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Survivors

They may have survived the crash, but will they survive the rest of their ordeal?

These are the Survivors.

Introduced in Risk of Rain

Present in both Risk of Rain and Risk of Rain 2

Commando

The Commando

Cornered Gunslinger

^{Click here to see the Commando in Risk of Rain 2}

^{Click here to see the Commando in Risk of Rain Returns}

Risk of Rain: The Commando is characterized by long range and mobility. Effective use of his Tactical Dive will grant increased survivability while Suppressive Fire deals massive damage. FMJ can then be used to dispose of large mobs.

Risk of Rain 2: The Commando is a jack-of-all-trades character that is reliable in all situations of the game.

Risk of Rain Returns: The Commando is a jack-of-all-trades character with the tools to deal with any situation. His high range and rate of fire provide great combat proficiency, while Tactical Dive grants increased survivability and mobility.

His default skills are near-identical in both games, consisting of a basic shooting attack, a piercing shot in the form of Full Metal Jacket (renamed Phase Round in the sequel), the Tactical Dive which makes him briefly invulnerable, and Suppressive Fire, which rapidly fires out stunning shots.

His unlockable alternative skills in Risk of Rain 2 are Phase Blast, which shoots out two shotgun-like blasts of energy, Frag Grenade, which throws a frag grenade, and Tactical Slide, which lets him slide around while firing but offers no invincibility.

The starting survivor, the Commando combines offense and mobility. Well-rounded, versatile, and very effective in the hands of an expert.

Available from the very beginning in every game.

Bittersweet Ending: "...and so he left, with everything but his humanity."
- Downplayed in the sequel after the Anniversary Update; a bit less bitter: "...and so he left, with new orders and new questions."
Boring, but Practical: There is nothing flashy about Commando's kit, but you'd be hard-pressed to find situations where any of his moves aren't useful.
- The sequel has him a solid all range fighter who can whip out a stun or crowd control at a moment's notice and freely move when launched. His alternate mobes let him do close range, a burst of speed, or change his stun for an AOE effect so he's customizable without losing his reliability.
Double Tap: The name of his basic attack.
Guns Akimbo: The Commando's "Suppressive Fire" ability can be used to fire two machine guns and attack enemies in front of and behind the player.
- In the sequel, he dual-wields pistols.
Jack of All Trades: The Commando's skillset means he can engage single targets, lines of enemies, evade attacks, and attack enemies on both sides when surrounded. He doesn't really shine in any one area, but can still dish out a lot of hurt with skill and a good set of items.
More Dakka: He pulls out two machineguns at the same time when using Suppressive Fire.
One-Hit Polykill: Of all the Herd Hitting Attacks, the Commando's "Full Metal Jacket" skill is the only one specifically described as piercing through enemies.
Unnecessary Combat Roll: Barring the unnecessary bit. The Commando's dodge roll is key to surviving when surrounded, as he cannot be harmed by enemy attacks while rolling.
- The sequel no longer lets him be impervious but instead getting flung or stuck in the air is a common threat and his roll now lets you control your momentum to avoid fall damage or stop yourself from flying off.
Video Game Sliding: An alternative skill to his Tactical Dive in the sequel and Returns is Tactical Slide, which doesn't make him invincible but still allows him to attack during it.

Huntress

The Huntress

Judge, Jury, Executioner

^{Click here to see the Huntress in Risk of Rain 2}

^{Click here to see the Huntress in Risk of Rain Returns}

Risk of Rain: The Huntress is extremely proficient at "kiting" (running and firing while remaining unhurt). Remember that Laser Glaive does the highest damage on the last bounce! Blink can be used to reposition or re-aim abilities, and Cluster Bomb can take out grouped enemies at range.

Risk of Rain 2: The Huntress is an extremely mobile but fragile survivor with a high damage output.

An extremely mobile character, in Risk of Rain the Huntress is the only survivor who can use all of her attacks whilst moving — and without facing her target, too. She handles groups of melee-oriented enemies well, but is vulnerable to ranged attackers.

