I’ll be straight with you: my first run in Saros lasted about nine minutes. I dodged every projectile on instinct, ignored my shield entirely, walked into the Eclipse completely unprepared, and watched Arjun Devraj get absolutely dismantled by a group of mid-tier enemies in the first biome. It was humbling. It was also completely avoidable.
Housemarque, the Finnish studio behind Returnal, is back with Saros, a third-person roguelite shooter set on a shape-shifting alien planet called Carcosa. The clearest area of agreement among reviewers is that Saros is meaningfully more accessible than Returnal without abandoning what made that game special. But “more accessible” does not mean easy, and if you walk in blind, Carcosa will chew you up fast.
I’ve spent the past several days grinding through runs, studying every system, and cross-referencing hands-on impressions to build this guide from the ground up. These are the 10 saros beginner tips I genuinely wish I had on day one.
Table of Contents
- Your Shield Is an Offensive Weapon, Not a Defense Button
- Learn the Three Projectile Colors Before Anything Else
- The Dodge Has No Limit — Use It Constantly
- Do Not Trigger the Eclipse Until You Know the Biome
- Always Spend Lucenite Before Your Next Run
- Master the DualSense Triggers — They Do Three Different Things
- Use Carcosan Modifiers Without Shame
- Second Chance Is Your Best Early Unlock
- Read the Audio Logs — The Story Hides in Them
- Biome Fast Travel Changes Everything
1. Your Shield Is an Offensive Weapon, Not a Defense Button
This is the single most important mindset shift in Saros, and most new players completely miss it for the first hour or two.
In Saros, your Soltari Shield is not a panic button. It is your primary damage tool. Hold R1 and Arjun raises the shield. Blue enemy projectiles get absorbed, not blocked. That absorbed energy fuels your Power Weapon. The more fire you eat, the harder you hit back.
That means standing inside a spray of blue bullets is the correct play. You are farming power, not taking damage. Your shield converts that incoming fire into raw energy, and once you have soaked enough, a full pull of L2 unleashes a Power Weapon blast that can wipe an entire group of smaller enemies in one shot. It is a complete inversion of the dodge-everything mentality that Returnal drilled into your muscle memory.
The mental block here is real. Every other shooter teaches you to avoid incoming fire. Saros asks you to lean into it strategically. The sooner you internalize that, the faster everything else clicks.
2. Learn the Three Projectile Colors Before Anything Else
Saros delivers fast, addictive bullet-hell combat with a smart color-coded projectile system that adds clarity without reducing challenge. But you have to actually memorize what each color means, because reacting on autopilot will get you killed.
Here is the breakdown you need to know cold:
| Projectile Color | What It Does | Correct Response |
|---|---|---|
| Blue | Standard enemy fire | Raise shield and absorb it |
| Red | Shield-breaking attack | Dodge or (later) parry it |
| Yellow | Eclipse corruption shot | Dodge — do NOT let it hit your shield |
Blue projectiles can be absorbed with the shield, charging your Power Meter. Red projectiles must be dodged or parried. During the Eclipse, yellow corrupted projectiles reduce your maximum health and cannot be absorbed through standard shielding. You are constantly reading colors in real time, deciding what to catch and what to avoid.
Red attacks, seemingly unavoidable at first, shatter your shield on impact, though later in the game they can be parried and turned into devastating counterattacks. Do not stress the parry window in the early hours. Focus on blue absorption and clean dodges on red. Yellow avoidance becomes critical the moment you trigger an Eclipse.
3. The Dodge Has No Limit — Use It Constantly
Coming from Returnal, you might expect some kind of stamina system or cooldown on your dash. There is none.
Arjun can dodge infinitely. No stamina bar, no cooldown, no resource drain. Your dodge also phases through most laser beams in the game, which is something the tutorials do not make obvious enough.
Your most used defensive move is the power dash, which phases Arjun briefly out of the physical world and grants invincibility frames to slip through the dense enemy fire filling each combat arena. Mastering that timing is one of the most satisfying parts of the early game.
The correct rhythm in most fights is: raise shield for blue, dodge through red, use the power dash liberally between waves. Once you stop treating the dodge like a rationed resource, your survivability jumps immediately.
4. Do Not Trigger the Eclipse Until You Know the Biome
The Eclipse is the most powerful mechanic in Saros. It is also the fastest way to end a run early if you activate it without preparation.
The Eclipse is a player-triggered event that transforms the entire biome mid-run. When activated, the sky darkens, enemies become more aggressive with new attack patterns, and all projectiles shift to yellow corrupted variants that reduce your maximum armor integrity through Corruption.
Yellow projectiles deal damage and reduce your maximum integrity through a mechanic called Corruption. Your health bar literally shrinks, and no amount of healing items will bring it back. The only way to cleanse Corruption is by activating your Power Weapon.
