blast which deals with 330% damage, Serrated Shiv deals with 240% damage and Desperado, which deals with 600% damage.
  • The best options of items for turning Bandit into a more dangerous warrior machine include Shatterspleen, Soldier’s Syringe, Crowbar, Paul’s Goat Hoof, and Hardlight Afterburner.

How To Unlock Bandit In Risk Of Rain 2?

Before I begin, let’s first check out Bandit’s stats in Risk of Rain 2:

Character NameHPHP RegenDamageSpeedArmor
Bandit110 [+33 per lvl]- Drizzle: 1.5/sec [+0.2 per lvl]
- Rainstorm: 1/sec [+0.2 per lvl]
- Moonsoon: 0.6/s [+0.2 per lvl]
12 [+2.4 per lvl]7 m/s0 (Drizzle: 70)

Unlocking Bandit in Risk of Rain 2 is a simple and easy task. If you already have the Huntress character, then Bandit will automatically become available when you load the game after installing the Anniversary Update.

However, if you don’t have the said character unlocked, then you’ll need to complete a challenge called “Warrior”. In this, you will need to reach and complete the 3rd Temeporter event without dying. Upon completing it, you’ll unlock Bandit.

Bandit Abilities

Here is a brief preview of all the abilities you can make use of with Bandit:

Abilities NameTypeCooldownProc CoefficientEffects
BackstabPassiveN/AN/A- Attacks From Behind Are Critical Strikes
BurstPrimary0.3 s/shot0.5x5- Fire A Shotgun Burst
- Damage: 5 x 100%
- Shell Limit: 4 Shells
BlastPrimary0.3 s/shot1- Fire A Rifle Blast
- Damage: 330%
- Max 4 Bullet Limit
Serrated DaggerSecondary4 secs1- Perform A Lunge And Slash Attack
- Damage: 360%
- Critical Strikes Can Cause Massive Dmg
Serrated ShivSecondary4 secs1- Thorws A Hidden Blade
- Damage: 240%
- Critical Strikes Causes Massive Dmg For Some Time
Smoke BombUtility6 secs 1- Stuns The Enemy
- Damage: 200%
- Become Invisisble And Deal An Additional 200% Damage
Light OutSpecial4 secs1- Fires A Revolver Shot
- Damage: 600%
- Kills Resets All Your Cooldowns
DesperadoSpecial4 secs1- Fire A Revolver Shot
- Damage: 600%
- Kills Gives You Stacking Tokens That Deals 10% More Damage

Passive – Backstab

First off, I have his passive called Backstab. Thanks to this passive, whenever Bandit attacks his enemies from Behind, they are automatically converted into Critical Strikes. Although you will be able to easily tell where the back of the enemy is, some will leave you confused, such as Vagrants. You should see where they are looking while attacking you for such enemies as that will be their front.

Risk of Rain 2 Bandit
Backstab

Primary – Burst

This ability allows Bandit to take out a shotgun and fire a burst of 5 pellets with each one dealing 100% damage. The shotgun carries four rounds and offers a good reload speed. In addition to this, the fire rate will depend upon your attack speed, meaning that you will shoot as fast as you can click. I will suggest that you double-tap your shots. 

Risk of Rain 2 Bandit
Burst

Secondary – Serrated Dagger

Serrated Dagger lets Bandit perform a melee slash that deals 360% damage. However, the area it covers is small. It has a cooldown of 4 seconds and also applies Hemorrhage on a Critical Strike. For those who don’t know, Hemorrhage deals 2000% base damage for a total of 15 seconds. In other words, it can help you take down powerful enemies within seconds; that is if you accurately land your attacks on them.

Risk of Rain 2 Bandit
Serrated Dagger

Utility –  Smoke Bomb

This ability grants Bandit invisibility for around three seconds and stuns things within a small area. In addition to this, it also boosts the amount of damage he deals by 200%. Thus, this ability is useful for times when you need a quick escape or want to walk past an enemy unnoticed. However, there are some hidden benefits of it as well. For instance, your movement speed is increased by 30% when you’re invisible.

Risk of Rain 2 Bandit
Smoke Bomb

In addition to this, whenever you use and get out of the ability, there is a small hop effect. Although it is barely noticeable when you’re on the ground, it can help you a lot when you’re in the air. It can work as a double-jump feature and can help you reach high places that you normally can’t.

Special – Lights Out

Bandit fires a revolver shot upon using this ability which deals 600% damage. This is something that can take down a powerful monster in an instant. The best part is that if you manage to deal a killing blow, your ability cooldowns are reset.

Risk of Rain 2 Bandit
Lights Out

Alternate Abilities

Bandit has a couple of alternate abilities as well that can be unlocked by completing various challenges.