In Risk of Rain 2, she retains her Strafe shot that can be fired while moving, but with the additional third dimension she emphasizes vertical mobility as much as horizontal, as both her Blink and her Arrow Rain allow her to propel herself higher than her ranged peers. Her Laser Glaive now forces her to stop in midair for a second to throw it (allowing pseudo-gliding), and Arrow Rain must also be targeted while granting a similar window to float in the air.

The Skills 2.0 update gives her two new skills: Phase Blink, a shorter-range alternative to Blink that recharges faster, can be used multiple times, and cannot be used vertically, and Ballista, which lets her teleport a short distance backwards to fire three powerful piercing projectiles.

In Risk of Rain, she's unlocked by collecting fifteen different Monster Log entries from fallen enemies. In Risk of Rain 2, she was originally unlocked by clearing 3 stages without dying, but after the Anniversary Update, she was made available from the start. Risk of Rain Returns also has her unlocked from the start.

Bittersweet Ending: In the first game. "..and so she left, her soul still remaining on the planet."
Bounty Hunter: Her lore from the second game reveals her to be this.
Deadly Disc: Her second ability, Laser Glaive, bounces between up to four enemies (six in the sequel) — dealing more and more damage with each one it hits. It also passes through walls.
Earn Your Happy Ending: Her Risk of Rain 2 ending quote following the Anniversary Update: "and so she left, yearning for her next great hunt."
Flash Step: Her third ability, Blink, teleports her forward a short distance. In the second game, it instead teleports her a considerable distance in the direction the camera is facing, which means it can be used as a pseudo-jump in addition to its utility for dodging attacks.
Fragile Speedster: She can attack while moving in the first game and attack while sprinting in the second (and auto-targets on top of that), but she has the lowest health of any survivor in both games.
Homing Projectile: In the second game, her arrows automatically home in on the current target.
Ms. Fanservice: She has a highly noticeable hourglass figure in 2, and her Spy Catsuit doesn't leave much to the imagination.
Multishot: Her alternate primary attack in the second game replaces her single shot with a barrage of three arrows that do 100% damage each, compared to 150% for the standard shot. A critical strike fires six arrows. As a tradeoff, the firing speed is slower, only slightly better than firing three single shots.
One-Hit Polykill: Ballista in the second game pierces all enemies in its path and can be fired three times. Good against clustered enemies, but the Huntress hangs in the air and doesn't move while firing, so it can be a liability if you don't know precisely what you want to shoot.
Rain of Arrows: In the second game, her fourth ability lets her unleash this on an area, appropriately dubbed Arrow Rain. In addition to taking heavy damage, enemies in the area of effect also get slowed, allowing the Huntress to rack up even more damage on them. It has the secondary effect of launching the Huntress into the air so it can be targeted, which can be used to hop out of a group of enemies.
The Smurfette Principle: In the original game, she's the only playable character identified as female. Averted in the second game, which introduced the Artificer as another member of the initial roster and later brought back a gender-flipped Loader; while Returns adds the Artificer and Drifter to the original game's roster.
The Straight and Arrow Path: The Huntress's basic and final abilities in are bow-based, with the latter being an explosive arrow in the first game and a storm of arrows or 3 massive piercing arrows in the second.
Teleport Spam: Her Phase Blink in the second game has three uses and recharges much faster than her normal Blink, but only teleports forward.
Trick Arrow: In the first game, she gets one with a cluster bomb on it. Cool and practical, as the damage is impressive, particularly if the target's big enough to soak up all the bomblets. Returns also has the Warp Dart as an alternative to her Blink, which teleports her to wherever the arrow lands.

Bandit

The Bandit

Desperate Outlaw

^{Click here to see the Bandit in Risk of Rain 2}

^{Click here to see the Bandit in Risk of Rain Returns}

Risk of Rain: The Bandit fires Blast faster if you press faster! Use smokebomb to either run away or to stun many enemies at once, followed by Dynamite Toss. Dealing a killing blow with Lights Out allows you to chain many skills together, allowing for maximum damage and safety.

Risk of Rain 2: The Bandit is a high-skill combo character that can dish out devastating backstabs while weaving in and out of stealth.

