THIS IS NOT A DEFINITIVE GUIDE ON HOW TO PLAY THE GAME! THERE ARE MULTIPLE WAYS OF PLAYING AND I JUST WANT TO SHARE MINE!
If playing like this works for you, great! Glad I could help!
If this style doesn't suit you, don't worry, there is one that does!

Ok, with that out of the way I want to explain what I will be doing in this guide. You can skip this section if you want :)

We will discuss how some game mechanics work, and the reasoning for the topics we will discuss in the next section:

As I said, I really like establishing specific roles with specific objectives, this is specially useful in this game as you'll see in Gameplay Fundamentals. But, as I said, you CAN play any other way you like, this isn't the best way to play for everyone, just the most fun for me!

We we'll determine which items the classes use.

Explaining how to build a good team.

TL;DR and a recap.
I really suggest reading everything on the guide, I don't think I'll be able to summarize eveything I've covered in a few paragraphs, but, if you would like a shorter explanation, go there.

Some mechanics work differently when playing with other players, here we'll cover what those differences are, and how to play accordingly, starting with:

If you're not familiar with the concept of Directors, you can get in depth info here[riskofrain2.fandom.com]
But I'll summarize.
Directors determine what will spawn in the stage. They have credits and spend those to create Monsters and Interactables.
However, in multiplayer the amount of credits the director has is different.
For interactable credits, Directors only get +50% credits per additional player. Playing solo, you have 400 credits,those are spent on chests, barrels etc.
But, when there are other players in the equation, things play out differently.
Get it now? You'll only have a little more than half the loot you'd usually do. Unless you don't care about mad friends and hoard all items and watch them die while you solo carry the game. You do you.
And yeah, I know it's not exactly like that, some credits are spent on barrels (more on that later), which benefit the whole team, but you get the idea.
That leaves us with a new thing to worry about: Sharing Loot. Yeah you can't just pick up every shiny you see, like you usually do in singleplayer. (Inser bad friend route exeption here)
Since you won't always have the same amount of money as your team (more on that later) you'll usually notice an inbalance while playing multiplayer, so the concept of Sharing Loot will come back later, keep this in mind.

Contrary to popular beleif there are actually 2 working ways of managing time:
Rushing (5 min per stage) or Full-Looting. It does not matter which one you choose, the guide applies to both.

As I said, gold from barrels is shared between players. As is gold from killing monsters. That's it.
What that means is:
Gold from Shrines of blood, Brittle Crowns, Ghor's Tomes and Rolls of pennies is not shared among players.
This is accounted for and worked around in this guide. Again, Loot Sharing.

Finally, let's talk about the elephant in the room.
"Yes, I understand what loot sharing is, you just get the same amount of loot as your friends, right?"
That's mindless loot sharing, not what we'll be doing here. What we will do however is assigning Role specific loot.
Different survivors want different items. Ukuleles and Tri-tip daggers are amazing to see while playing Commando, but Bands are useless most of the time. That's why we will be establishing roles for each survivor. Let's go!

This is the bread and butter of the guide, here we'll be discussing Roles (or classes) for each survivor. Why? To better share loot. Come with me.

Disclaimer: Every single survivor could be used for every role. Why? Because every single survivor is able to solo the game, they are made for that. So there is no guidebook to what a survivor should and shouldn't do. But, some survivors are better than others in some scenarios, that's what we'll be using to assign roles.

Disclaimer 2: Some survivors can fit multiple roles, based on loadout.

We established why we need to assing roles, now let's get to it.
I'll be using the same method used by RPGs on class categories: DPS, SUPPORT and TANK.
Tanks don't really have a place in Ror2. Everything one-shots you, and there is no reliable way of taunting monsters. Yeah, I love making tank builds on command, but they only work with command, sadly. But, a similar concept will appear as a Support sub-class.
Before we begin, let me explain the items:

I will have a Loot Pool for every class, naming the specific items that this role needs to get and a General Loot Pool at the end, which are items that every Role needs. It is also good to point out that there is a tiny bit of overlapping, but since the Role/Class system was designed to prevent overlapping in item pick-ups, it will occur in really specific situations and I will explain all of them.

This section is for the main damage dealers of the team.

