What is the Alternative Layout system in ROR2?

The alternative layouts system in Risk of Rain 2 aims to mix up the levels that you may have grown used to.

If you were growing tired of Risk of Rain 2 levels because of how much of it you’ve played, developers Hoopo Games felt your pain and want to help — introducing the Alternative Layouts System. This system allows for the maps in the game to have new layouts, changing things up, and making the game feel fresh.

Starting with Titanic Plains and Distant Roost, the Alternative Layouts System arrived with the Hidden Realms update. The system means that the Titanic Plains and Distant Roost level have different layouts that might make up the level every time you load into it.

The Alternative Layouts System builds on the game’s established levels with different potential maps at each stage to add a lot of variety to your runs. When the system reaches all of the levels in the game, you may never know which layout, or level, you get to play through a run. We don’t know how this affects things like hidden boss fights, if they might be missing from a level or if they move to an entirely new spot. It could also affect specific mechanics, such as finding the buttons to get to the double boss fight in the desert level.

This new system leaves a lot of things to learn, new layouts to explore, and lots of new spawn points to track down for people out there who like to get through levels as fast as possible and with the maximum results.

We will update this guide with anything else that we learn about the new Alternative Layouts System as we play through the updated content.