Risk of Rain 2 has a varied cast of 13 different playable Survivors, each with unique kits, playstyles, and item synergies. But what makes a character in Risk of Rain 2 good?

As time is so important, damage and mobility are the most valuable stats that contribute to the success of a Survivor. The constant race against the clock means speed is the name of the game. Target selection is also vital, as not all enemies are equally dangerous. Identifying and killing the most threatening enemy quickly is crucial for survival, and having the damage to take them out quickly saves time and health. Mobility helps with finding the Teleporter, traversing the map, and avoiding death. Here’s how all the game’s Survivors stack up, with these attributes in mind.

S-Tier

Void Fiend

A Survivor corrupted by the Void, the Void Fiend is a DLC survivor that is unlocked by Escaping The Planetarium. Void Fiend is a Survivor who switches between two forms. Managing the Corruption meter is all about being in the appropriate form for the current situation.

The Corrupted form is very strong and is great for dealing huge amounts of damage to multiple threats. Starting the Teleporter right at the start of the Corrupted form can melt the boss. Void Fiend’s Controlled form has great range and can take out flying enemies better, even boasting a built-in heal. The Controlled form is limited by mostly single-target damage. The character’s mobility in either form also cleanses debuffs, which can be life-saving to get rid of bleed or fire damage. A powerful and versatile Survivor, Void Fiend may be the very best, though is quite technical and requires careful play.

Loader

Loader is one of the strongest Survivors in the game. Her damage and mobility are unmatched. She gains a passive shield on hit, which enables close-range aggression with much less risk than other melee survivors. Her charge punch and grappling hook combo deals tons of damage and provides amazing mobility that is enjoyable to use.

Durability, tremendous damage output and great mobility make Loader one of the best picks all-around. She suffers slightly without a ranged attack, but her Scrap Barrier makes her the most viable of all the melee characters. It’s important to note that killing the final boss can be tricky without a ranged attack, since Mythrix hits very hard.

A-Tier

Rail Gunner

Railgunner is also included in the Survivors of the Void DLC, and has a very aim-focused kit. Focused on single target damage, she can kill most things in one hit from very far away. Unfortunately, tons of single-target damage on its own does not prevent her from being swarmed by weaker enemies. Railgunner’s mobility option is also clunky, and often causes fall damage (but it is better than nothing).

Railgunner is reliant on her damage and ability to burst down elite enemies and bosses. Her lack of good mobility and AOE, unfortunately, means she can be heavily punished if she can’t make every shot count.

Rex

Rex is a plant robot that constantly plays chicken with its health bar. Its primary fire heals it and weakens enemies, but Rex’s damage potential lies in other skills which drain the player’s health. Rex is great at staying alive in chaotic situations by leeching off enemies, but has quite the learning curve and can take a bit to get used to.

Rex’s ability to innately heal makes the early game very safe and powerful. This Survivor may lack mobility, but can root and heal from a whole swarm of enemies. This robot boasts great damage, crowd control, and passable mobility that can boop bosses off ledges, and knock flying enemies into walls. It’s just unfortunate that Rex can be inconsistent.

Huntress

Huntress has some of the best mobility in the game, but very little health. Fragile yet agile, she outputs damage while dodging enemy attacks better than any other survivor. Her ability to fire while sprinting not only helps her stay alive but opens the door for some excellent item synergies.

Being fragile, however, means that she needs items to kill big threats in the late game. Targets dying slowly deep into a run can spell death for the fragile Huntress, and it can be difficult to escape a horde of foes alive.

Captain

Captain boasts excellent early and mid-game damage with his powerful primary fire. What he lacks in mobility he makes up for in utility, with time-saving hack beacons and powerful airstrikes. Being able to call in two orbital supply beacons at every stage is very powerful. Hack beacons are huge time savers by hacking anything that costs money. This can be a huge time saver and even hacks the mythic chest for free in the Abyssal Depths.

Additionally, his defensive microbots shoot down enemy projectiles, and this applies to all bought drones. This starting item helps with his lack of mobility immensely. Being immobile is Captain’s biggest weakness, but he has lots of tools that make him strong despite that fact. Fail to implement them correctly, however, and you’ll be a sitting duck.

