Remnant 2: Best Archetype Traits, Ranked (2024)

Gunfire Games' Remnant 2 became an instant classic in the Soulslike genre, topping Steam charts and flooding consoles across the globe from its launch date. The game features an array of ever-changing worlds and a healthy selection of character classes to give players a truly customizable gaming experience to suit their style of play.

Each of Remnant 2's character classes, known as Archetypes, has its own plethora of skills, abilities, and traits to give them their unique flair and advantage over their opponents. Among those abilities are the Archetype Traits, which are specific to each character class and strengthen their unique qualities. And, while at first players can only have these Traits active while the Archetype is equipped, once that Archetype (and by extension their Trait) reaches level 10 it is then able to be freely used regardless of which Archetype is currently being used. So, here's a look at which of these Archetypes seem to have the best Traits overall.

Updated May 25th, 2024 by Jacob Buchalter: With Remnant 2 releasing the second of three DLCs it promised for the first year after its release, the Forgotten Kingdom DLC introduces a whole new Archetype with the Invoker (alongside a whole bunch of other secrets), similar to how The Awakened King introduced the Ritualist. The Invoker, of course, also comes with its own abilities, Prime Perk, Passive Perks, and of course its Archetype Trait. So, alongside this new trait, why don't we take another look at all the Traits offered by the Archetypes in this game and see which ones fans seem to appreciate the most overall? Keep in mind that the devs over at Gunfire Games are very active with their support for Remnant 2, and are constantly updating items, abilities, and Traits as needed. This is all to say that these rankings could change at any time or the way a Trait works could also change as well, depending on what the developers desire.

13 Swiftness

Explorer Archetype Trait

The Explorer is a great Archetype for a lot of reasons, but raw damage or skill damage are not the primary reasons. No, the Explorer is great at moving fast and finding secrets, and the majority of that movement speed comes from its Archetype Trait, Swiftness.

But, while more move speed is nice for getting around or farming maps to find specific items, it's just a convenience, so it ranks at the bottom of this list. Helpful in exploration, but basically unnoticeable in non-melee combat scenarios.

12 Ammo Reserves

Gunslinger Archetype Trait

While the Gunslinger seems like an Archetype that's just based around weapon mastery and overall fire rate at a glance, it's actually also a pretty helpful passive support Archetype. A lot of the Gunslinger's overall kit (AKA its Perks and Skills) is based on the concept of increasing the player's (and their ally's) Ammo Reserves.

And by far the biggest overall boost to these Reserves is the Ammo Reserves Archetype Trait, since it buffs it by a shocking 50 percent at level 10. Now, this Trait only affects the user's Ammo Reserves, but thankfully a lot of the Gunslinger's Perks specifically state that they apply to allies as well.

11 Strong Back

Challenger Archetype Trait

The Strong Back Trait works differently now compared to how it functioned when Remnant 2 first came out. Back then, this Trait reduced the player's Encumbrance stat by a certain amount, which was nice but ultimately outclassed by certain Rings or Amulets. Now it simply just reduces the Weight Threshold that players have to meet before they have the fast or medium roll instead of the slow dodge roll.

Again, this is a very nice Trait like Swiftness is and it's more applicable in combat due to it making dodging easier, but Strong Back is still far from the most important Archetype Trait.

10 Gifted

Invoker Archetype Trait

Gifted is the newest Archetype trait added to Remnant alongside the Forgotten Kingdom DLC they released in late April of 2024. The entire Invoker Archetype seems to be built around using Skills, Skill Damage, and of course Skill Duration. Now, increasing Skill Duration by a total of 30 percent may not sound like all that much compared to a lot of other Archetype Traits on here, but you're likely underestimating just how many Skills this impacts in a big way.

To name a few of the things Skill Duration impacts, there's the Engineer's Duration for their Prime Perk, the duration of the Heal for the Medic's Redemption Skill, as well as the duration of the Archon's Havoc Form Skill. Essentially, while not one of the most impactful Archetype Traits overall, Invoker's Archetype Trait does a lot for the Invoker specifically and for anyone building around one specific Skill.

9 Flash Caster

Archon Archetype Trait

Next up is another Trait that might seem, at first, like another convenience Trait similar to Swiftness, but this actually isn't the case. While an overall increase to the speed that a player casts their Skills or Weapon Mods might seem small, it actually has a massive effect in combat. Being able to cast Skills in between an enemy's swings that previously wouldn't have been possible can completely change the way a player approaches certain fights or situations.

The Summoner is probably the most obvious example of an Archetype that benefits from this Trait, as this allows them to summon more Root Minions mid-fight without worrying nearly as much about taking hits from enemies while they're stuck in that summoning animation.

8 Longshot

Hunter Archetype Trait

Longshot is one of those Archetype Traits that players might not notice at first when it's maxed out (depending on the weapon they're using, of course), but will steadily notice that they're dealing more damage than they used to be without Longshot equipped. Essentially, when a weapon in Remnant 2 hits an enemy within its Ideal Range, it'll deal the damage that it's supposed to deal. But, when a weapon hits an enemy outside of its Ideal Range, the damage will start to fall off the further and further the player's weapon gets.

So, Longshot basically makes it so that this damage falloff happens less often overall, which is pretty helpful. Of course, it's most noticeably helpful with close-range weapons such as Shotguns, but the benefits apply to every single Long Gun or Hand Gun in the game.

