Good Riddance Overview

Important Notice: On the u99r1 version (Steam default) there is a bug where the condition for Gun Gun dropping (running Crown of Guns) is also applied to Golden Nuke Launcher and Golden Disc Gun. This means that in order to get the weapons to drop in this version, hardmode must be played while running Crown of Guns.

This bug is fixed on any beta versions, meaning that Good Riddance is better done on the 2021 or 2023 openbeta branches. Unlocks will be saved when switching versions, although it's a good idea in general to make a backup.

Good Riddance is achieved by unlocking either of the hardmode-specific golden weapons. The first of these is the Golden Nuke Launcher which while incredibly powerful to start a run with, can be overkill in normal mode and may need a decent secondary weapon to offset this. Golden Disc Launcher is more of a meme weapon but is worth trying for obscurity alone.

Hardmode significantly increases the difficulty of the game as the player is essentially starting in loop with only basic weapons and no mutations. This makes Good Riddance one of the most difficult achievements in the game, to the point that some players opt to cheese the achievement. This guide will cover a few of these strategies, here is an overview that will be expanded upon below:

Playing normally: Both weapons are added to the drop pool on 7-2 H1 normally, and there is a ~2.56% chance of seeing either weapon at that current pool. A full drop pool reduces it to a ~1.85% chance, so this is a very rng-based strategy and is unfavorable.

The YV strategy: YV will visit Crib when he hits ultra, typically in mid to late H1. Giant weapon chests will spawn that can pull from multiple difficulties higher, giving him dozens of chances at once. This strategy is also rng-based but takes considerable less time than the normal strategy.

The Gun Gun strategy: This uses a special weapon that fires other weapons. Ammo drops are continually farmed until the desired result is given, which will take a random amount of time. Some setup is required and this is more grindy, but is done by those who wish to play as little Hardmode as possible.

If wanting to unlock either weapon on multiple characters these steps do not have to be repeated multiple times. The weapon only has to be unlocked in hardmode once using any character, and then they can store the golden weapon in the Proto Chest in normal mode. Any other character can unlock it by simply reaching the Proto Chest in a normal run and entering the next level with it.

Hardmode Survival

This section will focus on general survival tips. This can be mostly skipped if doing the Gun Gun strategy.

For those who have not properly played hardmode before, the first few levels will give the impression that the mode will become increasingly more difficult. The biggest test of this run is actually the first few levels, which is in large part due to a lack of mutations and good weapons. The difficulty is more similar to normal loop gameplay later on.

One of the biggest issues in the early areas is being swarmed by enemies while running subpar weapons, leaving little breathing room. Flies are particularly aggressive and their Maggot spawns cause an ammo sink, two Big Bandits on 1-3 have their more aggressive loop behavior, and Mom on 2-1 will take ages to kill with any early weapons. On top of all this Elite IDPD are capable of spawning right away and can put immense pressure on the player, although Vans will not spawn until H2.

The best strategy to work around all these tankier enemies is to run Crown of Death with the Golden Grenade Launcher (GGL). Grenades normally do 15 impact damage and up to 10 explosive damage (25 total), but with Crown of Death it adds three mini explosions which does up to 40 explosive damage, on top of the 15 impact damage (55 total). More realistically a target will take 40-45 damage due to the spread of the explosives. The same damage values apply to the normal Grenade Launcher and can be used if GGL is not unlocked; 1-1 can be repeatedly restarted until a normal Grenade Launcher drops from the starting big chest.

Enemy:	Jungle Fly	Big Bandit x2	Mom	Elite Grunt	Elite Inspector	Elite Shielder
H1 HP:	42 HP	140 HP x2	490 HP	42 HP	42 HP	105 HP
GGL + Death:	1-2 Hits	3-4 Hits x2	11-13 Hits	1-2 Hits	1-2 Hits	3 Hits

The main drawback of explosive weapons are that they're dangerous in close range, which can be an issue in situations such as Flies spewing waves of Maggots at the player. Any weapon that has decent crowd control should be ran alongside this for better coverage, even a Wrench will do.

If running the risk of self damaging is not appealing, there are other options. Golden Assault Rifle is still a viable starter weapon and a solid pick, though ammunition in early Desert will struggle with Flies as they do not drop ammo. Golden Wrench can work around the ammunition problem, but is particularly bad with any number of Elite IDPD or bosses in play.

Mutation selection in hardmode will not differ from normal gameplay, so any high-tier mutations can be taken without much consideration. If wanting specific picks for the very early game then Scarier Face and Rhino Skin are all particularly helpful from the get-go.

Once the run gets to Scrapyards the difficulty will ease up a bit. It's important to use this time to keep leveling up while keeping an eye out for good weapons, as a weaker build will suffer in the later areas of H1. Frozen City and Palace are challenging even in normal loop, while Labs can be punishing if not running Trigger Fingers or any decent crowd control weapons.

If trying to get the weapons to drop normally then it's useful to visit any Crown Vaults and Pizza Sewers where possible. Drop pools are advanced based on portals entered, so there are more chances of better weapons dropping before late H1.

