Summary
Eternal Returnis amultiplayer online battle royale gamefrom Nimble Neuron that combines an extremely vibrant and colorful anime aesthetic with a gameplay loop that is as fun as it is challenging, requiring the player to make full use of all the crafting mechanics and upgrades the game has to offer if they want to stand any chance of surviving enemy encounters.
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One of the biggest and most impactful features of the game is the Augments,special itemsthat can be equipped to the player’s character before a match begins which will grant them special abilities and enhancements that can make it much easier for the player tocome out of a gunfight in one piece. There are three types of Augmentations inEternal Return, these being; Havoc, Fortification, and Support. The former two are more focused on dealing more damage to single targets and big crowds, with Support being all about survivability and defense. While it’s best to try and reach a balance between all of these Augment types, there are also a few individual Augmentations that are very worthwhile and extremely effective.
8Theia
While Theia is an Augmentation that is only really viable for ranged characters, it can be incredibly devastating and can help keep the player one step ahead of their enemies since it will allow them to spot people roaming around in the dark at a slightly further range, and while the 1.25m extra distance might not seem like much, it makes a world of difference in-game.
The only thing holding this Augment back is that it’s only really usable for a select few characters who rely on theirranged damageandWeapon Skills such as Aya, Sissela, and Zahir, but for the early-game, it can still be utterly devastating.
7Dismantle Goliath
This core Havoc Augmentation is especially useful for newer players who are just trying to get themselves familiar with the game and its mechanics as it can help make tough one-on-one encounters much more manageable, alongside making it far easier to survive against small groups of animals and test subjects.
Dismantle Goliathwill kick in when the player comes up against an enemy who has 10-40% more max HP, where it will then grant 4% to 16% more attack damage. This buff proves to be especially useful when paired with a fast and deadly melee weapon where it will provide a massive boost to the overall DPS.
6Dulled Blades
Dulled Blades is admittedly a very situational sub-Fortification Augment that will reduce the amount of critical hit damage the player receives during a match, so this does mean that it will be at its best when used in a lobby, where there are a few people who are using characters that rely on having a high-crit build, such as Fiora, Yuki, Chiara, Jacki, and Luke.
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If there are a few of these characters making an appearance in a match, Dulled Blades can help to manage the immense amount of damage they can put out upon acquiring the items needed for theirspecific build. Furthermore, the generous 10-second cooldown makes it even more useful and, essentially, a single-handed counter to crit-reliant characters.
5Quench
It didn’t take long after it was first introduced to the game for Quench to beseverely nerfedsince it quickly became clear that it was making crowd control far too easy, and while it’s no longer the must-have Augment it used to be, that’s not to suggest that it can’t still make seizing objectives extremely easy.
This Augmentation is all about dealing more damage to wild animals, along with healing for 10% of the overall damage that is dealt. Characters with bad animal clear and objective clear capabilities, like Daniel and Lenox, for example, will benefit greatly from this Augment, but it will prove useful on just about anyone, especially in the late game when animals start becoming a lot tougher to take down.
4Amplification Drone
Having anAI companioninEternal Returnis incredibly useful since it can be all too easy to become overwhelmed with attacks while reloading or using an ability, and there aren’t many that are as effective as the Amplification Drone which becomes a part of the player’s Ultimate Attack once it is attached.
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The drone increases movement speed exponentially and will remain around the player for 4.5 seconds. As an added bonus, it will also increase Skill Amplification by allies by 15% per level, and while the drone unfortunately doesn’t stack, it can still act as a crucial lifeline to allow the player to escape from an unwinnable gunfight.
3Frenzy
Generally speaking, if a player enjoys using a character who gains a big burst after using their Weapon Skill, or simply relies on their Weapon Skill to win the majority of fights, then Frenzy is going to be an essential Augmentation to bring along since it can skyrocket the amount of damage being dealt by a drastic amount.
When a Weapon Skill is activated, the player will also gain a buff to their melee and attack speed which will increase the DPS rate by a tremendous amount. This is truly a go-to Augmentation for anyone using a characterwith a rapieror assault rifle weapon so that they can maximize their damage output and make quick work of more defensive players.
2Heavy Kneepads
Since the majority of characters inExternal Returnare already capable of dishing out huge amounts of damage, especially if they have one of the deadlier Weapon Skills in the game, this means that defense often becomes the bigger priority, and Heavy Kneepads is by far one of the best Augmentations for ensuring survivability during a match.
Heavy Kneepads will provide players with a shield that is proportional to 15% of their max HP. When the shield is broken by an enemy, it will cleanse all debuffs and grant 35% extra movement speed to the player. It’s clear that this is an Augmentation designed for quick escapes, but to make it even better, the shield’s cooldown is drastically reduced when broken by a wild animal, which makes clearing out apack of wolves or bearsan absolute breeze.
1Sentinel
Undoubtedly one of the best Support Augmentations in the entire game, and one that can prove to be a real lifesaver during tricky encounters, Sentinel will provide the player and all allies within an 8 m radius a shield after damage has been caused to a test subject by using a skill.
The strength of the shield gets higher depending on the level of the characters it is attached to, making it extremely hard to destroy in the later stages of the match, but what really makes it essential for staying alive for as long as possible is the fact that the shield stays up for 6 seconds and only has a 6-second cooldown. So, it’s easy to see just how useful it can be in practice.
