Secrets of Survival with Plasma Shotgun

So, I promised to tell you how to cross the threshold of

300,000 points using the plasma shotgun - let's begin.

The "survival" (Survival) mode is notable for providing you weapons that you already encountered in the "quest" (Quest) mode, meaning if you haven't progressed far enough there, you definitely won't get the plasma gun. In a neighboring post, I uploaded a game with all weapons fully unlocked (except for the secret one, which is not very interesting, you can explore it by yourself).

Why specifically the plasma shotgun? The answer is simple - fire rate, bullet spread, weight, and sufficient damage:

Fire Rate: 125 shots per minute

Bullet Spread: about 30 degrees

Reload Time: 3.1 Seconds

Magazine: 8 plasma rounds

Why is damage important? - It's crucial because in the mid and late game (300,000 points and above), monsters become quite resilient, and bonuses like "Fire Bullets" (Fire Bullets) and "Weapon Power Up" (Weapon Power Up) do not drop often enough.

Skipping the initial stage where you run around with a pistol and frantically try to catch your plasma gun from the initial monsters :), and now you hold it in your hands - what's next? Next, you need to gather the required perks in a shorter amount of time (the less time, the more points).

The most useful for you at the early stages will be:

Experience Gain/Lean Mean Exp Machine - you'll constantly earn experience. It's little, but it helps speed up leveling at the early stages.

Bloody Mess - 30 percent more experience.

Telekinetic - useful from start to finish. If you see a bonus, and a crowd of monsters stands between you and it, point your mouse at the bonus and wait - in about three seconds, the bonus is yours.

Thick Skinned - it takes away 2/3 of your current health (the more wounded you are, the less noticeable the effect), but it reduces the damage inflicted on you by monsters by 30 percent. It's easier to heal after its effect at the early stages.

Also, the earlier you pick, the better:

Bonus Economist - bonuses last 1.5 times longer. Life-saving in the late game!

Bonus Magnet - bonuses drop much more often. The effect is not very noticeable in the early stages due to low monster density. Life-saving in mid to late game!

Dodger - when hit by a monster, there's a chance to dodge. Useful at all stages, levels up to Ninja, which in turn is extremely useful in the late game.

Fastloader - useful in the early and mid stages, then replaced by other perks and becomes completely useless.

Uranium Filled Bullets - doubles damage. Always useful, particularly in mid stages and in heated moments late.

Poison Bullets - 60 DPS to infected monsters, the disease may spread to the infected monster's friends.

Barrel Greaser - increases bullet speed and damage by about 40 percent. This is very useful in the mid game, where monster density is not dense enough, and needed bonuses do not drop frequently. Together with the next bonus, they make a great pair.

Fastshot - increases shooting speed. There's never too much shooting speed. Helps you get out of dire situations in the late game.

Reflex Boosted - everything slows down by 10 percent, allowing for quicker reactions.

Regeneration and Greater Regeneration - help you survive the shortage of medkits in the early and mid stages. In heated moments of the late game, it will reduce the DPS of monsters attacking you.

Long Distance Runner - running faster is always helpful, especially in heated moments.

Unstoppable - monster hits do not stop the player, very useful in the late game.

Ammo Maniac - increases magazine size by 20 percent (from 8 to 10 rounds). Take it if there’s nothing more useful available.

My Favorite Weapon - increases the magazine by 2 rounds (a total of 12) and removes the useless perk Random Weapon from the perk list.

Perk for the late game:

Regression Bullets - allows shooting without reloading at all. Should be taken around 500,000 - 700,000 points, as it will pay off. If taken before this, you might end up with zero experience :). Completely replaces Fastloader and Ammunition Within.

Perks to take if there are no previous ones on the list:

Instant Winner - 2500 experience. Only take it if there are no other needed bonuses (can be taken multiple times).

Angry Reloader - shoots bursts of plasma in all directions when you reload.

Anxious Loader - the faster you tap the mouse during reloading, the quicker it proceeds.

Doctor - when you hover the mouse over a monster, you see how much health it has left.

Evil Eyes - when you hover over a monster, it stands still.

Pyrokinetic - when you hover over a monster, it catches on fire.

Final Revenge - explode upon death, earning additional points.

Hot Tempered - sometimes plasma rounds burst out from you in all directions.

Jinxed - monsters on the map die on their own; with each such case, you lose 1 HP. Regeneration is helpful.

Monster Vision - monsters are highlighted in yellow. Useful if there are any invisible ones. I haven't seen them in "survival" (yes, yes, such a pun).

Mr. Melee - when monsters bite you, you have a chance to damage the monster or receive less damage, or both.

Perk Expert - increases the number of perks on the list by 1.

Perk Master - similarly, but granted after the previous one.

Plaguebearer - monsters become infected with plague upon contact with you and die. Infect their friends.

Radioactive - monsters near you receive some damage upon close contact.

Veins of Poison - after biting you, a monster dies over time.

Toxic Avenger - the same but on a qualitatively new level. Granted after the previous one.

Harmful perks:

Alternate Weapon - reduces running speed.

Ammunition Within - completely replaced by the perk Regression Bullets.

Breathing Room - takes away 2/3 health but kills all monsters on screen. You do not earn experience for it.

Death Clock - you will die exactly after 30 seconds.

Fatal Lottery - 50 percent chance to die or receive a measly 10,000 experience.

Highlander - monsters do not deal damage upon bites, but you can still die with a 10 percent probability.

Infernal Contract - complete nonsense :D

Ion Gun Master - useless for obvious reasons.

Pyromaniac - similarly to the previous one.

Sharpshooter - in our case, quite harmful as it reduces bullet spread.

Stationary Reloader - useful if you plan to stand still :D

Useful before death:

Grim Deal - kills you but increases max experience by 18 percent. Take it if you're sure you'll die in the next moment. I've never used it, as I prefer to kill the enemy until the end :3

Game tactics at all stages are almost identical, but there are some differences. In the early stages, try to pick up bonuses that give experience - this will help you level up faster.

Initial stage:

In the early and mid stages (0 ~ 500,000 points), you should run around the perimeter of the game field, trying to keep monsters in a large swirling pile in the center, shooting ahead (clearing a path). If you encounter the bonus "Fire Bullets" (Fire Bullets), unload everything into the pile in the center; the more you kill - the better. It’s precisely because of the bullet spread combined with "Fire Bullets" (Fire Bullets) that the plasma shotgun shines. A slight angle turn allows you to cover sufficiently large areas.

Mid stage:

In the late stages (over 500,000 points), the field will be completely littered with yellow, resilient monsters, and your task will be to quickly extract the bonuses needed for survival from them.

First, try to get "Freeze" (Freeze) - this will buy you some time. Its analog may be "Reflex Boost" (Reflex Boost) + "Shield" (Shield). Time is gained to acquire the bonuses "Fire Bullets" (Fire Bullets) + "Weapon Power Up" (Weapon Power Up), which will ensure your survival. Always run towards where your bullets are flying; there won't be any monsters there for a few seconds after you shoot. If they swarm you from behind, briefly turn and shoot there, then continue your main activity. Also, very helpful will be "Speedup" (Speedup) and "Double Experience" (Double Experience). Don’t forget to collect medkits whenever the opportunity arises :)

Next is your screenshot with over 7,000,000 points %)

GL HF!