Every survivor in Risk of Rain 2 draws from the same item pool, so it is tempting to think the survivor barely matters. It matters a great deal. The survivor decides how often your items trigger, whether you can avoid damage or have to heal through it, and how much the run depends on your aim. The tier list below answers "who is strong?" first, then the sections after it cover how to unlock each survivor, the loadout to run, and which items suit them.
Skill names, unlock conditions and stats come from the Risk of Rain 2 wiki (wiki.gg). The ranking itself is our judgement for solo play on Monsoon and early Eclipse; how it changes on other difficulties and in co-op is covered further down.
Survivor tier list
The ranking axis is how reliably a survivor wins a solo Monsoon run with an average item draw. A survivor that is excellent with perfect items but falls apart without them sits lower than one that is good with anything.
Not ranked. Operator and Drifter arrived with Alloyed Collective (November 2025 on PC) and are left out until we have enough verified information to place them honestly. Heretic is not ranked because you cannot pick her: any survivor turns into her by holding all four Heresy items.
Best for beginners
- Huntress — available from the start. Strafe fires seeking arrows and works while sprinting, so you learn to keep moving instead of standing still to aim. Pick up a Tougher Times or two to cover her low health.
- Commando — available from the start. The most basic kit in the game, which makes it the clearest way to learn how items stack and trigger.
- Engineer (first unlock to aim for) — Bubble Shield blocks all incoming damage and turrets fight on their own. The unlock only needs 30 completed stages across any number of runs.
- Captain (after beating the game once) — Microbots handle projectiles, and Healing beacons forgive mistakes. A good bridge into Monsoon.
All survivors compared
Unlock conditions are the in-game challenge text. "Default" means the survivor is available as soon as the game or its expansion is enabled for the run.
| Survivor | How to unlock | Playstyle | Difficulty | DLC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commando | Default | Mid-range gunner, on-hit items | Easy | Base game |
| Huntress | Default | Mobile archer with seeking arrows | Easy | Base game |
| Bandit | Warrior: reach and complete the 3rd Teleporter event without dying | Burst, cooldown resets on kill | Medium | Base game |
| MUL-T | Verified: complete the first Teleporter event 5 times | Tank, two weapons | Easy | Base game |
| Engineer | Engineering Perfection: complete 30 stages | Turrets and shields | Easy | Base game |
| Artificer | Pause.: free the survivor suspended in time (Bazaar Between Time, 10 Lunar Coins) | Caster, area damage | Medium | Base game |
| Mercenary | True Respite: obliterate yourself at the Obelisk | Melee, invulnerability frames | Hard | Base game |
| REX | Power Plant: repair the broken robot with an Escape Pod's Fuel Array | Health-for-damage caster | Hard | Base game |
| Loader | Guidance Offline: defeat the unique guardian of Siren's Call | Grapple and heavy punches | Medium | Base game |
| Acrid | ...To Be Left Alone: stabilize the Cell in the Void Fields | Melee, poison | Medium | Base game |
| Captain | Washed Away: beat the game | Shotgun, orbital strikes, beacons | Easy | Base game |
| Railgunner | Default with the expansion | Scoped sniper | Medium | Survivors of the Void |
| Void Fiend | Dragged Below: escape the Planetarium or complete wave 50 in Simulacrum | Two forms via Corruption | Hard | Survivors of the Void |
| Seeker | Default with the expansion | Monk, healing and revive | Medium | Seekers of the Storm |
| False Son | Purified Freedom: purify the Heart of the False Son using the Halcyon Seed | Club and spikes, health scaling | Medium | Seekers of the Storm |
| CHEF | Order Up!: complete the Wok's recipe in Reformed Altar | Combo skills, healing food | Hard | Seekers of the Storm |
| Operator | Default with the expansion | Commands drones | Not rated | Alloyed Collective |
| Drifter | Lost in Transit: free the survivor from the vault in Solutional Haunt | Melee, Junk and scrap | Not rated | Alloyed Collective |
| Heretic | Hold all four Heresy items at once | Transformation, not selectable | Hard | Base game |
The "Difficulty" column is how hard the survivor is to play well, not how strong they are.
