Best sidearms in Mina the Hollower

Picking the best sidearms in Mina the Hollower seems like an overwhelming task. Even when you can wield two sidearms at once, you still have more than a dozen to choose from. All of them have their benefits, though some, like the Mist Jar, are definitely easier — and better — to use than the more situational sidearms like the parasol.

Below, we list the best sidearms in Mina the Hollower and explain how to use them effectively.

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Beckoning Collar

If there's one sidearm you should grab every time you see it, it's the Beckoning Collar. This excellent tool is first found in Coltrane Peak and it summons a little creature that floats around you on a chain. It'll take hits from oncoming projectiles that enter its vicinity and can tank a few before it disappears, and it'll lunge at nearby foes as well. You can also press the sidearm button to make the lil' critter explode, which sounds extreme, but it deals a hefty amount of damage in a small radius. It's excellent for dealing with pesky enemies your weapon can't reach and is pretty much a guaranteed hit on larger foes and bosses.

Mist Jar

The Mist Jar can be found in Queensbury Crypt. It doesn't seem like much compared to the other sidearms, since it deals no damage. However, it can make all the difference between victory and starting back at the Underlab during challenging fights. When you use the Mist Jar, Mina briefly becomes invulnerable and dashes in the direction she's facing. She gains a fair amount of plasma if she passes through an enemy, which means you can heal without having to land a hit. Yellow, plasma-granting tulips grow in some of the game's early boss fight arenas, but the further you progress, the less likely that is.

The usefulness of this one is highly dependent on your sidearm level, though. Until you reach level three or higher, using it gives you about half the plasma you'd normally get from landing one hit on an enemy

Gyro Dagger

The Gyro Dagger is first obtained in Loner's Landing, as you're progressing to Ossex. It flies about three squares in front of Mina, lingers for a second, and returns. It's whirling the entire time and deals multiple instances of damage — in an ideal scenario. The dagger is absolutely useless if you get your aim or timing wrong, and its limited area of effect makes it impractical to use against smaller or fast-moving foes. However, it's powerful against bosses and larger foes. Their size makes hitting them with the dagger much easier without having to get the aim just right, and the repeated instances of damage while it completes its trajectory is helpful for whittling their health down and granting you plasma from a safe-ish distance.

To make the most of the Gyro Dagger, hit it as it's coming back to you to send it back out for more damage. You can reflect it twice before it breaks for good.

Dynamo Lantern

Mina first finds the Dynamo Lantern in Septemburg. She uses the Dynamo Lantern like a mace. After a short windup animation, she tosses the lantern out about two squares away from her, where it spins and deals heavy damage for a couple of seconds. The caveat for this one is that, like with the Gyro Dagger, you do need good timing. If your target moves during the windup animation, you could find yourself just attacking air and wasting joules. It's best against bosses and larger enemies.

Recall Disc

The Recall Disc is first found in Sandfalls. When used, Mina tosses a portal a couple of blocks away, and then when you activate it, Mina pops out of the portal accompanied by a large explosion. It does have a slight learning curve. She's invulnerable for about half a second after coming out of the portal, so if there's an enemy on top of it, you won't take damage as long as you quickly move out of the way.

Anyway, the explosion deals quite a lot of damage, and more importantly, it covers a couple of squares, making it helpful for dealing with groups of enemies. The real best use case for the Recall Disc is during boss fights, though. You can make a portal, lure a boss toward you, then go through the portal, damage it, and be positioned away from whatever attack it's in the middle of launching. It's damage, escape, and plasma generation for healing all in one.