Vampire Survivors (PC) Guide
~by tankMage (February 2023)
Introduction
Thanks for choosing my guide! It covers some basic tips and strategies for Vampire Survivors, but does not go into detail about where to find certain items or unlock content; such topics are covered fairly thoroughly in the game itself and in wikis. While I provide some weapon builds and suggest some characters in this guide, I encourage players to experiment, since that’s half the fun. It’s also worth remembering that this guide was written for version 1.3.0 and the info below may become outdated as the devs expand on the game.
Contents
1. Tips for New Players
Getting started in Vampire Survivors can be daunting, since monsters will quickly swarm and kill a weak character. Luckily, there’s a lot a new player can do to survive as long as possible and get the powers needed to reach the 30 minute mark in most stages. Following the guidelines below will ensure that you will start flying through the game after your first few tries.
a. Stick to the Mad Forest at First
Your stage choices will be rather limited when you first start the game. Only Antonio will be available and the Mad Forest is your best bet if you want to survive. Play through a few rounds in this area with Antonio and get a feel for how the game works. You will find items like the Clover, Orologion, Attract Orb, and Floor Chicken by destroying the torches scattered around the stage. Collecting these items (you will need 6 in the case of the Floor Chicken) will unlock new items that can turn up when you gain levels.
Get used to aiming Antonio’s Whip at enemies and take the Hollow Heart passive, because it can evolve the Whip into the Bloody Tear (a powerful weapon that can drain HP from monsters) if you’re lucky enough to find it in a chest. You may also want to take the Laurel after gaining a few levels. The invincibility barrier from Laurel can save your life. The King Bible and Axe are also good.
Death is a likely outcome on your first few runs, because you will lack the power ups and item selection required to stay alive for 30 minutes. Luckily, surviving for even a little while will unlock new items and powers. Whatever money you find will also be retained, so you can buy power ups at the shop to make Antonio and your other characters stronger. Keep practicing in the Mad Forest until you manage to survive for about 20 minutes and unlock a few things. Eventually you will open up new areas like the Inlaid Library.
b. Break Braziers and Other Objects Whenever Possible
Braziers, torches, and other similar objects that clutter stages often hold useful items like coins, Floor Chicken, Rosaries, Attract Orbs, and Peanuts. Collecting these items is always a good idea since they can do anything from heal your character to wiping all of the monsters off the screen. They may also unlock new powers. Saving powerful attack items like the Rosary and Peanut is a good way to get out of a jam if you are able to stay near the item.
c. Focus on Collecting Gems
Gems give your character experience, which unlocks a random power up with each level as well as special bonuses innate to each character. Try to aim your attacks at monsters and walk over as many Gems as possible to level up quickly. With the right weapons and a bit of luck, you can get fairly powerful before the enemies start to become difficult. Attract Orbs, which can be bought in the store, found in breakable objects, and awarded upon level ups are a great way to increase your character’s pick up range, making it easier to level up quickly. As an added bonus, the Attract Orb evolves the Santa Water into a powerful weapon called La Borra.
d. Learn Basic Weapon Evolutions and Unions
Pairing a weapon with a passive will cause the weapon to evolve into an ultimate form after it reaches level 8. Evolved weapons are found in chests dropped by powerful monsters. Here are a few of the more basic weapons and the passives that evolve them:
| Weapon | Passive | Result |
| Whip | Hollow Heart | Bloody Tear |
| Axe | Candelabrador | Death Spiral |
| Santa Water | Attract Orb | La Borra |
| Knife | Bracer | Thousand Edge |
| Fire Wand | Spinach | Hellfire |
| Magic Wand | Empty Tome | Magic Wand |
| King Bible | Spellbinder | Unholy Vespers |
| Garlic | Pummarola | Soul Eater |
f. Antonio is a Good Starting Character
Vampire Survivors has tons of heroes to choose from as you unlock them, but Antonio is your only option at the start. His Whip is a reliable weapon that can be evolved into Bloody Tear by combining it with the Hollow Heart. The damage bonus he gets from level ups can make him extremely powerful, especially if you get the Spinach passive which grants a further damage bonus. As a result, Antonio is a really reliable character for your first few missions and a good fall back if you are uncertain about later areas. That said, you will unlock characters that are far more powerful than Antonio as you go, so do not be afraid to experiment.
g. “Defensive” Weapons can Save the Day
Many weapons hit enemies from afar, but there are a few that act as a barrier between the player and enemy. These defensive weapons are important for most builds if you want to stay alive since they can keep monsters away from your character and even destroy projectiles fired by enemies. Always pick at least one of the following items to give your hero a means of protection.*
King Bible – Surrounds the player and damages enemies who touch it. Weak at first due to its short duration, but becomes powerful at around level 6. The evolved King Bible (Unholy Vespers) has unlimited duration and high damage.