Each survivor: loadout and items
Items are named as in our item guide, which explains the stacking and proc coefficient math behind the suggestions below.
Loader
Loadout: Grapple Fist or Spiked Fist (Secondary), Charged Gauntlet or Thunder Gauntlet (Utility), M551 Pylon or Thunderslam (Special). Grapple Fist is the safer default because it moves you without needing a target to damage. Thunder Gauntlet's 2100% single hit plus a 1000% shock cone is the stronger pick once you are comfortable.
Items: Her heavy punches clear the 400% threshold for Kjaro's Band and Runald's Band easily. Hopoo Feather and Paul's Goat Hoof add to her movement. Barrier on hit means she wants damage more than defence.
Railgunner
Loadout: M99 Sniper (Secondary) for raw damage, or HH44 Marksman for faster 400% shots. Concussion Device (Utility) pushes you and enemies apart; Polar Field Device slows enemies and projectiles. Supercharge (4000%, then your weapons are disabled briefly) or Cryocharge (2000% and freezes).
Items: Lens-Maker's Glasses never stop helping, because crit chance becomes crit damage. Armor-Piercing Rounds suit her boss-killing role. She lacks crowd control, so on-kill items such as Will-o'-the-wisp and Ceremonial Dagger cover her weakness.
Engineer
Loadout: TR12 Gauss Auto-Turret (stationary) or TR58 Carbonizer Turret (mobile, 200% damage per second laser). Bubble Shield is the reason to play him: keep it for Teleporter events. Thermal Harpoons trades that safety for damage.
Items: Turrets inherit your items except a few such as Warbanner, Queen's Gland and Halcyon Seed. Bustling Fungus heals turrets that never move; Tougher Times and on-hit items are effectively doubled. You can place 2 turrets, or 3 with Lysate Cell (Survivors of the Void).
Mercenary
Loadout: Whirlwind or Rising Thunder (Secondary), Blinding Assault (up to 3 dashes if each one hits) or Focused Assault (700% and Expose), Eviscerate (invulnerable while it runs) or Slicing Winds. Eviscerate is the default for a reason: it lets you wait out boss attacks.
Items: Soldier's Syringe shortens his combos; Hopoo Feather adds to his double jump; Focus Crystal fits his range. Every third Laser Sword hit applies Expose, which cuts cooldowns by 1 second.
Artificer
Loadout: Flame Bolt or Plasma Bolt (larger explosions), Charged Nano-Bomb (400% to 2000%, stuns) or Cast Nano-Spear (pierces, can freeze), Snapfreeze, and Flamethrower or Ion Surge (800% and a burst upward for mobility).
Items: Alien Head and Bandolier fit damage that lives on cooldown skills. A fully charged Nano-Bomb triggers Kjaro's Band and Runald's Band. Hopoo Feather pairs with her hover.
Acrid
Loadout: Poison or Blight (Passive). Poison deals 10% of max health over 10 seconds but cannot kill; Blight stacks 60% damage per second and can. Neurotoxin or Ravenous Bite, Caustic Leap or Frenzied Leap, Epidemic.
Items: He is melee, so Focus Crystal is worth taking. Soldier's Syringe and Ukulele add damage across crowds; Poison handles high-health enemies on its own.
Captain
Loadout: Orbital Probe (3 probes, 1000% each) or OGM-72 'DIABLO' Strike (40,000% after a 20-second delay). Beacons: choose two of Healing, Shocking, Resupply (recharges equipment; unlocked by a challenge) and Hacking (hacks nearby purchasables to $0 over time; unlocked by a challenge). You can call them down twice per stage.
Items: Crowbar suits the Vulcan Shotgun's opening burst. A Hacking beacon dropped among several chests opens all of them for free, which is the best use of a beacon in the game. It does not work on things bought with Lunar Coins. Remember the orbital skills and beacons stop working in Hidden Realms.
