Risk Of Rain Returns: 12 Best Items [Expert Picks]

After putting 26+ hours into Risk of Rain Returns, here is my suggestions for the items to use in runs.

The latest installment in the Risk of Rain franchise by Hopoo Games features a ton of items, just like its predecessors. The item variety is what makes a roguelike fun, and each run is unique. But the plethora of items can almost be a deterrent. That is why I have compiled the Risk of Rain Returns best items, so you know which items are worth grabbing whenever you come across them.

Key Takeaways
  • Risk of Rain Returns features more than 100 items.
  • The best items are chosen based on multiple factors, including their drop rates and availability, as well as their effects.
  • The advantages of these items range from damage buffs to defensive or utility-based buffs.  
  • A potential drawback for these items could be that some of them are very hard to encounter in your runs due to the extremely low drop rate. 

Our Picks For Best Items

Following is a summary of the best items:

Best Items

ItemsCategory
Soldier's SyringeUtility
Red WhipUtility
Topaz BroochHealth
Meat NuggetHealth
Tesla CoilDamage
Happiest MaskDamage
Dio's Best Friend-
Brilliant BehemothDamage
CrowbarDamage
Burning WitnessUtility
Jar of SoulsDamage/Utility
Hopoo FeathersUtility
A list of the best items in no particular order.

12. Soldier’s Syringe

Risk of rain returns best items
Log entry for the Soldier’s Syringe. [Screenshot by me]
  • Increases your attack speed by 12% per stack.
  • Attack speed is just as important as damage to increase the overall amount of damage you deal.
  • I chose this item due to its availability and the much-needed buff it grants. 
Item Tier Common
Category Utility
Award Best for an increase in attack speed
How To Unlock Available from the start

11. Red Whip

Risk of rain returns best items
Log entry for the Red Whip. [Image by me]
  • The Red Whip increases your movement by 60%.
  • The effect only gets activated when you have been out of combat for at least 2 seconds. 
  • Movement speed is an often overlooked stat, but it is essential for clearing stages in a reasonable time. 
  • I chose this item due to its ability to influence your clear rates directly.
Item Tier Uncommon
Category Utility
Award Best for movement speed
How To Unlock Available from the start

10. Topaz Brooch

Risk of rain returns best items
Log entry for the Topaz Brooch. [Screenshot by me] 
  • Killing an enemy grants you 15 barrier (+15 per stack).
  • The Topaz Brooch improves your survivability by granting you shields for kills. 
  • I chose this item due to its availability and the much-needed defense buff it grants. 
Item Tier Uncommon
Category Health
Award Best for shields
How To Unlock Available from the start

9. Crowbar

Log entry for the Crowbar. [Image by me]
  • The Crowbar is a simple item and it deals +50% damage (+30% per stack) to enemies that have more than 80% health. 
  • This item helps you during the start of combat when enemies have full HP and allows you to deal bonus damage. 
  • I chose this item due to its common availability and potential to stack up. 
Item Tier Common
Category Damage
Award Best for combat initiation
How To Unlock Available from the start

8. Meat Nugget

Risk of rain returns best items
Log entry for the Meat Nugget. [Image by me]
  • The Meat Nugget has an 8% chance on hit to drop 2 meat nuggets that heal for 2*8 health. 
  • The chance to drop nuggets may seem low, but when hordes of enemies surround you, it happens more often than you’d think. 
  • I chose this item due to its healing ability and common drop rate. 
Item Tier Common
Category Health
Award Best for budget healing
How To Unlock Available from the start

7. Hopoo Feather

Log entry for the Hopoo Feather. [Image by me]
  • The Hopoo Feather grants you +1 jump count (+1 per stack)
  • Mobility is often underappreciated, and the Hopoo Feather lets you get to inaccessible areas in less time.
  • I chose this item since it grants you irreplaceable mobility and is also relatively common to find. 
Item Tier Uncommon
Category Utility
Award Best for mobility
How To Unlock Available from the start

