# Vampire Survivors: Fun indie, rogue-lite game with 72,000 "Overwhelmingly Positive" reviews on Steam, costs $3 **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** video-games-e-games\ **Created:** [April 13, 2022, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampire-survivors-fun-indie-rogue-lite-game-with-72-000-overwhelmingly-positive-reviews-on-steam-costs-3/962791 "2022-04-13T21:52:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampire-survivors-fun-indie-rogue-lite-game-with-72-000-overwhelmingly-positive-reviews-on-steam-costs-3/962791/61 "2022-04-19T20:23:31Z")
**All** weapons auto-fire. You only need to run around. Although, you can improve things for some weapons depending on how you run. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampire-survivors-fun-indie-rogue-lite-game-with-72-000-overwhelmingly-positive-reviews-on-steam-costs-3/962791/62 "2022-04-19T20:26:23Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > really? ok, I feel dumb … I hold the button down… Heh, yep. The only buttons you need for gameplay are directional controls. The only time you need to press anything else is when you’re leveling up. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampire-survivors-fun-indie-rogue-lite-game-with-72-000-overwhelmingly-positive-reviews-on-steam-costs-3/962791/63 "2022-04-19T20:52:08Z")
What does Spellbinder do? I know it is needed to evolve Bible but I have not been able to sort out its use otherwise. Yeah, I can read the tooltip that it increases duration but except for Santa Water…what duration? ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampire-survivors-fun-indie-rogue-lite-game-with-72-000-overwhelmingly-positive-reviews-on-steam-costs-3/962791/64 "2022-04-19T21:15:30Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Yeah, I can read the tooltip that it increases duration but except for Santa Water…what duration? Duration doesn’t affect every weapon, it’s only ones with some sort of lasting effect. For example, how long the bible spins around you until it disappears. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampire-survivors-fun-indie-rogue-lite-game-with-72-000-overwhelmingly-positive-reviews-on-steam-costs-3/962791/65 "2022-04-19T21:23:08Z")
This might be outdated since it was posted two months ago, but it shows which items affect which weapons. Don’t click through if you don’t want spoilers. > **Summary** > > [https://www.reddit.com/r/VampireSurvivors/comments/sm8ddm/updated\_infographic\_for\_patch\_0211/](https://www.reddit.com/r/VampireSurvivors/comments/sm8ddm/updated_infographic_for_patch_0211/) ---
**Author:** ![Raza](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raza/32/213_2.png) [@Raza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raza)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampire-survivors-fun-indie-rogue-lite-game-with-72-000-overwhelmingly-positive-reviews-on-steam-costs-3/962791/66 "2022-04-19T21:52:56Z")
I’ve been holding off moving up to the Library, as I often didn’t make it past 15 minutes on the initial stage, and figured it would be much tougher. I play the knife guy. Boy, was I WRONG! I find the Library much easier than the initial area. On my third Library playthrough I easily got to the 30 minute mark with 2 evolutions. The last 3 minutes was all “ya want 25 gold or 30 chicken points?”. But I learned something useful on the previous Library playthrough: do NOT take Pentagram - I hated it! Sure, it wipes out everything…EVERYTHING, including your experience tokens on the ground. Once you take it, it seems to fire randomly. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampire-survivors-fun-indie-rogue-lite-game-with-72-000-overwhelmingly-positive-reviews-on-steam-costs-3/962791/67 "2022-04-19T22:02:03Z")
Yeah, the pentagram can save your ass but it makes the game a lot harder because it erases experience and even treasure chests. If you can evolve it without dying, though, it’s pretty rad. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampire-survivors-fun-indie-rogue-lite-game-with-72-000-overwhelmingly-positive-reviews-on-steam-costs-3/962791/68 "2022-04-19T22:06:15Z")
is there any difference between the mouse or the keyboard? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampire-survivors-fun-indie-rogue-lite-game-with-72-000-overwhelmingly-positive-reviews-on-steam-costs-3/962791/69 "2022-04-19T22:08:07Z")
I use a controller since I find a joystick much more responsive. I’ve never even tried with a mouse. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampire-survivors-fun-indie-rogue-lite-game-with-72-000-overwhelmingly-positive-reviews-on-steam-costs-3/962791/70 "2022-04-19T22:09:55Z")
I’ve read you can play either way but most seem to prefer using a keyboard or controller (joystick). This is one of those things that is personal preference although I have yet to find anyone that likes using a mouse for this game. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampire-survivors-fun-indie-rogue-lite-game-with-72-000-overwhelmingly-positive-reviews-on-steam-costs-3/962791/71 "2022-04-19T22:13:01Z")
I found the Library easier until the very end (like 28 minutes) when the difficulty spikes HARD! You are wailing on everything and then oops…you’re screwed. I think one advantage to Library is it is horizontal compared to the starting map. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampire-survivors-fun-indie-rogue-lite-game-with-72-000-overwhelmingly-positive-reviews-on-steam-costs-3/962791/72 "2022-04-19T22:21:27Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > It takes a while to get going, but once it;s upgraded and you get power-ups to reduce cooldown/increase duration you basically just a giant blue circle around you (way bigger than garlic) killing everything walking over it. Also, the power-up that evolves it is just good to have anyway. I have come to love Santa Water. When I start out the game, I am this lone little guy with a cloud of danger around me I am trying to avoid. When Santa Water is leveled up, I **become** the cloud of danger! 😈 ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampire-survivors-fun-indie-rogue-lite-game-with-72-000-overwhelmingly-positive-reviews-on-steam-costs-3/962791/73 "2022-04-19T23:32:07Z")
