Image via Gearbox Publishing
Risk of Rain “Returns” with three new characters, and if you’re new to the franchise, unlocking all the characters can be difficult if you’re going to run in blind. But don’t worry: I’ll give you a detailed explanation of how to unlock all the characters in Risk of Rain Returns.
How to unlock all characters in Risk of Rain Returns
Almost all the characters except Commando and Huntress (starting characters)have a specific condition that you must complete to unlock them. Most of these characters only vary in play style; however, they are all completely viable to play until the end of the game.
Don’t worry; You won’t have to farm Moon Coins in this game, unlike Risk of Rain 2. These are the unlock conditions for each survivor in Risk of Rain Returns.
| Survivor’s name | Unlock condition |
| executor | Defeat the Wandering Wanderer, Colossus, and Magma Worm. These three bosses are the first you’ll encounter, so you won’t have to progress much. You can also kill them in different runs, which makes the challenge much more manageable. |
| Bandit | Finish the third stage in a single race. If you play co-op, you must be alive at the end of the third stage. |
| HAND | Look for the janitor robot in the final level of the game. The robot is in Cargo Area 2, on the right side of the multicolored cargo pile. There should be a gray block/door that you can interact with to unlock HAN-D. |
| Engineer | Buy at least 40 drones. Destroyed and repaired drones count. |
| Miner | In the fourth stage of the game, Find the survivor and look for a tunnel in the lower right section of the area.. Follow the tunnel and kill the boss at the end. If you can’t find the tunnel, try again on your next game. |
| Sniper | Complete the final stage of the game on any difficulty. I recommend unlocking HAN-D and Sniper at the same time for efficiency. |
| Acre | You can find Acrid in the Sunken Tombs variation of the third stage. Go to the top right section of the map, where you will find a giant metal box. Interact with the box to free Acrid and defeat him in combat. |
| Mercenary | Complete the final stage five times on any difficulty. |
| Charger | Obtain at least 30 unique items in a single match. It’s best to finish this challenge in solo mode so you and your friends don’t have to share the loot. |
| Chef | Find a nugget of meat, a bustling mushroom, a sprouting egg, a bitter root, and a strange fruit in a single run. The easiest way to finish this challenge is to stack Infusion to increase your HP (for Bitter Root) and use the Command artifact. |
| Pilot | Collect 15 Monster Logs, which you can obtain through random monster drops. Records of monsters found in successive games count towards the total. |
| Architect | Visit 10 unique stages. Naturally, you will unlock this by playing the game. |
| Homeless | Recycle six drones in a single game. Drone recyclers are random, so you need to explore the map to check for their presence. |
Related: Best Risk of Rain 2 Mods
I am very aware that there is a 16th hidden survivor (Robomando). However, there are still no specific unlock conditions for the character. Once I find a legit way to unlock the survivor, I’ll add it to this guide. Check back soon!
For more information on Rain Risk, see What’s New in Rain Return Risk? All new content and features in pro gaming guides.