You just crashed. The Escape Pod door blows off, you stumble out onto Distant Roost, and you’re holding two pistols that feel like they’re shooting frozen peas. This is the Commando experience. He’s fine, sure, but the magic of Hopoo Games’ masterpiece doesn’t actually start until you figure out the risk of rain 2 character unlock system. Most people assume you just "play the game" and things happen. That's wrong. If you just play casually, you’re going to spend twenty hours staring at the same three survivors while the actually broken, god-tier characters stay hidden behind weird obscure challenges.
The game doesn't hold your hand. It hates you, actually. It wants you to die to a Wandering Vagrant while you’re trying to figure out why there’s a weird robot plant in the corner of the map.
Getting the full roster isn't just about completionism. It’s about power. The difference between the starting roster and someone like the Loader—who basically turns the game into a first-person Spider-Man simulator where you punch holes through gods—is massive. Let's get into how you actually break the game open.
The Early Game Scramble
Huntress is the first one most people get. It’s almost accidental. You just have to reach and complete the third Teleporter event without dying. Since you’re likely playing on Drizzle or Rainstorm starting out, this usually happens by the thirty-minute mark. She’s the "training wheels" character because of her auto-aim, but honestly, her low health pool makes her a glass cannon that shatters the moment a Stone Titan looks at her funny.
Then there’s MUL-T. This one is tedious. You need to pass the first stage five times. Not in a row, just five times total. It sounds easy until you realize MUL-T is arguably one of the most versatile survivors because he can carry two equipment items. If you find two Fuel Cells and a Royal Capacitor, you’ve basically won the run.
The Bandit and the Art of Backstabbing
Bandit is a fan favorite from the first game, and in the sequel, he’s unlocked by reaching and completing the second stage Teleporter. He was added in the Anniversary Update and completely changed the early game meta. His "Lights Out" ability resets all his cooldowns if it kills an enemy. It’s incredibly satisfying. If you aren't using him to farm the next set of unlocks, you're making life harder than it needs to be.
Why the Artificer is a Scam (Until She Isn't)
Most players see the risk of rain 2 character unlock for the Artificer and think it’s a total ripoff. You have to spend 10 Lunar Coins to free her from a block of ice in the Bazaar Between Time.
Lunar Coins are rare. They drop from enemies at a 0.5% rate (though that rate halves every time one drops in a single run). 10 coins feels like a fortune when you first start.
To find her:
- Find a Newt Altar (the blue rock with purple spikes).
- Pay 1 Lunar Coin before activating the Teleporter.
- Finish the boss, enter the Blue Portal.
- Walk past the giant lizard shopkeeper to the weird ice statue.
Is she worth it? Early on, maybe not. She has no movement abilities. She’s a sitting duck. But once you unlock her "Ion Surge" alternate skill, she basically stays in the air for the entire match, raining down lightning like a vengeful god. It changes the game from a platformer to a flight sim.
👉 See also: Destiny 2 Light and Darkness Collection: Is It Actually Worth Your Money?
The Absolute Nightmare of the REX Unlock
If you want to talk about stress, let's talk about REX. This is the plant-robot hybrid that everyone wants because his damage scaling is insane. To get him, you have to take the "Fuel Array" out of the back of your own Escape Pod at the very start of the game.
Here is the catch: if your health drops below 50%, the Fuel Array explodes. You die instantly. Run over.
You have to carry this volatile bomb all the way to the Abyssal Depths (Stage 4). You then have to find the broken REX unit on one of the high platforms and interact with it. Doing this on anything higher than Drizzle difficulty is a special kind of masochism. One stray hit from a Greater Wisp and you’re a crater in the ground. Pro tip: play with a friend who can carry you while you hide in a corner like a coward. It’s the only sane way to do it.
The Loader and the Siren’s Call
Loader is arguably the strongest character in the game. She’s unlocked on Siren’s Call, which is one of the possible Stage 4 maps. You’ll see large bird eggs scattered around the map. Break about six of them.
A boss called the Alloy Worship Unit will spawn.
