Vampire Survivors is a roguelite game that’s very easy to pick up and play, especially now that it has been released on the mobile platform. However, you would be wise not to confuse its easy onboarding with actual simplicity, particularly since the game can be quite complex when you start playing seriously and want to start unlocking the different stages and modifiers, and gain access to everything that it has to offer.

Table of Contents

1. Play Vampire Survivors on PC For Free on BlueStacks
2. A Wide Variety of Survivors to Unlock
3. The Basic Stats and Their Effects
4. Item Builds
5. Completing Stages

With that being said, in this Vampire Survivors beginner’s guide, we want to go over a few basic aspects so that you can get a good idea of how to get started in this awesome roguelike game.

Play Vampire Survivors on PC For Free on BlueStacks

Before we start explaining the basic rundown and mechanics of the game, we feel it’s important to mention that, while you need to first purchase the PC version of the game in order to play it on your computer, you can play Vampire Survivors on PC for free by playing the mobile version on BlueStacks. Our Android app player is equipped with loads of tools and features to enhance your gameplay experience when playing any mobile game on your computer, and Vampire Survivors is no exception.

If you want to enjoy the best Vampire Survivors experience on PC without having to pay a single dime, we strongly suggest downloading and installing it on BlueStacks. Check out our PC setup guide for Vampire Survivors if you want to learn more about how to get started.

A Wide Variety of Survivors to Unlock

Like in countless other roguelites, one of the main appeals in Vampire Survivors is the progression factors that will contribute to giving each and every run a unique approach to the combat and builds. One of these important factors is the character that you choose before jumping into the stage, as each of these survivors have their own starting weapon, as well as their unique base stats and progression.

Specifically, there are 41 different survivors to find and unlock in Vampire Survivors as of writing this guide. 25 of these survivors are part of the base experience and can be unlocked mostly by simply playing the game and fulfilling certain straightforward conditions. Meanwhile, the other 16 are considered to be “hidden” characters and require going more out of your way in order to unlock them.

We’ve already created guides on how to unlock every base character in Vampire Survivors, as well as how to obtain their hidden counterparts. Nevertheless, the most important thing you need to know about this aspect is that your choice here will greatly alter your approach and focus in combat, especially when considering the starting items and stats of each of these characters.

The Basic Stats and Their Effects

Speaking of stats, there are quite a few of these parameters in Vampire Survivors, some more prevalent than others, but each of these affecting a specific aspect of your character’s performance in combat. Here’s a list of the most important stats in Vampire Survivors, along with what they do:

• Health Points: Determines the character’s HP. Its base value is 100 and it has no upper limit.

• Recovery: Determines how much HP a character regains every second. Its base value is 0 and it has no upper limit.

• Armor: Each point here reduces damage taken by 1 and increases retaliation damage by 10%. The base value is 0 and while its defensive component has no upper limit, its retaliation aspect is capped at 50.

• MoveSpeed: Determines the max movement speed of the hero. The base value is 100% and it has no upper limit.

• Might: Governs the damage done by all attacks. Its base value is 100% and its upper limit is 1000%.

• Area: Determines the AoE of certain items like Axes, Garlic, and Crosses, among others. Its base value is 100% and its upper limit is 1000%. 

• Speed: Governs the speed of projectile weapons like Knives, Axes, and  Crosses, among others. Its base value is 100% and its upper limit is 500%.

• Duration: Governs the duration of certain weapons like Santa Water. Its base value is 100% and its upper limit is 500%.

• Amount: Affects the number of projectiles launched with every weapon attack. Each point here increases projectiles by 1. Its base value is 0 and its upper limit is 10.

• Cooldown: Determines the time required between weapon uses. Its base value is 100% and its lower limit is 10%.

• Luck: Affects specific aspects like the rate of pickups spawning from defeated enemies and the odds of chests being of higher quality. Its base value is 100% and it has no upper limit.

• Growth: Affects the amount of experience earned per experience gem. Its base value is 100% and it has no upper limit.

• Greed: Governs the amount of gold earned from picking up coins. Its base value is 100% and it has no upper limit.

• Curse: Governs the speed, frequency, health, and quantity of enemies. Its base value is 100% and it has no upper limit.

• Magnet: Affects the radius at which your character can pick up experience gems and pickups. Its base value is 30 and it has no upper limit.

• Revival: Governs the number of extra lives that the character has. Its base value is 0 and it has no upper limit.

• Reroll: Affects the number of times that the player can re-roll the level-up rewards. Its base value is 0 and it has no upper limit.

• Skip: Determines the number of times that the player can abandon level-up rewards. Its base value is 0 and it has no upper limit.

• Banish: Determines the number of times the player can banish level-up rewards. Its base value is 0 and it has no upper limit.

Properly understanding what each and every stat in Vampire Survivors can do will help you to get an idea of how to use each character, even before you unlock them.

Item Builds

Aside from there being a wide roster of playable characters in Vampire Survivors, the main brunt of the variety actually comes from the wide assortment of items that players can pick up during each round, which in turn will greatly impact their proficiency at killing monsters and staying alive. What’s more, the items that you choose will also greatly affect your approach to fighting, whether you face enemies head-on, or rely more on kiting while pelting foes with projectiles from relatively safe distances.

Play Vampire Survivors on PC

Play Vampire Survivors on PC

While it might be tempting to pick up each and every single item you come upon, it’s worth pointing out that you can only carry up to six different weapons, or up to six passive items, at any given moment. As such, you must carefully consider your item build in order to maximize your performance in each stage. 

Keep in mind that whenever you pick up an extra copy of an item that you already possess, you will increase its level and give it additional stats that are unique to the said item. Furthermore, if you pair specific weapons with their correct passive item, and then upgrade each of these to their maximum level, you can then further evolve them into a more powerful version of the weapon in question. Check out our Vampire Survivors passive items and weapons guide to learn more about how the item system works.

It’s worth pointing out here that each character starts with a specific weapon, which doesn’t count towards the item total of the hero in question. For instance, Antonio Belpaese starts with a whip as his weapon, and picking up extra copies of this item will not take up a slot in his limited inventory.

Completing Stages

Vampire Survivors is a roguelite game, which means that most of your gameplay will revolve around repeating the same stages over and over until you get a good run and “beat” the current level. However, considering that the game is, at a glance, endless and aimless, it might feel like the stages never end. However, this isn’t true as there are certain conditions that must be met before a stage is considered “completed”. Similarly, there are many conditions that you can fulfill in order to unlock new stages and modifiers, all of which add additional layers of challenge to the game.

While we’ve explored this aspect in further detail in our Vampire Survivors stage guide, we can say that, in most cases, a stage is considered “completed” after surviving for at least 30 minutes, which will reward the player with 500g. At this time, a Reaper enemy will spawn every minute to try and kill the player. And considering these monsters are quite tough, it won’t be long until you’re overwhelmed.

At the beginning, it should be your priority to simply run around and get acquainted with the basic mechanics and systems in Vampire Survivors. Luckily, with this beginner’s guide, you can get a good idea of how to get started on the right track.