Blast

His Primary Alternate ability is called “Blast,” and it fires a rifle blast that deals 330% damage. This ability can be unlocked by completing the Bandit: Classic Man Challenge, which requires you to reset your abilities cooldowns 15 times in a row by using the Lights Out special ability.

Risk of Rain 2 Bandit
Blast

Serrated Shiv

Bandit’s Secondary Alternate ability is “Serrated Shiv” which throws a hidden blade that deals 240% damage. Just like Serrated Dagger, it also causes Hemorrhaging with Critical Strikes. This ability can be unlocked by completing the Bandit: Sadist Challenge which requires you to kill a monster with 20 stacks of Hemorrhage.

Risk of Rain 2 Bandit
Serrated Shiv

Desperado

His Special Alternate ability is “Desperado.” Just like Lights Out, it fires a revolver shot that deals 600% damage. However, it grants you stacking tokens for 10% more damage if you eliminate an enemy through it.

Risk of Rain 2 Bandit
Desperado

Best Items For Bandit In Risk Of Rain 2

At the moment, there are a lot of items in Risk of Rain 2 that you can choose from. However, the most important thing to keep in mind is that not all items will work perfectly with Bandit. Therefore, you must choose the ones that can take Bandit to the next level. 

Shatterspleen

Risk of Rain 2 Bandit
Shatterspleen
Rarity Category Effects Per Stack Buffs Stack Type
Boss Damage
  • Damage Base: 400%
  • Damage Max HP: 15%
  • Crit Chance: 5%
  • +400% increase in base dmg
  • +15% increase in their max hp dmg
Linear Type

This is one of the most amazing items in Risk of Rain 2. This ability grants you a 5% chance to land a Critical Strike and inflicts a bleeding effect for 240% damage. Furthermore, a bleeding enemy will also explode on death while dealing 400% base damage and an additional 15% of their maximum health.

Soldier’s Syringe

Risk of Rain 2 Bandit
Soldier’s Syringe
Rarity Category Effects Per Stack Buffs Stack Type
Common Damage Attack Speed: 15% Additional 15% increase in attack speed Linear Type

Soldier’s Syringe will transform Bandit’s into a killing machine by increasing his attack speed by 15%. This means that you will spend less time reloading and more time shooting. This can prove to be useful when you’re taking down a group of enemies.

Crowbar

Risk of Rain 2 Bandit
Crowbar
Rarity Category Effects Per Stack Buffs Stack Type
Common Damage Damage: 75% +75% increase in damage Linear Type

The Crowbar deals 75% damage to enemies who have 90% or above health. In addition to this, after you stack two or more Crowbars, you’ll start dealing more damage than a critical hit. This means that the more Crowbars you stack, the higher the damage will be.

Paul’s Goat Hoof

Risk of Rain 2 Bandit
Paul’s Goat Hoof
Rarity Category Effects Per Stack Buffs Stack Type
Common Utility Movement Speed: 14% +14 Increase in Movement Speed Per Stack Linear Type

Movement speed is important for every character in Risk of Rain 2. But for Bandit, it holds even more importance. This is because you need to be quick in order to successfully perform Backstab on enemies. For this purpose, you can use Paul’s Goat Hoof that will increase Bandit’s movement speed by 14%. This will allow you to reach the back of the enemy before they even get the chance to make a move.

Hardlight Afterburner

Risk of Rain 2 Bandit
Hardlight Afterburner
Rarity Category Effects Per Stack Buffs Stack Type
Legendary Utility Charges: 2 +2 extra charges added for your utility skill Linear Type

The final item I want to mention in my guide is Hardlight Afterburner. As I discussed above, Bandit’s Utility skill allows him to become invisible for up to 3 seconds. As for Hardlight Afterburner helps you remain invisible most of the time as it reduces the Utility Skill cooldown by 33%. This means that you’ll be able to use Bandit’s Smoke Bomb ability more often thanks to this item.

Conclusion

This was all regarding our Risk of Rain 2’s Bandit guide. Keep in mind that the list of items is based on personal choice and you might find some other items that go well with Bandit’s style. Overall, he is a good character and can help you take down enemies quickly. If you manage to learn his abilities properly, then you can even take down powerful opponents in an instant.

More Risk of Rain 2 Guides: Risk of Rain 2 Tier List – Ranking All Survivors In The Game

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Haddi is a Senior Writer at eXputer who loves to play games and talk about them like a fanatic. Hadi's years of experience in this industry let him provide a unique and critical perspective on games to share with his audience. His work is also featured on several other websites. You can hit him up on his gaming profile at Steam!

Experience: 5+ years || Previously Worked At Gamepur, Gear Siege, GearNuke

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