With the release of the Seekers of the Storm expansion, there are now a total of seventeen survivors or playable characters in Risk of Rain 2. Each survivor is fairly unique and you can beat the main game with each one, but their effectiveness, ease of use, and overall strength vary quite a bit. Here is our ranking of the current roster of Risk of Rain 2 survivors, and how they rank in our described tiers.
Risk of Rain 2 Survivors Tier List
Hoppo Games and Gearbox Publishing have been updating Risk of Rain 2 since 2019. There are now sixteen characters that can be unlocked and chosen, including a secret character that is unlocked during a run when certain conditions are met.
If you just want to see our ranking, and where they stand, here is our complete survivors tier list for Risk of Rain 2 with the expansions included. Individual tiers aren’t ordered apart from the S-tier.
| Tier | Survivors |
|---|---|
| S | Railgunner, Loader, False Son, Void Fiend |
| A | Acrid, Bandit, Captain, Engineer, Huntress, Seeker, Mul-T, Heretic |
| B | Commando, Mercenary, Artificer, REX, Chef |
To break down what our tiers represent, here is an explanation of each:
| Tier | Tier Explanation |
|---|---|
| S | Incredibly powerful, easy gameplay, and doesn’t require a lot of thinking from the player |
| A | Tricky to use, and takes a bit to get the most utility out of, but still competent |
| B | Tricky to use, and take a bit to get the most utility out of, but still competent |
If this gives an impression that most characters are viable, that’s perfect, because that’s the case here. Risk of Rain 2 has achieved a very strong balance when it comes to its roster, and most if not all characters can take you to the end (whatever that may be for you) if you’re willing to understand their kit, and how to be effective with it.
Risk of Rain 2 S-Tier Characters
These characters are the strongest for a reason, and their placement is largely down to their simple gameplay and high damage output.
Railgunner
Arguably one of the most fun — and strongest — survivors in Risk of Rain 2, the Railgunner has the advantage of both range and damage thanks to her M99 Sniper and tracking rounds. If you can aim well, the Railgunner’s damage and utility take care of the rest.
She can one-shot many enemies and even bosses after you’ve picked up a few items. She lacks a bit of mobility, but the insane damage output makes up for it in spades. There are no negatives here, if you’re looking to clear out the map on easy mode, this is your ticket.
Loader
Loader is the One Punch Woman of Risk of Rain 2, and she hits like a truck. In terms of damage, she is essentially a melee version of Railgunner and doesn’t take any fall damage, which suits her playstyle because she also has a grappling hook that pulls her toward enemies.
She also gets a barrier after striking enemies, so it’s really hard for her to die unless you’re not paying any attention at all. So not only does Loader have some of the best damage in the game, but she can also practically fly around the map without any fear of fall damage.
False Son
One of the new survivors from the Seekers of the Storm expansion and easily the strongest of the three. The False Son is another melee character who does a lot of damage regardless of your execution.
It’s really hard to go wrong here because his passive constantly grants him a status that boosts attack speed, armor, regeneration, and movement speed. All you need to do is hold the primary for 300% attack damage and holding it with the secondary unleashes a slam attack that does 1500% damage. The False Son is a beast, and he’s literally a playable boss.
Void Fiend
The last character in the S-tier is Void Fiend. This is the other character from the Survivors of the Void expansion and has one of the best kits in the entire game. The Void Fiend has the mobility of the Artificer, self-healing, and an alternate form that makes it even stronger.
It has excellent range, allowing you to play from afar with minimal interaction up close. Once a boss appears, you can switch to the corrupted form, and end the entire boss sequence right there and then.
Risk of Rain 2 A-Tier Characters
The A-Tier is where most survivors in Risk of Rain 2 fall, and if you’re willing to put in a few hours understanding the kit, you can easily carry these to the end without a lot of trouble.
Acrid
Acrid is in a league of its own, and the only character to do poison damage from the start. This means that the damage builds up over time with each attack, and if you’re fine with a playstyle that requires a bit of patience, it’s really hard to compete with Acrid.
He’s at his best when he isn’t in constant melee range because he’ll get hit easily, so it’s best to just hop around the map, and whittle down enemies with poison buildup.
Bandit
Bandit is a personal favorite, but he’s not S-tier, because while his passive and special are the highlights, his regular attacks are just okay. His real strength comes from his passive which guarantees a critical hit when approaching an enemy from behind.