Is Attractorb worth the slot? It’s nice, and I know it is needed for Santa Water evolution. But if you are not going with Santa Water is Attractorb worthwhile? ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampire-survivors-fun-indie-rogue-lite-game-with-72-000-overwhelmingly-positive-reviews-on-steam-costs-3/962791/74 "2022-04-19T23:52:56Z")
It’s not 100% necessary but I think you level up a lot faster not having to grab all those gems individually. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2022, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampire-survivors-fun-indie-rogue-lite-game-with-72-000-overwhelmingly-positive-reviews-on-steam-costs-3/962791/75 "2022-04-20T04:26:49Z")
I died with 9 seconds remaining in the Dairy Plant. So close…so frustrating. ---
**Author:** ![omenran](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omenran/32/3318_2.png) [@omenran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/omenran)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2022, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampire-survivors-fun-indie-rogue-lite-game-with-72-000-overwhelmingly-positive-reviews-on-steam-costs-3/962791/76 "2022-04-20T04:32:46Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > Yeah, the pentagram can save your ass but it makes the game a lot harder because it erases experience and even treasure chests. > > If you can evolve it without dying, though, it’s pretty rad. The higher levels of pentagram have a lowered chance of destroying items , and the evolution might make up for it with enough time. It’s probably best if you’re able to level it up a few levels asap to stop erasing all the exp, but a screen clear might be worth it for the times you’re getting swarmed and need more survival. > [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Is Attractorb worth the slot? I have been picky for a while now and pretty much take stuff I want to evolve. Once in a while I’ll take something else, depending on the map. But I also am at the point where I have everything but curse and reroll powerups bought and maxed. So the attractorb is less helpful. I also try to get all the vacuum drops I can since I’m often running around a lot on most maps. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2022, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampire-survivors-fun-indie-rogue-lite-game-with-72-000-overwhelmingly-positive-reviews-on-steam-costs-3/962791/77 "2022-04-20T04:51:12Z")
Yeah, the vacuum drops let me rationalize not prioritizing attractor or the upgrade that does the same thing. I haven’t touched either yet. How many tokens or coins or whatever to max out upgrades? I’m not sure where I’m at right now; I think 12,000-ish, maybe? Actually, I don’t really care about fully max. Where you are right now is close enough. Last time you reset your upgrades, what ballpark was your total? 50k? 100k? (_\*crosses fingers hoping for 30k\*_) In terms of coin farming, I have the first map rated at 3600 coins per 30 minutes, so 7200 per hour or 120 per minute. (2 per second.) I’m assuming the second map will be better than that once I’m sufficiently powerful, which I may already be right now. I should try the second map, but 3000+ coins is still a significant jump up for me on the upgrade screen so it’s hard to resist the first map. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2022, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampire-survivors-fun-indie-rogue-lite-game-with-72-000-overwhelmingly-positive-reviews-on-steam-costs-3/962791/78 "2022-04-20T04:56:50Z")
in the game discussion thread after i said people need to play this @Hoopy_Frood asked : > [@Arcade ,console, PC ,mobile, handheld video games you’ve recently watched, played or are now watching ,playing or have given up on](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arcade-console-pc-mobile-handheld-video-games-you-ve-recently-watched-played-or-are-now-watching-playing-or-have-given-up-on/962813/10): > > I’ve never liked “bullet hell” games, though. Would someone who avoids that genre actually enjoy it? ---
**Author:** ![omenran](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omenran/32/3318_2.png) [@omenran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/omenran)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2022, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampire-survivors-fun-indie-rogue-lite-game-with-72-000-overwhelmingly-positive-reviews-on-steam-costs-3/962791/79 "2022-04-20T05:05:51Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > Where you are right now is close enough. Last time you reset your upgrades, what ballpark was your total? 50k? 100k? ( **crosses fingers hoping for 30k** ) I have 275k coins total right now refunding everything, and it’s probably closer to 500k for everything. Buying all the power ups except curse, reroll, skip and banish leaves me with just under 80k. Notice that Growth and Greed make it easier to level and gain coins, so a good run for coins can top out closer to 10k and 6k is pretty normal, iirc Thinking about it, some stat tracking would be nice. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2022, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampire-survivors-fun-indie-rogue-lite-game-with-72-000-overwhelmingly-positive-reviews-on-steam-costs-3/962791/80 "2022-04-20T05:25:08Z")
Just checked, I’m at 16k right now. _\*sigh\*_ Is Vandalier the clear best weapon, being the only evolved weapon that can then be upgraded 8 more times? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampire-survivors-fun-indie-rogue-lite-game-with-72-000-overwhelmingly-positive-reviews-on-steam-costs-3/962791.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vampire-survivors-fun-indie-rogue-lite-game-with-72-000-overwhelmingly-positive-reviews-on-steam-costs-3/962791.md?page=5)