A highly mobile character, similar to the Commando — but where the Commando can engage groups, the Bandit excels at taking down single enemies with rapid, focused fire.

Unlocked in Risk of Rain by clearing Stage 3; either the Underwater Catacombs or Frozen Tundra. Added to Risk of Rain 2 in the Anniversary Update, he's unlocked the same way as in the prequel.

Back Stab: In Risk of Rain 2, any hit in the back of an enemy will be a guaranteed critical hit.
Bittersweet Ending: "...and so he left, with his pyrrhic plunder."
The Bus Came Back: Returns in Risk of Rain 2's Anniversary update.
Button Mashing: Invoked in the first game, tapping the fire button repeatedly lets his normal attack fire up to 40% faster than just holding the button down.
Coup de Grâce: The Bandit's fourth skill, Lights Out, inflicts massive damage to a target. If it kills them, it causes all his abilities to recharge instantly — including itself. Getting the killing blow on a boss using this skill nets you an achievement, of course. His alternate skill, Desperado, gains increased damage with each killing blow. Desperado is also unlocked by killing Mithrix with Lights Out.
Earn Your Happy Ending: His Risk of Rain 2 ending quote following the Anniversary Update: "...and so he left, grateful for his luck."
Signature Headgear: He wears it over a space helmet!
Skull for a Head: His Mastery skin replaces his head and hat with Ibzan's skull from Deadbolt, horns and all.
Smoke Out: His Smokebomb ability lets him put on a short burst of speed and stun nearby enemies on reappearing. In Risk of Rain 2, it also makes him invisible for a few seconds.
Space Western: He's a space cowboy, complete with ten-gallon hat and bandoleer, and like the other survivors he's (seemingly) right at home in the brutal, unforgiving wasteland.

Engineer

The Engineer

Fortification Expert

^{Click here to see the Engineer in Risk of Rain 2}

^{Click here to see the Engineer in Risk of Rain Returns}

Risk of Rain: The Engineer relies on proper placement of Mines and Turrets. Use Tri-nade and Thermal Harpoons to hit enemies from safe areas. Always place your mines and turrets before activating the teleporter!

Risk of Rain 2: The Engineer is a unique class that requires planning and positioning to be successful.

Traps, turrets, explosives, and missiles. The Engineer is a little more strategy-based in theory, though this doesn't last long given the hectic nature of the game. He works best if he has time to prepare the battlefield, and can engage many enemies at once. His turrets can also draw attention away from the Engineer and his allies, giving them time to regroup or attack.

In Risk of Rain, he's unlocked by repairing 40 drones, over any number of runs. In Risk of Rain 2, he's unlocked by completing 30 stages, over any number of runs.

Action Bomb: In the sequel, one of his alternative skills changes out his normal landmines for "Spider Mines," which do less damage but charge at enemies much faster and from farther away.
Attack Drone: Despite his unlock requirement, he doesn't actually get any of his own. On the other hand, he's one of the survivors most likely to benefit from those he can find in the field, as his main attack is fairly slow and he has no dodge ability.
Beehive Barrier: The sequel replaces his ability to shoot heat-seeking missiles from the first game with the Bubble Shield, which blocks all projectiles coming from outside the sphere. Useful for protecting himself or allies from dangerous and heavily-telegraphed attacks, such as the Colossus's laser.
Bittersweet Ending: "...and so he left, more steel and circuit than man."
Earn Your Happy Ending: His Risk of Rain 2 ending quote after the ''Anniversary Update: "…and so he left, with newfound inspirations."
Energy Weapon: The TR58 Carbonizer turrets from the second game fire a laser that deals continuous damage and slows enemies.
Glass Cannon: The Engineer has extremely powerful and versatile attacks, and can usually kill most enemies while exposing himself to minimal danger… but he's very slow and is one of the few characters without any kind of dash ability if things turn south.
Grenade Launcher: The Engineer's basic attack in the first game launches three grenades at once. Not especially punchy, but it does stun and knock enemies back a bit. Three projectiles instead of one also significantly increases your chances of triggering on-hit items like the AtG Missiles, Rusty Knife, or Prisoner's Shackles. It was also the only normal attack that could hit below the user. The sequel changed it so it could shoot up to 8 grenades, but needs to charge up.
Jet Pack: His Shoulder Cannons twist around and become this when he sprints in the sequel, but it's purely a visual effect.
Land Mine Goes "Click!":
- The Engineer can deploy up to fifteen mines, useful for slowing enemies or inflicting massive damage to bosses.
- The sequel reduced the maximum number of mines to just 4 as of the Skills 2.0 update, but made them explode for more damage and have a wider range.
Macross Missile Massacre: In the first game, his third ability launches four heat-seeking projectiles. There's nothing stopping you combining this with the Disposable Launcher and AtG missiles to spray homing projectiles absolutely everywhere.
Shoulders of Doom: To be fair, anyone's shoulderpads would be huge if they had a missile platform in them.
Shoulder Cannon: He mounts his missile and grenade launcher on his shoulders.
The Turretmaster: He can deploy up to two turrets at a time. They're reasonably powerful, and draw enemy attention away from the Engineer — leaving him free to set more mines and lob grenades into the fray. They also benefit from whatever upgrades the Engineer collects, making them even more powerful.