6. Burning Witness

Log entry for the Burning Witness. [Image by me]
  • The Burning Witness gives you a fire trail that deals damage whenever you kill an enemy. 
  • In addition to that, you get a 30% increase in movement speed for 6 seconds (+2 per stack). 
  • This item is especially powerful for melee characters, as the damage over time stacks up pretty quickly.
  • I chose this item since it deals collateral damage and also grants you a movement buff during combat, unlike some other items. 
Item Tier Boss
Category Utility
Award Best for collateral damage
How To Unlock Dropped by Magma Worm

5. Jar of Souls

Log entry for the Jar of Souls. [Screenshot by me] 
  • The Jar of Souls duplicates every enemy as a ghost and turns them into your allies.
  • The ghosts have 70% damage and last for 15 seconds. 
  • I chose this item due to its ability to clear the screen with the press of a button.
Item Tier Equipment
Category Damage, Utility
Award Best for screen clearing
How To Unlock Available from the start

4. Tesla Coil

Risk of rain returns best items
Log entry for the Tesla Coil. [Screenshot by me] 
  • The Tesla Coil passively shocks the nearby enemies for 120% damage (+60 per stack). 
  • Passive damage is extremely important in Risk of Rain Returns, as you cannot target all the enemies at all times. 
  • I chose this item due to its extremely high passive damage and synergy with other items. 
Item Tier Rare
Category Damage
Award Best for passive damage
How To Unlock Available from the start

3. Brilliant Behemoth

Risk of rain returns best items
Log entry for the Brilliant Behemoth. [Screenshot by me] 
  • The Brilliant Behemoth makes all your attacks explode for a bonus of 20% total damage (+20% per stack) to nearby enemies. 
  • I chose this item due to its ability to dish out destructive AOE damage and clear large waves of enemies. 
Item Tier Rare
Category Damage
Award Best for explosive damage
How To Unlock Available from the start

2. Happiest Mask

Risk of rain returns best items
Log entry for the Happiest Mask. [Image by me]
  • The Happiest Mask spawns ghosts from the enemies you kill in the last 15 seconds with 100% health (+20 per stack) and 70% damage (+30% per stack).
  • The increased firepower helps you get through opposition in a much more efficient way. 
  • I chose this item due to its ability to turn your enemies into weapons of destruction. 
Item Tier Rare
Category Damage
Award Best for combat enhancement
How To Unlock Available from the start

1. Dio’s Best Friend

  • Dio’s Best Friend is, without a doubt, one of the best items in Risk of Rain Returns.
  • It grants you an additional life.
  • Once you die, you are revived with 40% health and 2 seconds of invulnerability. 
  • I chose this item because it grants you an additional chance to survive in the run. 
Item Tier Rare
Category
Award Best for survival
How To Unlock Die 50 times

My Thoughts On These Items

After spending more than 26 hours so far in Risk of Rain Returns, the items that I would recommend are Dio’s Best Friend for that invaluable extra life and Happiest Mask along with Brilliant Behemoth for the damage. Both of these items provide combat enhancement in one way or another and certainly make your build strong enough to shred through waves of enemies. 

It is worth noting that the items that I have chosen are not a definitive way to look at the best items in Risk of Rain Returns. These are the items that I think are the best and would depend on for winning a run. But that isn’t to say that other items cannot perform at this level or more. Most of the time, item synergy is more important when it comes to builds, as compared to the quality of each individual item.

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Roaim is a Guides Writer at eXputer. He is an avid fan of RPG titles and fighting games. Roaim's love for games, which has been running strong for 15+ years, led him to write about them through detailed, top-notch guides. His gaming expertise is further solidified by his game time of 3,000+ hours on Monster Hunter: World. Apart from that, you can also find him dominating players on Tekken! You can follow Roaim's gaming activities on his Steam profile.

Experience: 1+ Years || Mainly Covers Guides On eXputer || Education: Bachelor's in Computer Science.

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