- Proc Chainer
- Band Proccer

The first of our DPS sub-classes is the Proc chainer, PC for short. They specialize in that, proc chains. Survivors with good reliable skills to proc items like Ukuleles, Tri-tip daggers, ATG's etc, as much and as often as possible.
They are usually the sustained DPS of the team.

Commando

Starting with Commando. He is the most straight forward Proc Chainer, because of his simple yet efficient Primary and Special skills. Not much nuance, his job is to Proc items and deal constant DPS, an all-rounder.
Loadout:
Anything goes, you just need to press M1 to be honest. But I prefer base special.


Huntress

Huntress has 2 really good primary skills for proc chains, a great secundary and mobility to dish her damage. She specializes in area damage, being really good at that and sort of lacking in single target DPS.
Loadout:
I like alt special for self-sufficience, but anything goes, both primaries are good and utility is
personal preference.


Bandit

Altough I personally think Bandit is a way better Band Proccer than a Proc Chainer, I can't deny that he can deliver on the job. He is the best secondary PC (we will discuss team setup later) as he doesn't need Crit Glasses, meaning another PC can get them. Overall really good at single target, but using him as a PC is ignoring the strongest part of his kit.
Loadout:
Doesn't matter really. Anything is good, but base primary is better in my opinion. Secondary and special don't matter, you won't use them much.


Captain

The second best Proc Chainer in my opinion. His primary ability is AMAZING. Captain is really versatile, as you will later see, but being a PC is probably his best role. Really good at doing his job, proc chains. This dude slaps.
Loadout:
Does not matter at all. You can't change his primary so have fun!


MUL-T

MUL-T is the sustained DPS machine. It can stand still and dish loads of bullets for days. Probably the best at single target DPS. But it requires support, sharing loot means it won't have everything, and MUL-T really needs everthing. A bit less consistent but really good nonetheless.
Loadout:
It does matter. You need at least one Nailgun to be effective as a PC.


REX

REX is amazing as a DPS. Their ability to deal REALLY GOOD sustained DPS both single target and AOE comes at a cost, however. They take self-damage to deal damage, on Eclipse, it makes them really unviable, but, it can be mitigated with good support. If Eclipse, not the best, but can work. If no Eclipse, probably the best at it's job. But requires a bit more skill, not much, just being able to do M1 M2 animation canceling.
Loadout:
Base secondary for animation canceling.


Void Fiend

Has the best primary skill in the game. That's about it, really. Void Fiend does everyhing, and is really good at being self-sufficient. It's also the best Proc Chainer in my opinion. The trade-off is consistency, while Captain can use his amazing primary all the time, Void Fiend has to manage its corruption, hence not being able to perform at 100% at all times. It is the best, but needs a little bit more practice, skill and undestanding to perform as such.
Loadout:
You can't change anything...

Engineer

Engi my boy. He is very consistent, but struggles a bit with mobility. I considered not placing him here, but decided I had to. Engineer has probably the most consistent DPS in the game, because you can leave his turrets doing the PC job while you run around and avoid damage. Really good overall, might need some support.
Loadout:
Personal preference for every single ability, you do you.


Honorable mentions:
No one. Yeah, usually survivors tend to play by specializing in either proc chaining or proccing bands.

If the Proc Chainer is tasked with sustained DPS, the Band Proccer, BP for short, is the Burst DPS. They specialize in dealing HUGE Bursts of damage from time to time and picking off high-priority targets, mostly because of the items that give them their name, the Bands. Runald and Kjaro's bands proc when the survivor deals an attack for 400% or more damage, meaning this class has a realiable way to Proc their items, but have some cooldown to do that.
Since they tend to have a lot of range or great mobility, they usually stick to some Support Classes.

Artificer

Artificer is the best example of Burst DPS, a true Band Proccer. All of her skills have great damage, and her Band Proccing tool, her secondary ability, has additional effects depending on which one you choose. Really good and reliable on what she does. Very self-sufficient, as she doesn't need a support to watch her back, since she can press one button and get out of monsters' range.
Loadout:
I prefer alt secondary and special, but she does her job with anything.


Bandit

As I said before, for me, where this survivor shines is as a Band Proccer. Both his specials are amazing at proccing bands, and he has invisibility to wait for the cooldown of the Bands. Requires a bit of good aim.
Loadout:
Desperado. Please Desperado. If you enjoy base special okay but... DESPERADO. Rest doesn't matter.