Garlic – Arguably the best of the defensive weapons, the Garlic forms a constant damage zone around the player. This also makes it effective as an offensive weapon. Becomes the Soul Eater when evolved and steals HP from monsters.
Laurel – An often overlooked “weapon” that is purely defensive. Creates a barrier around the player that blocks damage for a moment. Takes a few seconds to recharge, but also gains charges when leveled up, giving the player more invulnerability time.
These are the more basic defensive weapons available to players by default or early on in the game. More can be obtained as the player completes goals.
*It is not always necessary to have these weapons, especially later in the game when your character is powered up.
h. Learn How to Herd Monsters
Most creatures in this game mindlessly plod towards the player. Use this fact to your advantage and try to get monsters to bunch up by circling them so your weapons hit more than one at a time. Leading them away from chests or other items is also a smart move. As the timer advances, groups of monsters will become very dense and you will likely have to move through them very carefully to avoid damage. At this point you will want to look for weaker enemies to cut a path through or gaps in the enemy formation. As the timer nears the 30 minute mark, the screen usually becomes filled with enemies. At this point you really just have to move a little bit to stay safe and hope for the best.
i. Get the Map From the Dairy Plant
The Map is an extremely useful item as it allows you to view the location of items in a stage. This includes secrets, power ups, weapons, passives, and unlockables. It goes without saying that a player who finds the Map early on will be able to unlock a lot of items and characters without having to blindly search dangerous areas.
To get the Map, you will need to reach level 20 in the Mad Forest to unlock the Inlaid Library, then reach level 40 in the Inlaid Library to unlock the Dairy Plant. After that, enter the Dairy Plant and follow the green arrow pointing south until you find the Map.
j. Buy Some Power Ups Between Stages
Selecting the Power Up option on the main menu between stages will allow you to buy permanent passive bonuses that apply to any character. These bonuses include speed boosts, extra damage, and extra lives to name a few. Spending some of the money earned in stages on power ups will make a big difference in your performance and the game will go from being difficult to easy rather quickly.
If you’re unsure what to buy, it’s hard to go wrong with the damage bonus and extra health for starters. Get the bonus projectile once you’ve earned about 10k and the Revival bonus once you get another 10k.
k. Buy a Glass Vizard from the Merchant in Moonglow
Unlock Hyper Mode for four regular stages and Moonglow will become accessible. This stage is notable for many reasons, particularly its merchant who sells the player various power ups. The Glass Vizard is one of the best things you can get relatively early on, since it allows players to visit the merchant in any stage. You’ll need 10k to buy the Vizard and more money to purchase power ups in stages, but it is well worth the effort.
2. Character Build Theory
There are a few rules of thumb that result in effective builds when followed. The random nature of level ups often makes it hard to get what you want, so my build theory is designed to work with the game in order to ensure that a run succeeds. As the game progresses, it becomes easier to get weapons and passives thanks to the Reroll Power Up, but understanding the game’s mechanics is still vital.
a. Level Up Logic
You will be given a choice of 3 to 4 random weapons and passives with each level up. The list of potential items can get really long as you unlock stuff, so it becomes important to grab what you need or want when you see it. You should follow the same general pattern with level ups as you go through the game.
1. Fill your weapon and passive slots first.
2. Use the Reroll, Skip, or Banish commands (if you have them) to bypass stuff you do not want only when you do not have the option of adding something you do want.
3. If there are two items you want and already have, it is generally best to take the weapon or the item that will boost your damage the most.
4. Focus on upgrading a single weapon once you have filled all of your item slots to increase the likelihood of evolving a weapon as soon as possible.
b. Weapons and Passives
Weapons and passives are essentially the backbone of a character build. Weapons deal damage to enemies, while passives modify your character’s stats or a weapon’s behavior. This section looks very briefly at a few basic weapons and passives. There are many weapons in this game and I suggest referring to the Vampire Survivors wiki listed in the references section for details.
