how to brutal

This is an extensive guide on winning on brutal difficulty.
this guide is meant for players that already finished the game and unlocked most if not all the upgrades, this is a roguelite after all :)
The key for success is to be patient, it took me hours to finish the playthrough.

In this guide I will dump all the useful tips I know to make the run easier. Yet, it is still really hard so don't give up!!

(I also give My point on view on the two strongest character: Kassidee and Dallas.)

Starting out

I assume before doing these runs you have unlocked all the perks before even trying to get the hardest achievement in the game :)

Royce :
Sadly people think melee is bad in this game but I still love Royce because if played correctly, it can one shot anything. Moreover, if he dies the squad gets an armor boost.

Kassidee : Double jump makes her invincible immune to charger. when in the air, the charger cant damage you (unless you sit on him for some reason) and jumping twice gives enough time to kill it with assault shotgun.

Dallas : Meh just got a shield and has a shotgun bonus. ( Most op char in the game )

step 1) get as much creds as possible using Royce,

step 2) upgrade bag, passive, ultimate, shotgun, rifle, chi, health and armor (you die in 2 hits anyway why bother, and you have Dallas armor) in this ordrer.

Thats about it for outside combat moving on to the fun sections :)

Gameplay changes

What's new in brutal : New attack patterns? or maybe new and harder boss or perhaps faster attacks? Nah none of these. You only take more damage and enemies have more hp (maybe?)

What that means : if you can basically take no hit on easy mode you can do this with ease.

While the game encourages you to speed though the floors giving the player ("gold medals") the game transforms into a stealth one.

Weapons of choice :
-hunting rifle : unlimited range and deals about 60 damage 4 shots to kill the large turrets
Does less damage up close. that's where the shotgun comes in.
- sawed off shotgun anti doggo gun
one for melee and one for long distance by far the most perfect combo :)

of course you will need either the assault set for one more hit or the riot set which gives bonus for rifles and shotguns.

Kassidee Vs Dallas (subjective)

When even 2 attacks can be fatal and ammo gets empty to quick, Kassidee's true potential is revealed.

Passive :
-As previously said Double jump makes you immune to chargers, and gives you new ways to dodge. Moreover, if performed correctly you can jump on the high walls (doesn't stop turrets from hitting you)

-Dallas has a health boost pickup, most of the time you cannot even pick anything up since drops despawns quickly.

Active :
-Since most pickups are pretty much wasted when killing far away, having an ammo refill at all times is perfect on the long run

-OK I admit that shield is handy...

Ultimate : These are arguable but since I always have a lot of Chi because of huge combos it's always a Plus...
Both char have a similar skill which recovers 20 hp for Kassidee and negates 20 damage for Dallas

all in all I think Kassidee is better in this scenario since her passive is gold, and if she dies she still gives an armor boost to Dallas.

Raiding effeciency (the core of the guide)

You need to be SUPER optimal during this playthrough managing ammo consumption and Chi (needed for power)

There are 2 ways to use ammo efficiently : (aside from Kassidee special)

-1) when killing mobs with shotgun and it drops ammo don't hesitate to switch with your empty rifle.

-2) the bag comes in handy in more ways than one : When a rifle or shotgun is dropped put it in the bag. When ammo is needed switch it in to get the ammo from it. (the basic rifle has 100 ammo having one of these boys recharges your hunting rifle 4 TIMES, it basically gives 4*20*60 = 4800 damage!)

Chi control :

-Using Dallas or Kassidee Chi control is importante for managing ammo and life. when cleared a boss, go back to fill it up before the elevator, this will save your run more than once (you still get chi between elevators not sure how much).

Killing monsters (AND BOSSES) using the pixel precision technique:
- Against everything aside from charger you can kill it without him being able to do anything! here's a screenshot

On the screenshot I can only see a edge of the mob. But the fun part is that it did not detect me. I can shoot it without any retaliation, awesome right?

your worst nightmare

Made this section for my favorite pet, the charger.

The only mob worth mentioning and immune to the pixel precision technique.
it does a tone of damage and runs so faster than your reaction speed.

favorite hiding spot: right behind the door.
solution: if you hear a charger lure it in a cleared out room and kill it using a shotgun. (3 hit kill if fully upgraded)

Just so you know the charger cannot jump, so if you are on a high ground it cannot hit you
(Kassidee is better than Dallas remember)

for a whole playthrough you will face over 40 chargers... be prepared.

and no they do NOT come one by one then can come 3 at the time so sometimes you just sit there and die.

Final section

You do not need to be a fps champion, I myself barely play these types of games (I only love roguelikes/lites) but you do need to stay determined.

Since you can take your time clearing floor you can take one step at a time and clear out one by one. creds wont have any value on the final tower so don't be let greed take over.

Since this is my second guide don't hesitate to point out mistakes I made creating it.

I thank you all for your time reading it through and don't hesitate to add me if you are a roguelike/lite fanatic as well.

[warking]

glad you like it! this was one of the first guide I ve done.

[MeatClown]

Great guide, thanks!