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Loader Skills
Best Items For Loader
How To Play As Loader
Loader is a mobile melee Survivor in Risk of Rain Returns that uses massive gauntlets to fling around the battlefield, pummeling enemies with his giant fists. The Loader has a great base kit that offers versatility in any situation, with high damage, mobility, and invincibility.
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At first, the Loader may seem a bit difficult to play, but that will get better with time. Eventually, you'll be able to launch around each stage, quickly reaching the teleporter while one-shotting enemies that stand in your way. Below, we'll take a look at everything you need to know about playing this character, from each of his skills to the best items to use.
Loader Skills
Loader has the following skills unlocked by default.
Skill | Description |
|---|---|
Knuckleboom | Batter nearby enemies for 120% damage. Every third hit deals 240% damage and knocks enemies upwards. |
Debris Shield | Become invincible for 2 seconds while also increasing your movement speed. |
Hydraulic Gauntlet | Fire your gauntlet and pull yourself upward, stunning and hurting enemies for 210% damage. |
M440 Conduit | Place a lightning rod. After placing two, lightning surges between them, dealing 80% damage per second for 9 seconds. |
Unlockable Skills
Additionally, you can unlock the following skills that replace the Loader's Knuckleboom, Debris Shield, and M440 Conduit.
Skill | Description | How To Unlock |
|---|---|---|
Bullet Punch (replaces Knuckleboom) | Charge up and slam enemies forward, for up to 1000% damage. | Complete the Providence Trial "Ruins of the Future". Collect 300 items as Loader. |
Short Circuit (replaces Debris Shield) | Crash down and stun enemies in a large radius, for 350% damage. | Complete the Providence Trial "Crash Landing". Defeat 3000 enemies as Loader. |
S260 Conduit (replaces M440 Conduit) | Place a lightning beacon. Lightning surges to any nearby allies within a radius, dealing 80% damage per second, and massively increasing attack speed. | Complete the Providence Trial "Colossal Lift". Complete 25 stages as Loader. |
Best Items For Loader
Item | Description | Why It's Good |
|---|---|---|
Soldier's Syringe | Increases attack speed by 12%. | Increases overall damage and utility. |
Lens Maker's Glasses | Your attacks have a 10% chance to Critically Strike, dealing double damage. | Increases overall damage and chance to activate Harvester's Scythe and Wicked Ring. |
Paul's Goat Hoof | Increases movement speed by 15%. | Increases mobility. |
Mocha | Increases movement speed by 7.5% and attack speed by 6%. | Increases mobility and damage. |
Rusty Jetpack | Decrease gravity while holding the jump button by 10% and increase jump height. | Increases mobility. |
Hopoo Feather | Gain +1 maximum jump count. | Increases mobility. |
Harvester's Scythe | Gain 5% Critical Chance. Critical Strikes heal for 8 health. | Provides health sustain while dealing damage. |
Brilliant Behemoth | All your attacks explode for a bonus 20% damage to nearby enemies. | Increases overall damage. |
Hardlight Afterburner | Add +2 charges of your Utility skill. Reduces Utility skill cooldown by 33%. | Lets you use Hydraulic Gauntlet more frequently. |
Wicked Ring | Gain 5% Critical Chance. Critical Strikes reduce cooldowns by 1 second. | Provides general utility through more frequent skill usage. |
The Loader doesn't need that much support from items to shine. His base kit is very strong and versatile, so you'll mainly want to get items that make him better at what he's already good at. This means movement items and anything with an on-hit effect like Mortar Tube, AtG Missile Mk. 1 will be good.
As a melee Survivor, you'll also want to invest a bit into items that boost survivability, whether that's through mitigation or healing. Leeching Seed and Harvester's Scythe are two great healing options, while Tough Times, Repulsion Armor, and a number of other items can help reduce the damage you take.
How To Play As Loader
Loader is an extremely mobile Survivor that can perform well in a variety of situations. Whether you're tanking hits with Debris Shield, dashing around with Short Circuit and Hydraulic Gauntlet, killing groups of enemies with M440 Conduit, or just punching Lemurians in the face with Knuckleboom, Loader excels in every category.
Hydraulic Gauntlet is the Loader's most important tool. Using this skill, you can easily maneuver over any obstacle, allowing you to quickly traverse through the stage. Plus, the Hydraulic Gauntlet has decent damage and stuns enemies for two seconds, making it just as useful in combat.
If you don't press any movement key while you use Hydraulic Gauntlet, you'll instead travel through the enemy you've grappled to, increasing the distance you move. Use this to your advantage to quickly move around the stage.
Knuckleboom is a 3-hit combo attack, with the third hit launching enemies into the air slightly. You can enable rapid fire in the accessibility settings of the game, which allows you to hold down the attack key to perform all three hits of the combo rather than repeatedly pressing the button.
Debris Shield is a very strong skill that makes you invulnerable to damage for two seconds. Use this when surrounded by enemies to escape without taking damage.
You can also opt to use Short Circuit in place of Debris Shield, which will drastically increase your mobility and overall damage at the cost of no longer having access to invincibility. However, both skills are good, so choose the one that better suits your preferred playstyle.
Similarly, M440 Conduit and S260 Conduit are both great skills, so you'll have to decide which one you like using more. M440 offers great area damage, while S260 will drastically increase your attack speed. S260 Conduit also increases the attack speed of nearby allies, including Drones, making it especially good if you have lots of Drones.
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