Vampire Survivors is furiously addictive and is responsible for putting Bullet Heaven games on the map. If you’re a new player, there’s a lot to take in, and the Power Ups system can be overwhelming as you won’t know the best ones. Fear not; let me show you the best Power Ups and order to buy them in Vampire Survivors.
Related: Vampire Survivors: Passive Item guide
What are Power Ups in Vampire Survivors?
Powerups are account-wide upgrades that offer a massive boon to your survivability. These upgrades cost Gold, and you’ll earn a steady stream of it through regular gameplay as you retain it when you die. Most Powerups can be ‘ranked up’ multiple times to yield bigger bonuses, and the price goes up each time.
The Best Power Ups in Vampire Survivors
In Vampire Survivors, the best defense is a good offense, and the choices below reflect that. Survivability Power Ups are nice but won’t save you if the hoard surrounds you. Here are my picks for the best Powerups in the game and the ones you should prioritize early on.
Might
Might isn’t the most exciting Powerup, but it gives a 25% damage increase to all sources, which is huge. You’ll feel this upgrade the most in the early game as you’ll quickly mow down mobs. Enemies will get incredibly strong later on and Might will help you to keep up.
Amount
Amount is a superb Powerup that makes your weapons fire 1 additional projectile. While that may not sound like much, weapons like the Axe throw a single, high-damage shot. Amount doubles that damage. While not as helpful on fast-firing weapons like the Magic Wand, it’s a notable DPS increase in most runs.
Armor
Damage is important, but if you don’t want to be deleted the moment you make a mistake, Armor is the best Survivability Powerup to do it with. Armor reduces how much damage you take from attacks. The Max Health Powerup is good but worthless if you can’t find floor chickens for a top-up.
Magnet
Magnet increases your pickup range, so you don’t have to take risks when gathering Gems. Killing enemies is great, but it’s all for naught if you can’t reach the rewards. Magnet also means you don’t need precision to pick things up, which is handy if you’re moving.
MoveSpeed
Finally, MoveSpeed allows you to be evasive. Survivability options take a backseat if you can avoid damage entirely. Don’t confuse MoveSpeed with regular Speed, as the latter affects how fast your projectiles move and is far more niche.
The best order to buy Power Ups in Vampire Survivors
I recommend unlocking Powerups in the order below. Upgrades become increasingly expensive as their levels increase. You can focus on one at a time, but there’s nothing wrong with spending Gold on low-level upgrades if you have currency to spare.
- Might
- Amount
- Magnet
- Move Speed
- Armor
- Luck
- Greed
- Cooldown
- Max Health
- Revival
- Duration
- Area
- Recovery
- Growth
- Speed
- Curse
- Reroll
- Skip
- Banish
Toward the end of the list, I’ve included niche Powerups. Stats like Speed (not movement speed) and Area have their uses, but their effects don’t affect every weapon. When you’re chasing your first win, Powerups that improve everything are far more helpful.
Why is Luck so important?
Luck is an odd stat because you can’t tangibly see the benefits. That said, Luck governs Many useful things in Vampire Survivors, from how many Light Sources spawn to the quality of Treasure Chest rewards. Luck even increases the Crit Rate for some weapons, which means big damage numbers.
Why isn’t Revival rated higher?
Revival offers an ‘extra go’ for when things go wrong, but I don’t find it useful when you’re starting out. In Vampire Survivors, you usually die because you’re not dealing enough damage to beat your opponents. If you can’t defeat enemies reliably, it doesn’t matter how many lives you have, as the outcome will be the same.
Revival has its uses if you’re clumsy, but it won’t help if you fall behind in the arms race.
Is Curse bad in Vampire Survivors?
Curse is an odd stat in Vampire Survivors as it makes more enemies appear, and they are stronger to boot. In a roundabout way, this works in our favor as more kills = more XP, but I recommend avoiding Curse until everything else is maxed out. More enemies can be good, but damage and survivability come first.
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