Guide with most important tips (best weapons, biomes, bosses)

[Wasler]

In this guide, I've put together what I consider to be the most important tips for successfully playing Returnal.
There is also information about the best weapons, tips for bosses, etc.
Because i owned this game only for console, i am not able to write a full official guide in the guide-section.
Perhaps this information will help you to beat the game.


1.) Activate in the options: Always sprint (get used to it even when platforming)

2.) Always keep moving (STRAFE-playstyle) -> Dash is love and life

3.) Melee (just play trough Biome-1 to get the sword) is very strong, but I used it only in the first biomes and after that only for enemies with red shield (Melee = destroys red shields in one hit)

4.) Explore everything in a biome, even yellow doors.

5.) Backtrack:
Use teleporters e.g. in Biome-1, you can sleep once in the ship for some health. At certain points in the game you get permanent upgrades like the grappler. Use these new skills in the respective biome at already visited places on the map (after a bossfight), before you go into a new biome.

6.) Skip normally malignant boxes/items that have a higher chance than "moderate".

7.) Ether:
Save and use it wisely, i.e. for Reconstructor (6 Ether = 1x you can die) or after each death at the Cthonos portal (to unlock a new item to help you get started).

8) Obolit:
a) Save Obolit and spend it mostly before a bossfight (there is a kind of store in every biome). Buy, if very little HP the HP-Vial, otherwise the Astronaut (you can die 1x in the fight and get up again directly) and 25% Max-Integrity (especially useful for the "long-run").
b) If you can buy Adrenaline Leech (Suit Artifact) somewhere, make sure to do so (Game Changer).

9) Parasites can be useful

10) Hip-Fire = mostly good enough in Returnal

11) In later biomes, use the grappler and the many grappler points in the fights. You don't take damage during the animation.

12) General about weapons: Weapons with e.g. Lvl 20 are not automatically better than weapons with level 18. The level is only the individual points on the respective weapon main attributes. However, the distribution of these points is more important (focus on drops on the stat "Bonus Damage").

13) Weapon Traits are, especially later, very important. Better e.g. 1-2 "Bonus Damage" less, but better Weapon Traits.

14) Alternative weapon mode is your friend. Very good damage output and depending on the situation extremely helpful, e.g. Shield Breaker or AOE etc.

15) Weapons
a) To have it easier, skip all weapons you find. Exceptions are Tachyomatic Carbine in Biome-1, Hollowseeker in Biome-2 and Electropylon Driver in Biome-4. You will only drop weapons from crates that you have unlocked. Use the Returnal Wiki in internet and look at the images weapons to see which one is in front of you before "researching" them.
b) I'll write below for each biome the weapons I found most useful.
c) Best Trait Tachyomatic Carbine: Leech Rounds
Best Trait Hollowseeker: Portal Beem by far, followed by Portal Turret and Serrated Projectiles.
Best Trait Electropylon Driver: Weapon good depending on situation, relatively independent of traits. If you have a choice, then Pylon Web


GENERAL TIPS:

1) Proficiency
This increases with the use of your weapons (applies globally) and determines the weapon levels you can drop. If you follow the rules from above regarding exploration, this will automatically increase with your progress.

2) Traits Unlock:
Weapons that drop during your runs have (-> TAB, Equipment) small numbers I, II, III. These represent the tier of the respective trait and must be unlocked by kills.
With weapons Prof-5 the weapon can only have Lvl-I, Prof-10 then II, Prof-15 then up to III.

But it doesn't mean that a trait is automatically on level II or III, only that the weapon could theoretically have this at the drop. For example even with Prof-25 it can happen that you drop weapons with trait level II and I only.
Don't sacrifice great weapons with good damage or already good traits like Portal Beem just to unlock a trait for another weapon. Unless you want to unlock a lot in the game or die a lot in general before you start playing through the game.


BIOME TIPS:

Biome-1:
As usual, explore everything and only get 1x the Tachyomatic Carbine. After that, don't open any more crates in Biome-1. Only right before the boss, when your profiency is as high as possible, open the crates in the Biome to possibly get a higher quality weapon. --> Tachyomatic Carbine

Biome-2:
Same rules, use either Tachyomatic Carbine or the new Hollowseeker in Biome-2.

Biome-3: at the latest here you need to have your movement+dashing under control, because there is a lot of platforming with red barrier.
Stay in constant movement during the boss fight, grappler use. The closer you get to the boss on the platforms (phase-3), the more damage you do, he just push you away afterwards (no damage) and you move forward again. Best weapon here would be the Thermogenic Launcher, but my advice is to skip it and work with the Hollowseeker again.

Biome-4: Here begins the 2nd act, when you die you start again in Biome-4 with weapon profiency Lvl 15.
This is a good start chance for the whole second act. The better you are here, the easier Biome-5 and Biome-6 will be.
As already written above: Adrenaline Leech is very important to get here.
Furthermore you can unlock the Electropylon Driver here, our 3rd good weapon.
Boss Hyperion is nothing special, any of the 3 weapons is good (I prefer Hollowseeker myself).

Biome-5:
Should you have too little power or bad movement, it will be quite difficult here. Most of the enemies in this rather small biome have a red shield, which means you either have to do more close combat (Run+Dashen+Grappler, 1x Sword Strike, then move away and kill from a distance). Easier biome is with a weapon that has Shieldbreaker as an alternate fire. Also beware of the ice towers.
In the central store area of Biome-5, open the blue door with a key to get a permanent upgrade --> you can run through "red Lava" afterwards.
Best weapon here either one of the 3 main weapons with Shield-Breaker and/or Electropylon Driver.
Biome-5 has no boss.

Biome-6
In my opinion much easier than Biome-5. Most enemies can be killed from far away, there are also quite a few items to collect.
Final boss Ophion is maybe even the easiest boss of all. Shoot the blue lights, he opens his red eyes, you attack them.
Best weapon again Hollowseeker.

[Wasler]

Added some information update

[USM-Valor]

Solid tips. Wish I didn't unlock a good few weapons, but it is what it is.