Weapons
There are a lot of weapons to experiment with in this game, so this section only covers a few of the basic and intermediate ones for the sake of brevity. Some weapons are simply better than others and you will likely notice that certain ones almost always outperform everything else when looking at the results screen after a stage. Here are a few of the better non-DLC weapons.
Santa Water – While not great at first, the Santa Water becomes extremely powerful as the player levels it up and it will often be one of your top sources of damage. Santa Water creates damage zones on the ground that players can stand in or lure enemies onto. The evolved form of the Santa Water is especially powerful, since the damage zones follow the player.
Axe – The Axe is fired from the player character in an arch that hits enemies above and below the player. It can deal a lot of damage, but is slow and has poor range. When Evolved into the Death Spiral, the Axe basically becomes a ring of scythes that radiate out from the player, hitting nearly everything on screen.
Thunder Ring – Like the Santa Water, the Thunder Ring is a bit weak before it is leveled up. Once powered up, this weapon can inflict tremendous damage on just about everything on screen.
Cross – The Cross flies around like a boomerang and deals damage comparable to the Axe. Whip – The great strength of the Whip is that it is one of the few weapons that can be aimed at enemies since it always strikes the area in front of the player. It can also inflict a lot of damage and even absorb health when evolved.
Garlic – This defensive weapon is great for killing weak enemies and destroying enemy projectiles. When evolved into the Soul Eater, it also consumes health.
Knife – Easy to overlook, the Knife is another weapon that can be directed at specific targets. Becomes very powerful when evolved.
Fire Wand – Launches powerful fireballs at random enemies. Becomes deadly when evolved and goes well with the Spinach passive. Unfortunately, it is fairly slow at first.
Remember, there are a lot more weapons and these are just a few examples of helpful early game options.
Passives
There are many passives in this game, but you will likely only use the same 4 or 5, plus a random one needed to evolve a weapon. While this may be disappointing, it also makes it very easy to work passives into most builds, since the same 4-5 passives are good for just about anything. Here are the best passives:
Spinach – When maxed out, the Spinach grants the player a 50% damage bonus, making it beneficial to every weapon in the game. It also evolves the Fire Wand and Four Seasons.
Empty Tome – This passive reduces cool down, which in turns increases your damage by making weapons activate more frequently.
Candlelabrador – Increases area of effect. Works best with weapons like the Lightning RIng and Santa Water.
Pummarola – Slowly heals its owner and evolves the Garlic.
Bracer – Increases projectile speed. Not as good as the first three passives, but it has its uses.
Spellbinder – I am not a big fan of this duration increasing passive, because it doesn’t work with many weapons, but it is good for things like the Santa Water and the Clock Lancet.
c. Synergies
Character traits, weapons, passives, and Arcanas can all come together to great effect. For example, Arca gets a cooldown reduction for items as he levels up. Combine this with the Empty Tome passive and he will use his weapons very frequently. If Arca has the Empty Tome and King Bible, there’s no need to get the Spellbinder to evolve the Bible (unless you really want to) because he will always have it active. This leaves Arca free to fill the Spellbinder slot with something else. Add the Tragic Princess Arcana to the mix and Arca will fire off weapons almost faster than enemies can spawn.
Another example would be the Spinach passive, which evolves the Fire Wand and grants a damage bonus that makes all weapons more powerful. Think about how your current character’s traits affect weapons when making choices and try to pick things that work well together.
d. Evolutions and Unions
Weapons can evolve if paired with certain passives. In some cases, two weapons will fuse together to create a more powerful weapon called a union. In general, evolutions and unions are better than the base weapons they come from. Unions are particularly cool, because they provide the player with an extremely powerful weapon like Vandalier, while freeing up a weapon slot and leaving a passive slot or two open. Always plan builds with evolutions and/or unions in mind.
e. It is Not Always Necessary to Evolve a Weapon
Some weapons are pretty good even if you do not evolve them. In some cases this is due to the fact that the passive they need would take the place of a more important passive (IE the Spinach is way better than the Spellbinder) or if the player is using an Arcana like Gemini, which grants a base weapon like Peachone a powerful companion. Here are a few examples of weapons that you can get away with leaving unevolved in some situations:
Cross – The Heaven Sword (the Cross’s evolved form) is powerful, but a level 8 cross with the Spinach and Duplicator backing it up is also very powerful. Additionally, the Clover is a fairly mediocre passive unless you are using Luck heavily in your build.
