Rogue Legacy 2 guide: Play every class for Mastery bonuses

The more XP you earn as different classes, the more passive bonuses you’ll accumulate

A big part of Rogue Legacy 2 is figuring out which permanent upgrades best fit your individual playstyle, and there are a ton of directions to go on the Manor upgrade path. That said, there’s an early purchase — the Sage Totem, which unlocks Mastery bonuses for all of your classes — that you should prioritize before you get too far along.

This upgrade lets you “learn from your ancestors’ past mistakes and gain permanent bonuses for dying,” which might not sound fun, exactly, but it’s worth it.

Here’s our guide to Mastery levels and why they matter in Rogue Legacy 2.

First off, unlock the Sage Totem

With the Sage Totem unlocked, you’ll find the character chilling in your home base, slightly above and left of Charon’s boat. Now it’s time to get some big XP gains, not just gold.

When you slay enemies in Rogue Legacy 2, you’ll earn experience points, and XP funnels into Mastery. You’ll keep playing like normal, but when you die — it’s more a “when” than an “if,” isn’t it? — you’ll see the XP pile up on the end-of-run recap screen.

Don’t play as the same few classes forever

Here’s the cool part: every class has its own Mastery rank, and every time they level up, they’ll unlock a passive bonus. In the example above, my Knight earned +10 Equip Weight.

There will be classes you click with and others you don’t quite get. It’s worth making the rounds in Rogue Legacy 2, though. The permanent bonuses earned from Mastery levels affect everyone, so it pays to be a Bard or a Ranger at least some of the time.

Your future heirs will thank you!

Stat bonuses when you level up a class

• Knight and Valkyrie: +10 Equip Weight
• Barbarian and Boxer: +1% Vitality
• Ranger and Ronin: +1% Strength
• Duelist and Assassin: +1% Dexterity
• Mage and Gunslinger: +1% Intelligence
• Chef and Astromancer: +1% Focus
• Dragon Lancer and Pirate: +1% Armor
• Bard: +1.5% Spin Kick Damage
• All classes: +2 Rune Weight

There is a cap on Mastery rank, but you can increase it in New Game+.

How to see your Mastery levels for all classes

It took me way too long to realize this (I must’ve done it super early in my playthrough and then completely forgot to look again until, umm, New Game+2…), but you can chat with the Sage Totem at your camp to see all of the classes’ Mastery levels all in one place.

Raising the Mastery level cap

This might be getting ahead of things, but it’s worth knowing early on that if you do max out your Mastery rank for a certain class, you’ll eventually be able to bump it back up and continue the grind. Without spoiling too much, you can unlock the Soul Shop in town (in the building next to the Sage Totem) and spend Soul Stones on even more permanent upgrades. One unlock, Limitless Potential, increases the Mastery cap for all classes.

If you’re in need of more blue orbs, play the Scars of Erebus challenges to earn Bronze/Silver/Gold medals (here’s a fantastic guide on unlocking Scars), or beat bosses on higher New Game+ difficulties. Rogue Legacy 2 is a grind in the best way.

Jordan Devore

Jordan is a founding member of Destructoid and poster of seemingly random pictures. They are anything but random.