Incursion Red River beginner's guide: how to get started in the PvE extraction shooter

If the extraction genre has always looked intimidating, Incursion Red River is one of the kindest places to start, and here is the big reason why. It is almost entirely PvE and co-op, so there are no other players out there waiting to ruin your run. That single fact removes most of the stress that puts newcomers off, and it lets you learn the actual loop in peace. So let me walk you through getting started.

Learn the loop first. Like any extraction shooter, the core is simple to say and hard to master. You deploy into a map, you fight the AI and scavenge for loot, and then you make it to an extraction point alive to keep what you found. Die, and you lose what you were carrying. Because there are no players hunting you here, your enemy is the AI and your own decision-making, which is a far gentler classroom than getting third-partied in a PvP game.

Start small and learn one map. Incursion has a handful of maps, with more on the way. Do not try to master all of them at once. Pick one, learn its layout, its loot spots and its extraction points, and get comfortable there before you branch out. Knowing exactly where you are and where the nearest exit is will save your life more than any weapon.

Use the progression, do not rush it. The game has a proper campaign now, with player levelling, safehouse upgrades and an overhauled economy. Take the missions, level up your operator, and improve your base as you go. This steady progression is the backbone of a solo run, so lean into it rather than charging at the hardest content straight away. I covered the latest additions in the Incursion update report.

Manage your gear sensibly. Because you lose your kit when you die, do not run your best equipment on every single raid, especially while you are learning. Take a modest loadout, get comfortable, and bring out the good stuff when you actually know what you are doing. Banking a few safe extractions to build your stash beats losing your best gun on a reckless push.

Extract when you are ahead. The hardest lesson in any extraction shooter is knowing when to leave. You will be tempted to push for one more room, one more loot crate. Resist it. A successful extraction with a modest haul is always better than dying with a great one. Greed is the number one killer of new players, and that is true even when the only thing hunting you is the AI.

The real beauty of Incursion is that it gives you the full tension and satisfaction of the extraction loop with the human chaos stripped out. It is the perfect place to learn the genre, or the perfect home if you simply never want to deal with other players at all.

If you are still on the fence about diving in, I made the whole case in Is Incursion Red River finally worth playing in 2026?.

The full run is right here: WillyB’s Incursion Red River, and if you are still weighing your options, see how it stacks up against the big one in Incursion vs Gray Zone Warfare.

Incursion Red River beginner guide solo PvE extraction shooter tips