Loader

ONE PUUUUUUUUUUUUNCH Loader is the second best Burst DPS in the game, she flies around waiting for an opportunity and one-shots any enemy she wants. Not much to say, she does her job and she does it well. Very self-sufficient as well, since she is immune to fall damage and has enough mobility to avoid almost any hit.
Loadout:
Doesn't matter but I like base special for moblity.


MUL-T

MUL-T is the second survivor to be both a PC and a BP, because of the variety in its primary skills. Is sort of a sustained burst DPS if you're running double Rebar, but has the same problems as PC MUL-T, lack of mobility and relies on having items to cover its weaknesses, is better with a Support.
Loadout:
Again, MUL-T, it does matter. Double Rebar is the way to go.


Mercenary

Mercenary is really mobile and has I-frames, but is a melee survivor and thus requires more skill to pull off. Reminder, if you're not using his alternate Secondary and Utility he CAN'T Proc Bands, but when he does, he's really good at doing it. But again, requires more skill, practice and effort than other survivors.
Loadout:
Again, you need alt secondary and utility to proc bands, but for the special I tend to prefer base one for the I-frames. I don't like to play ranged Merc without base secondary.


REX

They can spam the base Secondary skill for days. Same problems as PC REX, doesn't work that well on Eclipse, but are amazing everywhere else. Not much to say, really.
Loadout:
Just have the base secondary, rest is rest.


Railgunner

The best Band Proccer. Loader with unlimited range. Also the hardest one to play, arguably, maybe easier than Merc. Why is she hard? You have to aim. If you can aim, you're the best, if you can't you're the worst. She is a support artillery, picking off high priority targets and helping allies in a pinch from anywhere on the map.
Loadout:
Anything goes, again, but I prefer alt secondary, BUT you'll do your job better with base secondary so base secondary.


Honorable mentions:
Engineer can work, but has too much cooldown on his skills so I left him out.
Command, Huntress and Void Fiend can proc bands, but don't do it. Engi still works, they don't. Void Fiend could work but, come one, you're wasting the best part of his kit.

This is it for the DPS only Roles/Classes. Onto Support!

This section is for the Supports, classes which use items that the DPSs don't want, or don't require as many items to work.
Supports may have more specific loadouts.
Another concept that I should introduce, that happens with all classes but mainly with support and hybrid classes(spoiler), is that the concept of classes stops mattering roughly after the second loop, usually Supports transition into DPS items later on, when DPSs have items to spare. Otherwise they would be useless past second loop...

- Scooter
- Debuffer
- Crowd-Controller
- Healer
- Droneman

This name came to be as a fusion of Scout and Looter, hence Scooter. As the previous names of this class suggest it has two jobs:
Locate important interactables on the map
Like the teleporter, Newt altars, Shrines, Legendary chests, Scrappers, Printers etc.
Hoard gold and organize loot
By this I mean, you should activate Blood Shrines, Combat Shrines, Defiant Gouge, proc Roll of pennies, Ghor's Tomes and Brittle Crown to have a lot of gold, loot chests that are not easily accessible to survivors with low mobility and give them the items they want, either as scrap or items.
You'll be the Shot-Caller, organizing what your team will do, where your team is going, and which item goes for each player.

Tough job, heh? Not really, no. (Definitely the hardest class though) You'll spend the majority of the time traversing the map, collecting items and proccing your items when you need gold. You'll need a bit of map knowledge for that.
You're a delivery man, basically. Avoid combat, unless you need gold.
What about the shrines of combat? That's why Scooter characters don't need many items. (And BPs have good range or mobility to help you).
That was a lot, but get used to it, as I have to explain Support playstyles a lot more than DPSs.

Loader

The poster girl for this strategy. She has the most mobility in the game and as such, she is the best for this playstyle. You can pick a Transcendence or 3-5 Cautious Slugs to be able to use Blood Shrines and proccing Roll of pennies, but we will go more in depth in the Loot Pool section.
As I said, avoid combat when possible, get gold, activate objectives (such as the gate in Abandoned Aqueduct) and give your team loot. Easy enough. You can transition into a Band Proccer later on.
Loadout:
This time, you'll need the extra mobility. Or, if you're confident, pick alt special, you do you.



