Downpatch FAQ

For use with the downpatch guide.

NEW: The game won't launch until I update it. How do I stop it? Steam sees there's an update and refuses to launch the game until you update it, but you can trick Steam into thinking you've already updated.

In the Steam library, Right click Risk of Rain 2 > Manage > Browse local files. Go up a couple directories, to the steamapps directory.

Completely exit (don't just close) out of Steam.

Open the file appmanifest_632360.acf (from the steamapps directory) in a text editor.

  • Change the "StateFlags" value to "4"
  • Change the "buildid" value to "15623855"
  • Change the "ScheduledAutoUpdate" value to "0"
  • Change the "manifest" value (in InstalledDepots) to "2576834020423111358"
When you re-launch Steam, you should be able to play Risk of Rain 2 without updating.

Note: These are the latest build and manifest IDs from SteamDB. If this guide isn't updated in the future, just copy the latest numbers from there.

How do I play the downpatched version with mods? You'll need to use a mod manager like r2ModManager, or manually install pre-patch versions of mods. Copy the downpatch over to the game directory (see below), and launch the game with mods as normal.

Make sure NOT to update mods, because post-DLC mods most likely won't work with the downpatched version. If you need an older version of a mod, you can find it on its Thunderstore page under the "Versions" tab.

When launching a profile through r2ModManager, do not "update all", since this will break mods.


How do I copy the downpatch over to the game directory? If you want to be able to launch the downpatched version through Steam, you have to copy the downpatched version to the location Steam expects.

Navigate to the directory with the downpatched version of the game by checking the location it downloaded to in the Steam console. In the Steam library, Right click Risk of Rain 2 > Manage > Browse local files. Clear everything in this directory (it's recommended to move it to a temporary folder), and move all files from the downpatch directory to the Steam directory.

Note that you'll have to update the game if you want to play the latest version again.

How do I play both versions / update from the downpatched version? If you want to play both versions, just swap the current and downpatched versions whenever by moving everything from the Steam directory to a temp folder, and moving everything from the downpatched version to the Steam directory.

I copied the downpatch over to the Steam directory, how do I play the latest update again? If you moved the latest patch to a temporary folder, just move the downpatch in the Steam directory to a different temporary folder and move the latest patch back into the Steam directory.

If not, go to your Steam library, right-click Risk of Rain 2 > Properties > Installed Files > Verify integrity of game files. It'll re-download the latest version.

Note that if you don't have a copy of the downpatch saved, you'll have to re-download the depot to play the older version again.

How long does it take to downpatch? Downpatching is easy and quick, but the actual download may take a while since Steam's downloading an entire previous version of the game. Depending on your internet speed, the download could take a while (it doesn't have a progress bar, but it'll tell you when it's done).

How do I downpatch on Linux? Launch Steam with the -console argument to enable a Console tab in Steam.

If this doesn't work, you can download Valve's official SteamCMD tool. Once it's downloaded, open a terminal and type steamcmd to start the Steam console. Since Steam needs to know you own the game to download it, authenticate with your Steam account:

login <username>

It'll then ask for your password, and any Steam authentication if you use it. Once you're logged in, you can follow the rest of the guide as normal.

Can I add DLC content like stages, items, enemies etc. to the downpatched version? There's no way to do this currently, since the DLC content is tied to the Seekers of the Storm update.

Can I play multiplayer with friends who have downpatched too? Yes, just make sure you're all on the same version and it should work normally.

Other questions / something not working? This is actually an FAQ, I've only added stuff I've seen people frequently ask. If you're having trouble / need specific help I recommend asking around / googling, and if there's a general question you think should be added to this list you can contact me on Discord (send a message request to cabbage7).