Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved Achievement Guide & Road Map

Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved
Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved Achievement Guide

Overview:
- Estimated Achievement Difficulty: 9/10
- Offline: 12 [200]
- Online: 0 [0]
- Approximate amount of time to 200G: 2-4 Hours [depends heavily on skill level]
- Minimum number of playthroughs needed: 1
- Does difficuly affect achievements: No
- Number of missable achievements: None
- Unobtainanle/glitched achievements: None
- Extra equipment needed?: No

This game is a very difficult 200. Most likely one of the most difficult arcade titles. The amount of time needed to complete the game depends almost entirely on your own skill level. It's possible to earn every achievement in one simple game session but it's at the very least, unlikely.

Introduction:
Welcome to Geometry Wars Retro Evolved! This game has a total of 12 achievements and it might take a long time to get them all. There are no known cheat codes for this game.

Step #1: Preparation
Most of the achievements for this game come from your overall score displayed in the top left corner. There are achievements for earning 100,000, 250,000, 500,000, and 1,000,000 points. That's the basic idea of "game progression" as this game has no actual levels. There are also achievements for surviving to each of those scores which means getting to that score without dying. These and the one for earning a 10x score multiplier will take the longest to achieve. Also remember that achievements will not unlock until the end of the game.

Step #2: Playing the Game
If you are trying to earn all 12 achievements in one game, you will have to start with "Pacifist". If you shoot, you'll lose the achievements and you'll have to play a second time or start over. If you earn "Pacifist" first, the next achievement you'll unlock is "Score 100,000". If you managed to survive on your first life that long, you'll also earn "Survived 100,000".

This progression is the same for the rest of the score achievements in their respectable order.

The next achievements are earned at different times. "Mad Cat Skills" will be earned once you reach 450,000 points if you can survive that long. Though dying will not forfeit your changes of earning the achievement. You just need to have 9 lives available to you in one game.

"Quartermaster" can be unlocked at 600,000 points but only if you use no bombs by that time. Using a bomb will not forfeit your chances of earning the achievement in a game. You just need to have 9 bombs available to you in one game.

As the guide says, the "10x Multiplier" achievement is awarded after killing 2000 enemies. This will take longer if you use a lot of bombs as any enemies killed by bombs will not count toward your score or your multiplier. So use those bombs wisely!

Conclusion:
If you managed to earn all 12 achievements in one single playthrough... you're a Geometry Wars God. If not, don't worry. Keep practicing and you'll earn them all. Eventually. Good luck!

[XBA would like to thank Skillet for this Road Map]

Survived 250,000

10
Earn 250,000 points without dying
By now using black holes to suck up enemies may not be a good idea because they will fill up too quickly. Try not to shoot them unless you know you can destroy them as soon as possible. A technique you should start getting good with is making circles around the play area, shooting in front of you as you go. This will allow you to shoot a path for you to keep moving through. Enemies will start to gather behind you as you do this so whatever you do DONT double back and go the opposite way unless its clear and you absolutely must. You should also try not to stay in one place, you will get swarmed faster than you expect.
Score 250,000

10
Earn 250,000 points
Things are getting harder by now, the most annoying most likely being the snakes. If you find yourself becoming surrounded by these then try and escape as quickly as you can. If you get swarmed their tails may cover their heads which will make it very difficult for you to kill them. Once you are a safe distance away aim for their heads. If things look pretty bad, go ahead and use your bomb. Remember, you don't get points for enemies destroyed from bombs but it will keep you alive, and your multiplier up.
Survived 100,000

5
Earn 100,000 points without dying
If you are having trouble with this achievement the best thing to do is try not to get overwhelmed with enemies. Watch your surroundings and start learning what sounds each of them make when they spawn. Early on in the game its possible to use the black holes to your advantage. Shoot them once and let them suck up a few enemies, then destroy them for big points.
Score 100,000

5
Earn 100,000 points
When getting to this point the hardest thing is defeating enemies that try to swarm you. The key is to destroy one pack at a time by shooting directly into the corner they are spawning from. If you are good enough at maneuvering try and round them up into one big group and taking them out all at once.
Pacifism

10
Survive the first 60 seconds of the game without firing
(11)
Doing this is a great way to practice your maneuvering skills. Being able to get out of tight spaces is a must have talent and this is the best way to develop it. If possible, it may help to have someone with you with a watch counting off the time left until you reach 60 seconds. It helps to do circles around the playing area cutting across the middle when you cant go any further. If you are going to do this then make sure you dont turn around and go the opposite way since there will be a group of enemies that gather behind you.
Multitastic

20
Earn x10 multiplier
A multiplier is awarded after defeating 25 enemies without dying. Every 25 kills is another multiplier. Apparently a x10 multiplier is achieved by killing 2,000 enemies.
Mad Cat Skillz

20
Collect 9 lives
First off, this is not a cumulative 9 lives over your entire game, its 9 lives in your stock at once. As a side note, 9 lives is the maximum amount you can have at once. Every 75,000 points you get a life, of course you can die, it will just make it harder.
Quartermaster

20
Collect 9 bombs
(1)
Much like "Mad Cat Skills" this is 9 bombs at once, and 9 is the max as well. Every 100,000 points you get another bomb so use that as a reference.
Score 500,000

20
Earn 500,000 points
As things get more hectic one of the greatest foes can be the "kamikaze ships". These ships stop at nothing to run into you and will move very quickly pass any other enemies in its way. Its very crucial that you keep an eye out for these and eliminate them as soon as possible. The best way I have found to do this is by waiting for them to stop after missing you, then shooting them before they start another run.
Score 1,000,000

30
Earn 1,000,000 points
Im sure by now you have had to deal with the dreaded mini jacks. These are most definitely the most annoying, and deadly enemies in the game. They come in great amounts and swarm you very quickly. A Bomb will only get rid of so many so dont expect that to be your end all solution. What I find works for me is to wait in one of the top or bottom quadrants (not the left or right) shooting as many as I can. When things get a little too close for comfort I shoot a path through one of the lines into the next quadrant. The quadrants I'm talking about are similar to the four spaces made here |X| since they come in forming an X. If you absolutely must, use a bomb to help thin out their numbers.
Survived 500,000

20
Earn 500,000 points without dying
You should be quite good at circling by now, and should have learned the sounds as well. You should now start learning when and when not to use your bombs. It can be very tempting to use them when things get tough but try to make sure you have no choice first. The other side to this is to make sure you don't get to risky. Using your bombs wont get you any points but it will keep you alive, which in return helps you build your multiplier. The multiplier is going to be your best friend because around this time your points are going to start flying by.
Survived 1,000,000

30
Earn 1,000,000 points without dying
(17)
At this point your best bet is to continue doing circles shooting a path for yourself. Shooting a path is probably one of the only ways you are going to get through this. Things will get crazy and you're likely to lose yourself but just concentrate and try not to blink very much. If you're smart/good enough you will have some bombs saved up which will help a lot. If you are close to getting this chances are you know what to do.