Mercenary

For the mobility. A bit more item dependant, so I advise only choosing him as a Scooter when you're the only melee survivor, so you can stack up on Focus Crystals for damage. Abuse your mobilty and I-Frames to traverse the map. Not too different from Loader.
Loadout:
Again, full mobilty, you'll need it.


Bandit

Maybe a bit of a pushover on my part, as he lacks the vertical mobilty the other Scooters have. But he has two BIG selling points: Invisibility and Desperado. He doesn't really need mobility to avoid damage, because Invis, and he doesn't really need that much damage, because Desperado stacks.
What he lacks in vertical mobility, he compensates for in self-sufficience.
Disclaimer: You depend on mobility items, so this could be bad for your team, use him when you know you can play a Scooter. Or grab a Volcanic Egg, Milky Chrysalis or Eccentric Vase.
Loadout:
I already explained why Desperado is essential, but primary is personal choice. I use Blast for the range and pin-point precision. I prefer the base secondary for vertical momentum cancceling, but is personal choice.


Honorable mentions:
Artificer has great vertical mobility, but that's it. If you REALLY know what you're doing, you can try.

This class came to be mainly because of Acrid. He doesn't really need items, and can just hop around while everthing dies around him. That said, I figured a playstyle based on leaving targets low health and debuffed could work, and so the Debuffer was born.
Since both Debuffers have different playstyles I'll explain them separetly.
But to summarize proc Death Mark, win.

Acrid

He's a very good boy. Acrid is the DPS debuffer, potentially doing more damage then your team's DPSs. But you don't want to kill stuff. Other classes stack on On Kill items, so your job is to make the killing easier for them with your poison and other debuffs.
Loadout:
Basic stuff. You can do melee acrid, but that's up to you. Just know you'll help your team the most with ranged acrid.


REX

They are the only survivor that can proc 2 different buffs with no items. You'll be playing more of a supportive role, debuffing enemies and proccing Death Mark so your team deals more damage.
Loadout:
This is subjective, alt special also debuffs, so your choice is: Healing or Crow-Control? A little bit of CC is my choice, you can make them easy targets for your team. Choosing alt special gives your team a reward for killing, but if they need your help to kill stuff, you'll be better off with base special.
Alt utility usually is better, but when your build revolves around your ability to debuff, you'll want base one.


Honorable mentions:
Artificer has a debuff in burn and a psuedo-debuff in freezing. It does help in killing enemies, but does not help in proccing Death Mark. So she's better as a Hybrid.
Bandit, Engineer, Huntress, Mercenary and Void Fiend all have debuffs, but with a single one each, they're better off as Hybrids.

Crowd Controll is really slept on in this game. It is useful! Specially early on. So, there's a class that specializes in that.
They have three main jobs, in order of priority:
1. Rendering enemies unable to move/attack
2. Grouping enemies together
3. Proccing area items
By that I mean, a CCer that is really good at grouping enemies together but can't prevent them from moving/attacking is worse than one that can stun-lock a single enemy.
Proccing Area items is not necessary, but very good if you can do it!
And, of course, there are items that help their jobs.

Artificer

Want to perma stun the final boss? Yeah boy, she can do it. She's a bit lacking in grouping, but can be mitigated with items, and oh boy if she can get her hands on one of those items she's GREAT.
Stack Backup Mags and go nuts with Ice spear.
Loadout:
Ice spear, there's no way around it. Fire primary is better in most situations, but as a CCer, you don't need it. Plasma Bolts are REALLY GOOD if you get one of the items that group enemies. Special is personal preference.


REX

Make enemies unable to move? Check. Group enemies together? Check. Proc area Items? Check.
Yeah they do it all, problem is, it's only a single ability. They can send enemies flying, but we don't want to do that, we want to make enemies stationary so that the DPSs can get rid of them.
You rely a lot on your special and items.
Loadout:
This playstyle ONLY works if you're running base special, so, no way around it. Rest is subjective.


Honorable mentions:
Bandit, MUL-T, Commando and Captain can stun, but it is not reliable enough to base an entire playstyle around it.
Railgunner has a freeze and a slow field, but she is THE BEST band proccer. Use her as a Band proccer!!!

