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The Avant-Garde (often just called “the Museum” by many players) is R.E.P.O.’s latest level, introduced with what is its biggest update yet. While all the game’s levels have their own unique properties, this is probably the game at itsmostunique, mainly made up of a series of large, open rooms.
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This article discusses some tips and tricks to help you start effectively exploring the Avant-Garde, helping prepare you for the dangers you may need to face.
The Basics of the Avant-Garde
The Avant-Garde is so named because it is an art museum. Unlike every other level in the game (at the time of writing), the Avant-Garde is a map type primarily made out of large, open rooms. While these rooms aren’tbarren, with walls, benches, and displays helping to provide some cover against the many enemies lurking around and seeking out Semibots, there aren’t the tight corridors and many corners ready to be turned that are omnipresent in the other maps.
Players will also find that most items spawn as if on display; to loot, you’ll need to check all the various platforms and shelves around the museum (keeping in mind that new items have also been added to the game, so not everything you may pick up for the Taxman will necessarily be familiar). Items can also spawn in less obvious, less accessible locations; in testing, the team at one point found items hidden high up on an art installation that looked a bit like a tower of interconnected squares. As in all levels, keep your eyes peeled for anything that looks like it can be climbed. The game is good at providing a decent chance of loot spawning anywhere you can access, even if it takes some doing to get there.
As you progress in levels, the Avant-Garde map will grow in complexity (as all maps do), starting to get upper floors, vent systems you may waddle through, and rooms with holes in them that you’ll need to watch out for. These more complex layouts can have small sections that are a little less open than earlier layouts, but the level is still going to tend to bemuchmore open than any other level type.
Threats to Prepare For
One major threat in the Avant-Garde isthe Clown. While a decently tough enemy in any level, the Clown’s powerful laser beam can easily sweep over vast amounts of space given Avant-Garde’s layout. The wide open rooms don’t do much to block the beam, and the rooms are connected via large flat arch openings rather than actual doors. This means a fired beam can easily affect multiple rooms as it sweeps. Similarly,the Huntsman, with his careful ears and deadly aim, is another lethal contender in the open space for similar reasons. It’s much harder in the Avant-Garde to consistently keep his line of fire blocked compared to the game’s other levels.
Another threat to watch for includesthe Peeper. This ominous eyeball normally isn’t a major concern, but the open layout of the museum again changes the dynamic you might have grown to expect in other levels. The Peeper can often spot Semibots from much farther away than normal and cover won’t necessarily be as readily accessible; it is especially important in the Avant-Garde to try to keep a mental map in your head of where cover, such as displays and benches, can be found, so you can try to navigate over to it and block the Peeper’s vision line. If you’re struggling to recall anything close that you can use to your advantage, the alternative is to quickly run towards the walls of the room and try to find one of the wide flat archways to leave the Peeper’s area. The issue with this strategy is the Peeper can often see deep into adjacent rooms. However, once inside a new room, you can at least move to either side of the arch you crossed through to consistently (if not quickly) break its vision line.
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For enemies that rely on melee attacks, hiding can be a bigger challenge too. Importantly, most enemies can melee anywhere you can crouch underbutalso do so relatively awkwardly. If you’re in trouble and don’t have the stamina to run, it’s usually still a good strategy to hide under cover. You just also need to keep moving, using that cover more to block enemies and possibly force them into their cover attack animations, rather than just sitting under cover that they saw you hide under and letting them whack you.
It’s also worth noting the Avant-Garde has a few odd items that can be a bit hard to handle correctly. The Boombox causes you to rapidly bob your head up and down when held, while the Giant Blender grinds the money inside it when held, ruining its own value (meaning it’s important to toss it into the C.A.R.T. as soon as you can).
Finally, as mentioned earlier, the Avant-Garde can eventually generate with rooms containing deadly pits. Most of the time, the risks of these rooms will be pretty obvious and can easily be dealt with by just moving carefully and making sure you don’t rush yourself. If enemies are putting too much pressure on you while you’re in a precarious spot, don’t be afraid to abandon items (even letting them fall into a pit) if the alternative is death.
The Upside of the Avant-Garde
As a level, one will notice the Avant-Garde plays very differently than the rest of the game. The fact it’s very open may be an issue when facing certain enemies, but loot also tends to be very easy to find and navigating around (when you aren’t trying to avoid monsters) is relatively simple. While the level can certainly still feel eerie and liminal, it’s pretty easy to sweep over a room, find basically everything, and then go to the next spot you haven’t explored. It’s also going to be pretty rare that you’ll struggle to return to the truck, at least if you check your map after performing your final loot extraction.
Beyond adapting to how enemies can play in the level, the only major thing you need to remember in the Avant-Garde is to keep an eye out for items hidden high up. This is a good level fornavigational items and upgrades, especially the Extra Jump upgrade. If you’re playing with a crew, you should also remember that the Tumble action lets other crewmates pick you up. This can let them move you to places that would normally be too high to reach on your own.
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