You’re standing in the Bazaar Between Time. Newt is staring at you with those weird, cosmic eyes. You have five Lunar Coins burning a hole in your pocket, and there it is—the Shaped Glass. It looks tempting. It’s shiny. It promises to double your damage. You take it, right?
Well, maybe.
If you’ve played more than twenty minutes of Risk of Rain 2, you know that lunar items are the ultimate "monkey's paw" of gaming. They aren’t just power-ups; they are fundamental shifts in how the game’s math works. Most players treat them like standard loot, but that’s exactly how you end up dead on Stage 4 because you forgot that your "utility" skill no longer exists.
Lunar items in Risk of Rain 2 are high-risk, high-reward items found in Lunar Pods or purchased with Lunar Coins. Unlike your standard white, green, or red items, these come with a nasty downside. Sometimes the downside is manageable. Sometimes it’s a literal death sentence if your build isn't ready for it.
The Math of the Glass Cannon: Shaped Glass and Transcendence
Let's talk about the big one. Shaped Glass.
This item is the poster child for lunar items Risk of Rain 2 players love to hate. It increases your base damage by 100% but reduces your maximum health by 50%. It stacks exponentially. Grab two, and you have 400% damage but 25% health.
In the early days of the game, Shaped Glass was broken. You could stack it to the moon and stay alive using "One-Shot Protection" (OSP). But the developers at Hopoo Games aren't stupid. They tweaked the mechanics. Now, if you take too much Glass, you are essentially a wet paper towel in a hurricane. One stray wisp bullet and your run is over.
Is it worth it? Honestly, only if you have the movement speed to never get hit. If you’re playing a slow Survivor like MUL-T without a lot of mobility items, taking Shaped Glass is basically hitting the "Alt+F4" button on your own fun.
Then there is Transcendence. It turns all your health into shields except for one single hit point.
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- You lose the ability to heal with medkits or leeches.
- You gain a massive health pool that regenerates rapidly after seven seconds of not taking damage.
- It completely negates items like Bustling Fungus or Rejuvenation Rack.
If you're playing Engineer, taking Transcendence is a war crime. Your turrets rely on that sweet, sweet Bungus healing. If you take this blue beetle, your turrets become fragile glass ornaments that can't sustain themselves. On the flip side, if you're playing Huntress and you're already used to darting in and out of combat, Transcendence is a godsend. It simplifies your survival. Stop worrying about healing. Just don't get hit for seven seconds.
The Items That Actually Ruin Everything
Not all lunar items are created equal. Some are "run-enders" that most veteran players won't touch with a ten-foot pole unless they are meming.
Stone Flux Pauldron is a prime example. It doubles your health but halves your movement speed. In a game where "speed is life," cutting your velocity in half is a death wish. Unless you have twenty Goat Hooves or you're playing a specific Loader build that relies on swing physics rather than walking, this item is a trap.
And then we have the Purity.
This item reduces your skill cooldowns by two seconds. That sounds amazing! You can spam your abilities! But there's a catch: it "unfucks" your luck. Every time a random effect occurs—like a Tri-Tip Dagger bleed or an AtG Missile—the game rolls twice and takes the worst result.
If you have a "proc-based" build (items that trigger on hit), Purity will absolutely gutter your damage. You'll be shooting fast and using skills constantly, but none of your cool items will actually trigger. It’s only viable on survivors who don't care about procs, like Artificer, who just wants her cooldowns back so she can keep throwing fireballs.
The Heresy Set: Becoming a Different Survivor
One of the coolest, and most misunderstood, aspects of lunar items Risk of Rain 2 offers is the Heresy series.
- Visions of Heresy (Replaces Primary Skill)
- Hooks of Heresy (Replaces Secondary Skill)
- Strides of Heresy (Replaces Utility Skill)
- Essence of Heresy (Replaces Special Skill)
If you collect all four, you literally transform into a secret character: The Heretic.
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The Heretic has massive health and incredible damage, but she constantly loses health over time. You have to stay in combat to stay alive. Most players find one or two of these items useful—specifically Strides of Heresy, which gives almost any character a "get out of jail free" card by turning them into a shadow that heals. It’s a massive upgrade for survivors with bad movement skills, like Captain.
But be careful. If you replace a skill you rely on, like Loader's grapple or Mercenary's dash, you might find the "upgraded" lunar version feels clunky and slow.
The Strategy of the Shop
Getting these items isn't just about luck. It's about managing your Lunar Coins.
These coins persist between runs. You find them rarely from dropped enemies, or you get them by "Obliterating" at the Obelisk or beating the final boss, Mithrix.
A lot of players use mods to get infinite coins. I'm not here to judge. But if you're playing the game "legit," you have to be frugal. Don't just buy every blue item you see. Use the Refresh pedestal in the Bazaar to hunt for the specific ones that complete your build.
If you’re going for a "God Run," you’re usually looking for:
- Gesture of the Drowned: Automates your equipment and reduces its cooldown. Pair this with a Fuel Cell and a Disposable Missile Launcher, and the game plays itself.
- Focused Convergence: Makes the teleporter charge faster but smaller. Great for speeding up the early game if you're confident in your ability to stay in the zone.
Beware the Ego
The SotV (Survivors of the Void) expansion added a terrifying lunar item: Eulogy Zero.
This item gives a chance for any item drop to become a Lunar item instead. This sounds fun until you realize that Lunar items aren't always better. You might kill a boss and expect a Molten Perforator, but because of Eulogy Zero, you get a Stone Flux Pauldron that ruins your movement speed.
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It’s a chaotic item. It turns the game into a weird, blue-tinted gamble.
How to Not Die
If you want to actually win while using these, you need a plan.
First, check your mobility. Never take an item that slows you down (like Stone Flux or even Defiant Gouge if it spawns too many enemies) unless you have a way to compensate.
Second, check your procs. If you have a Clover, never take Purity. They literally fight each other. The Clover tries to give you the best outcome, and Purity tries to give you the worst. It’s a waste of item slots.
Third, know the boss. If you're going to fight Mithrix, remember that in his final phase, he steals your items. If you have Shaped Glass, he will have it too. But since he has a massive health pool, the 50% reduction doesn't hurt him as much as the 100% damage boost helps him. He will one-tap you.
Practical Steps for Your Next Run
Stop treating the Bazaar as a mandatory stop. Treat it as a surgical intervention.
Next time you play, try these specific combos:
- The AFK Build: Grab Gesture of the Drowned and a Royal Capacitor. Stack a few Fuel Cells. You don't even have to click anymore; the game just strikes enemies with lightning automatically.
- The Shield Tank: If you find Transcendence early, stop buying healing items. Spend that money on damage or utility instead. It frees up your economy.
- The Cooldown Mage: On Artificer, grab two Visions of Heresy. It replaces your slow fireballs with rapid-fire shards that track enemies. It fixes her biggest weakness: missing shots.
Lunar items are the "difficulty slider" you control mid-run. They make the game weirder, harder, and sometimes, much shorter. Use them to break the game, but don't be surprised when the game breaks back.
Identify your survivor's core weakness before entering the Bazaar. If you're slow, look for Strides. If you're weak, look for Glass. If you're frustrated with cooldowns, look for Purity. Just read the fine print first. Or don't, and enjoy the spectacular explosion when your 10-HP build meets a wandering vagrant.