Complete Risk of Rain 2 Character Unlock Guide (2023)

As of today, Risk of Rain 2 has eleven playable survivors. The game also features a unique hidden character, which is not accessible from the character screen but can be made playable after completing specific requirements while doing a run. Nevertheless, the amount of surprises the game throws at players is overwhelming. In our Risk of Rain 2 character unlock guide, we have mentioned a summary about the survivors, mentioning essential links that you may need to visit to grasp extensive knowledge about how to unlock and master each one of the characters.

Commando

Commando is the first survivor you’ll spot while selecting the character for your very first run in Risk of Rain 2. He and Huntress are the two playable characters you get the option to choose while beginning the survival journey at Petrichor V planet.

Commando is all about run-and-gun playstyle. He wields dual pistols and fires at a steady pace unless you pick Soldier’s Syringe, increasing the pistols’ rate of fire by 15% (plus 15% with each stack). Risk of Rain 2 Commando guide will definitely be of great help if you want to main Commando as your go-to survivor in the game. In the article, we talked about all the abilities and the best items you should pick while playing with the Commando in Risk of Rain 2.

Commando is not the best survivor in Risk of Rain 2, but certainly not the worst as well. You may want to check out the Risk of Rain 2 tier list to get a bigger picture of how each survivor handles the monsters, bosses, and the little intricacies of Petrichor V planet.  

Huntress

As said earlier, Huntress and Commando are the two unlocked survivors from the get-go in Risk of Rain 2. As opposed to the sluggish Commando’s speed and lack of skill versatility, Huntress, on the other hand, is quite agile, hardly misses attacking enemies, and is packed with diverse abilities. Even her base skills are good enough for a beginner player to start and finish Risk of Rain 2 after doing runs with limited knowledge about the game’s mechanics. She just makes hitting enemies in quick succession convenient with bow and arrows, and at the same time, evading incoming attacks a piece of cake.

Of course, raining down arrow barrage and using blink ability to teleport forward are great offensive and defensive abilities that Huntress has up her sleeves. However, they are only good as long as the cooldown is low, and you must always find and pick items such as Alien Head to reduce the cooldowns significantly. So, are you looking to master all abilities of Huntress and the playstyle she offers to the table? Then give a quick read to our Huntress guide here.

Bandit

Deadly at short range and devastating at long, Bandit is a survivor that ticks all the boxes and never misses his mark. Bandit is excellent at assaulting enemies by using a shotgun and a revolver. He also uses a smoke bomb to vanish for a couple of seconds – a decisive act to escape the enemy’s grasp.

Unlike Huntress, whose arrows auto-lock the monsters whether they’re in the air or on the ground, you need to target monsters while playing with Bandit manually. Moreover, that is never a problem with the shotgun as its pellets spread wider over a short distance. The revolver has a slow rate of fire, but it can one-shot flying monsters – at least it happens on Drizzle difficultly.

In any case, if you are looking forward to the main Bandit as your go-to survivor in Risk of Rain 2, you must know all of his abilities and which items you should pick while playing with the character. An easy way to find the best items in the game is to pick the Rusted Key item and open a Rusty box containing rare items. I loved Bandit over other characters mainly because of the excellent shotgun and revolver sounds and the invisibility after throwing a smoke bomb. So, if you are in the same boat as me, be sure to check out the Risk of Rain 2 Bandit guide and learn how to unlock and master this survivor.

Artificer

The silent hovering over the horizon of Petrichor V and casting of the Nano Bombs, snap freeze, and flame bolts on the fly is how monsters see Artificer. This character in Risk of Rain 2 shows no-mercy and can take down even the strongest monsters using her powerful abilities. But, unfortunately, Artificer lacks severely in the defense department.

Artificer only has one trick (Ion Surge ability) to protect herself from the incoming enemy attacks. She can not conjure a shield to block the incoming, nor can she vanish like Bandit. So it is the trade-off of playing with a high-hit damage survivor in Risk of Rain 2. However, if you pick multiple stacks of Tougher Times items, it should give you good enough chance to block incoming damage.

