Playing Acrid in Risk of Rain 2 (RoR2) offers a unique blend of melee and ranged combat that emphasizes poison damage and crowd control. Acrid’s playstyle revolves around applying persistent damage over time through toxic attacks while maintaining mobility and survivability. To maximize Acrid’s potential, a well-optimized build combining the right items, skills, and tactics is essential. This guide delves into the best Acrid build in RoR2, highlighting core items, strategies, and gameplay tips that help players dominate in various stages and challenges.
Understanding Acrid’s Abilities and Playstyle
Acrid is a melee/ranged hybrid survivor characterized by his toxic abilities that inflict damage over time, debilitate enemies, and allow him to control groups effectively. His primary attacks poison enemies, making him effective against both single targets and crowds. His mobility, combined with his damage-over-time (DoT) effects, encourages an aggressive but tactical approach.
Core Skills Breakdown
- Primary Attack – Vicious Wounds: Basic melee hits that apply poison to enemies.
- Secondary Attack – Neurotoxin Spit: A ranged projectile that deals damage and applies poison.
- Utility – Caustic Leap: A leap attack that damages and poisons enemies on landing.
- Special – Epidemic: Emits a large toxic cloud that spreads poison and inflicts massive damage over time.
Mastering the use of these abilities in combination with the right item loadout allows Acrid to control the battlefield efficiently and survive in high-level play.
Essential Items for the Best Acrid Build
Items in RoR2 are crucial for enhancing Acrid’s damage output, survivability, and utility. Selecting the right items synergizes with his poison-centric kit and aggressive playstyle. Below is a breakdown of the most effective items to prioritize for the best Acrid build.
Damage Amplifiers
- Tri-Tip Dagger: Applies a strong bleed effect that stacks with poison, increasing damage over time on enemies.
- Ukulele: Causes chain lightning on hit, helpful for crowd control when combined with Acrid’s melee attacks.
- Gasoline: Sets enemies on fire on kill, complementing Acrid’s DoT to spread damage rapidly.
- Shatterspleen: Adds bleed on critical hits, enhancing damage with critical strikes.
Survivability Boosters
- Tougher Times: Provides a chance to block incoming damage, essential for melee survival.
- Personal Shield Generator: Grants a rechargeable shield, improving survivability in tough encounters.
- Paul’s Goat Hoof: Increases movement speed, allowing better positioning and kiting of enemies.
- Infusion: Increases maximum health upon killing enemies, scaling with Acrid’s aggressive playstyle.
Utility and Mobility
- Hopoo Feather: Provides extra jumps, increasing mobility and escape options.
- Energy Drink: Boosts sprint speed, facilitating quick movement across maps.
- Sticky Bomb: Can trigger area explosions on enemy hit, amplifying crowd damage.
Balancing these items ensures that Acrid remains deadly while sustaining his health through continuous engagements.
Gameplay Strategies for Maximizing Acrid’s Potential
Knowing how to position, engage, and manage cooldowns with Acrid’s abilities is vital for success. The following strategies help in efficiently utilizing Acrid’s strengths in various combat scenarios.
Engagement Tactics
- Start engagements with Neurotoxin Spit to apply poison from a distance before closing in for melee attacks.
- Use Caustic Leap to jump into groups, applying poison on landing and repositioning simultaneously.
- Chain Epidemic for large groups to maximize poison spread and DoT damage.
Positioning and Mobility
- Maintain mobility with extra jumps and sprint speed items to dodge incoming attacks.
- Use terrain to your advantage, retreating when health is low and re-engaging with poison stacks working over time.
- Keep moving to avoid being surrounded, leveraging Acrid’s speed and leap ability.
Item Management and Prioritization
- Prioritize stacking items that increase damage-over-time effects early to accelerate enemy takedowns.
- Invest in survivability items once your damage baseline is solid to handle higher difficulty levels.
- Adapt item choices depending on the enemies and environment encountered.
Team Synergies and Multiplayer Tips
Acrid shines not only in solo play but also in multiplayer environments where his crowd control can support teammates. Coordinating with teammates allows Acrid to set up devastating poison clouds and assist with controlling enemy positioning.
Synergistic Characters
- Engineer: Provides turrets that can keep enemies at bay while Acrid spreads poison.
- Commando: Focuses on direct damage, complementing Acrid’s damage-over-time playstyle.
- Mercenary: Adds melee burst damage, pairing well with Acrid’s sustained poison effects.
Team Play Tips
- Coordinate ultimate ability timings to maximize area control.
- Communicate positioning to avoid friendly fire and optimize poison coverage.
- Share item benefits with team members where possible, like healing drones or shield generators.
Mastering Acrid in Risk of Rain 2 requires a thoughtful combination of items, abilities, and tactics. The best Acrid build focuses on amplifying his poison damage and crowd control capabilities while ensuring sufficient survivability through mobility and defense items. By prioritizing damage-over-time enhancements like Tri-Tip Dagger and stacking survivability gear, players can sustain prolonged fights and dominate the battlefield. Whether playing solo or in a team, Acrid’s unique blend of melee aggression and toxic power makes him a formidable and rewarding character to master in RoR2.