Gearbox had a massive mountain to climb. When the developer took over the Risk of Rain IP from its original creators, Hopoo Games, the fans were—to put it lightly—skeptical. People were worried about the "Borderlands-ification" of their favorite roguelike. Then came Risk of Rain Seekers of the Storm.
It launched. It broke.
Honestly, the launch was a bit of a disaster for a game that usually runs like a well-oiled machine. This second premium expansion didn't just add new items and survivors; it fundamentally altered how the game's engine handled things like frame rate and physics. If you were playing on a high-refresh monitor, you suddenly found your character moving at light speed or getting stuck in the floor. It was weird.
The Technical Debt Nobody Asked For
The biggest issue with Risk of Rain Seekers of the Storm wasn't actually the content itself. It was the "unification" of the PC and console codebases. In theory, this sounds great. Developers can push updates to everyone at the same time. In practice? It tied the game's logic to its frame rate. This is a classic "don't do this" in modern game dev.
Think about it. In a game where the difficulty scales every second, having your damage or movement speed tied to whether your GPU is sweating is a recipe for chaos. Players reported that Mithrix—the final boss of the base game—became an untouchable god because his AI was suddenly thinking five times faster than intended.
Gearbox eventually apologized. They've been patching it. But that first week? It was a masterclass in how a technical oversight can overshadow creative additions. The new stages, like the Helminth Hatchery, are visually stunning, but nobody cares about the scenery when they’re clipping through a wall at 200 FPS.
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The Survivors: Chef, Seeker, and False Son
Let’s talk characters. We got three of them this time around.
The Seeker is probably the most "Gearbox" design of the bunch. She’s a brawler-healer hybrid. You have to manage a "Tranquility" meter, which feels a bit more complex than the straightforward "shoot and run" loop of the Commando. She can literally resurrect dead teammates in multiplayer. That’s a huge shift for Risk of Rain. Usually, when you’re dead, you’re just a spectator watching your friend struggle against a Blighted Lemurian for twenty minutes.
Then there's Chef. Everyone wanted Chef. He was a fan favorite from the original 2D game, and his transition to 3D is... okay. He throws cleavers. He sears enemies. But he feels a bit "heavy" compared to the fluid movement of the Loader or Mercenary.
The False Son is the real lore-heavy addition here. He’s tied to the expansion’s big bad—the titular False Son boss. He’s a tanky, lunar-themed powerhouse who uses a club. Playing him feels like playing a boss. It’s satisfying, even if his unlock quest is a bit of a grind through the new Path of the Colossus stages.
New Items and the Polluted Loot Pool
This is where the hardcore community started getting really loud. In a roguelike, the "loot pool" is sacred. If you add ten new items and five of them are useless, you’ve effectively nerfed every single run you play. Risk of Rain Seekers of the Storm introduced some items that felt like "filler."
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Take the Sale Star, for example. It gives you a chance to get a second item from a chest. That’s awesome. It’s a top-tier green item. But then you have stuff like the Warped Echo, which splits damage taken over time. On paper, it saves your life. In reality, it often just delays the inevitable or messes up "one-shot protection" mechanics that high-level players rely on to stay alive for three-hour runs.
The community consensus? The expansion diluted the item pool.
- Antler Shield: Reflects damage. Cool, but you don't want to get hit in the first place.
- Chronic Expansion: Gives you a stacking damage buff for the current stage after killing enemies. Great for the teleporter event, useless for the final boss fight.
- Knockback Fin: Actually kinda annoying because it pushes enemies away from your AOE attacks.
Why the New Stages Actually Rock
If there is one area where Gearbox absolutely nailed it, it's the environment design. The new stages in Risk of Rain Seekers of the Storm are vertical. Like, really vertical.
The Shattered Abodes and the Reformatory feel massive. They have this sense of scale that the original stages lacked. There's a lot of hidden lore tucked away in the corners too. If you're the kind of player who likes to explore every nook and cranny instead of just rushing the teleporter, you'll find plenty to like here. The music, composed by Chris Christodoulou, remains the gold standard. He managed to blend the synth-heavy vibes of the first game with some more "earthy" sounds to match the ancient civilization theme of the expansion. It’s easily the best part of the DLC.
Dealing with the False Son
The new final boss, the False Son, is a different beast compared to Mithrix. Mithrix is a duel. It’s a dance. The False Son feels more like a traditional MMO boss fight. He has phases. He has environmental hazards. He has a massive laser that will delete your health bar if you aren't standing behind a pillar.
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It's a polarizing fight. Some people love the change of pace. Others feel it’s a bit too scripted for a game that’s usually about chaotic, emergent gameplay. One thing is for sure: you need a lot of movement speed to survive his third phase. If you've been slacking on your Hoof or Energy Drink stacks, you're toast.
The Verdict on the Gearbox Era
Is it worth it? That depends on when you’re asking. At launch? Probably not. It was too broken. But now that the major bugs—the ones that literally broke the game’s physics—have been mostly squashed, Risk of Rain Seekers of the Storm is a solid addition for someone who has already put 500 hours into the base game and Survivors of the Void.
It’s not perfect. It’s messier than the previous DLC. It feels like it was made by people who really like the game but didn't quite understand the technical "soul" of how it was built. But the new stages are beautiful, and the Seeker is a genuinely fun survivor once you get the hang of her rhythm.
If you’re a newcomer, stick to the base game first. Maybe get Survivors of the Void for the Void Fiend and the Railgunner. Save this one for when you’re bored and want a new challenge. The "Storm" is definitely there, but it’s up to you if you want to seek it out.
Actionable Steps for Players
- Fix your FPS: If you're experiencing weird physics or super-fast enemies, try capping your frame rate to 60 in the settings. The game's engine struggles with high refresh rates since the DLC update.
- Unlock the False Son quickly: To play as the new powerhouse, you need to reach the Prime Meridian stage and defeat the boss while carrying a specific Halcyon Seed. It’s easier to do this on a "Drizzle" run just to get the unlock out of the way.
- Watch the Sale Star: This is the best new item. If you see it in a multi-shop, take it. It pays for itself within two stages by doubling your loot.
- Ignore the Warped Echo: Unless you have a specific healing build, this item can often do more harm than good by bypassing your one-shot protection. Scrap it if you find a scrapper.
- Check the patch notes: Gearbox is still actively tweaking the item balance. What's "trash" today might be "S-tier" after the next hotfix. Keep an eye on the official Discord for the latest balance changes.