Other than that, if you know how to evade the monsters’ attacks, you will find the sheer joy of destroying enemies with Artificer’s Nano Bomb or smashing them to smithereens using the snap freeze very satisfying. In any case, you need to unlock the survivor first and then learn what items to pick and master the combos to eradicate the monsters. So, without any delays, take a look at our Risk of Rain 2 Artificer guide here.

MUL-T

MUL-T is a powerful multipurpose robot that can utilize multiple weapons on the go. It is one of the slowest playable characters in Risk of Rain 2 but it also comes with the highest health. Besides beating monsters to death and escaping the Petrichor V planet, survivability is the core objective. No survivor excels in this department like MUL-T.

Additionally, unlocking this multipurpose robot is the next easiest thing one can do in Risk of Rain 2. All you have to do is play the first teleporter mission five times, and you’d unlock the character along with the ‘Verified’ achievement. On the subject of achievements, if you are eyeing for 100% game completion, then take a quick look at our Risk of Rain 2 achievements to get an idea of how to unlock them all.

After unlocking MUL-T, the next thing you’d need to do is grasp its abilities and the combos. You must pick all the right items to strengthen the character. So, make sure you go through our Risk of Rain 2 MUL-T guide and learn all the tips and tricks to master this character.

Mercenary

Using a sharp blade, Mercenary leads an assault by slicing and dicing the monsters in Risk of Rain 2. He is probably the only survivor who has the lowest ability cooldowns. Mercenary shows his lethality by getting close and personal to the monsters and unleashing a series of sword-oriented powerful attacks using his Whirlwind, Rising Thunder, and Eviscerate abilities. Moreover, suppose an enemy tries to remain at distance from him, like the elite Lemurians who love maintaining a distance. In that case, Mercenary uses Blinding Assault ability to stun them by dashing.

Of course, this close-quarters playstyle can prove devastating if you do not pick the right items. Furthermore, you will also need to learn which abilities to trigger and when is the perfect time to strike an enemy. All of this may not matter on Drizzle, but every missed opportunity can open you for an incoming attack if you are on Monsoon. But before jumping to any conclusions, you must first unlock the character and play with it to decide if it fancies your taste. So, take a quick look at our Risk of Rain 2 Mercenary guide and make yourself about all the tips and tricks while playing with the Mercenary.

Acrid

Acrid is an acid-spewing melee monster character in Risk of Rain 2. Most of its abilities inflict debuffs on enemies and leave them dripped in poisonous acid, taking damage over time. Other than that, Acrid is an excellent survivor when it comes to attacking monsters using melee as a primary attack source. Whenever Acrid gets low on health, it mauls onto monsters, dealing damage and regenerating own health in the process.

Acrid’s survivability and efficiency to land high damage attacks increase multifold if you pick up the right items. So, items like Shatterspleen and Berzerker’s Pauldron synergize very well while playing with a reckless survivor such as Acrid. However, not all items favor this character, and one should have explicit knowledge about the items before picking them up while doing runs. On that front, take out time to read the Risk of Rain 2 item tier list. We have ranked all the items you can find in the game ranging from the best to the worst.

Moreover, if you want to main Acrid as your go-to survivor in the game, you must first unlock it. Besides, you will also need to learn and master the combos and playstyle Acrid offers to the table. To that front, our Risk of Rain 2 Acrid guide has all the answers you need to know about this playable character in the game.

Engineer

Engineer is the versatile playable character in Risk of Rain 2 as he comes with the abilities that make him stand at the top in the offense and defense department. For starters, the Engineer uses bouncing grenades as a primary means to attack monsters. This slow rate of fire and eight charged grenades are not why players pick the Engineer in Risk of Rain 2, but it is his adaptability towards the threat. Throw any threat level at the Engineer, and he will have his tools ready to terminate effectively.

