Remnant 2: Best Starting Mods

Remnant 2 is a shooter, so you’ll be spending a good deal of your time shooting at enemies. But it’s also an RPG, and the weapon mod system is one of its most important customization mechanics. There are dozens of possible choices, but you won’t have access to many of them until you start fighting and defeating bosses. Picking the right one early on is vital, as it can determine whether the next few hours are enjoyable or aggravating. These are the best mods in Remnant 2.

The Best Starting Mods in Remnant 2

These are the best starting mods in Remnant 2:

• Healing Shot.
• Hot Shot.
• Concussive Shot.

Healing Shot

Healing is always at a premium in any Souls-like, and unless you’re playing the Medic Archetype, there are few alternatives to relying on your Relic for heals. One of the best starting mods in Remnant 2 is Healing Shot. It goes a long way toward alleviating that problem, giving you an infinitely-renewable source of health that you can stack with not only your Relic but also gear that affects how your mods function. I was able to avoid using any of my Dragon Heart or other Relics for almost every main zone and boss, so long as I was always moving and shooting to keep my mod charge up.

There are two main problems with Healing Shot, however. First, the little healing ball you create bounces rather than sticking to surfaces. If you aim it improperly, it might end up in an … inconvenient location. Getting the ball to pop and heal you is also inconsistent, in my experience, so there will be times when you really need the health, but the mod simply doesn’t activate correctly, leaving you trying to get it to work and instead being sent back to the checkpoint.

Hot Shot

If you’re playing Medic or aren’t as concerned about healing/ Relic usage, the Hot Shot mod might be for you. You aren’t likely to have anything resembling a build for at least a few hours, so the additional Fire damage over time can be a difference-maker against some of the early boss fights, such as Mother Mind or Magister Dullain. Once the status activates, the enemy takes constant damage for 10 seconds based on your Mod Power stat, which stacks on top of the regular bullet damage you’re already doing.

There are no primary downsides to Hot Shot besides robbing you of free heals, but it can be hamstrung by enemy resistance to fire. Probably its only other drawback is how long the mod takes to charge. While the actual effect lasts about 20 seconds, the mod gauge continues to reduce during reloads and takes several magazines to get back to full again. Single-shot Long Guns, or weapons that don’t have any other good sustain options, won’t make the best use of Hot Shot.

Related: The Best Starting Long Guns in Remnant 2

Concussive Shot

Concussive Shot is another of the best starting mods in Remnant 2, but it comes in third because it lacks always-useful healing and the sheer damage potential of a status effect. However, as a burst damage option and a great way to quickly clear hordes of trash mobs in an instant, there are few better early options. The mod’s effect is simple enough. You get two charges (which charge fairly quickly), and they create a huge blast of damaging air when fired.

These air blasts do massive damage for a single attack, and they can hit up to four enemies. Almost every mob you fight in your first and even second world will go down in a single hit, and even bosses will tend to stick close enough to you that you can burst them down quickly and easily. The main disadvantage (as you might expect) is the mod’s limited range. There are more than a few bosses and regular enemies who won’t be kind enough to sit in your face and wait to be damaged, meaning Concussive Blast will come up short against them.

And those are our picks for the best starting mods in Remnant 2. I would list some you might find in your first world, but because the game is procedural across all elements, including mod-giving bosses, what I found in a couple of hours you might not come across for dozens. If you’re looking for additional content on Remnant 2, check out our guides on where to find the N’Erud Seeker’s Keys, how to get and use Simulacrum, and more in our R2 guides hub.