Risk of Rain 2: Transcendence Guide [All Pros And Cons]

Unlike many returning items, Transcendence is a new one in Risk of Rain 2. Whenever a player equips this lunar item, all of the health, except 1HP, turns into regenerating shields. Additionally, each Transcendence item grants a 50% health increase. The expansion in the health bar is further achieved by stacking more of the said item: e.g., each stack gives 25% more health.

Next, to regenerate the shields (which becomes the health after equipping the item), you need to avoid taking damage for at least seven seconds. It is because, in Risk of Rain 2, shields start to regenerate at a high rate for 2 seconds if your survivor dodges all incoming attacks first for 7 seconds. Otherwise, no item (found from Rusty box or random chests) in the game grants passive or active shield regeneration. Not taking damage for said amount of seconds is the only way to get back the depleted shields.

The logic behind 1 HP is associated with the fall damage because shields do not take fall damage hit; only the health bar does. The 1 HP is there to mitigate the fall damage, which does not drop a survivor’s health below the mentioned number. On a side note, Loader does not take any fall damage whatsoever.

Changes After Equipping The Item

As soon as you get the item, your survivor will be engulfed by a blue energy barrier indicating that the shield is the new health. It is pretty easy to spot as a glowing coating surrounds the survivor’s outer suit/body layer. Furthermore, a pair of antennae may appear on the head of humanoid characters like Mercenary, Captain, and others as well.

How to Get Transcendence

Transcendence is a lunar item, which means the chances of it dropping from chests or killing bosses are zero. The only way you can get this item is by spending lunar coins. One way to do this is by visiting Bazaar Between Time and purchasing lunar items from Newt. Another way is to get the item from lunar pods. It spawns on all environments randomly and takes up at least one lunar coin to activate and drop a random lunar item. So you may spend a lot of lunar coins before you see Transcendence dropping from a lunar pod.

The Pros and Cons

When it comes to the Transcendence item, its usage is a mixed bag. Of course, some instances favor a survivor if he/she equips the item. Then, few scenarios equipping this item render a pool of other valuable items straight up useless. So, without further ado, let’s dive into the pros and cons of Transcendence.

Pros:

• Shields recharge rapidly, allowing for quick regeneration.
• Swapping health with shields is beneficial, especially for high-damage classes like Artificer.
• Grants immunity to on-hit effects caused by Malachite Elites, making it advantageous against them.
• Benefits the secret class, Heretic, by negating its negative health regeneration element.
• Coupling with Tougher Times provides a chance of shield regeneration in combat.
• Pairing with Strides of Heresy and Shrine of Blood allows for immunity and efficient gold farming.

Cons:

• Makes healing items useless as they do not work on shields.
• Limits cooperative healing abilities, such as Bustling Fungus, when equipped with Transcendence.
• Lethal when paired with Rex, as the health-swapping mechanism conflicts with Rex’s skills.
• Does not synergize well with Enginee

Is Risk of Rain 2 Transcendence Worth It?

Well, technically, we see transcendence item as a valuable collectible. Of course, certain traits of the item devastate a couple of playable classes in the game. However, other than that, this item offers a unique experience to do runs in Risk of Rain 2. Not only it allows you to play the game from a different perspective, but it also tests your mastery over the game by throwing in an extra challenge.

Now that you know everything about the transcendence item, are you going to get it in your next run? Let us know more about it in the comments section here below.