Beginner's Guide to Vampire Survivors

New to the game? Learn the fundamentals of weapon builds, passive items, and how to survive your first 30-minute run.

Understanding Weapon Synergies

1Every weapon in Vampire Survivors has one matching passive item that enables evolution at max level.
2Plan your build around 3-4 weapon-passive pairs to ensure you can evolve your core weapons.
3Area weapons like King Bible and Garlic combo with projectile weapons for full 360-degree coverage.
4Do not pick weapons randomly -- each slot matters since you can only carry 6 weapons and 6 passives.
5Check the evolution guide to memorize which passive item each weapon requires before starting a run.

1Spinach increases base damage for all weapons -- it is the most universally useful passive item.
2Empty Tome reduces cooldowns, making all weapons fire faster -- essential for projectile builds.
3Bracer increases projectile speed, which directly benefits Knife, Cross, and Magic Wand builds.
4Duplicator adds extra projectiles to weapons -- the value multiplies with each projectile-based weapon.
5Attractorb increases pickup range for experience gems, which is critical on auto-scrolling stages.

1Keep moving at all times -- standing still will get you surrounded and killed within seconds.
2Move in large circular patterns to group enemies into dense clusters for efficient area damage.
3Pick up floor chicken (green healing items) only when your health is low to maximize their value.
4Leveling up provides invincibility frames -- save dangerous positions for when a level-up is imminent.
5If overwhelmed, run toward the edges of the map where enemy density is lower temporarily.

1The game ends at 30 minutes when Death spawns -- surviving that long is the primary objective.
2Minutes 1-10: focus on leveling your primary weapon to max and picking up a matching passive.
3Minutes 10-20: evolve your first weapon from an elite chest, then start maxing your second weapon.
4Minutes 20-30: you should have 2-3 evolved weapons; fill remaining slots with supporting passives.
5The difficulty spikes dramatically at minutes 11, 19, and 25 -- be prepared with healing or area denial.

1Most characters unlock by completing specific achievements -- check the collection screen for requirements.
2Surviving 15 minutes with a starting character often unlocks a new character tied to that stage.
3Some characters require finding coffins hidden in specific stages -- explore the edges of each map.
4Gold earned across all runs accumulates permanently and can be spent on permanent power-ups.
5Permanent upgrades from the Power Up menu (between runs) make each subsequent run significantly easier.