Huntress
Loadout: Strafe or Flurry (3 arrows, 6 on a crit), Laser Glaive, Blink or Phase Blink (3 short charges), Arrow Rain or Ballista (3 bolts of 900%).
Items: Lens-Maker's Glasses double Flurry's arrows on crits. Tougher Times covers her 90 base health. Paul's Goat Hoof keeps her moving.
Void Fiend
Loadout: There are no alternate skills: each skill has an uncorrupted and a corrupted form, and the Corruption gauge switches between them. Suppress converts Corruption into healing; Corrupted Suppress costs 25% health to gain Corruption.
Items: Each void item raises his minimum Corruption by 2%, so void items (see the item guide's warning on what they corrupt) suit him more than anyone.
Bandit
Loadout: Burst (shotgun) or Blast (330% rifle), Serrated Dagger or Serrated Shiv (both cause hemorrhage on crits), Smoke Bomb, Lights Out (resets all cooldowns on kill) or Desperado (stacking damage per kill).
Items: Backstab already makes hits from behind critical, so Harvester's Scythe and Shatterspleen gain value. Lens-Maker's Glasses help crits from the front.
REX
Loadout: DIRECTIVE: Drill or Seed Barrage (15% health), DIRECTIVE: Disperse or Bramble Volley (20% health, heals per target hit), Tangling Growth (25% health, heals per target) or DIRECTIVE: Harvest (healing fruit on kill).
Items: Healing items: Leeching Seed with his triple-syringe primary, Harvester's Scythe, and later Rejuvenation Rack. Tougher Times offsets the health he spends.
MUL-T
Loadout: Two primaries from Auto-Nailgun, Rebar Puncher, Scrap Launcher and Power-Saw. Retool holds two equipment; Power Mode uses both primaries at once with +100 armor but -60% movement speed.
Items: In Power Mode, Bustling Fungus (he stands still anyway). The Auto-Nailgun's 0.6 proc coefficient needs more on-hit copies. With Retool, Fuel Cell and two good equipment.
Seeker
Loadout: Unseen Hand or Soul Spiral, Sojourn or Reprieve, Meditate or Palm Blast. Meditate at maximum Tranquility revives and grants Saving Grace.
Items: Cooldown items such as Alien Head, since Tranquility comes from her skills. She is a support first; in a team, defensive items go further.
False Son
Loadout: Lunar Spikes or Lunar Stakes, Step of the Brothers or Meridian's Will, Laser of the Father or Laser Burst.
Items: Max health gains feed his Growth, which adds spike charges and extends the laser. That makes Bison Steak, Infusion and Titanic Knurl — weak for most survivors — genuinely good on him. Shields do not count.
CHEF
Loadout: Dice, Sear or Ice Box, Roll or Oil Spill, Glaze or Yes, CHEF! (boosts the next skill). Use two skills on the same target so kills drop food.
Items: Alien Head and Bandolier for more skill casts; Soldier's Syringe for Dice.
Commando
Loadout: Double Tap, Phase Round or Phase Blast, Tactical Dive or Tactical Slide (shoot while sliding), Suppressive Fire or Frag Grenade.
Items: Double Tap fires fast at a 1.0 proc coefficient, which makes him the best platform for Tri-Tip Dagger, AtG Missile Mk. 1 and Ukulele.
Heretic
Holding Visions, Hooks, Strides and Essence of Heresy turns any survivor into Heretic: Hungering Gaze, Slicing Maelstrom, Shadowfade and Ruin. Her base health is very high, but her health regeneration is negative, so Shadowfade is your healing. Avoid Cleansing Pools, which can take a Heresy item.
Which survivor to unlock next
-
1
1. MUL-T and Bandit
Both come from normal play. MUL-T needs the first Teleporter event completed 5 times; Bandit needs the 3rd Teleporter event completed without dying. Play carefully for one run and you have both.