King Bible – This may be an unpopular opinion, but I do not like the Spellbinder passive and find the evolved King Bible underwhelming. The Empty Tome does a pretty good job of keeping the King Bible going once you reach a high level, so you can get away with skipping its evolution.
Peachone, Ebony Wings, Phiera Der Tuphello, Eight the Sparrow, Gatti Amari – These weapons all go with the Gemini Arcana and do not necessarily need to be evolved or unioned to be effective. That said, evolutions/unions for these weapons still benefit from Gemini.
There are likely more weapons that do not necessarily need to be evolved, especially if used with Arcanas like Divine Bloodline, so feel free to experiment in your builds.
f. Reroll, Skip, and Banish
These power ups have to be purchased, but are well worth it for making just about any build. Weapons and passives do not appear at the same rate, which means you are less likely to see something like the Pentagram than you are to encounter Santa Water when leveling up. Reroll, Skip, and Banish all have a limited number of uses per stage, so conserve them for a time of need.
g. Arcanas
Arcanas can be unlocked by exploring Gallo Tower and grant players extremely powerful tools that can define entire builds. For example, Iron Blue Will (unlocked by getting Ganaro to level 50) can make the Knife and Axe bounce, giving them extra hits that translate even to their evolved forms. This makes a pair of weapons that were already deadly insanely powerful. Always try to work one or two Arcanas into a build once you have unlocked them and you will find yourself clearing stages almost effortlessly.
3. Example Builds
The following builds are examples of what players can come up with using some of the synergies available in the game. There are probably better builds out there, but these serve as fairly decent starting points. Some of these builds are more advanced than others, so keep in mind that you may need to unlock some items and characters to use them.
a. Classic Vampire Hunter Antonio (Beginner)
Weapons: Whip, Knife, Santa Water, King Bible, Laurel, Axe
Passives: Hollow Heart, Attract Orb, Candlelabrador, Armor or Spinach, Bracer, Spellbinder
Arcanas: Any
This is a very basic build for beginners. Even so, many of the Passive items (like the Spellbinder) will not be available on your first run, because they must be unlocked. Antonio gets a nice damage bonus as he levels up that makes him well suited to exploring early stages like the Mad Forest and Inlaid Library. Acquiring the Spinach further improves his damage.
He can also survive fairly well if you can manage to evolve the Whip into the Bloody Tear thanks to its life draining properties and high damage. Arcanas will likely not be an option if you are using this build, because they are not available until Gallo Tower.
b. Rapid Fire Arca (Intermediate)
Weapons: Fire Wand, Axe, Cross, Lightning Ring, Knife or Magic Wand, Garlic or King Bible
Passives: Spinach, Candlelabrador, Empty Tome, Bracer, Duplicator, Spellbinder or Pummarola
Arcanas: Tragic Princess, Twilight Requiem, Iron Blue Will
Arca is one of the best characters in the game despite the fact that he is likely one of the first heroes players will unlock. This is all thanks to his cool down bonus, which makes weapons like the Lightning/Thunderloop and Fire Wand/Hellfire activate very quickly, especially if paired with the Empty Tome. Of course, you will have to unlock a few weapons and passives to really put Arca to work.
This build leaves the option of taking the Garlic or King Bible and Knife or Magic Wand open to players. That said, the Knife and Garlic are the way to go if you have the opportunity to get them. The Knife can cut a path through enemies and the Garlic is all around better than the King Bible in most situations. The Cross is purposely left unevolved in this build to leverage the Duplicator, Empty Tome, and Arca’s natural cooldown bonus.