I don't really recommend using a Healer, it's not really that good and doesn't work past first or second loop, also completely useless on Eclipse.
But it's fun.
With that out of the way, what does the Healer do? Heals. Yeah, unexpected. Why do I even consider this class viable enough? It helps recover from mistakes. We've all been in that situation, in stage 1, where a single stack of Medkit, or any other healing item would make the difference between making it to the next stage or a painful death.
That's why they're here, they fix mistakes.

Engineer

B U N G U S
Yeah, the Bungus playstyle works. Not always, on Eclipse, for example, it is a bit lack-luster. But it is fun. Being inside a impenetrable bubble of green stuff that heals you and definetly doesn't have side effects is a good feeling.
You just have to do that, stack Bungus and place your turrets and shield, let your team have a safe space once in a while, even if it is a small one.
Loadout:
Again, stationary turrets for Bungus, Shield for shield.


That's it, just him. You might be wondering, why make a new class just for one survivor? Well, the thing is, later on, we'll discuss Hybrid survivors, they are not strong enough as a single class, and have to play multiple classes at once, and one of those survivors has to play three classes, one of which is this one. Can you guess which one?

Honorable mentions:
You can try stacking bungus on any survivor. Pro tip: DON'T.

Another Class with only one survivor.
This class revolves around aggro. Having a lot of allies so enemies don't aggro your team. That's it. Let's talk about him.

Captain

The man himself. His passive alone makes this build work. Stack a lot of drones and let them block projectiles and get aggro.
I'm not going to talk a lot about this. Why? Well, I mainly made this class just so I can say Captain is a hybrid of 3 classes. I could say that the hybridization of this three classes IS the Droneman, but that would leave Engi alone in his class :(
Plus, this class works without being a hybrid, if you want, but you really are not sacrificing anything by being one.
Oh, and

Honorable mentions:
Engi can do it too. Not as good as Captain, but you can pull it off.

I talked a lot about it, so, let's dive deeper.
I will structure this section like this:
Amalgams: New classes that are born from hybridizing other classes and only work on specific survivors.
Hybrids: Literally just doing multiple jobs at the same time, they are good enough at a single job, but you could add a secondary one to make them more versatile.

Well, with you saying this, why would I not want to hybridize and grab all items? Yeah.

Let's start with this: Why woudln't you?
Items. Items that are going towards your secondary (or hybrid) class, could become items for your primary class. So you're basically wasting items you can't spare to have more versatility. When you're playing alone or with one other player, yeah that's fine, but when you have to share loot with 3 other people, that's not fine.

So, When should you?
Playing as 2, or as 3.
Why not 4? Well, think of it this way, you're collecting loot for 2 or 3 classes. Yeah, ok. But let's consider the following scenarios:
1. You're Hybridizing as 2 classes and one person on your team picks a class you're hybridizing
Well, then you'll have two options: Share loot. Remember, the entire porpouse of this guide is to AVOID mindless loot sharing! That's bad, and will leave you two feeling weak! Or you could have the person pick up their loot first. But then, are you even a hybrid?
2. You hybridize and now your team is weak
If you're grabbing loot for 2-3 classes, the great majority of items belongs to you. Think about this: if you scrapped all your items from your secondary classes and gave it to your team, would it be better? Absolutely. A single strong survivor in a team of 4 is not fun for anyone other than you. Play accordingly!

Well, now that you know how to use Hybrid Classes, let's get to it!

Yeah, I'll talk about him now. You're a fusion of a Healer, Crow-Controller and the Droneman. Your playstyle revolves around fixing all problems your team has, you're the most versatile support, but other supports are better at their specific jobs.
Healer: We are grabbing a single healing beacon, ideally we'll be using it at the teleporter, but you decide when you want to use it.
Crow-Controller: We're also grabbing a shock beacon. Using them effectively as a CC ability requires a lot of map knowledge, but if you get a good placed shock beacon, you can PERMANENTLY LOWER the maximum amount of monsters on the map. And that's REALLY powerful.
Droneman: As a compliment, you'll have tons of drones flying around, distracting enemies and blocking projectiles. It's the ultimate support character.
Also remember to make good use out of your secondary, cancelling animations of monsters to reset their attack timer.
Loadout:
Utility doesn't matter, pick what you like.

I'll go over each survivor and list every hybridization they can have, this guide is long enough and we still have items to cover. Oh boy.

