Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart: Beginner's guide Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart guide, walkthrough
Last update: 10 June 2021
This page of the guide contains a set of starter tips for Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart. The following tips and tricks are related to combat, character development and exploring the game world. They can help you understand and use of selected gameplay mechanics better, and allow you to better prepare for your adventure.
- Choose normal or high difficulty level
- Use various weapons and gadgets
- Try to destroy as many objects around you as possible
- You don't have to (and sometimes can't) explore the entire map right away
- Perform side jumps until you unlock full dodges.
- Check the map often - the game will mark secrets and other things on it
- Engage in side quests as well
- Upgrade your favorite weapons first
- During combat, aim for red barrels and crates.
- Destroy monster nests and enemy landing ships quickly
Choose normal or high difficulty level
Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart has 4 difficulty levels to choose from. It is a much less demanding game than, for example, the Crash Bandicoot series. You don't have to worry that you'll die frequently. Only some boss fights and optional combat-related challenges may prove to be more challenging. The game doesn't punish you for dying, and additionally, it saves your progress frequently.
If you don't have much experience with this genre, then we recommend that you choose the normal Rebel Agent difficulty level. If, on the other hand, you've played the previous installment on PS4, or other similar action platform games, then we recommend choosing the high difficulty Resistance Leader where enemies should be a bigger challenge for you.
Use various weapons and gadgets
In Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart ,you can unlock various different weapons - you need to buy new weapons and gadgets from Ms. Zurkon (a merchant in the game world). Considering the large variety of weapons, you can easily find ones that you feel comfortable with.
We recommend that you change weapons frequently during fights. This specifically refers to:
- Choosing the right weapons for your current fight - Some weapons work well at short range, others are better for long distance attacks, and yet others for weakening enemy groups.
- Saving your ammo - By frequently switching to different weapons, you will be able to replenish ammunition as you go, and have them ready if you suddenly need to use them.
Try to destroy as many objects around you as possible
As you explore more locations in Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart, you should try to destroy all objects in the area, focusing especially on crate clusters. Destroyed objects can drop bolts, which are the in-game currency - you will use them to buy new weapons and stock up on ammo. Interestingly, when you return to the same location after some time, you can find more crates and destroy them as well to get more bolts.
Apart from getting the main currency, demolishing the environment can allow you to obtain e.g. nanotech orbs that regenerate your health, and also ammunition so you can use your weapons longer. In some rare situations, crates and other obstacles may obscure collectibles or secret passages.
You don't have to (and sometimes can't) explore the entire map right away
The map in Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart can be explored continuously, which ia very useful feature, and therefore, you can easily determine which areas can still be explored. Unfortunately, you can't get everywhere right away. The game may e.g. force you to have an exploration-related gadget, or remove invisible walls only after you make enough progress in the main questline.
Fortunately, there is no pressure to discover 100% of the map right away, i.e. during your first visit to a given planet. If you have trouble getting somewhere, or want to take care of the main story first, you can leave a location before fully exploring it. The characters can use a spaceship and return to previously discovered planets. This allows you to complete exploration, which may become much easier when you unlock more gadgets or game mechanics.
Perform side jumps until you unlock full dodges.
At the start of the game, you will not be able to use the Phantom Dash yet, which is a skill that can be compared a typical dodge. This action will only become available after you make enough progress in the main questline, specifically when you meet the Phantom NPC while exploring Nefarious City.
Use the side jumps at first - they are useful for e.g. avoiding Dr. Nefarious' lasers in the prologue, or other similar enemies. Whether you already have Phantom Dash or not, you can reduce the risk of taking damage if you keep moving and take out enemies that use lasers and other powerful ranged attacks first.
Check the map often - the game will mark secrets and other things on it
As you gradually explore more locations in Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart, pay close attention to the icons that appear on the maps. Most of the newly added icons are related to rare loot (mainly raritanium crystals) and various collectibles, such as golden bolts. However, you must be aware that not all such places are easily accessible. To get to some of the secrets, you have to e.g. climb to a higher ledge, find a crack or unlock a story gadget.
The map can also show you e.g. quest items useful for completing all mission objectives and finding Ms. Zurkon, the merchant that allows you to buy and upgrade your equipment. It is worth mentioning that you can set markers for all icons on the map so that they appear when you travel through the game world and guide you to them.
Engage in side quests as well
As a reminder, the list of current objectives can be viewed by pressing the right analog stick. It is also always visible on the main screen with the map of the area. The list contains primarily the main quests that you have to do in order to make progress in the storyline. However, side missions can appear there as well. They are not obligatory, but still worth doing, because almost always there is some unique loot connected with them - this can be, for example, armor fragments, or collectibles which cannot be obtained by exploring the map.
Additionally, keep an eye out for the option to complete new side quests on planets you have already visited. This may allow you to get new treasures there and bring you closer to completing the location 100%. As a reminder, you can use a spaceship to return to an already explored planet after selecting it from the list of known locations.
Upgrade your favorite weapons first
In Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart , you will eventually unlock over a dozen different weapons and gadgets. Try to choose a few favorite weapon models and focus on upgrading those to increase their effectiveness on the battlefield and win fights even more easily when you're using these weapons. Above all, remember that using a weapon regularly will grant you XP for it and advance it to the next level. Ultimately, you should upgrade all of your favorite weapons to level 5.
You can increase the weapon's stats by spending raritanium on upgrades - you can do this at Ms. Zurkon's the merchant. Spend your development points mainly on upgrading frequently used weapons, because you won't have enough raritanium to upgrade all your weapons on a regular basis. When upgrading your weapons, try to "circle" the gold cells in the upgrade tree in order to unlock new big passive features for your weapons as early as possible.
During combat, aim for red barrels and crates.
When shooting, try to hit red explosive barrels and crates. Thankfully, they appear in most of the big fights, so you don't have to look around for them very much. When firing at red objects, always wait until enemies have gathered near them so that the detonation will weaken the enemies as much as possible.
Ratchet and Rivet can also be hurt by exploding objects, so always make sure you don't linger near the red barrels and crates. They can explode because of your own poorly executed attack, or after a successful one from the enemy.
Destroy monster nests and enemy landing ships quickly
Some fights in the game may be more difficult because of new enemies that join them. Naturally, this can make these fights more challenging, and winning them may take you more time. This may be caused by:
- Monster Nests - If you see new monsters appearing in place of the ones you killed, quickly locate the nest or nests and destroy them.
- Enemy reinforcement aircrafts - You should aim to destroy enemy aircrafts before they deliver new enemies. Strong ranged weapons, such as the negatron collider, will be effective in doing so.