Risk Of Rain Returns is the remake to the original side-scrolling roguelike game Risk Of Rain. It offers many different playable survivors to fight through the hostile alien planet with. In addition, the game adds three new characters, each brining a fun and unique playstyle. Of the fifteen playable characters, thirteen are locked from the start. Some of the methods to unlock them can be difficult to accomplish or to figure out, so this guide will list how to unlock each of them, as well as give advice for some of the trickier tasks.
Like usual, the Commando is unlocked from the start. This time around, the Huntress is also playable from the start like in Risk Of Rain 2, whereas she was unlockable in the original game.
This guide is only for the fifteen characters shown on the character select screen at launch. It’s possible that there are secret characters not revealed in previews or achievements, or characters added to the game later on, but those are for another time, and perhaps a future guide. Nevertheless, this guide will still contain minor spoilers for Risk Of Rain Returns.
The Enforcer
To unlock the Enforcer, you’ll need to beat three different bosses, the Wandering Vagrant, The Colossus, and the Magma Worm. This can be done across multiple runs. The Enforcer is likely to be one of the first characters you unlock in Risk Of Rain Returns, as these bosses can all appear as early as the first level. The Vagrant and The Colossus are both quite easy. The Vagrant is slow and can only attack with a heavily telegraphed series of projectiles. The Colossus is slow, a very large target, and can’t leave whatever ground it spawns on. The Mama Worm is easily the most dangerous of the three.
The Magma Worm attacks by leaping out of the ground before falling back down again, damaging you if you get close. When it’s in the air is also the only time you can damage it. The Worm has multiple hitboxes that can all be damaged simultaneously, meaning piercing attacks or attacks with large radiuses can drain its health incredibly quickly. The Commando’s Full Metal Jacket and the Huntress’ Cluster Bomb are both moves that can damage multiple segments at once. If you can beat each of these three bosses, you’ll unlock the Enforcer.
The Colossus, one of the three bosses you’ll need to defeat to unlock the Enforcer.
The Bandit
To get this character, all you need to do is complete the third stage of the game in any run. This character will likely also be one of the first you unlock in Risk Of Rain Returns, due to how you get it simply by getting halfway through the game. The first three stages typically aren’t too difficult, but each has one possible area that’s far larger than the alternative. This can make finding the teleporter take longer. These are the Desolate Forest, the Fungal Haven, and the Ancient Valley. Make sure you search each part of the level thoroughly, and getting a mobility-boosting item can be helpful. Also, look for red particles, as that’s a sign the teleporter’s close by. Reach the fourth stage and you’ll unlock the Bandit.
Han-D
This robotic janitor can be found on the game’s last level, the UES Contact Light. The area you can find it in looks a bit different than it did in the original, but it’s in the same general area. Check the four rooms on the leftmost end of the level. It’s most often in the third from the top but check each of them just to make sure. If you see a container with a damaged lid, go over to it and interact with it, then you’ll unlock Han-D. You might need a mobility item if the container is high up from the floor.
This container with one side damaged is where to find the robot janitor.
The Engineer
Unlocking this character simply requires you to find and repair forty drones throughout multiple playthroughs. Deactivated drones can be found scattered throughout the game’s many levels, and can be reactivated for money to help you fight enemies. Unlike in the original, these drones can be found even if you’re using the Artifact of Sacrifice (where items drop from enemies rather than being found in the level). In fact, that artifact could prove helpful for unlocking this character, as it will mean that you’ll no longer have things to spend money on other than drones. Just keep repairing drones that you find and you’ll unlock the Engineer before too long.
Drones can be found all over the game and can be repaired for a price.
The Miner
To get this high-mobility melee character, you’ll need to go to Magma Barracks, one of the possible fourth stages. In the bottom right corner of the map, there may be a narrow path going off to the right. Health/healing related items may be helpful in traversing the path of lava. When you reach the end of the path, you’ll come to a room with a mini-boss named the Direseeker. The Direseeker is essentially an Elder Lemurian, an enemy found in the fifth stage. It shouldn’t be too hard to defeat, just try to keep your distance from it when it breathes fire. Defeat it, and you’ll unlock the Miner.
If you see this path, you’ll know where to go.
The Sniper
Getting this survivor is simply a matter of completing the game once. The biggest obstacle in completing a run is the final boss, Providence. This can be a very difficult fight, as Providence has multiple phases and attacks that cover large portions of the room. Make sure you’re properly equipped in terms of items before fighting him. Consider exploring the level beforehand to look for activatable items you can bring to the final boss room. You can use these to heal yourself or damage him.