The Engineer uses pressure mines which detonates and stops enemies from getting too close to the survivor. He places two TR12 Gauss Auto-Turret, which fires plasma-like cannons at close to medium range. Stacking Ukulele items is always a good idea with the Engineer, as he and the turrets benefit from all the picked items. Moreover, suppose the heat rises substantially, and too many monsters target the Engineer. In that case, he can straight away launch a bubble shield blocking incoming damage. Like I mentioned earlier, no matter how tough a situation becomes, the Engineer knows how to triumph over it. For this reason alone, I always recommend completing The Long Road challenge while playing with the Engineer only.

Of course, you need to unlock the Engineer first and master all his abilities to have that kind of firepower. You will also need to learn to execute the best combos and pick the items that synergize perfectly with him and his turrets. It is why we curated Engineer guide to help the fellow survivors unlock the Engineer and fight through the hordes of monstrosity of Petrichor V planet.

Rex

Rex is the half-plant-half-robot survivor in Risk of Rain 2 who plays quite differently than the rest of the characters in the game. Furthermore, a monumental effort goes into unlocking this character. Still, at the end of the road, you’ll see the endeavor was worth it. In short, you’d need to carry a Fuel Array to repair Rex located at Abyssal Depths environment.

Read: How To Unlock Rex In Risk of Rain 2

Rex executes its abilities by sacrificing its health, but at the same time, it leeches and regenerates it back at a faster rate. Playing with Rex is a refreshing experience in Risk of Rain 2, but one must nitpick the items carefully; otherwise, there will be repercussions. It is why items like Transcendence are said to be run-killer for Rex. So, always bat an eye and sort items you should and should not pick while doing a run with Rex.

Other than that, if you like the extra challenge in Risk of Rain 2, then start playing with Rex on Monsoon difficulty. However, before you could do that, you must unlock Rex and equip yourself with the knowledge of the best items, combos, and more regarding the survivor. So, check out our Risk of Rain 2 Rex guide, as it covers all the answers you may be looking for the survivor.

Loader

Loader utilizes speed and mechanical prowess to throw impactful punches at the monsters in Risk of Rain 2. She is a highly mobile playable character in the game, and evading enemy attacks is a cakewalk for the Loader. Additionally, no fall damage whatsoever applies to Loader. This passive ability further gives players a heightened sense of freedom to explore the environments in Risk of Rain 2. It is also the reason why Loader can conveniently spot all Newt Altar locations in the game. So, accumulate Lunar Coins and visit Newt Altars to gain access to the hidden realm: Bazaar Between Time.

If swinging across the map and scaling the horizon is your jam in Risk of Rain 2, then Loader should be your go-to class. But, before you could do that, you will need to unlock Loader and assimilate how her abilities work. So, to make this task easy, read our Risk of Rain 2 Loader guide and master the survivor quickly.

Captain

There are a couple of playstyles you can go with while playing with Captain. He can be the damage dealer and a playable support character at the same time. It is because Captain utilizes a variety of tactical drop abilities, allowing him to heal teammates and immobilize enemies by a shocking beacon. He can hack nearby purchasables, giving you and your teammates great items at practically a meager price.

However, if you want to increase Captain’s field efficiency, you will need to learn how to utilize his abilities best. If not, then you may waste time as Captain’s abilities have some of the highest cooldowns in the game. For that, go through our Captain guide and master this survivor to maximize survivability in the game.

Heretic

Heretic is the surprise playable character that we mentioned above. While selecting survivors at the character screen, you will or may have noticed that she does not appear beside other selectable characters. It is because to play with Heretic you need to complete a particular requirement to make this character accessible or playable, for that matter.

If you want to explore another hidden mechanic of Risk of Rain 2, such as playing with Heretic, then you need to hold all four Heresy Lunar items in your possession. Doing so with any survivor will transform him/her into Heretic. So, you must equip the following items to make this happen:

• Visions of Heresy
• Strides of Heresy
• Hooks of Heresy
• Essence of Heresy

Again, if you pull this off and manage to pick all four Heresy Lunar items in a single run, you will get access to Heretic in that particular run only. She will not appear on the character screen if that is what you are thinking right now after going through the trouble of collecting four Heresy items.

That is everything you need to know about the Risk of Rain 2 character unlock guide. Did you find our article helpful? Did you unlock a survivor after reading our article? Let us know more about it in the comments section below.