How To Get Lunar Coins in Risk of Rain 2

Risk of Rain brought many innovations compared to the original title, one of which is switching from a 2D side scrolling platform to a fully immersive 3D world for players to encounter. Another new feature in this sequel is introducing additional currency for unique items, called lunar coins. These coins can be elusive, and most players will obtain only a few throughout the game. However, their effects are quite notable since they allow access to some of the most powerful items.

In this guide, we’ll explain the best ways to get lunar coins in Risk of Rain 2, even if some methods use… questionable ethics.

What Are Lunar Coins?

Lunar coins are another currency (just like coins) with more restricted use and are notoriously difficult to obtain. Unlike gold and traditional items, lunar coins don’t expire when the player dies. The lack of coin expiration allows the player to progress through the game somehow, even if they end up dying in a run. A few lunar coins from a run are generally considered an excellent way to push forward. In fact, dying is one of the primary ways to get a sizable number of coins, but more on that later.

What Can You Do With Lunar Coins?

Lunar coins are versatile currency, with a few notable use cases that most players will rely on to finish the game. One of the lunar coins’ key features is to unlock access to the Bazaar Between Time. This hidden realm is only accessible when players enter the newt altar. Giving a single lunar coin to the newt altar will transport them to Bazaar Between Time via a blue portal, where they get to spend more lunar coins on meaningful purchases. This blue portal can also be created at the beginning of the stage, although the odds are quite slim, and waiting until that occurs is unreliable at best.

Consider stockpiling some lunar coins before you decide to venture into the Bazaar for the first time. Each visit to the Bazaar costs one lunar coin, so spending one coin only to spend two more because you forgot to buy something might not be economical.

The Bazaar can be useful even if you don’t have any extra lunar coins, though. You can find a cauldron that allows you to smith three common items into an uncommon one or turn five uncommon items into a legendary one. However, you can’t obtain items you or someone in your party hasn’t unlocked this way.

If you have some lunar items at your disposal, the most worthwhile purchase you can make is a lunar item. The lunar item shop will contain five items to choose from, each costing two lunar coins. You can refresh the shop by paying some lunar coins to the shop refresher. The price of refreshing starts at one coin (the same as getting access to the Bazaar in the first place) then doubles every time afterward.

Lunar items are incredibly potent compared to other items, but each comes with a distinct downside or condition. Some items exchange your skills with unique ones, while others give you enormous stat boosts at the cost of another one. However, the utility and benefits of these items can easily outweigh potential downsides if the player strategizes well and makes full use of the bonuses.

Some lunar items also stack with one another, and this stacking can be linear or exponential. For example, the shaped glass, which gives +100% base damage, effectively doubles your base damage for every item. Three of these will give you an effective 800% base damage, allowing you to mow down opponents as soon as they spawn. If that doesn’t work, grab another shaped glass for a whopping 1600% base damage.

Players can also unlock another playable character via the Bazaar. The Artificer will cost you ten lunar coins to purchase.

Another use of the Bazaar is to get some rewards without affecting their time. Since all time is frozen in the Bazaar, you can use the Null Portal inside to teleport to the Void Fields hidden realm. There, you can defeat nine waves of increasingly difficult monsters to reap some unique rewards.

How to Get Lunar Coins

Before you get to the Bazaar for the first time, you’ll need to get your hands on some lunar coins. There are currently two main ways to grab lunar coins in the game. The first one is deceptively straightforward. Each enemy slain has a tiny chance to drop a lunar coin as loot. The odds start at 0.5%, but every lunar coin dropped from enemies halves this chance for the remainder of the run. Killing turrets will never drop lunar coins. However, killing enemies all over the place is an unreliable method to amass coins due to the exponentially reducing odds of finding one as loot. There are better ways.

One of the primary ways players can get several coins is to obliterate themselves at the obelisk in the realm “A Moment, Fractured.” Here’s what you need to do:

1. Beat at least three stages and loop at least once to get a chance to find a Celestial Portal. This portal leads to the hidden realm.
   
2. Run around the hidden realm until you reach the final floating island. This island contains the obelisk.
   
3. Interact with the obelisk.
4. You’ll be given a choice to obliterate the character and end the current run.
   
5. If you accept, you’ll receive five lunar coins.

The third way to get more lunar coins relies on getting some coins in the first place and shopping for a few lunar items. This method extrapolates on the obliteration at the obelisk:

1. Find the obelisk at “A Moment, Fractured” realm and obliterate yourself.
   
2. If you’re holding a lunar item called “Beads of Fealty,” the game will teleport you to another hidden realm. In here, you have to defeat one of the unique boss monsters collectively called “The Twisted Scavengers.” One of the scavengers appears at the time, chosen randomly.
   
3. If you defeat the Scavenger, you’ll receive ten lunar coins. This is in addition to the five coins received for ending the run, for a total of 15 lunar coins per run.
   

