Seeker is one of the three new Survivors added to Risk of Rain 2's Seekers of the Storm DLC alongside Chef and a more hidden third unlockable Survivor. However, Seeker is available by default while the other two need to be unlocked. This makes it a lot easier for people to hop right onto Risk of Rain 2 and try out Seeker in a multiplayer run. And, when it comes to multiplayer, Seeker is incredibly powerful, they're the game's biggest example of 'support-type' Survivor, and their Tranquility mechanics add a lot to the game overall.
8 Indie Co-Op Games That Created A New Genre
These Indie Co-Op games did more than just gather a huge following; they created entirely new game genres.
All that said, it would be irresponsible to talk about the Seekers of the Storm DLC without talking about the issues. At the time of writing this, the DLC has introduced a shockingly gigantic number of new bugs to the game, broken some core aspects of the game (such as Mithrix altogether), and is not being received by the fanbase very positively at all (and rightfully so). Still, that's a discussion for another day. For now, let's take a closer look at Seeker in particular and talk about how exactly they make multiplayer runs better overall.
6 Obviously, The Revive Mechanic
Seven Tranquility Stacks = One Big Revive
Let's go over the most obvious aspect first, the Seeker's ability to revive teammates. Before the Seekers of the Storm DLC dropped, the main ways players could revive mid-run was really only through Dio's Best Friend or Pluripotent Larva, and these items were pretty rare to come across altogether. Now, with Seeker, players have a surefire way to revive their friends mid-stage without all too much effort.
All they have to do is successfully complete the directional prompts of Seeker's Meditate Special Ability seven times, and on the seventh successful usage (AKA the seventh Tranquility stack), any dead allies will be instantly revived (once per stage). Normally, these dead allies would have to wait until the next stage to be revived, missing out on a lot of items as a result, but with Seeker, they have a much higher chance of catching back up to everyone else's power level.
5 But Also The Saving Grace Mechanic
A Last-Ditch Heal Is Always Worth Having
But the Revive is not the only thing that Seeker's Tranquility stacks are good for when it comes to teamwork. Sure, the Tranquility stacks directly translate to more damage with the rest of the Seeker's abilities, but the Saving Grace buff it applies to all living enemies with the seventh Tranquility stack is also incredibly worthwhile.
7 Indie Games With the Best Graphics
With tools like Unreal Engine 5 at their disposal, Indie games have more than caught up to AAA companies when it comes to graphics.
This buff essentially gives all players a last-resort heal when they reach low health that'll automatically heal them a substantial amount, usually saving them from what would have otherwise been a tragic death. So not only does the Seeker's Tranquility mechanic revive dead players, but it also keeps living ones alive for longer on average.
4 Gives The Team Reliable Healing Options
Actually Pushes Players To Pay Attention To Each Other Mid-Run
Let's be honest, it's difficult as a Seeker player to run up to allies and try to heal them in the middle of all the chaos of a Risk of Rain 2 run. In fact, often times telling an ally to stand still while they're healed will only put both the healer and the ally in more danger. So, it's much better if allies instead keep an eye out for when the Seeker is in the lotus position mid-air and try to get into the AoE of Meditate before the Seeker finishes inputting all the prompts.
Once people get into the habit of doing this, the Seeker is a fantastic all-purpose heal. While their healing capabilities are quickly outpaced once players get a couple of healing items, it does make it a lot easier to save subpar run early on as the Seeker can keep everyone alive and chugging along until some better items are found.
3 Makes Void Fields More Approachable
Not That They Were All That Scary Otherwise
Void Fields can be tough to clear in Risk of Rain 2, depending on the enemies (and their items), but the rewards are typically worth the risks. To go into Void Fields prepared, players are going to want to have some sustainable source of healing. However, with a Seeker on the team, this is less of an issue and makes it so that going to Void Fields in between stages 1 and 2 is pretty doable.
7 Co-Op Games You've Never Heard Of
There are plenty of incredible co-op games available to the masses.
And, now that the time doesn't increase while in the Void Fields, this ends up getting players way ahead in terms of their build without too much risk. Granted, if the wrong enemies with the wrong items are selected during the Void Cells phase of Void Fields, it's still going to be more worth it to just leave and cut the losses than attempt to power through and have the run end early.
2 Unlocked By Default, Giving Newer Players More Immediate Options
More Options By Default = More Content To Enjoy
Like how the Railgunner was unlocked by default in the Survivors of the Void DLC for Risk of Rain 2, Seeker is unlocked by default in Seekers of the Storm. This is fantastic for a multitude of reasons, but primarily it's great as it allows players to immediately take Seeker into a multiplayer run and be helpful to the rest of their team without really focusing on the act of supporting all too much.
Plus, new players hopping into Risk of Rain 2 for the first time with Seekers of the Storm will also have more characters available to select by default, including Seeker. Chef, thankfully, is pretty easy to unlock compared to other Survivors in the game, with the third new unlockable Survivor requiring to most work to obtain overall.
1 Puts A Real Priority On Protecting One Specific Player
It's a Real 'Protect the VIP' Scenario
Lastly, something that the Seeker does for a multiplayer run that's pretty exceedingly unique is that it incentivizes a group of people playing Risk of Rain 2 to focus on keeping one player alive over all others. With just about any other character selected, players don't really prioritize the safety of other characters over their own, but due to Seeker's Meditate forcing them to stay still, they could do with a bit of protection from their allies.
Thankfully, protecting the Seker isn't nearly as risky as protecting other allies because, worst-case scenario, the protector might die keeping Seeker alive but then the Seeker can just bring them back to life anyway. This makes the Seeker player feel more 'special' when playing as this character, and it also subtly incentivizes working together a bit more than any other Survivor combination does.
Risk of Rain 2
- Released
- September 11, 2020
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Hopoo Games
- Publisher(s)
- Gearbox Publishing
- Franchise
- Risk of Rain
- Genre(s)
- Third-Person Shooter, Roguelike