That creates a brutal chain: you need Power to cleanse Corruption, but you need blue projectile absorption to build Power, and yellow shots are now replacing most of those blue shots during Eclipse. Going in with half a Power Meter and depleted health is a fast route to a failed run.
Clear the biome first on your early runs. The difficulty spike during Eclipse is no joke, and going in with half health because you rushed past three enemy groups is a fast way to lose a run. Once you know the enemy layouts and your Power Meter is charged, then trigger the Eclipse. The rewards are substantial. If you manage to overcome it, you are rewarded with corrupted artefacts, extra Lucenite, and weapons significantly stronger than their standard counterparts, giving you a better shot against the bosses waiting at the end of each biome.
5. Always Spend Lucenite Before Your Next Run
Lucenite is the permanent upgrade currency in Saros, and hoarding it is one of the most common beginner mistakes I see.
Using your come-back-stronger mechanics, you can upgrade yourself using collected Lucenite and Halcyon from your Eclipse cycles on Carcosa. Upgrading is done via Echelon IV’s Primary unit, a Soltari AI that allows you to adjust your Enforcer Armor via the Armor Matrix. By using your collected resources you can upgrade your armor to suit your playstyle.
The game features persistent resource and progression systems that allow Arjun Devraj’s loadout to receive permanent upgrades across playthroughs after each run ends. Those upgrades carry over across every death. Every run you enter without spending your Lucenite is a run you are deliberately handicapping yourself on. The Armor Matrix is not optional decoration. It is your long-term power curve, and getting it built up early is what separates runs that feel fair from runs that feel impossible.
Spend before you push. Always.
6. Master the DualSense Triggers — They Do Three Different Things
Saros uses the DualSense adaptive triggers in a way that is more layered than most PS5 games, and the controls feel unintuitive until you understand the logic.
Pressing R2 to shoot will utilize standard fire. By holding L2 halfway while pressing R2 all the way, it unlocks the secondary attack. By holding L2 all the way, you will unleash your limited special attack. Having this formula means you will not be swapping attacks via the D-Pad or a weapon wheel. It is all done instantly with the DualSense triggers.
According to the official PlayStation Blog, when using the adaptive trigger on L2, pulling it halfway down activates your main weapon’s alt fire. This allows for alternative attacks, ranging from grenade launchers, slower-firing heavy rounds, ricochet projectiles and much more. Pulling the L2 adaptive trigger all the way down activates your Eclipse-driven Power Weapon, allowing you to hit back hard using collected projectiles from your Soltari Shield.
One thing worth knowing: you can remap buttons in the menu, and it is possible to separate alt-fire and Power Weapon to two separate buttons. If the half-press mechanic feels unreliable for you, remap immediately. There is no shame in it, and it might actually improve your accuracy in clutch moments.
7. Use Carcosan Modifiers Without Shame
Saros includes a modifier system that lets you tune the difficulty in both directions, and too many players ignore it because they assume it is a casual mode option. It is not. It is a sophisticated system designed to let you customize the exact kind of challenge you want.
Carcosan Modifiers come in two types. Protection Modifiers reduce challenge by doing things like decreasing incoming damage, making it easier to reload your weapon, or extending the time you can use your Shield. Trial Modifiers make the game more challenging by making hostiles more aggressive, your weapon’s power degrade over time, or even removing your Second Chance ability entirely. The combination of Modifiers you choose is entirely up to you, but crucially, Protections and Trials must be kept in balance to ensure a consistent challenge level.
This system provides greater accessibility and serves as an excellent alternative to traditional easy, normal, and hard settings, allowing players to tailor the experience to their skill level.
If your first few runs feel genuinely overwhelming and not in the fun way, drop in a Protection Modifier or two. You can always increase the challenge once the color-coded projectile system starts to feel natural. Using these modifiers does not reduce the core experience. It makes the game more playable while you build the muscle memory the combat demands.
8. Second Chance Is Your Best Early Unlock
Among all the early Armor Matrix upgrades available through the Primary AI interface, Second Chance should be your first priority.
With the Second Chance feature, you will be revived instantly on your first death, helping you get straight back into the action.
It sounds simple, but the practical impact is massive. Saros is a game where runs can go wrong in seconds. A single bad read of a projectile color, one misjudged dodge during an Eclipse, and you are dead. Second Chance gives you a free reset on that mistake without losing all your run progress. It alone makes every subsequent run significantly more forgiving.
Unlock it, keep it active, and build out the rest of the Armor Matrix from there. Think of it as your safety net while you are still internalizing the systems.
9. Read the Audio Logs — The Story Hides in Them
Saros tells most of its story the way Returnal did: sideways. The main cutscenes give you the surface layer, but the real depth is in the logs scattered across Carcosa and the conversations back at The Passage.
The Passage is the hub where Arjun returns between runs, and it is where much of the story’s human moments happen. The rest of the Echelon IV crew voices their perspectives on Carcosa and Soltari’s agenda, and their collective grip on sanity loosens in fascinating ways as the game progresses. You start to genuinely look forward to checking in on them between runs to see how they are holding up.
