I Hate Lesser Wisps

As bad as I am at Risk of Rain 2, I can at least admit that the designs are mostly fair. The reason I’ve never unlocked an alternate skin is because I need to get better at the game. That’s fine. That’s all on me. And, to my credit, I am trying and I am getting a bit better. I managed to obliterate myself at an obelisk the other day. In fact, I’m also getting closer to beating Mythrix. Have still only beaten him once though.

That being said, there’s one single enemy that I REALLY hate.

The Lesser Wisp

Lesser Wisps are small, floating enemies that drift around erratically, firing lasers at you. At first glance, a Lesser Wisp is a small, nuisance enemy you’d see at the start of any low-level game. Easily killed and seemingly harmless. Except Lesser Wisps can and will hurt you.

You see, Lesser Wisps are unique. Their attacks are hitscan. They aim at the player and then fire three little laser beams semi-randomly. If you are hit by one of those beams, there’s no avoiding damage unless you get cover or have an item like Topaz Broach or Tougher Times. On top of this, Lesser Wisps are small, floaty enemies that spawn in large numbers, and tend to fly all over the place. Which makes them very hard to hit with both slow-moving projectiles (e.g. Artificer, Engineer) and melee characters (Mercenary).

This is just a thing that Wisps do though. There are other enemies in Risk of Rain 2 that use lasers, namely Stone Golems. But they and the Stone Titans have wind-up animations, giving you far more time to duck under cover.

Elite Lesser Wisps are even scarier

Lesser Wisps are also probably the first Elites you’ll face, alongside Lemurians and Beetles. Not only are they still shooting you with hitscan lasers, but their attacks do additional procs. A Blazing Lesser Wisp can easily eat away at low level players health by setting them on fire, yet can’t really be avoided. And Celestine Wisps are particularly scary since they float around, meaning they can cloak way more enemies with invisibility than a ground-based enemy.

The most terrifying thing of all is a Malachite Lesser Wisp. While Malachite Elite enemies have been nerfed, they’re still dangerous. Losing your ability to heal at the wrong moment will very quickly get you killed. There’s a reason why Malachite enemies are restricted to later difficulties, especially after the first loop.

So not only can you face hitscan enemies that float high above you. But you can also enjoy hitscan lasers that strip you of your ability to heal. I suppose at least Malachite Lesser Wisps only spawn one at a time. Or, at least, they seem to for me, since I rarely die before getting that far.

Greater Wisps are fine!

Ironically, Greater Wisps aren’t a problem. Sure, they’re big, scary enemies that can spawn right from the start. Greater Wisps also throw big glowing green fireballs at you. but overall, they are actually better enemies than Lesser Wisps.

Why though? It’s quite simple. Their attacks are easier to see and easier to dodge. There’s a wind up before a Greater Wisp attacks and the fireballs they throw are avoidable if you are skilled enough. Yes, Greater Wisps fly around too, often at greater heights than Lesser Wisps. But they have much larger hit boxes and move only a little bit faster, so they’re much easier to hit.

Compared to their Lesser counterparts, Greater Wisps are all-round mechanically EASIER enemies. But that makes no sense.

Sure, I could definitely be better at Risk of Rain 2. And I’m trying to be. But these little bastards do seem a bit unfair at times.