It is tanky. It hits like a freight train. It has a shield that makes it feel invincible. But if you kill it, you get the Loader unlock and a guaranteed Red (Legendary) item for everyone in the lobby. Honestly, even if you already have Loader, you should be doing this every time you hit Siren’s Call just for the loot. Loader herself ignores fall damage and has a grappling hook. She’s the queen of speedrunning.
Finding the Hidden Realms: Acrid and the Void Fiend
Acrid is tucked away in the Void Fields. To get there, go to the Bazaar Between Time (the blue lizard shop). Look down. There’s a massive pit. If you drop down carefully, there’s a tunnel lined with purple crystals. This leads to a portal to the Void Fields.
Once you’re in the Void Fields, time stops. You have to charge nine "Cells." Each cell adds a new item to the enemies. By the ninth cell, you might be fighting fast, invisible Lemurians with Tougher Times bears and Crowbars. If you survive all nine, Acrid—the poison dog from the first game—is yours. He’s great for high-difficulty runs because poison damage scales with enemy health. It doesn't matter if a boss has ten million HP; Acrid will melt them.
🔗 Read more: Guns of Icarus Online Steam Charts: Why the Skies Are Quiet (But Not Dead)
The Void Fiend and the DLC Hurdle
If you have the Survivors of the Void DLC, the risk of rain 2 character unlock for the Void Fiend is a different beast. You either have to beat the new final boss (The Void Locus) or reach Wave 50 in the Simulacrum. The Simulacrum is a wave-based defense mode. It’s actually much easier to get him there if you have a decent build.
The Void Fiend is weird. He has a "Corruption" meter that changes his abilities. He’s complex, rewarding, and frankly, a bit overpowered in the right hands.
Captain: The Reward for Winning
The Captain is the only character that requires you to actually "beat" the game. You have to reach the Moon (Commencement) and kill Mithrix, the King of Nothing.
Mithrix is a jerk. In his final phase, he steals all your items. If you’ve spent the last hour becoming a god, he becomes a god instead. Beating him unlocks the Captain, who can call down orbital strikes and supply beacons. He is the ultimate utility character, but he’s useless in the hidden realms because his satellites can’t reach him there.
Mercenary and the "Long" Way Out
To get the Mercenary, you have to "Obliterate." This means you need to reach the first "loop." After Stage 5 (Sky Meadow), don't go to the Moon. Instead, interact with the outer ring of the Teleporter to align it with the planet. This sends you back to Stage 1.
On Stage 8, a Celestial Portal (white and glowing) will appear. Enter it, jump down a series of floating islands, and interact with the Large Obelisk. It will ask if you want to obliterate yourself from existence. Say yes. You die, the run ends, and you unlock the sword-wielding Mercenary. It’s the most poetic way to end a run.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Run
Unlocking everything shouldn't feel like a chore, but you do need a plan. If you're sitting there with just the basics, here is exactly how you should prioritize your next few hours of gameplay:
- Switch to Drizzle: There is no shame in this. If you are specifically hunting the REX or Acrid unlocks, doing it on Monsoon is just asking for a headache. The unlocks count the same regardless of difficulty.
- Farm Lunar Coins: Don't spend them on items. Save them until you have 11 (1 to open the portal, 10 to buy Artificer).
- The Equipment Swap: For the MUL-T unlock, you need to carry the Fuel Array. If you find a better equipment item, you can swap it, but remember where you left the Array. You have to have it in your inventory when you reach the robot on Stage 4.
- Check the Challenges Menu: A lot of people forget this exists. In the main menu, the "Logbook" shows you exactly what you're missing. If a character isn't appearing, you might be missing a specific achievement linked to them.
The real beauty of the risk of rain 2 character unlock process is that it forces you to see parts of the game you’d otherwise ignore. You have to find the secret altars, brave the void, and challenge the bosses that aren't on the "main" path. Once you have the full roster, the game truly begins. You stop wondering how to survive and start wondering how fast you can turn the screen into a chaotic mess of proc chains and explosions.
Stop playing Commando. Go find the robot plant. Go fight the alloy bird. The actual game is waiting for you behind those challenges.