The YV Strategy

The previous section is about hardmode survival which YV can follow to help survive. The goal of this run will be to simply reach level ultra.

YV can enter his Crib upon taking either ultra choice. These spawn two giant weapon chests that each have 24 weapons, being 48 total. Open Mind can spawn a third chest bringing it to 72 weapons and is a good mutation pick in this context. Crib gives a ton of chances for either golden weapon to appear at least once, which significantly speeds up the rng-aspect of the run. While this is not guaranteed to work the first time, this can be a lot less time consuming than waiting for the weapons to drop normally.

A run on hardmode can be started, playing as YV with his choice of crown and starter weapon. Do NOT run Crown of Love while visiting Crib.

The most optimal time to hit ultra here would be during 4-1 H1 while skipping any secret areas if possible. It's unlikely to reach ultra at this point normally so the Hyper Crystal boss can purposefully be kept alive while their Laser Crystal spawns are repeatedly killed for rads. The two golden weapons do not typically drop until H1 Palace, however the Crib giant weapon chests pull from up to 6 weapon pools sooner. This means that it's optimal to leave Caves after reaching ultra as the golden weapon drops are within range.

Ultra does not have to be reached in Caves, just that later weapon pools can be avoided to maximize odds. Rads can just be collected normally and ultra will be reached closer to the Labs area with no farming needed.

When the giant weapon chests are opened in Crib and the golden weapons are not seen, be sure to double check around the lower walls and props as they sometimes obscure weapon visibility. If these weapons truly do not appear then the run can either be restarted to try again, or continued to see if they drop naturally in a later area.

For u99r1 runs: YV will have to start with Crown of Guns and cannot swap it off at any point. Without any ammo drops the best starter weapon is Golden Wrench, but gameplay may be considerably slow if he's forced to run early melee. This run can also either farm rads on 4-1 H1 or just level up normally. Always have a weapon on hand that can handle Elite IDPD, Golden Wrench won't be enough.

Gun Gun Strategy

The other popular strategy is using the secret Gun Gun weapon to farm weapon drops. This requires the least amount of time actually surviving in hardmode, but requires some setup and is grindy.

The first step is to find the Gun Gun on a normal run. It is added to the drop pool in loop Desert while running Crown of Guns. The run can be played as normal until one manages to drop, though if one is not seen by loop Labs then reviving Freaks can infinitely be farmed here for weapon drops. Chicken and Eyes can throw/pull weapons into the exit portal so are good picks for the initial run as they can juggle multiple weapons, Gun Gun will not protect the player.

Once Gun Gun drops the nearest Crown Vault should be visited. If 3 Vaults are visited during a run they will no longer spawn, so only visit up to 2 beforehand. From here Gun Gun can be stored in the Proto Chest. The condition for this run is now met and the run can be exited.

Now that Gun Gun is stored a new run can be started on hardmode. The goal here is to simply clear out the first two levels, entering the 1-2 H1 Crown Vault. The best character here will be Robot who can eat weapon drops fired from Gun Gun. The starting weapon should be Golden Wrench as it will be used to farm ammo drops while keeping the player safe. The run must be started with any crown, with Crown of Risk being the best choice so long as the player is able to stay at max HP while in the Vault, which is simple. Crown of Haste is a decent alternative if worried about getting hit.

There will only be one or two level ups before the vault giving limited options. The best choices here are Long Arms or Rabbit Paw to ease the process. Some decent choices would be Strong Spirit, Rhino Skin or Stress as they can help recover from mistakes, while Euphoria would help prevent mistakes.

Once in the Vault, Gun Gun can be retrieved by the Proto Chest. This is a weapon that costs 40 energy to fire once which is the most costly weapon in the game to use. There are two Crown Guardians that will spawn here, one can be killed for safety while keeping the other one alive. When the player is in line of sight it will repeatedly fire giant orbs which has a chance to drop ammo, with a 50% chance the ammo is energy for Gun Gun. Keep some distance from the Crown Guardian to give enough reaction time. If unsure about its location after it teleports, it's best not to stand out in the open but rather hug a wall/corner to minimize directions it could fire from.

Gun Gun can be fired again any time enough ammo is regained. This will repeatedly be done until either golden weapon drops. The drops are entirely random and could happen on the very first time or it could take over a hundred times. Robot can pick up any weapon that drops from Gun Gun to eat - make sure that Gun Gun is the secondary weapon when eating to ensure energy ammo.

Weapons shot from Gun Gun can damage enemies, so make sure to fire the weapon towards a nearby wall to not hurt the Crown Guardian. If accidentally killed then Gun Gun can be re-stored in the Proto Chest if possible, and the run can be restarted. If one of the golden weapons drop then the level can simply be ended, exiting the weapon with golden weapon in hand.

If the Crown Guardian manages to kill the player while Gun Gun is on hand or if the weapon is lost in any other way then this entire process will have to be restarted from the beginning.

For u99r1 runs: this strategy still works but is far less effective. The setup has to be Robot with Crown of Guns. The giant orbs will no longer drop ammo but have a small chance to drop weapons which Robot can eat. Rabbit Paw is no longer a useful mutation pick, so take Long Arms if it appears.