It’s easy to underestimate Vampire Survivors. With its retro look and seemingly barebones design, it might not seem like a game that can trip you up with strategy. But once you’re knee-deep in undead chaos, it becomes clear: this game has layers. A lot of them. In this guide, we’ll break down the biggest early-game mistakes that can hold you back from unlocking characters, earning gold, or even surviving past the 10-minute mark.
Whether you’re farming gold, chasing unlocks, or going for 30-minute clears, these insights will help you tighten up your gameplay and progress faster.
1. Grabbing Early Treasure Chests Too Soon
One of the most common traps for new players is rushing to pick up that first Treasure Chest—often dropped by the armored bat in the Mad Forest at the one-minute mark. It’s shiny, tempting, and sure, it has some gold and a free upgrade. But there’s a hidden strategy here.
If you can hold off and not open that chest until after the 10-minute mark, you can use it to evolve a weapon immediately—as long as you’ve met the criteria. For example, let’s say you’re building into the Cross. If you level that weapon up fully and also have the required passive (Clover), then opening the pre-spawned chest after 10 minutes can give you an instant evolution. That’s a huge power spike and can make your mid-game significantly easier.
So the rule of thumb: delay opening chests until after 10 minutes if you’re working toward evolutions. It’s patience that pays off.
2. Building Around Weapons Instead of Passives
New players often obsess over grabbing their favorite flashy weapons. But if you want to survive, the real long-term power comes from smart passive choices. Weapons provide the flash, but passives enable the function.
Take Pomarola, for instance—it sounds great with its healing bonus, but early on that slow trickle of HP (0.2/sec) barely makes a difference. On the other hand, something like Armor can immediately increase your survivability. Plus, every passive you choose is either contributing to an evolution or bolstering your overall scaling.
Use the weapon evolution menu (available in the pause screen) to guide your decisions. This screen shows you what passives pair with what weapons. Plan ahead. Take the passive first if you know it unlocks an evolution for a weapon you might grab later.
3. Ignoring Passive Item Pickups on the Map
A subtle but game-changing system in Vampire Survivors is the free passive items scattered across the map. You’ll see icons around the edges of your screen indicating their locations. Many players rush to pick these up early—not realizing the missed opportunity.
Here’s the trick: you can only select six passives through level-ups. But if you wait until your passive slots are full (all six chosen), then any additional passive you pick up from the map gets added on top. That means more power without sacrificing any of your original choices.
For example, you might grab six passives, then go scoop up a Clover and Skull O’Maniac from the map. Now you’ve got eight. On the Moon Glow stage, this gets even crazier—it lets you hold up to sixteen passives.
So don’t be too quick to pick up those free bonuses. Let them sit until your build is ready to absorb them.
4. Overcommitting to Evolutions at the Expense of Strong Passives
There’s a certain thrill in chasing weapon evolutions. Watching your wand or axe transform into a screen-clearing beast feels great. But don’t let that tunnel vision blind you to some of the best passives in the game.
Take the Crown—it doesn’t pair with any evolution, but the bonus XP it gives can supercharge your overall run. Or consider Empty Tome, which lowers cooldowns across all weapons. Duplicator adds projectiles. Attractorb helps you hoover up XP from afar.
Sometimes, the smarter move is to skip an evolution and instead grab passives that will improve everything. Evolutions are great, but smart scaling is better.
5. Misunderstanding Evolution Requirements
Another stumbling block: thinking you have to fully level both a weapon and its corresponding passive to evolve. In most cases, you only need the weapon maxed out—the passive just needs to be in your inventory.
So don’t waste levels buffing a passive unless it’s otherwise helping your build. Just having it equipped is enough to meet evolution criteria.
Always check the tooltip during a level-up. The game is generous with hints—it will say if a weapon can evolve and which passive is needed. Use that info to strategize in real-time.
6. Picking Poor Powerups Early On
The PowerUp menu can be overwhelming. And for new players, it’s tempting to start investing in things like Max Health or Curse. Big mistake.
Curse increases enemy strength and spawn rates. That’s not something you want when you’re still getting your bearings. Instead, focus early PowerUp points on things like:
- Growth (to level faster)
- Magnet (to pick up XP more efficiently)
- Cooldown and Area (to scale weapon performance)
These upgrades help all characters and runs, and will give you a far stronger start.
7. Ignoring the Unlock Menu
There’s an entire layer of meta-progression buried in the Unlocks menu. This system tracks achievements like “Survive 15 minutes with Giovanna” or “Obtain the seventh trumpet,” each one unlocking new content: characters, weapons, modes, and more.
Treat the Unlocks menu like a to-do list. If you’re ever unsure what to do next, it will guide you. Plus, it’s how you discover stages like Endless Mode or unlock weapons like Gatti Amari.
8. Using the Wrong Character for the Wrong Goal
Every character in Vampire Survivors has unique traits that favor certain goals. If you’re farming gold, Big Trouser is a no-brainer. If you’re chasing high-level caps, Gains with his bonus growth is the best bet.
But it doesn’t stop there. Some unlocks are much easier with specific characters and settings. For example, trying to unlock Big Trouser with “Hurry” mode enabled might be impossible for some. Disabling that mode can reduce the clock speed and give you the breathing room you need.
Tailor your character and settings to your mission—it makes a huge difference.
9. Always Playing with the Same Settings
It’s tempting to enable Hyper, Hurry, Arcanas, and just go. But each of these settings can drastically change a run. Need more time? Disable Hurry. Want faster movement and bonus gold? Enable Hyper.
Think of these toggles as modifiers to suit your run’s goals, not just optional extras. Adjust accordingly.
10. Underestimating the Game’s Depth
The final mistake? Assuming Vampire Survivors is just a casual arcade clicker. Beneath the surface is a well of strategy, unlocks, synergies, and experimentation.
Understanding how systems interact—like map pickups, passives, evolutions, and powerups—transforms the game into something far more rewarding. Every death is a lesson. Every run, a lab for refining your build.
So stick with it. Learn from your mistakes. And remember, no evolution beats a well-executed plan.
Final Thoughts
Vampire Survivors isn’t just about bullet-hell chaos. It’s about making good decisions in the middle of the madness. Avoiding these ten mistakes will help you get the most out of every run and enjoy the deeper layers of one of the most deceptively clever games in recent memory.
Good luck out there—and don’t forget to save that chest until after minute 10!
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