7 Potency

Alchemist Archetype Trait

This next Archetype Trait was one that a lot of people who were new to the Remnant franchise slept on at first, but as they put more and more time into the game they slowly realized how amazing the Potency Trait is. Concoctions in Remnant 2 are powerful temporary buffs (bought from Mudtooth) that give the player all sorts of effects. There are Concoctions that increase the player's overall Armor by 30, ones that boost their movement speed by 10 percent, and even ones that increase the overall experience players gain by 15 percent.

Plus, there are a variety of other Rings and Amulets that also modify Consumables and the amount of Concoctions players can have active at once. So, when used properly, Potency can literally double the time a player with 4+ Concoctions active will be able to use those buffs. And, this isn't even getting into all the other Consumables with a duration in Remnant 2 such as Ambit Ember, Binding Orbs, Blood Root, and much more.

6 Affliction

Ritualist Archetype Trait

The Affliction Archetype Trait is the newest one added to Remnant 2, as it was part of the new content added in the Awakened King DLC alongside the Ritualist Class and all the new boss fights. And, for a while, this Trait was actually more of a detriment than it was a benefit. Essentially, the way this Trait used to work is that it would double the duration of a Status Effect applied to an enemy, just like its description states, but it would still deal the same amount of overall Status Damage at the end of this duration as it would in the default duration.

So say an enemy had Burn applied to them and it would've done 1000 damage over 10 seconds by default, with the old Affliction Bonus, it actually did 1000 damage over 20 seconds, effectively reducing the amount of Status Ailment damage the Status Ailment-based Archetype would inflict. Thankfully, this now seems to be fixed, as the Trait still doubles the duration but while still dealing the same amount of tick damage per second. In its fixed state, Affliction is amazing for anyone specializing in any sort of Status Effect build or Status Ailment damage, and it's of course absolutely incredibly on the Archetype the Trait comes from, that being the Ritualist.

5 Kinship

Handler Archetype Trait

For a solo player, this next Archetype Trait is a lot less important. However, for the vast majority of players who are at least attempting to play Remnant 2 online, the Kinship Trait goes a long way towards keeping friendships strong. With certain Weapon Mods in Remnant 2, such as Firestorm, it's very easy for allies to get caught up in them and get frustrated. And, while Kinship won't make it easier for them to escape that flaming tornado, they'll at least take a lot less damage doing so with the Kinship Trait maxed out.

But the Kinship Trait isn't just great for preventing a co-op party from arguing, it's also great for any self-damage effects as well. Because the player is technically 'attacking themselves' when they're caught in their own AoE, the damage reduction is applied twice (so if 100 damage would've been taken, that's reduced to 20 damage and then reduced again to 4 damage total). This makes weapons like the Meridian Grenade Launcher much more viable since players don't need to worry about accidentally killing themselves from a stray shot that ended up too close.

4 Regrowth

Summoner Archetype Trait

The reason a Trait that increases overall Health Regeneration is on an Archetype that specializes in summoning minions is simply because the Summoner actually uses their own HP to summon those minions. Plus, using specific gear, the Summoner can also passively heal their minions, with this healing primarily coming from the player's innate Health Regeneration.

In any case, Regrowth is an incredible Trait, as it effectively makes it so that players rarely feel like they'll need to use their Relic outside of mid-combat. If a player has Regrowth maxed and ends up at about 20 percent health after a combat encounter, it usually only takes around 30 seconds at the absolute most for them to regenerate to full health. And again, with certain builds or equipment, this Regeneration can be shared with allies, so it's a Trait that has a multitude of benefits.

3 Fortify

Engineer Archetype Trait

The Engineer is basically the 'off-tank' of Remnant 2 while the Challenger is the 'main tank'. Both Archetypes are absurdly durable, but the Engineer specializes a bit more in overall damage output than just raw durability. However, if a player looked solely at the Archetype Traits of the Challenger and the Engineer, they would think it's the opposite since the Challenger's Strong Back Trait doesn't help with durability at all while the Engineer's Trait absolutely does.

Regardless, the Fortify Trait is basically a mandatory grab at the higher difficulties, as a 50 percent increase to the player's total overall armor is very noticeable. Fortify is one of those Traits that, if part of a build, it's almost always maxed out compared to something like Kinship which might only have 6 out of 10 points put into it.

2 Untouchable

Invader Archetype Trait

Anyone who has put any time at all into a Souslike, any Soulslike, knows how important i-frames are. I-frames AKA Invincibility-Frames are the frames of the player's dodge animation where they're unable to be hit by the enemy. Typically in a game with a dodge roll, the i-frames are the frames of animation where the player's entire body is off of the ground in the roll.

And a buff that actually increases the number of i-frames that a player will have a gigantic impact overall. With this buff, players will be able to dodge attacks more consistently, be able to get out of trouble by 'panic dodging' when things get hectic, and will find that they last longer in difficult boss fights than they would have previously. The only real downside of this Archetype Trait is the fact that players can't actually obtain it until they unlock the Invader Archetype, which won't be until the last quarter of Remnant 2's overall campaign.

1 Triage

Medic Archetype Trait

And lastly, there's an aspect of Soulslikes that is somehow even more important than i-frames, and it's the amount of healing the player has. This is where the Medic's Archetype Trait comes in, called Triage. This Trait not only increases the healing that players receive when using their Relic, but it also increases the amount they'll heal from any and all sources of healing.

This includes Health Regeneration, healing gained from Consumables, and any other source that would give the player health back. The only thing this Trait doesn't affect is Lifesteal (and that includes Lifesteal gained from the damage that Summons inflict), and that's only due to the fact that if it did the Siphoner Trait would lose almost all of its identity.

Remnant 2

Platform(s)

PC , PS5 , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S

Released

July 25, 2023

Developer(s)

Gunfire Games

Publisher(s)

Gearbox Publishing