Acrid:

If you're playing him as a Debuffer, you could be a secondary Scooter. (Use base Utility, for double the jumping).

Artificer:

If you're playing Crow-Controller, you could be a secondary Debuffer. (Fire primary instead, for the added debuff).

Bandit:

You could be a Band Proccer and a Proc Chainer at the same time.

Captain:

See Amalgams

Commando:

Stick to Proc Chainer.

Engineer:

If you're playing Healer, you could be a secondary Droneman or a secondary Debuffer. Or both. (For Debuffer, pick Mobile Turrets, they slow enemies).

Huntress:

Stick to Proc Chainer.

Loader:

Stick to Scooter and Band Proccer.

Mercenary:

If you're playing as a Scooter, you could be a secondary Debuffer. (Alt Special, Alt Utility, for Exposed Procs)

MUL-T:

You could be a Band Proccer and a Proc Chainer at the same time.

Railgunner

Stick to Band Proccer.

REX:

If you're playing Debuffer, you could be a secondary Healer. (Use Alt Special, it stil debuffs, but gives healing as well)

Void Fiend:

You could be a Band Proccer and a Proc Chainer at the same time.
You could also add a Debuffer in the mix. (His primary in base form slows)

Okay, so, we talked A LOT about the survivors, their loadouts, their playstyles and everthing. But, if you've played at least some attempts in Risk of Rain 2, you'll know that your ability to deal damage, heal, and move around all revolve around items. We also talked a lot about how this guide aims to slipt the items for the classes, so, we'll be doing it now.

Quick explanation of this section:
We'll have a Core Loot Pool for every class, these are the items they need to be able to do their job. You sould let them have it at all costs.
We will also have a Secondary Loot Pool, items that work better for other classes, but later on, when everyone is comfortable with their items (about stage 4-5 into second loop) you can pick up one or two to improve your versatility. Remember to ask your team if you can do this.
And, finally, a General Loot Pool. Items like Paul's Goat Hoofs and Medkits are useful for every single survivor and every class. Every player needs some to get going, and there's no way around it, unfortunately. Try to have an even slipt between players.

That said, let's get to it.

I'll leave the items here and explain them later ok? ok!

Attack speed items are usually good on PCs


As well as Crit Items


These are the main items to have a Proc Chain


Your main choices for equipment


This sounds strange, but since you'll be the one killing stuff and you'll have Clovers, this is better with you. Remember other people can pick the drop as well.

*
See Survivor dependant items


The Bands.


The items that improve your damage overall, improving your burst.


These handle your cooldowns, spamming more abilites means more damage, and since PCs rely on their primary abilities, you get these.


If you can get your hands on a few stacks of Fusion Cell or Gesture, this is your go to equipment.

Otherwise pick this one:


Makes your primary able to proc bands.

Your main items for getting more gold


You'll be taking damage from Blood shrines, choose one to replenish your health.


Since you're the one traversing the map and locating interactables, you get these.


And since you're interacting a lot, might as well have these.


Mobility items that you make the most out of.


You'll be running a lot.


Your three main equipments. Choose one. Eccentric vase is for 'abducting' other players and having them collect an item going back to action as fast as possible.


Grab'em, use'em, leave'em.


Core item.


Items that give debuffs when you attack.


Obvious choices since you're running Gasoline.


B U N G U S.


More heals.


Improves your healing.


Additional effects when you heal.


Pick up if you have one of the two items above.


Your main equipment, let's you heal people in a pinch.


If you couldn't find Woodland.


Improves your area damage.


Improves your CC.


Core equipment.


Core item, buffs all drones.


More allies!


If you need more allies.


If you have enough allies.

BP is one-shotting anything.


No Debuffer on the team.


No Crowd-Controller on the team.


No Droneman on the team.


PC is melting anything.


No Crowd-Controller on the team.

Just transition into DPS items when everyone is already strong enough. Or pick one or two items if you're too weak.

Your pool won't change much. But, you can pick some DPS items if you really need to.

You can grab ALL defensive items if your team doesn't need them anymore.


If no Debuffer on the team.


Ask your Proc Chainer if you can have it.

You can grab PC items later on, or if you are too weak.

This items ignore the class system, it's a matter of: Is this survivor in the game? If yes, the item is theirs.

Melee Survivors

------------------------------------------------------

This items are best for melee survivors, so there's no point in picking them if you're not one.

