Welcome to Returnal! As a new player, you’ll face a steep learning curve, but this guide is here to make that journey smoother. Returnal doesn’t always make it clear what progress is permanent and how systems work—so here’s a spoiler-light walkthrough to help you understand what matters and when.

This guide avoids major story spoilers. It includes a few item and area names, but no boss details or plot reveals.

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General Tips for Survival

1. Optimize the Sidearm: Rapidly tap the fire button to increase the pistol’s firing speed.
2. Stay Mobile: Always move toward defeated enemies to collect Obolites—hanging back will leave you under-resourced.
3. Master the Sword: Your melee weapon is powerful—even effective on larger enemies. Use it liberally.
4. Watch the Stagger Bar: Enemies with an orange bar beneath their health can be staggered, giving you a brief window for free attacks.
5. Dodge Through Safely: You can dash through most projectiles—except dark purple ones, which are specifically designed to punish dashing.
6. Grapple Invincibility: Once unlocked, grappling grants temporary invulnerability. Use it to reposition or escape danger.

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Milestones That Persist After Death

Returnal is a roguelike, but not all progress resets when you die. Here’s what carries over:

• Weapons: Discovering a weapon adds it permanently to the loot pool.
• Weapon Traits: Trait progress is permanent. Unlocking new traits makes future versions of that weapon stronger.
• Ether: You can store up to 30 Ether across runs. Use it wisely.
• Items and Datacubes:
  • Scanning a new item adds it permanently to the drop pool.
  • Datacubes unlock new items only when deposited—dying before depositing means you must recover it again.
  • Once a datacube is used, its original spot will offer a different reward in future runs.

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Biome Progression Overview

Biome 1

• House Key: Unlocks story events in the house.
• Anathema Key: Opens the vault; becomes permanent after use.
• Boss Defeat: Grants the Crimson Key and unlocks Biome 2. You won’t need to fight the boss again.

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Biome 2

• Xeno-Tech Prism: Increases max health.
• Summit Shortcut: Unlocks a portal for faster runs.
• Boss Defeat: Unlocks the Grapple Hook, enabling access to Biome 3 and a shortcut from Biome 1.

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Biome 3

• Bridge Construction: Unlocks a shortcut to the tower area.
• Boss Defeat: Completes Act 1. After the first time, you can skip this boss to end a run early.

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Biome 4

• Second Xeno-Tech Prism: Further health increase.
• Echoing Keys: Used to unlock a vault. Must be completed in a single run, but progress becomes permanent.
• Boss Defeat: Grants the Fractured Key, unlocking Biome 5.

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Biome 5

• Hadal Keys: Unlock another vault (also must be completed in one run).
• Ballasts and Insulators: Unlock Biome 6 and open shortcuts, making Biome 5 optional after the first completion.

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Biome 6

• Visor: Essential for story progression.
• Abyssal Key: Opens the vault in this biome. Must be done in one run.
• Boss Defeat: Completes Act 2. Afterward, you can restart the cycle without fighting this boss again.

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Act 3 Progression

• The Chronosis Device (time machine) lets you start runs from either Biome 1 or Biome 4.
• Sunface Fragments are collected permanently and can be used to unlock the final key via the house.
• Defeat the Biome 6 boss after using the key to finish Act 3.

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Tower of Sisyphus (Optional Mode)

• The tower is a score-based mode with its own unlocks.
• Scout Logs, ciphers, and tablets are persistent collectibles.
• Scanning a Disgorger adds it to your Tower loot pool.
• Collect Poppies to unlock hospital flashbacks. View all scenes and beat Phase 3 again to complete the Tower storyline.

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Permanent Collectibles Toward 100% Completion

• Scout Logs
• Xenoglyph Ciphers and Translations
• Xeno-Archives

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Final Progression Tips

• Even failed runs move you forward by unlocking traits, new items, or datacubes.
• Prioritize unlocking weapon traits—they boost weapon performance significantly.
• Use Ether to cleanse malignant items or activate Reconstructors for one-time respawns.
• Learn enemy patterns, master dash timing, and use grapple invincibility for an edge.

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With this guide, you’ll have a solid, spoiler-free foundation to tackle Returnal. Stay persistent, track your milestones, and enjoy every cycle—each one gets you closer to mastering Atropos.

Good luck breaking the cycle! 🚀