Mastering Santa Water: A Guide to Evolution and Domination in Vampire Survivors
Santa Water is a staple weapon in Vampire Survivors, offering a potent area-of-effect attack that can easily turn the tide against hordes of enemies. But its true potential lies in its evolution. The answer to the question: What evolves Santa Water? is quite simple:
Santa Water evolves into La Borra when combined with the Attractorb passive item.
This transformative evolution amplifies Santa Water’s strengths, creating a mobile and devastating forcefield of holy water that can clear entire screens. This guide dives deep into the nuances of Santa Water and its evolved form, La Borra, providing expert insights and answering frequently asked questions to help you achieve victory.
Understanding Santa Water and La Borra
The Power of Holy Water
Santa Water is more than just a starting weapon for Suor Clerici; it’s a reliable early-game damage dealer. Dropping stationary pools of holy water that damage enemies passing through, Santa Water provides a crucial perimeter of defense. Its effectiveness stems from:
- Area of Effect (AoE): Covering a substantial area, making it ideal for crowd control.
- Consistent Damage: Continually deals damage to enemies within its radius.
- Early Game Viability: Strong even at low levels, allowing you to survive the initial onslaught.
La Borra: The Evolved Form
La Borra takes everything good about Santa Water and cranks it up. This evolution, achieved by maxing both Santa Water and the Attractorb, creates mobile zones of damaging holy water that follow the player. The key benefits of La Borra are:
- Mobility: Unlike static Santa Water, La Borra moves with you, offering constant protection.
- Stacking Damage: Zones can overlap, resulting in exponentially higher damage output in concentrated areas.
- Off-Screen Protection: Even enemies you can’t see are vulnerable to La Borra’s persistent damage.
Optimizing Your Santa Water Build
Building a successful run with Santa Water or La Borra requires careful consideration of supporting items and character choices.
Essential Passives
- Attractorb: As mentioned, crucial for evolving Santa Water into La Borra. It also increases the pickup radius for other items and experience gems, indirectly boosting survivability.
- Candelabrador: Significantly increases the area of effect of Santa Water (and La Borra), maximizing its coverage.
- Spinach: Provides a direct damage increase, boosting the potency of both Santa Water and La Borra.
- Duplicator: Adds more instances of Santa Water and La Borra that launch, increasing coverage area.
- Empty Tome: Increases the weapon projectile speed, reducing the gaps between instances of Santa Water and La Borra.
- Crown: Increases the XP gain by 8% at every level, reaching 40% at its highest level.
Complementary Weapons
- King Bible: Creates a protective barrier of rotating books, synergizing well with Santa Water’s area control. Its evolved form, Unholy Vespers, enhances this synergy even further.
- Garlic: Creates a damage aura around the player, weakening enemies before they reach the holy water.
- Axe: Delivers high burst damage to eliminate tougher enemies that manage to break through your defenses. Its evolved form, Death Spiral, offers even greater coverage and damage.
Character Selection
- Suor Clerici: Starts with Santa Water, giving you a head start.
- Krochi: Has revival.
- Imelda Belpaese: Starts with +10% experience.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Santa Water and La Borra
1. How do I unlock Candelabrador?
Candelabrador is unlocked by getting Santa Water to Level 4 in a run.
2. What does Candelabrador do?
Candelabrador increases the area of effect for your weapons by 10% per level, reaching 50% at max level. This significantly improves the coverage of Santa Water and La Borra.
3. Does Candelabrador affect Garlic?
Yes, while Candelabrador doesn’t directly increase Garlic’s damage, it expands the area of its effect. This means enemies spend more time within the Garlic’s aura, taking more damage over time.
4. Is Santa Water or La Borra better?
It depends on your playstyle. Santa Water offers a stronger defensive perimeter when stationary, while La Borra provides superior mobility and scaling damage. La Borra is widely considered the superior choice once available.
5. Can you evolve Santa Water more than once?
No, Santa Water only evolves once into La Borra.
6. What happens if I don’t pick up Attractorb?
You won’t be able to evolve Santa Water. It will remain a potent, but ultimately static, area-of-effect weapon.
7. Is La Borra good for farming?
Yes, La Borra’s mobility and consistent damage make it excellent for clearing large groups of enemies, facilitating efficient farming.
8. What other items synergize well with La Borra?
Items that increase area of effect (Candelabrador), damage (Spinach), and projectile speed (Empty Tome) are all excellent choices. Also, items that attract experience gems (Attractorb, Stone Mask, Metaglio Left, Metaglio Right) are very helpful.
9. Does La Borra work in narrow corridors?
Yes, but its effectiveness is somewhat diminished. The overlapping damage zones can still be powerful, but its mobility is less useful in confined spaces.
10. How does La Borra compare to other evolved weapons?
La Borra is a solid choice that stands favorably. La Borra offers consistent, reliable damage and protection.
11. Can I survive with only Santa Water/La Borra?
While possible, it’s not recommended. Santa Water/La Borra shines best when paired with other complementary weapons and passives.
12. Is La Borra effective against bosses?
Yes, La Borra’s stacking damage can quickly melt bosses. However, you may need additional single-target damage to finish them off efficiently.
13. Where can I find the Attractorb?
Attractorb appears as an item choice when leveling up, assuming you haven’t already selected it.
14. What is the best strategy for using La Borra?
Keep moving! La Borra’s mobility is its greatest strength. Circle around enemies to maximize damage output and maintain a safe distance.
15. Does luck affect Santa Water/La Borra?
No, Luck stat does not affect Santa Water/La Borra. It’s effect is minimal on other area of effect weapons like garlic.
Conclusion: Embrace the Holy Water
Santa Water and its evolved form, La Borra, are powerful tools in Vampire Survivors. By understanding their strengths, weaknesses, and synergies, you can build devastatingly effective loadouts that will carry you through the most challenging stages. Experiment with different combinations, adapt to the challenges, and unleash the holy water upon the hordes!
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