Similar to Returnal, Saros serves up its story in multiple ways. Periodic cutscenes, randomly located audio and text logs, optional crew dialogue at The Passage, contact with survivors further out on the planet, and flashback sequences all work together to build a deep and layered narrative. The details come slowly, and that restraint pays off the further you get in.
If you are rushing through biomes without picking up logs, you are playing half a game. The mystery of Carcosa is the reason to keep pushing when runs get hard. Let it pull you forward.
10. Biome Fast Travel Changes Everything
Returnal veterans will remember the pain of replaying Overgrown Ruins from scratch every time they wanted to push deeper. Saros handles this very differently.
Once you clear a biome, you never have to replay it to reach the next one. You can jump straight to any unlocked biome from The Passage. Combined with the Armor Matrix permanent upgrades, Saros is clearly designed to respect your time in ways that Returnal did not always manage.
This changes how you should think about runs entirely. You are not trying to survive a marathon. You are targeting specific biomes, building your Armor Matrix, and making deliberate progress. Once a region clicks, move forward. Do not grind content you have already solved.
Projectile Color Quick Reference Card
| Color | Can Shield Absorb? | Can You Dodge Through? | Effect if It Hits You |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blue | Yes, builds Power | Yes | Damage only |
| Red | No, shatters shield | Yes | Damage plus shield break |
| Yellow (Eclipse only) | No, increases Corruption | Yes | Corruption, max health reduction |
Common Beginner Mistakes to Avoid
Dodging blue projectiles. Every blue shot you dodge is Power Weapon charge you are leaving behind. Let the shield eat them.
Skipping the Armor Matrix. This is not optional gear. It is your core power budget. Spend Lucenite before every run.
Triggering Eclipse immediately. The Eclipse rewards are real, but so is the difficulty spike. Learn the biome layout first.
Ignoring alt-fire. Pressing L2 halfway activates each weapon’s alt-fire, a mechanic that changes fights dramatically. Most new players never use it.
Not matching your weapon to the encounter. Trying to fight airborne enemies at range with a short-range shotgun is a rough experience. Swap when you have the option.
FAQ
Is Saros easier than Returnal?
Yes, meaningfully so. Housemarque has introduced a permanent progression system, biome fast travel, and the Carcosan Modifier system, all of which soften the genre’s notorious frustration without removing its challenge.
Do you lose everything when you die in Saros?
You lose most items, but permanent upgrades through the Armor Matrix carry over between runs. You also retain biome unlocks and fast travel access.
Is the Eclipse mandatory?
No. You trigger it at a specific point in each biome and can choose to skip it entirely. The rewards are worth it once you are prepared.
What does the Soltari Shield actually do?
The Soltari Shield allows you to block attacks and absorb the energy of incoming blue projectiles. That absorbed energy transforms Arjun’s right arm into a Power Weapon, which you then discharge at enemies for massive damage.
Does Saros have difficulty settings?
Not in the traditional sense. Carcosan Modifiers let you dial in a combination of Protection and Trial modifiers to create a difficulty curve that suits your skill level.
Is Saros on PS5 Pro?
Yes. Saros runs at a solid 60fps on standard PS5, and on PS5 Pro, Housemarque pushes the visuals further with improved reflections and higher-resolution rendering throughout.
Is Saros related to Returnal?
No. Saros is a new IP from Housemarque set on a different planet with a different protagonist. It shares design DNA with Returnal through its roguelite structure and bullet hell combat, but the story and world are entirely distinct.
Final Thoughts
Saros is one of those games that feels punishing right up until it clicks, and then it feels like nothing else available on PS5 right now. The combat system, once you internalize the color-coded projectile logic and start using the shield offensively, becomes genuinely thrilling. The Armor Matrix means your deaths are never wasted. The biome fast-travel means you are never forced to repeat content you have already cleared.
If you are jumping in for the first time, focus on tips one through three first. Master the shield, memorize the colors, and dash freely. Everything else will follow from those foundations.
For more on Saros specifically, check out our detailed guide on how the Soltari Shield system works, our Saros permanent progression breakdown, and the full Saros vs Returnal comparison if you are coming in as a Returnal veteran and want to know exactly what has changed. If you are newer to the genre, our Warcraft Rumble tips for beginners and Dota 2 beginner guide show how we approach helping new players build their footing fast in demanding games. You can also check the official Saros page on PlayStation.com for full edition details and the latest patch notes.
Good luck on Carcosa. Come back stronger.
Written by the TechsAndGames editorial team. Last updated: April 2026.
About the Author: The TechsAndGames team covers PS5 exclusives, roguelites, and action games with hands-on testing and a zero-fluff approach. We have played Returnal to completion multiple times, which means Saros felt like a homecoming we were absolutely not prepared for on day one.
