Beatrix LeBeau has a lot to do. With all ofRainbow Islandto explore and countless slimes to meet, capture, and raise,Slime Rancher 2makes it easy to stay busy. Whether the player wants to see every hidden area of the island, raise a horde ofRingtale Slimes,or just take things easy and farm a little, there’s no shortage of things to keep the player engaged.
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Actually doing everything is easier said than done, however. The game’s vibe is a relaxing one, but a few upgrades make keeping up with one’s chores a lot easier. Moving faster, carrying more, and being healthier are just a few possibilities. In time the player will pick up everything, but there are some upgrades that are worth grabbing before everything else.
7Heart Module
Slime Rancher 2isa cozy relaxploration game,not a desperate fight to the death. That said, getting hurt is still possible if the player gets too careless around some of the game’s grumpier slimes.The Heart Module is a simple safety measure, increasing the player’s starting Health by 50%.For some players, this won’t be crucial, but for others will provide a comfy safety net that makes exploringRainbow Islandthat much less worrisome.
Were combat more frequent, theHeart Modulewould rank higher in importance, but since the player can avoid most danger simply by staying inside at night, some other upgrades are more important for the early game. That said, theHeart Moduleis still a must-grab upgrade for anyone who wants to play withTarrandFeralSlimesbut still wants to be safe.
6Tank Booster
The player has two default upgrade options when it comes to increasing their precious inventory space: theTankBoosterand theExtra Tank.TheTank Boosterincreases the storage capacity of eachvac tankfrom 20 units to 30, letting the player cart around more slimes,Plorts,fruit, or whatever else might catch their attention.
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The more inventory space the player has, the more efficiently they can work,cutting down on the grind and letting the player focus on what’s fun. While having bigger stacks of items isn’t quite as good as being able to carry more types of items, theTank Boosteris still a solid upgrade for the early game and will remain useful throughoutSlime Rancher 2.
5Dash Boots
Rainbow Islandis a surprisingly large location, with multiple biomes that the player must thoroughly explore if they want tocollect all the slimes,find valuable resources, and learn all the game’s fun secrets. Because of this, the player is going to do a lot of running around, especially in the early game when they have no other options for traversal.
The Dash Boots make this process more bearable by reducing the energy consumption of sprinting.Whereas sprinting in some games barely makes a difference to the player’s overall speed, sprinting inSlime Rancher 2is fast and feels great, so naturally, the player will want to do it as much as possible. TheDash Bootsmake this possible, which is the only selling point they need.
4Water Tank
TheWater Tanksounds like it would be used for watering crops, butwhat it’s actually for is blasting unruly slimes in the face with water.While that may seem mean, the alternative is getting slapped around by aTarror other aggressive breed of slime, potentially getting knocked out, losing resources, and waking up to anObservatoryfull of hungry and grouchy slimes.
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Slime Rancher 2isn’t about combat, though it does include it in a simple form. It’s possible to play for long stretches without ever needing this upgrade, which somewhat diminishes its importance when compared with other potential upgrades. When cornered in a field at night by a horde of hungry slimes, however, the player will be glad they brought theWater Tankalong.
3Extra Tank
Storage capacity is a common concern in many farming sims. With only so many spots with which to carry fruits, vegetables, and other important resources, the player will often find themselves with more goodies than they can hold in the early game. It’s frustrating to make multiple trips to bring everything back to theObservatory,so anything that solves this problem is great.
The Extra Tank is the best upgrade in this department.Though theTank Boosterincreases the carrying capacity of the player’s existingvac tanks,theExtra Tankupgrade adds space to carry an additional type of item rather than just larger stacks of the same items. This extra space gives the player more flexibility when foraging, cuts down onbacktracking to the ranch,and is just a solid QoL upgrade all around. After playing with theTank Booster,the player will never want to go back to the days of limited storage.
2Jetpack
Exploration is a huge part ofSlime Rancher 2.TheObservatorymay be the player’s safe and comfortable refuge away fromTarr Slimesand other dangers, but they’ll never find all the slimes or resources they need by staying home all day. Eventually, they’ll need to venture out and exploreRainbow Island,and considering how beautiful the game is, most players will want to start exploring right away.
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Traversing the island can be tricky, however, depending upon one’s path. Some ledges are just out of reach, some gaps are a bit too wide, and some predatory slimes can only be safely escaped if the player gets to a high place they can’t reach.This is where the Jetpack comes in.This self-explanatory upgrade allows the player to take to the skies, and the mobility that it provides makes life easier in countless ways. Every player should have their eyes on getting theJetpackas soon as possible.
1Resource Harvester
TheResource Harvesteris arguably the most important early-game upgrade inSlime Rancher 2.It allows thevacto shake science resources from nodes that the player will find scattered around the map. These nodes are the only way to getvaluable resources, such asDeep BrineandJellystone.
Since these resources are essential for unlocking other important upgrades,the Resource Harvester should be the player’s top priority.Having it doesn’t mean the player has to devote themselves to a life of ultra-efficiency, pushing fun out of their minds in pursuit of maximizing profit, although that’s an option too. Having this upgrade just means that if the player stumbles upon a resource node while exploring, they can now grab its valuable contents instead of walking away empty-handed.
Slime Rancher 2is available now for PC and Xbox Series X/S.
