MUL-T is a multi-purpose robot survivor in Risk of Rain 2. With the anniversary update released in March, you may have already been playing as the new survivor. It’s time to take it back to one of the game’s original survivors though. In this guide, we will look at MUL-T, his abilities, best items, and some tips and tricks. After this, you should be a MUL-T master!

As his name suggests, MUL-T is great in a variety of situations. Although he is incredibly slow with limited mobility, he makes up for it by being able to switch between abilities and equipment quickly. MUL-T has a base health of 200, making him quite durable compared to other survivors. With the proper items, MUL-T can become quite the tank.

How to Unlock

To unlock MUL-T, all you have to do is complete the first teleporter event five times. It doesn’t really take much effort if you just do a few runs. Be sure to check out how to unlock every other character in Risk of Rain 2 as well.

Abilities

MUL-T specializes in switching between different attacks. Lack of speed puts MUL-T at a disadvantage at close range, so try to keep your distance when attacking. Here are his default abilities and what they do.

Passive: MUL-T can hold two pieces of equipment at once. The active equipment is swapped by using Retool.

Primary: Auto-Nailgun. Rapidly fire nails for 70% damage. Finishes with a blast of 12 nails.

Second Primary: Rebar Puncher. Fire piercing rebar that deals 600% damage.

Secondary: Blast Canister. Launch a canister for 220% damage. Drops stun bomblets for 5x44% damage.

Utility: Transport Mode. Zoom forward, gaining 200 armor and 220% movement speed. Deals 250% damage to enemies.

Special: Passively hold TWO equipment at once. Activating ‘Retool’ switches the active Equipment and MUL-T’s primary attack.

Using MUL-T’s Special Ability will cycle between both his equipment and Primary at the same time. For example, if you activate the Special, you will switch from Auto-Nailgun to Rebar Puncher and cycle to your second equipment.

Alternative Abilities

In addition to default abilities, you can unlock the second set of alternative abilities for MUL-T as well. Below are these abilities, and how to unlock them.

Primary: Scrap Launcher. Fire a rocket that explodes for 360% damage. Hold up to 4. Unlock by defeating two Beetle Queens without leaving the teleporter zone.

Second Primary: Power-Saw. Saw nearby enemies for 1000% damage per second. Unlock by landing the killing blow on an Imp Overlord with the Preon Accumulator.

Special: Power Mode. Enter a heavy stance, equipping both your primary attacks at once. Gain 100 armor, but lose -60% movement speed. Unlock by clearing the Void Fields on Stage 7 or later.

If you have played as MUL-T prior to the anniversary update, you may notice something new. The Special Ability Power Mode is new as of this update, and lets players equip both Primary Abilities at once. The downside to this is that MUL-T will only be able to hold one piece of equipment.

Overall, MUL-T’s alternative abilities can be challenging to unlock. Many other survivors have challenges that take little effort (like having a stack of 12 crowbars), but with MUL-T, you may have to put in a little more effort. To unlock the abilities, try to pick one challenge and work on that rather than completing them all together.

MUL-T also has an unlockable skin that can be obtained by either beating the final boss or obliterating on Moonsoon mode. The skin is called Janitor, and is a reference to HAN-D, from the first Risk of Rain game.

Best Items

You may have noticed, but MUL-T is not fast. In fact, he has very limited mobility that makes it a bit frustrating early in the game. Using his Transport Mode can get you out of a situation fast, but the cooldown of 6 seconds can be too long, especially if you are surrounded by enemies. Here are some items that work well with MUL-T. Remember, at a certain point, you will probably have a majority of the items, so finding specific ones won’t be important. These items are great for beginning a run though.

Soldier’s Syringe: Speed is important for any character, but with a powerful Primary Ability like Auto-Nailgun, attack speed is even more important. The Soldier’s Syringe increases attack speed by 15%, and increases by an extra 15% per stack.

Paul’s Goat Hoof: This item is important for having a fast MUL-T. The goat hoof increases speed by 14% per stack, so a few of these can have you zooming around the map in no time.

Energy Drink: You’ve already boosted MUL-T’s speed with Paul’s Goat Hoof, why not take it one step further? Energy Drink increases sprinting speed by 25%

Hopoo Feather: In addition to being slow, MUL-T doesn’t have the highest jump. Having a Hopoo Feather will allow you to double jump and reach higher places.

Fuel Cell: This item increases the charge of equipment by one. It’s good to have a few of these for every survivor, but they are especially helpful for MUL-T and his two equipment slots. The Fuel Cell applies to all equipment held, so you can use one equipment a few times, and then switch to the other and use it right away. Having a few Fuel Cells will basically eradicate having to wait for an equipment’s cooldown. 

Backup Magazine: MUL-T’s Secondary Ability is incredibly strong, but the cooldown can get in the way. To combat this, make sure to have a few Backup Magazines. This item will add an additional charge to Secondary Skills, letting you use Blast Canister a few times in a row.

Personal Shield Generator: It’s good to have extra shield protection regardless of which survivor you choose to play as, but MUL-T is especially well suited for a shield built. This item adds a shield totaling 8% of your health, and MUL-T already has a large base HP of 200. His high HP allows for a functional shield that won’t be torn down easily.

57-Leaf Clover: Several of MUL-T’s abilities rely on chance. With the 57-Leaf Clover, you can boost the chance of firing more nails and doing critical damage. This item boosts the chances of other luck-based items as well.

Hardlight Afterburner: MUL-T’s Transport Mode is great for getting out of an area quickly while doing damage along the way. If the cooldown of 6 seconds is too long for you, get the Hardlight Afterburner. This item adds two extra charges to a Utility and decreases the cooldown by 33%.

Tips and Tricks

Getting the hang of MUL-T’s different abilities can take a few tries, but don’t get discouraged. This guide is here to help you learn!

You may be familiar with ‘proc coefficients’ already, but let’s take a look at what they are anyways. A proc coefficient is the chance an ability has to trigger the effect of an item. These aren’t readily available to look at while playing, but they still exist in Risk of Rain 2. MUL-T has a proc coefficient of 1 for all of his primary abilities except Auto-Nailgun. This ability has a proc coefficient of .6, but this is made up for in his attack speed. Basically, you have a very high chance of triggering effects when MUL-T shoots his 12 nails. Be sure to get the 57-Leaf Clover to boost this even more. Items that have a chance to trigger certain effects work a bit better with MUL-T.

If you are using the Retool ability, it is beneficial to have damage equipment as well as healing equipment. For example, the Royal Capacitor and Super Massive Leech work great together. You would be able to do damage, and then quickly change to being able to heal yourself.

In terms of best ability options, Auto-Nailgun is MUL-T’s best attack. It can do an insane amount of damage quickly. There are four Primary Abilities to pick from and deciding which two work best together can be difficult. Try to always have Auto-Nailgun set as a Primary Ability. You can also just have both of MUL-T’s Primary Abilities set to Auto-Nailgun.

Some characters unlock stronger alternative abilities, however, MUL-T’s default abilities are still incredibly strong. When in doubt, stick with Auto-Nailgun and Rebar Puncher. Scrap Launcher has a cooldown of 1.5 seconds, which is just not practical for a Primary Ability. Overall, Scrap Launcher is a weak ability. Power Saw sounds great in theory, but it’s more of a melee move, and a bit difficult to use. It’s definitely possible to have a strong build with Power Saw, but be sure you balance out the melee with Auto-Nailgun.

Now, you should have a better understanding of how to play MUL-T. Explore the world of Risk of Rain 2 and go fight Mithrix, the final boss!