Arcanas make this build extremely powerful later in the game. Iron Blue Will causes the Death Spiral and Thousand Edge to bounce for even more damage. Tragic Princess will make the Thunderloop strike almost constantly and Twilight Requiem makes it even stronger.
c. Invincible Miang (Advanced)
Weapons: Silver Wind, Lightning Ring, Garlic, Rune Tracer, Fire Wand, Whip
Passives: Hollow Heart, Candlelabrador, Duplicator, Armor, Pummarola, Spinach
Arcanas: Sarabande of Healing, Tragic Princess, Divine Bloodline
After unlocking Miang and a few of the Arcana Cards, it’s possible to make a character that is nearly unkillable. Miang’s weapons and unique healing traits make her capable of amassing a tremendous amount of HP with the right setup. Her HP can become so high that she can walk through powerful hordes of monsters without getting down to half health. To put this into perspective, I have finished stages with upwards of 1000 HP with Miang, which is insanely high compared to the 100 HP most characters start with.
The Silver Wind, Pummarola, Sarabande of Healing Arcana Card, Hollow Heart, Soul Eater, and Bloody Tear are the keys to this build. With them, Miang can start stacking HP bonuses very quickly. Upon maxing out all weapons and passives, players should opt for the “Always Floor Chicken” option for level ups to ensure Miang gets constant healing and more HP.
d. Extreme AoE Menya (Advanced)
Weapons: Four Seasons, Garlic, Lightning Ring, Axe, Fire Wand, Santa Water
Passive: Spinach, Candlelabrador, Pummarola, Attract Orb, Empty Tome, Duplicator
Arcanas: Boogaloo of Illusions, Heart of Fire, Tragic Princess
If you are looking for a build that can eradicate everything in sight, look no further. Menya’s ability to transform into a more powerful version of himself after killing set amounts of enemies, makes him (or her?) perfect for AoE. The Four Seasons and its evolved form, Godai Shuffle, set this build up for AoE from the start. Once you have Godai shuffle and have evolved the Lightning Ring or Santa Water, the stage will get really easy. In fact, Menya will barely get hit even towards the end of tougher stages like the Bone Zone.
It is very important to take the Boogaloo of Illusions Arcana right away with this build. The +1% to Area per level is amazing as Menya gets towards level 50. Tragic Princess is also important to this build, because it allows Menya to cast the Fire Wand/Hellfire and Lightning Ring really quickly as long as he is moving. With Menya in his evolved form and Tragic Princess, enemies will not stand a chance. Unfortunately, Menya’s boosts wear off after a while, but this build is lethal even in his normal form.
4. Tricks
Here are a few simple tricks I’ve learned while playing this game.
a. Sarabande of Healing Turns Pummarola and Floor Chickens into Weapons
It is possible to do extra damage with the Sarabande of Healing Arcana by using healing items and passives. Even the Tiragisu passive can harm enemies quite a bit when you revive. This can be really helpful near the start of a stage when you do not have many weapons. If you take “Always Floor Chicken ” upon level up after you have maxed all of your passive and weapons out, you can dish out a little extra damage while healing near the end of a stage.
b. Shadow Pinion Power
You can unlock the Shadow Pinion after getting Concetta in Gallo Tower. This weapon has a unique and very useful property: You can control when and where it fires. Any Pinions on the ground launch themselves in the direction your character is facing when you stop moving. Moving a few paces in a direction, then stopping is a great way to focus your fire on a specific enemy. You can even walk back and forth to drop several Pinions in a small area before launching them. This technique only becomes more powerful when the pinion evolves into the Valkyrie Turner.
c. Leveling the Pentagram
The Pentagram is notorious for its habit of destroying gems and chests. Onced evolved into the Gorgeous Moon, this is no longer an issue, but getting there can be tough with the Pentagram occasionally destroying your exp and chests. While some guides urge players to level up the Pentagram last, I am of the opinion that you’re better off leveling this weapon up first so you can benefit from the Gorgeous Moon’s exp bonus. Here are a few tricks to make this task much easier:
-Walk away from gems and chests if you are not ready to collect/open them; the Pentagram will not destroy them if they are not on the screen.
-This weapon has a 90 second base cool down. Pay attention to when it triggers to get a rough idea of how much time you have to collect things.
-Prioritize leveling it up to reduce the likelihood of it destroying items.
-The Empty Tome works great with the Pentagram, but you should wait until it is a high level or evolved into Gorgeous Moon before picking the Tome.
-The Crown and Clover go well with this weapon since they offset its negative side effects.
5. References and Further Reading
There are a lot of resources for this game, but I only used the wiki, which is great for general information:
https://vampire-survivors.fandom.com/wiki/Weapons
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