Looping in Risk of Rain 2: how to get there, step by step

// what it is

What it is.

On stage 5 the run opens up: you can go to the moon for Mithrix or go back to stage 1 with all your items. That is looping. The game does not end: difficulty keeps rising with the clock, and each stage you finish multiplies it a bit more. 66.3% of Steam players have done it.

// what you need

What you need.

Reaching stage 5 (Sky Meadow or Helminth Hatchery) with a build that holds up: after the loop the enemies are much tougher.
Nothing else: it costs no gold or coins.

// step by step

Step by step.

Reach stage 5: Sky Meadow or Helminth Hatchery. Its teleporter is the Primordial Teleporter.

Align it with the planet: touch the spikes around the teleporter and the spiral turns toward the planet. Aligned with the moon (as it starts), it takes you to Commencement and Mithrix.

Charge it and cross: you land on a stage 1 map with all your items, gold and level. This is stage 6; the stage count goes on.

Or leave through any portal: on stage 5, the Bazaar's Blue Portal, the Gold Portal or the Celestial Portal also send you back to stage 1 when you leave.

Follow the usual order: stages 6 to 10 are the stage 1 to 5 maps again, and on stage 10 you choose moon or loop again. And so on until you die or decide to end.

// which stage comes

The stages at each stage number.

Each stage number draws from a group of maps; the game picks one at random (the Bazaar's Lunar Seer lets you choose). With their possible teleporter bosses:

Stage	Map	Possible teleporter bosses
1	Distant Roost	Beetle Queen, Stone Titan, Wandering Vagrant
1	Disturbed Impact	Beetle Queen, Stone Titan, Wandering Vagrant, Grovetender, Grandparent
1	Shattered Abodes	Beetle Queen, Stone Titan, Wandering Vagrant
1	Siphoned Forest	Beetle Queen, Stone Titan, Wandering Vagrant
1	Titanic Plains	Beetle Queen, Stone Titan, Wandering Vagrant, Xi Construct
1	Verdant Falls	Beetle Queen, Stone Titan, Wandering Vagrant, Lynx Totem
1	Viscous Falls	Stone Titan, Wandering Vagrant, Grovetender, Imp Overlord, Grandparent, Lynx Totem
2	Abandoned Aqueduct	Beetle Queen, Stone Titan, Clay Dunestrider
2	Aphelian Sanctuary	Beetle Queen, Wandering Vagrant, Clay Dunestrider, Lynx Totem
2	Pretender's Precipice	Beetle Queen, Stone Titan, Wandering Vagrant
2	Reformed Altar	Beetle Queen, Stone Titan, Wandering Vagrant
2	Wetland Aspect	Beetle Queen, Stone Titan, Wandering Vagrant, Lynx Totem
3	Damp Caverns	Magma Worm, Overloading Worm, Lynx Totem, Shruum
3	Golden Dieback	Beetle Queen, Clay Dunestrider, Grovetender, Imp Overlord, Solus Control Unit, Xi Construct, Lynx Totem
3	Iron Alluvium	Beetle Queen, Magma Worm, Overloading Worm, Solus Control Unit, Solus Amalgamator
3	Iron Auroras	Magma Worm, Overloading Worm, Solus Control Unit, Grandparent, Solus Amalgamator
3	Rallypoint Delta	Clay Dunestrider, Imp Overlord, Magma Worm, Overloading Worm
3	Scorched Acres	Clay Dunestrider, Grovetender, Imp Overlord, Lynx Totem
3	Sulfur Pools	Beetle Queen, Clay Dunestrider, Xi Construct
3	Tenebrous Quagmire	Grovetender, Lynx Totem, Shruum
3	Treeborn Colony	Beetle Queen, Clay Dunestrider, Grovetender, Xi Construct, Lynx Totem
4	Abyssal Depths	Stone Titan, Imp Overlord, Magma Worm, Overloading Worm, Shruum
4	Conduit Canyon	Wandering Vagrant, Imp Overlord, Overloading Worm, Solus Amalgamator, Alloy Hunter
4	Lurid Basilica	Wandering Vagrant, Clay Dunestrider, Xi Construct, Shruum
4	Prime Meridian	Beetle Queen, Stone Titan, Wandering Vagrant, Grovetender
4	Repurposed Crater	Imp Overlord, Magma Worm, Solus Control Unit, Xi Construct, Solus Amalgamator
4	Siren's Call	Wandering Vagrant, Magma Worm, Solus Control Unit
4	Sundered Grove	Stone Titan, Wandering Vagrant, Clay Dunestrider, Shruum
5	Helminth Hatchery	Imp Overlord, Magma Worm, Overloading Worm, Solus Control Unit, Shruum
5	Sky Meadow	Magma Worm, Overloading Worm, Solus Control Unit, Grandparent, Xi Construct
5	Solutional Haunt	Solus Wing

Stage 3, Rallypoint Delta or Scorched Acres: the two base-game maps. The possible bosses change (above) and little else that the wiki records; the Shrine of Order only appears on Rallypoint Delta, Conduit Canyon and Commencement. Stage 3 after a loop is where the Celestial Portal appears.

// what you get

What you get.

The Celestial Portal to A Moment, Fractured (the Obelisk and Mercenary) only appears after the first loop, every 3rd stage.
More items and gold for a build that would not get there otherwise.
New variants of some stages and the tier 2 elites, only seen after the loop.

// watch out

Watch out.

After the first loop the tier 2 elites appear, much tougher. If the build is not strong, the moon is usually the option with better odds.
If you touch the spikes by mistake on stage 5 and wanted the moon, touch them again: you can switch before charging.
Difficulty does not reset: on stage 6 the enemies keep the level they had, and so do the prices.

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// faq

FAQ.

What is looping in Risk of Rain 2?

Playing on after stage 5 instead of fighting Mithrix: align the Primordial Teleporter with the planet (or leave through any portal) and return to stage 1 with everything you carry.

When does the Celestial Portal appear?

After the first loop, every 3rd stage: the first time on stage 8 (the third after the loop). It leads to A Moment, Fractured and the Obelisk.

Is it better to loop or go for Mithrix?

It depends on the build: after the loop the tier 2 elites are much tougher. If you are strong and want the Obelisk or more items, loop; if you are barely holding on, the moon.

// more routes

The other routes.

Celestial Portal and A Moment, Fractured

Bulwark's Ambry and the artifacts

The moon: the way to Mithrix

The Planetarium and the Void Locus

Eclipse, the fourth difficulty

All routes

Sources: the Risk of Rain 2 wiki (riskofrain2.wiki.gg: Bazaar Between Time, Newt Altar, Void Fields, Gilded Coast, A Moment, Fractured, Commencement, Void Locus, The Planetarium, Lunar Coins, Artifacts and Module:Environments/Data, read on 31 October 2026, the same pages used by this site's shrine, boss, Mithrix and glossary guides), the game's English text and public Steam stats as of 31 October 2026. The plain-words text is ours. Icons: Risk of Rain 2 (Hopoo Games / Gearbox).