Remnant 2’s new Boss Rush mode is actually a Roguelite and fixes the game’s worst RNG problem

The Dark Horizon, Remnant 2’s third and final promised DLC, is just around the corner. It’ll ship with a big free update that revamps endgame progression and adds a new Boss Rush mode. But according to the designers, there’s much more to it than just bosses.

In Dot Esports’ preview of the new DLC and update, Remnant 2 principal designer Ben “Tragic” Cureton and principal level designer Cindy To had lots to say about Boss Rush. “It’s kind of like a cross between Horde and Survival, right?” To said. “Survival from the first game, combined with the Boss Rush concept.”

More than just a Boss Rush

In Boss Rush, you don’t only fight bosses. Before facing the big cheese, you explore a small, randomly generated dungeon where you survive waves of monsters, kill a mini-boss, and collect Roguelike power-ups to boost your build.

“You’ll find these little Pylons that give you a little Roguelike element,” Cureton said. “So you can get random stats, or you can get what’s called a Hack, although these are a little rarer.” He said the buffs “absolutely, 100 percent” get stronger the further you get, and “it’s even worse on Apocalypse.”

Cureton said they probably could’ve named it something a little clearer, like “Gauntlet Mode,” but most importantly, “the idea was—quite simply—that some people love Remnant mechanics and want to do more Remnant things. And we said, ‘Let’s add a new mode for them.’”

Ring collectors, rejoice

Boss Rush is also addressing one of our biggest gripes from the base game. In the new mode, bosses can drop important Rings and Amulets that rarely spawn on corpses in the world: “Not every Ring in the game, but the hard Rings to find via RNG—the ones that are completely random, that you have no control over,” Cureton said.

Certain Remnant 2 builds strongly rely on corpse-drop Rings, and finding them means rerolling the same world over and over until they appear. This is one of the most frustrating parts of making a new build, so I’m thrilled to see the developer is addressing the problem head-on.

We’re in the endgame now

Overall, Boss Rush looks like a fantastic free addition that substantially enhances Remnant 2’s endgame, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t accessible to new players. “You don’t need any DLCs, it just comes right out of the box. You can start it as a fresh player, or you can jump in as a veteran,” To said.

When you start a new Boss Rush, you choose between three options: Triple Threat, where you fight three bosses, Trial by Fire, where you fight six bosses plus Annihilation, and The Gauntlet, which is a whopping 18 bosses plus Annihilation. Your playtime ranges from “15 or 20 minutes to a whole hour and then some, based on how fast (or slow) you’re slogging through the bosses,” according to Cureton.

And if you’re keen to play with friends, you’re in luck because Boss Rush seems like it’s designed from the ground up with multiplayer in mind. “You can play it solo, you can play it co-op,” To said. “If you’re in co-op, each individual person can select their own buffs. You’re not locked into a party thing. You’re totally individuals.”

Remnant 2: The Dark Horizon and the free Boss Rush update go live on Sept. 24.