-
2
2. Engineer
Complete 30 stages. The count carries across runs, so it unlocks while you play anything else. The most important unlock for a newer player.
-
3
3. Artificer
Save 11 Lunar Coins, pay 1 at a Newt Altar to open the blue portal to the Bazaar Between Time, then spend 10 to free her from the crystal.
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4
4. Loader and Acrid
Loader: destroy all six Alloy Vulture nests in Siren's Call to summon the Alloy Worship Unit and defeat it. Acrid: complete all nine Cell events in the Void Fields, reached through the Null Portal in the Bazaar.
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5
5. Captain, then Mercenary
Captain comes from beating the game. Mercenary needs you to loop, take the Celestial Portal on a third stage to A Moment, Fractured, and obliterate at the Obelisk on its last island.
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6
6. REX and the expansion survivors
REX: carry the Escape Pod's Fuel Array to Abyssal Depths without dropping below 50% health, or it explodes. CHEF: give Cautious Slug, Bison Steak and Infusion to the Wok in Reformed Altar (progress saves between runs). Void Fiend and False Son are late-game unlocks.
How difficulty and co-op change the tiers
| Setting | What changes | Who gains | Who loses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drizzle / Rainstorm | Time scales at 50% (Drizzle) or the normal rate; Drizzle adds +70 armor | Everyone; most survivors can win here | Nobody meaningfully |
| Monsoon | Time scales at 150% and health regeneration is x0.6 | Survivors that avoid hits: Loader, Railgunner, Engineer, Mercenary | Low-health survivors without escapes: Commando |
| Eclipse 2 | Teleporter radius -50% | Ranged survivors and Engineer's turrets | Survivors who must chase enemies out of the zone |
| Eclipse 5 | Ally healing -50% | Barrier and invulnerability: Loader, Mercenary | Sustain kits: REX, Acrid |
| Eclipse 8 | Damage taken lowers max health until the stage ends | Range and invulnerability: Railgunner, Huntress, Mercenary | Anyone who plans to tank hits |
| Co-op | Enemies split attention; Eclipse uses the lowest level in the lobby | Captain and Seeker as supports; Commando and REX feel easier | Survivors who need to be the only target, such as Bandit chaining kills |
Eclipse levels are cumulative (Eclipse 8 includes all previous modifiers) and tracked separately for each survivor, so you climb them one survivor at a time. For how the timer and looping decide when difficulty spikes, see Loop or Moon.
Common mistakes
- Picking a survivor from a tier list alone. A Mercenary you cannot dodge with is weaker than a comfortable Huntress.
- Taking Captain's orbital skills into Hidden Realms and expecting them to work. They are disabled there.
- Spending Engineer's Bubble Shield before the Teleporter. It is what makes him safe during the event.
- Playing REX without healing items. His skills cost health; without healing he runs dry.
- Giving flat health items to everyone but False Son. They scale poorly for most survivors and very well for him.
- Stacking Lens-Maker's past 100% on anyone but Railgunner.
- Picking up the fourth Heresy item without a plan. Heretic's negative regeneration demands constant Shadowfade use.
For the basics of the stage timer and your first runs, see the Beginner Guide, and for our verdict on the game as a whole, the Risk of Rain 2 review.
★Honest Take: the roster is the game's best feature, and its tier list matters less than it looks
Risk of Rain 2's survivors are genuinely different games sharing one item pool: Engineer plays like a tower defence, Mercenary like a character action game, REX like a resource puzzle. That variety is why the game stays interesting after a hundred runs. The honest weakness is onboarding. The two default survivors are the weakest pair at high difficulty, several unlock challenges are obscure enough that almost everyone looks them up, and the game says nothing about why Captain's skills vanish in a Hidden Realm. The gap between tiers is also smaller than lists suggest: on Rainstorm, every survivor wins comfortably, and even on Monsoon a practised Commando beats an unpractised Loader. Use the tiers to decide where to start, then play the survivor you enjoy most.