REX

---------------------------

REX uses them best. But you could also use Genesis Loop for Engineer if there is no REX in the game.

Railgunner

---------------------------

These items DOUBLE the Railgunner's damage output, so give them to her.

Survivor Priority

Some survivors want to spam these abilities, so you should give them the item. It depends on the survivor, you'll need some game knowledge to understand who should have it the most.

Missiles

These will usually go to the Proc Chainer, since he is the fastest attacking in general. But, if there's someone who's attacking faster for any reason, give them Plasma Shrimp. ICBM is also great for Engineer.

Now for the General Loot Pool.

Items that everyone wants, try to share evenly.


Items that everyone can use, but people usually ignore, ask who wants it the most. If no one wants it, Scrap.


Goes against the guide's pourpose. You can Scrap it if you want.

-----------------------------------------------------


I didn't cover the Heretic in this guide because I think she is too luck dependant. You can reroll the Bazaar and never get her, so...

But if you really want, you could play her as:
Proc Chainer, Band Proccer, Debuffer and Crowd-Controller.

You may have noticed that no single class hybridizes with Scooter. Why? Because I think Scooter is a must in every Team.

I will give a rule of thumb for every number of players, and some example Team Comps if you want to follow them! Just rememeber, NO OVERLAPPING IN CLASSES! Only pick one of each class!!!

4 players: 1 Proc Chainer, 1 Band Proccer, 1 Scooter, 1 Free Slot (Pick any Support).
With this comp your team will be using every single DPS item, having a Scooter as the Shot-caller of the team (Organizing plans and items for everyone) and A Flex pick, that can fill in the holes that your team might have.

Examples:
THE BEST 4 MAN TEAM

Proc Chainer

Band Proccer

Scooter

Debuffer

Remember when I was listing the classes and which survivor fits which class? I said that these characters were the best at their job. Not much to say, we have Loader doing the Scooter job, Void Fiend and Acrid killing stuff, and Railgunner alternating between helping Loader and helping Void Fiend and Acrid. A really good team all-around.

You can also have strange teams like

Bandit and the gang

Proc Chainer and Band Proccer

Scooter

Debuffer

Crow-Controller

Some character can hybridize into both DPS types. Disclaimer, this will be really fun for the Bandit, but not so much for the other characters, as you'll have to babysit. Choose your best player to be the Bandit.

3 players: 1 Proc Chainer, 1 Band Proccer, 1 Support (Preferably Scooter).
Now you can start using Hybrids, they exist for this situations where there are gaps in the Comp.

Example:
Babysitting Job

Proc Chainer

Band Proccer

Amalgam

This team work like this: Commando and Artificer kill stuff, Captain babysits them, he fixes the problems you are faced with and tries to fill the need for a Scooter. Yeah, I said it's the most important class along with the DPSs, but you can absolutely play without one! This comp, for example, is really fun and doesn't run a Scooter.

2 players: 1 DPS, 1 DPS or Support
This comp should have the most amount of Hybrids, as there's a lot of gaps in the classes. Have fun!

Example:

Proc Chainer

Band Proccer and Crowd-Controller

This comp has some gaps still, but is, overall, really similar to how you play the game without this class system. Both have to do everthing, but Artificer will do a little bit more.

Okay, thanks for reading everything. It was A LOT. I know. It was a lot to write to.

Oh, right.

TL:DR: Read the guide.
Yeah I'm sorry, I really can't explain everthing on this huge guide in a few lines. BUT I can explain what happens in this guide, if you want to know if it is or isn't for you!
This is a guide made to create a new way of playing multiplayer in Risk of Rain 2, focusing on Roles (Classes) for each survivor and strategy overall.
That's it.
I understand that this guide will sound dumb to a lot of people, but it was fun for me to do. And as I said, you don't need to follow it. But, it could help you if you and you're friends are struggling with the game, be it because you started to play recently, or because you're trying an impossible challange.

I hope you had as much fun as I had making this guide. Thank you.

If there's anything you think I should change in the guide, or anything I said that is completely wrong, let me know! I want feedback and don't mind recieving critics. Just be respectful.

If the guide was useful for you, please rate it! It took me so much time to make. Thanks!

That will be all, thanks again and good luck playing this amazing game! Have fun!

- BUG.