Looping in Risk of Rain 2 means completing Stage 5 and returning to Stage 1 instead of fighting the final boss. It is done by aligning the Primordial Teleporter to the planet before activating it. Looping is required for obliteration, the Voidling path, and farming Lunar Coins. It also unlocks access to stronger item builds - at the cost of Malachite Elites, Celestine Elites, and Scavengers as new threats.
Reach Stage 5 - Sky Meadow (base game) or Helminth Hatchery (SotS DLC). The teleporter here is the Primordial Teleporter - it looks different from all previous teleporters with eight rectangular stone spires arranged around a central base.
Before activating the teleporter, interact with the spires on the outside of the Primordial Teleporter. Press your interact button while looking at them. An animation plays and the spires shift position. A message confirms: "The Primordial Teleporter Aligns With the Planet."
Activate the teleporter normally. Kill the boss, charge the teleporter fully. When you exit you will be sent to a Stage 1 environment (Distant Roost, Titanic Plains, or Siphoned Forest) rather than Commencement. You have looped.
Your first loop completes the Deja Vu? challenge. From this point the Celestial Portal becomes available on every Stage 3 (Stage 8, 13, 18...) - allowing you to obliterate at the Obelisk. The run continues until you die, obliterate, or choose to fight a final boss.
You MUST interact with the Primordial Teleporter's spires BEFORE starting the teleporter event. Once the event begins, you cannot change the alignment. If you forget, you can still loop by entering a Blue Portal, Gold Portal, or Artifact Portal from Stage 5 instead.
The teleporter defaults to moon alignment every time you arrive on Stage 5. You have to actively shift it to planet alignment to loop.
You don't have to use the Primordial Teleporter to loop. Any portal exit from Stage 5 returns you to Stage 1.
Entering the Bazaar Between Time via a Blue Portal from Sky Meadow or Helminth Hatchery loops the run regardless of the Primordial Teleporter's alignment. After the Bazaar you return to Stage 1.
Entering the Artifact Portal from the Compound Generator on Sky Meadow (to reach Bulwark's Ambry) also loops the run. You return to Stage 1 after completing the artifact trial.
Entering the Gold Portal to the Gilded Coast from Stage 5 also triggers a loop on return.
The first loop is a significant difficulty spike. New threats, higher costs, and stronger enemies define post-loop play.
Blue-thorned elite variant. Hit inflicts a debuff that disables all healing for 8 seconds. Single most dangerous post-loop threat for healing-dependent builds. Watch for the blue spikes on enemies.
Celestine elites project an aura that renders all nearby enemies invisible - including bosses. Destroy the Celestine first before dealing with invisible swarms.
Scavengers now appear in the open world with full item inventories including Disposable Missile Launchers. They can one-shot unprepared players. Do not ignore them.
Jellyfish and Hermit Crabs on Distant Roost. Alloy Vultures on Scorched Acres. Void Reavers on Siphoned Forest. Each adds new threats to familiar stages.
All enemy HP and damage scales higher. Item costs at shops increase. The difficulty bar runs faster. Every loop you survive makes subsequent loops harder.
After your first loop a Celestial Orb appears on every Stage 3 (Stage 8, 13, 18...). Complete the teleporter event to spawn the Celestial Portal and access the Obelisk for obliteration.
Malachite Elites disable all healing for 8 seconds per hit. If your build relies on Leeching Seeds, Harvester's Scythe, Rejuvenation Rack, or any healing item, a single Malachite spike during a busy fight ends your run. Identify and kill Malachites first every time.
Every Stage 5 you face this decision. There is no objectively correct answer - it depends on your build strength, what you still need to unlock, and your risk tolerance.
Reach Stage 5 (Sky Meadow or Helminth Hatchery). Before activating the teleporter, interact with the rectangular spires on its outside to align it to the planet. A message confirms the alignment. Complete the teleporter event and you return to Stage 1 instead of going to Commencement. Alternatively, entering any portal (Blue, Gold, Artifact) from Stage 5 also loops the run.
The Primordial Teleporter is the special teleporter found only on Stage 5. In its default state it sends you to Commencement to fight Mithrix. Interacting with the spires on its outside before activating shifts its alignment to the planet, sending you back to Stage 1 to loop instead.
Malachite and Celestine Elites begin spawning. Scavengers start appearing as regular enemies with full item inventories. New enemy types appear on specific stages. All item costs and difficulty scale higher. The Celestial Portal becomes available on every Stage 3 for obliteration.
Malachite Elites disable all healing for 8 seconds on hit - a single spike ends healing-dependent builds. Scavengers spawn as regular enemies with full item loadouts including Disposable Missile Launchers and can one-shot unprepared players. Difficulty and damage scale significantly higher than a first-loop run.
Deja Vu? is a challenge completed by completing your first loop - returning to Stage 1 after Stage 5. It does not unlock any items or survivors directly but marks your first successful loop. Note that simply reaching Stage 6 via Bulwark's Ambry after Sky Meadow does not count - you must actually loop back to the first environment set.
Loop if your build needs more items, if you need obliteration for Mercenary, or if you are going for the Voidling/Void Fiend path. Fight Mithrix if your build is strong enough now and you don't want to risk Malachite elites and Scavengers. Most experienced players loop at least once before fighting the final boss.
The game displays the message 'The Primordial Teleporter Aligns With the Planet' when you successfully shift the alignment. The spires visually fan outward into an open position. If the spires are in a near-circular inward spiral, it is still aligned to the moon.