He can also get out of sight thanks to his utility which makes him invisible for a few seconds. Overall, he has a good balance of damage and mobility, but he has one of the best passives in Risk of Rain 2.
Captain
Captain is another survivor who has a great primary attack, an incredibly useful special but lacks mobility. Thanks to his beacons, the Captain can hack any chest, shrine, or drone and get the item or utility for free.
If this special is properly capitalized, he can practically clean the map, and get all the items by spending a minimum amount of currency. He can also call down an insanely powerful orbital strike that can one-shot bosses after a 20-second delay.
Engineer
Do you like sitting around? What about turrets doing everything for you? If you answered yes to both then the Engineer is the survivor for you. The items you grab directly benefit his turrets, and it’s more about ensuring that his defenses are set up correctly.
He’s on the higher end of the A-tier because his utility is so strong, but his playstyle might not be for everyone.
Huntress
The Huntress has the lowest starting HP of all the survivors, which means that she’s one of the harder survivors to keep alive. However, that isn’t too difficult once you master evasion, and utilize her homing attacks properly.
Since her primary attack is homing, you don’t need to worry about aiming, but simply hold fire, and ensure she’s at a reasonable distance from enemies, which is achievable thanks to Blink. She doesn’t have the highest damage, but her high mobility makes her one of the most fun picks.
Seeker
Seeker is another character from the Seekers of the Storm expansion, and she’s considerably useful, especially in co-op because she can revive a fallen teammate, something no other survivor can do.
She can also heal, turn into a ball of fire for mobility and damage, and has ranged attacks that deal tons of damage. This is one of the easier characters to play in the A-tier, and she has one of the most useful kits in the game, especially for co-op.
Mul-T
Mul-T can take a bit of practice to get used to but his high health, speed, and armor make him one of the tankiest survivors in the game. He can also switch between weapons, which means that he’s proficient at close and long-range.
If you don’t want to swap between weapons, his other special “Power Mode” lets him equip his primary in both slots, with even more armor, but some reduced movement speed. If you always have trouble staying alive, then it’s hard to go wrong with Mul-T.
Risk of Rain 2 B-Tier Characters
Even the lowest tier in our opinion represents a selection of survivors that can still beat the game, but require way more effort to utilize fully.
Commando
The poster boy of Risk of Rain 2, Commando is the jack of all trades, but master of none. He has everything you’d want from a basic character but is very dependent on the quality of items you obtain throughout the run.
His damage and mobility are decent, but he’s nothing to write home about. If you’re just starting out with Risk of Rain 2, he’s a great character to learn the ropes with, but you’ll want to switch to something a bit more fun down the line.
Mercenary
Some might argue that Mercenary belongs in the A-Tier, but there are limitations to his kit that hold him back. As a melee character, he has the lowest HP, he doesn’t have regeneration in any form, and since his highest damage attacks are melee, he has to be close to enemies to pull off worthwhile damage.
If you can get past that, spend a bit of time mastering his i-frames, and mobility, and reduce his cooldowns with items, he can be incredibly powerful, and rewarding to learn.
Artificer
Artificer has some great mobility thanks to her ENV Suit which lets her float around the map, and maintain some distance while doing a decent amount of burst damage in her aerial state. She has a really powerful utility that freezes enemies in place, and instantly kills them when their health drops below 30%.
While she’s a fun character to play with, the added expansion characters with similar kits simply outrank her in terms of damage, mobility, and utility.
REX
REX is a high-risk high-reward character that requires a lot of effort to be kept alive. This character can do plenty of damage, and self-heal considerably but multiple attacks require REX’s health to be used as a resource.
This means that one mismanaged attack can lead to death. This is another character that has a very specific playstyle that takes a lot of effort to master.
Chef
Chef is a fun character to play with thanks to his thematic attacks and animations, but it doesn’t take long for his initial charm to wear off. All his attacks are a bit awkward to use even if they have a purpose, and the flamethrower lacks the range to be useful.
His cooldowns are high, which leads to a very wooden playstyle that doesn’t suit the character, and how he played in the original Risk of Rain. He’s not bad, but he’s not as fun as you’d hope.
That’s all the Risk of Rain 2 characters ranked! While the Seekers of the Storm update had a pretty rough launch, the developers at Gearbox Publishing have done a fine job of bringing the quality back up. We would love to hear your rankings in the comments below, and if you have a favorite survivor in Risk of Rain 2, why not unlock their mastery skins as well?
Published: Nov 18, 2024 08:05 am