Risk of Rain 2: Alloyed Collective Review Summary

This DLC brings fun new survivors and top-tier bosses, but overtuned enemies and frequent crashes with bugs drag it down.

Best DLC yet: Players consistently praise this DLC as the best the game has received, noting it is a significant improvement over previous downloadable content and does not break the game.

New survivors are fun: The new survivors, including the Drifter and Operator, receive high praise for their fun, unique mechanics, and engaging gameplay that add fresh experiences.

Bosses are top-tier: Boss fights are highlighted as some of the best in the game, with the final boss and secret boss being particularly well-received for design and challenge.

Drones greatly improved: Drones have been significantly improved and expanded, with new options that are notably more fun and effective, making them a valuable part of gameplay.

Gearbox redeemed themselves: There is a strong sentiment that Gearbox has redeemed themselves with this DLC, listening to community feedback and delivering a much more polished product.

Overtuned and annoying enemies: A large number of players find the new enemies overtuned, with high health, damage, and spawn rates that make combat tedious rather than challenging. Item-stealing enemies, shields, and flying types are especially criticized for breaking gameplay flow and causing unfair deaths.

Drifter is underpowered and clunky: The Drifter survivor is widely considered underpowered, with poor mobility, weak ranged attacks, useless abilities, and a clunky block mechanic. It struggles against bosses and flying enemies, and feels unpolished like a modded character.

Untelegraphed one-shot attacks: Boss attacks lack visual and audio cues, with many one-shot or near-instant-kill moves that come without warning. This is especially problematic for melee survivors who cannot dodge in time.

Many minor and major bugs: The DLC has numerous bugs ranging from minor glitches (stuck under bosses, loud drone animations) to game-breaking issues (crashes on drone interaction, soft-locks during boss fights). Many persist despite updates.

Content feels optional and disconnected: Much of the DLC content is gated behind an alternate path that feels disconnected from the main game loop. Players often forget it exists or find the risk-vs-reward not worth the time, making the content feel optional and unnecessary.

Drone mechanics are central: Players often mention the drone mechanic as a defining feature of the DLC, noting that drones can be used as helpers by the Operator survivor, can pick up items, allow dead players to respawn as drones, and can be upgraded. This summarizes a central gameplay loop.

Drifter survivor has unique abilities: The Drifter survivor is frequently highlighted for its unique abilities such as stealing enemies, creating temporary items, and manipulating the environment. These abilities significantly change gameplay and are a major point of discussion.

New bosses and enemies praised: New bosses like Solus Wing and Alloy Hunter are praised for dynamic and challenging fights, though some mention issues with post-death hazards and attacks appearing suddenly. New enemies also add variety.

New item system is complex: The new item system includes item cooking, combining, temporary items, and printers, which create a revolutionary new tier of items. However, some temporary items are noted as too short for non-Drifter survivors.

Multiplayer drone respawn feature: Multiplayer enhancements allow dead players to respawn as drones and continue playing, which is highly appreciated. This improves cooperative play.

FPS drop drone bug: A specific bug with a drone causes the framerate to drop severely to 2 FPS, making the game nearly unplayable.

Constant crashes reported: The game frequently crashes without warning, disrupting gameplay and causing frustration.

Visual glitch stage swap: Visual bugs force players to re-open the game every time a stage swap occurs, indicating a persistent interface glitch.

Multiplayer stability poor: Players report poor stability in multiplayer modes, with issues such as disconnections and lag.

Desktop performance issues: Performance issues are confined to specific desktop hardware, indicating poor hardware compatibility.

Strongly recommended as best DLC: Many players across multiple clusters strongly recommend this DLC, citing it as the best DLC for Risk of Rain 2 and worth the price. They emphasize it is a must-buy that delivers excellent content and value.

Great value for money: Multiple reviews describe the DLC as worth the price and offering great value for money. Players feel it is a worthwhile purchase, especially for the content provided.

Redemption over previous DLC: Several players recommend this DLC over previous ones like Seekers of the Storm, noting it addresses criticisms and marks a redemption. It is seen as a step forward after disappointing releases.

Game-breaking bugs need fixing: Some players report game-breaking bugs, especially related to drones, shields, and lockdown enemies, making the game unplayable. They do not recommend buying until these issues are fixed.

Recommended for fans and co-op: Several reviews recommend the DLC primarily for existing fans of Risk of Rain 2 or players interested in co-op. Casual or new players may find less appeal.

Community fair range: $15.00 - $25.00.

Game completion: 200.0h.

The DLC elicits varied time-to-fun experiences: while many players find it enjoyable immediately, others require progression to new stages or item acquisition to be hooked, and technical issues dampen early enjoyment for some.

Friction: Early 15-20 minute phase with no new boss content; Multiplayer connectivity bugs; Tedious enemy pools and long paths; Initial perception of lackluster content.

Unlock drivers: Entering the new DLC stages; Acquiring newer items; Drone rework and multiplayer death mechanic; Playing with friends.

The Revived Veteran: Explores all new content thoroughly, returning to full completionist habits and enjoying the fresh mechanics. Motivation: Rekindled interest in the game due to high-quality new content and improvements over previous DLCs. Stance: buy.

The Multiplayer Enthusiast: Plays primarily with friends, actively uses drone mechanics to stay engaged and support teammates after death. Motivation: Enhanced cooperative multiplayer experience through drone revival and reduced spectator downtime. Stance: buy.

The Hardcore Challenger: Optimizes for efficiency and challenge, avoids passive or easy strategies, and seeks a hardcore balancing. Motivation: Maintaining high difficulty and achieving 100% completion with meaningful challenge. Stance: no buy.

Steam Deck: The majority of reviews focus on game content, but one critical review reports that multiplayer fails to load on SteamOS, rendering that mode unplayable. This constitutes a severe technical barrier for Steam Deck users seeking multiplayer functionality.

Monetization: The DLC is a fairly priced one-time purchase with no evidence of predatory monetization or greed. Reviews confirm good value and accessible pricing.