When he has a shield icon, he’ll take practically no damage, so wait until it disappears before attacking him. Watch out for black crosshairs in his attacks as they can reduce your health to 1. Most notably, he now has a new final phase where he frequently blocks off most of the room with lasers, so be prepared and try to get mobility-boosting items.
Defeat Providence and leave the planet to unlock the Sniper.
The final boss has some tricks he didn’t have the first time around, so don’t let your guard down.
Acrid
This mysterious creature can be found in the Sunken Tomb, one of the possible third stages. Above the water, on the rightmost edge of the map, there may be a metal container. Interact with it, and Acrid will jump out, but if you want to unlock it you’ll have to defeat it first. Acrid can be dangerous with how it can stun you and leave you vulnerable. Try to use a character with long-range attacks so you can attack it from a distance and use any active items you might have on it. Defeat Acrid, and you’ll be able to select it as a character.
Open this container to fight Acrid. Just make sure you’re properly equipped.
The Mercenary
This character can be unlocked similarly to the Sniper, only instead of beating the game once, you’ll need to complete it five times. If you’ve managed to beat the game the first time, beating it four more times should be doable. Try beating the game with a different character each time if you can, as doing so will unlock their character profile. Win five times and you’ll unlock the Mercenary.
The Loader
To unlock this character, you’ll need to acquire 30 different passive items in a single run. This can be done in an ordinary run just by getting a large amount of items. If you still haven’t gotten enough by the end of the fifth level, you can loop back to the first instead of going to the final level to try to get more. The Artifact of Command (which lets you choose which items you find) can be helpful to make sure that each item you get is different from each other, and the Artifact of Sacrifice can help since you can potentially get more items per level with it.
The Artifact of Command can be found the Hive Cluster, one of the possible fourth levels. Go to the top right of the math to see some vines that seem to be disappearing and reappearing. Despite how this may look, you can still climb on the vines even when they’re invisible. Reach the end of the vines to find the Artifact.
Get enough unique items at once, and you’ll unlock the Loader.
The artifact of Command can be helpful in unlocking this character as well as the next one.
The Chef
To unlock this robotic chef, you’ll need to acquire a certain set of items, four passive and one active, in a single run. These include the Sprouting Egg, the Meat Nugget, the Bitter Root, the Bustling Fungus, and the Foreign Fruit. The first four of those are of common rarity, so you’ll have a decent chance of getting all of them in a run if you get a large enough amount of total items. The Foreign Fruit is a bit harder to find, as it’s an active item which is less common.
The simplest way is to use the Artifact of Command, that way you can easily get all five items within the first couple levels. If you’d prefer not to, you can still unlock the Chef with a bit of luck, just try to find as many items as you can.
The circled items are what you’ll need to unlock the chef. The artifact of command could be helpful.
The Pilot
This new addition to the roster has the same unlock method that the Huntress did in the original Risk Of Rain. You’ll need to collect a total of 15 Monster Logs, which can drop at random when you defeat an enemy or boss if you haven’t already collected its Log yet. Unlike the original Risk Of Rain, Monster Logs can now drop on any difficulty. There’s no way to really influence whether or not a new Monster Log drops, so just be on the lookout for them and be sure to pick them up when you see them. After you collect 15, you’ll unlock the Pilot.
Each type of enemy in the game has a monster log that can drop upon defeat.
The Artificer
This new addition from Risk Of Rain 2 can be gotten by visiting ten different stages across all runs. As it so happens, there are exactly ten regular stages in the game. The first four levels have two possible areas each, and the fifth and sixth are the same each time. If you can reach the final level, you’re already most of the way there, and you’ll just need to play through the first four levels enough to reach both possible areas for each of them. Visit each level and you’ll unlock the Artificer.
The Drifter
This new character can be gotten by recycling six drones in a single playthrough. At random places in levels, there are drone recycling machines, where any active drones you have can be exchanged for a random item. Recycling six drones is something that can be difficult to do in a single playthrough, due to the spawning of both drones and recycling machines being based on random chance, and needing to keep drones active until you get to one.
You can simply try to get as many drones as you can and keeping them active until you find enough recycling machines, looping if necessary. Alternatively, you can get the “Drone Repair Kit” active item. This repairs your current drones but also spawns a unique extra drone. This extra drone can be recycled and counts towards this unlock. So, if you have the time, you can simply find a recycling machine and keep recycling the drones it spawns until you unlock the Drifter. This only works for regular recycling machines that take one drone at a time, as the alternate one needs 3 drones of the same type.
These drone recycling machines are found randomly across each level.