If you lose against the Scavenger, you don’t get any lunar coins, so consider investing in “Beads of Fealty” carefully. The items don’t do anything other than give you access to the boss. If you can’t defeat the boss in your current state, invest in other items, get a few more coins, and grind until you’re confident in your chances.

What Is the Cheat to Get More Lunar Coins Quickly?

Using cheats to make the game easier or progress farther into the game is up to you. You paid for the game, and there’s no real moral fallback to consider in a single-player game. Just note that cheating can affect your multiplayer lobbies, and if you want to maintain a healthy multiplayer gameplay, avoid using cheats to obtain better gear or currency.

However, if you still intend on getting lunar coins one way or the other, here’s what you need to do:

1. Open “File Explorer.”
   
2. Find the Steam folder on the drive that Steam is installed in (typically “C:” or “D:”).
3. Go to the folder called “userdata.”
   
4. Restart the game to refresh the files in the folder, then close it again. You need the game closed for this to work.
5. Sort the items by date modified, then open the most recently edited one.
   
6. Navigate to the folder named “632360” and open it.
   
7. Open “Remote Folder,” then open “User Profiles.”
   
   
8. Right-click on an XML document in the folder, then select “Edit.” Choose a basic word processor like Notepad or Notepad++.
   
9. Find a string that looks like “<coins>number</coins>.
   
10. Edit the number in the string to set your lunar coins to that amount. The maximum value is slightly above two million (2,147,483,647 to be exact, the highest value displayed in 32-bit signed integers).
    

If you decide to use this method, remember that there’s no need to go overboard, considering items cost two coins a pop and the Artificer another ten.

Additional FAQ

What can I buy with lunar coins?

Here’s a list of items you can purchase with lunar coins:

• Use the Shrine of Order to turn all tier items into copies of a randomly chosen one from the inventory, effectively leaving the player with four stacks of items: one common, one uncommon, one legendary, and one lunar.

• Access to the Bazaar Beyond Time for other lunar coin purchases. It costs one lunar coin.

• Lunar items. Cost two lunar coins each.

• Refresh the lunar item shops. Cost starts at one coin, doubles after every use.

• The Artificer playable character. It costs ten coins.

• Use the Lunar Seer to set the next encountered environment. It gives two possible options to choose from and costs three coins. Using the Void Fields negates this choice.

What is a lunar item?

Lunar items are a new item category introduced in Risk of Rain 2. They are meant to be game-changing pieces, allowing players to progress through the game even beyond dying in the runs. The main way to obtain lunar items is through the Bazaar Beyond Time, accessible by paying a single lunar coin. Each lunar item costs two coins. There are 14 total items to choose from, five of which are displayed in the shop each time. Players can refresh the shop for an increasing number of lunar coins.

Here’s a brief list of lunar items:

• Beads of Fealty: Gives access to the unique boss called “Twisted Scavenger” at the obelisk in “A Moment, Fractured” hidden realm—no stat bonuses of drawbacks of any kind.

• Brittle Crown: Gives a chance to get gold on hit, scaling over time. Loss of gold when getting hit, equal to the percentage of health lost.

• Corpsebloom: Heals more but applies all healing over time.

• Defiant Gouge: Using a Shrine summons enemies nearby for you to beat. The upside is more loot; the downside is more enemies.

• Focused Convergence: Teleporters charge faster but have smaller effective zones.

• Gesture of the Crowned: Lowers item cooldowns but forces them to be used as soon as they are available.

• Mercurial Rachis: Creates a Ward of Power, boosting the damage output of ALL nearby units.

• Purity: Skill cooldowns are reduced. However, random effects roll for negative outcomes more often.

• Shaped Glass: Increases base damage (doubles it) but halves maximum health.

• Transcendence: Converts all but one health point into a regenerating shield, effectively removing health regeneration and healing as mechanics – gives a bit of maximum health.

• Essence of Heresy: Replaces your special skill with “Ruin,” a powerful blast that charges when dealing damage.

• Hooks of Heresy: Replaces your secondary skill with “Slicing Maelstrom,” a rooting, damaging projectile with a short downtime and a delay.

• Strides of Heresy: Replaces your utility skill with “Shadowfade,” allowing you to dodge attacks, gain some movement speed, and heal some missing health for three seconds per stack.

• Visions of Heresy: Replaces your primary skill with “Hungering Gaze,” a powerful charge-based ability that tracks opponents and has a fast reload time.

Grab Unique Gear With Lunar Coins

Lunar coins might be difficult to come by, but even a few can make a stark difference in how players strategize for future runs. Use the power given by these coins wisely, and you’ll progress through the games with ease.

What is your favorite way to obtain lunar coins? What do you buy with them? Let us know in the comments section below.