B-Tier

Bandit

Scoring high in fun factor, Bandit has tons of burst damage and utility but mediocre mobility. He needs to be unlocked, but is very satisfying to play. His passive ability to always critica
lly strike when hitting enemies in the back carries a lot of his early game damage, while his ability to reset his cooldowns with Lights Out makes for some exciting combos while weaving in and out of stealth.

He does fall off in the late game, though, since his primary fire only has four shots and lacks range. His kit requires close-range combat, which is much harder late game. Since his mobility option is mostly simply stealth and not a dash, he can still die in the chaos of a late-game run.

MUL-T

MUL-T has a similar playstyle to Commando, but with much more durability and a similar reliance on items. MUL-T’s ability to choose between four different kinds of primary fire allows for more customizable playstyles than Commando. Additionally, the AOE stun and ability to hold two equipment items provide good utility. Being relatively mobile, MUL-T can zip around while gaining armor. Rebar has infinite range and high damage, which makes it a solid choice. The fast-firing nail gun gives him great situational primary fire choices and good item synergies. These situational opinions and the RNG of items, however, limit the Survivor’s viability.

Mercenary

Mercenary is a cool katana-wielding Survivor. He has above-average mobility, with several dashes, invincibility frames, and a double jump right from the start. He can easily avoid highly telegraphed attacks with well-timed I-frames and feels formidable eviscerating groups of enemies. Even killing Wisps requires effort, but looks flashy to pull off. Mercenary’s Exposed mechanic gives him decent damage and ability resets, but he still suffers from being up close and personal. In the late game, death can happen from one single mistake, which makes Mercenary incredibly vulnerable and gives him a very high skill ceiling.

Engineer

Engineer plays completely differently than any of the other Survivors, so he can be difficult to adapt to at first. He Specializes in locking down a position with his turrets, but struggles with mobility. Engineer excels at the Teleporter event because his area lockdown is just that powerful.

His primary fire is the worst part of his kit, sadly, and struggles to hit flying enemies. He relies on his turrets to defeat foes he cannot, and if they’re taken down, he is in trouble. Despite this, his unique playstyle is still a lot of fun despite its shortcomings. He has some unique item synergies, too, since his turrets gain their benefits, and he is one of the only Survivors that can use Bustling Fungus (which can be helpful in multiplayer).

C-Tier

Commando

Commando is a true jack of all trades Survivor. His simple-yet-gratifying kit is fun to play with, is well suited for teaching beginners the ropes, and is flexible enough for most situations. His downfall, however, is his inability to quickly kill high-threat targets, and how badly he falls off late in a run even with decent items.

He has a fun kit, but lacks the damage, mobility, and AOE required to be truly consistent. Commando is very reliant on powerful item synergies to deal good damage and stay relevant.

Acrid

Acrid is a melee-ranged hybrid character who spreads poison to enemies to soften them up. His unique hit-and-run playstyle of poisoning groups of enemies before jumping in for the kill is interesting. However, in the late game, Acrid struggles to burst down high-priority targets quickly enough.

Since he has low mobility, he struggles with prolonged engagements and can easily die after jumping into a fight. Acrid is a melee character, too, so the late game is risky (generally forcing a switch to an ill-suited ranged playstyle). He gets two charges on his leap, which supports the hit and run playstyle, but his primary fire becomes largely irrelevant eventually.

D-Tier

Artificer

Artificer is great at dealing decent AOE damage and bursting down bosses or groups of enemies. A terrible primary fire and low mobility make her hard to get wins with, sadly, despite a relatively easy early game. Her item synergies are impractical and she is unable to make use of attack speed.

The lack of mobility hurts because her effective range is low. Her wall of ice is a powerful stun and makes elites easier to defeat, but it cannot hit airborne enemies. The aim required for every skill is usually not worth the effort, and even her primary fire has a cooldown. Artificer is a fun spell-slinging wizard whose kit unfortunately hasn’t been updated since she was released. Ultimately, she is lost in time, just as she is when you find her in-game.

• S-Tier: Void Fiend, Loader

• A-Tier: Captain, Railgunner, Huntress, Rex

• B-Tier: Bandit, MUL-T, Engineer, Mercenary

• C-Tier: Commando, Acrid

• D-Tier: Artificer