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The Bandit is a fast-paced gunslinger inRisk of Rain 2.
This survivor needs high accuracy and skillful timing of abilities to play effectively.
Here are some tips for doing just that.
Bandit has a highly defined play style that can be difficult to get the hang of.
Updated May 4, 2024: We’ve updated this guide to playing Bandit in RoR2 for readability.
We’ve also detailed a few new items that you should prioritize when playing as Bandit.
How to Unlock Bandit
The Bandit is one of the easiersurvivors to unlock.
Additionally, if you aren’t already, trylowering the difficulty to Drizzle.
In general, it’s best toclear out all the chests on the map before activating the Teleporter.
Bandit’s Abilities
The Bandit excels in mid-range, one-on-one combat.
Here are his default abilities.
Ability punch in
Ability
Description
Passive
Backstab
All attacks from behind are Critical Strikes.
Primary
Burst
Fire a shotgun burst for 5x100% damage.
Can hold up to 4 shells.
Secondary
Serrated Dagger
Lunge and slash for 360% damage.
Critical Strikes also cause hemorrhaging.
Utility
Smoke Bomb
Stunning.
Deal 200% damage, become invisible, then deal 200% damage again.
Special
Lights Out
Slayer.
Fire a revolver shot for 600% damage.
Kills reset all your cooldowns.
These abilities, their effects, and how to unlock them are listed below.
How To Unlock
Blast
Fire a rifle blast for 330% damage.
Can hold up to 4 bullets.
Complete the “Bandit: Classic Man” Challenge.
Serrated Shiv
Throw a hidden blade for 240% damage.
Critical Strikes also cause hemorrhaging.
Complete the “Bandit: Sadist” Challenge.
Fire a revolver shot for 600% damage.
Kills grant stacking tokens for 10% more Desperado damage.
Keep in mind thatyou can use other attacks in between Lights Out, including killing enemies.
SeveralBackup Magazinesare essential for this challenge.
We recommendat least seven or eight, but the more the better.
This means targeting bosses with high health later in a run, like theAlloy Worship Unit.
The main thing to be careful of for this challenge is killing the boss too quickly.
Also, avoid taking items that can summon allies like the Queen’s Gland.
Just ensure you’re strong enough to take on two Mithrixes!
That said, there are still several items that enhance Bandit’s abilities very well.
Listed below are some of the best items for Bandit that you’ll want to shoot for each run.
Increases overall damage and makes it easier to one-shot with Lights Out.
Gasoline
Killing an enemy ignites all enemies within 12m for 150% base damage.
Additionally, enemies burn for 150% base damage.
Increases overall damage through damage-over-time, as well as provide AoE.
Paul’s Goat Hoof
Increases movement speed by 14%.
Greatly increases overall mobility.
Ukulele
Grants the user a chance to fire a lightning bolt that bounces between nearby enemies.
Provides much-needed AoE to Bandit’s kit.
Lens-Maker’s Glasses
The user’s attacks have a 10% chance to Critically Strike, dealing double damage.
Increases overall damage and improves Critical Strike consistency.
Increases overall damage thanks to Bandit’s high Critical Strike chance.
Hopoo Feather
Grants the user an additional jump.
Predatory Instincts
Gain 5% critical chance.
Critical strikes increase attack speed by 12%.
Maximum cap of 36% attack speed.
Increases overall damage and reload speed.
Hunter’s Harpoon
Killing an enemy increases movement speed by 125%, fading over 1 second.
Improves mobility when killing enemies.
Shuriken
Activating your Primary skill also throws a shuriken that deals 400% base damage.
you’ve got the option to hold up to 3 shurikens which all reload over 10 seconds.
Increases overall damage of Primary skill.
Shatterspleen
Critical Strikes will bleed enemies for 240% damage.
Bleeding enemies will explode on death for 400% damage.
Increases overall damage and provides AoE through Shatterspleen explosions.
Harvester’s Scythe
Gain 5% Critical Chance.
Critical Strikes heal for 8 health.
Increases Critical Strike chance while providing survivability based on Critical Strike chance.
Laser Scope
Critical Strikes deal an additional 100% damage.
Greatly increases overall damage of Critical Strikes.
Purity
Reduces all ability cooldowns by 2 seconds, but all random outcomes are more unfavorable.
Reduces all cooldowns, but is best used with Desperado rather than Lights Out.
Bandit’s main goal is to quickly kill low-health enemies withLights Out, allowing you toconsistently refresh your cooldowns.
This will additionally allow you touse Smoke Bomb more frequently, and in turnincrease your mobility and survivability.
Smoke Bomb is one of the Bandit’s most important tools.
you might exit invisibility early by using any other ability.
When entering and exiting invisibility, you willbounce in the air slightly.
This can be used to your advantage to reach higher places or get above enemies, if timed correctly.
As Bandit, you should always beaiming for the backs of enemies.
Also, be sure tocapitalize on Serrated Dagger and Serrated Shiv’s ability to inflict Hemorrhage when Critically Striking.
Using these abilities when exiting invisibility behind an enemy can deal high damage and stack additional damage through Hemorrhage.
Which Abilities Should You Choose?
If you’re having trouble deciding which to choose, consider the following.
BurstandBlastmay seem similar at first, but the effects of these two primary abilities canchange Bandit’s gameplay significantly.
If you need help deciding which to choose,use Burst for close-rangeandBlast for long-range.
Bandit’s default secondary Ability is Serrated Dagger, whichdeals high damage in melee range.
Serrated Shiv insteadthrows a blade from long rangethat deals moderate damage.
Similar to Bandit’s two Primary abilities, his Secondary offers the choice ofclose-range versus long-range play styles.
ChooseSerrated Dagger for a melee AoEoption, andSerrated Shiv for a long-range abilitythat emphasizes staying far away from enemies.
Bandit’s second Special ability, Desperado, grants tokens when it is used as the killing blow.
These tokens stack, giving10 percent increased damagefor each token held.
However, thetokens are lost upon advancing to the next stage.
This means Desperado is very good forone-shotting high-health enemieslike Teleporter bosses.
On the other hand,Lights Outprovides tons of utility by resetting the cooldown of Smoke Bomb.
Which Survivors Pair Well With Bandit?
Bandit’s core strengths are hishigh long-range, single-target damageandgreat mobility.
Pairing him with another Survivor that either balances or strengthens these aspects will lead to the best results.
To that end, we recommend usingMercenaryorLoaderwith Bandit.
Here are some tips on playing him.