Mercenary

The Mercenary

Hired Blade

^{Click here to see the Mercenary in Risk of Rain 2}

^{Click here to see the Mercenary in Risk of Rain Returns}

Risk of Rain: The Mercenary deals fast damage while dodging incoming threats. Whirlwind can be used to stay in mid-air longer. Fit skills between Blinding Assaults to maximize time spent invincible.

Risk of Rain 2: The Mercenary is a high-skill melee survivor that uses his many dodges to weave in and out of combat.

An extremely fast-moving and exceptionally lethal melee-oriented character, the Mercenary can chain together moves and spend a great deal of time invulnerable to enemy attack. This comes at the cost of having no ranged attack power whatsoever. Unless he can close the distance with ranged foes, the Mercenary may find himself in a bit of a tight spot…

In Risk of Rain, he's unlocked by defeating the final boss five times, on any difficulty. In Risk of Rain 2, he is unlocked by choosing to obliterate yourself at the Obelisk on the other side of the portal that appears after completing the fourth stage of the second loop in a run.

Bittersweet Ending: In the first game: "...and so he left, never to become human again." It's a bit more ambiguous in the sequel.
Cooldown Manipulation: This is the crux of Mercenary's playstyle in 2. Performing the third slash in his primary attack chain applies a unique debuff to the enemy called Exposed, marking the enemy with a blue halo. The next time Mercenary strikes that enemy, they take extra damage and reduce the remaining time of all of Mercenary's cooldowns by 1 second. By marking multiple enemies during the lulls of the onslaught, Mercenary can become effectively invincible by constantly resetting his cooldowns so he can spam his i-frame granting dashes with impunity.
Double Jump: Mercenary possesses this ability in 2 to further aid his already outstanding mobility.
Earn Your Happy Ending: His Risk of Rain 2 ending quote after the Anniversary Update: "...and so he left, with dreams of good food and a peaceful night."
Flash Step: His third ability makes the Mercenary dash forward a short distance, harming all enemies he passes through. If he hits an enemy, he can use the dash again — it can be chained up to three times. Worth noting that the Mercenary retains no inertia from the dash, coming to a halt as soon as he reaches the end of its fixed range.
Gratuitous Ninja: Wields a katana, has shinobi-styled armor plates, and uses skills that emphasize high mobility and evasion. Mercenary is a ninja through and through, but it just makes him stick out compared to the more traditionally sci-fi characters like Commando, HAN-D, and Loader.
Implausible Fencing Powers: Thanks due in part to his cybernetic enhancements, Mercenary is capable of firing Razor Winds and becoming temporarily intangible by repeatedly slashing a target at speeds faster than light.
Jet Pack: He's shown to be wearing one in 2, which he uses to perform his Flash Steps.
Laser Blade: A laser katana no less.
Lightning Bruiser: Capable of rapidly moving around and inflicting massive damage to enemies using his movement and attack skills.
Ranged Emergency Weapon: Notable in that he almost completely lacks any kind of ranged attack whatsoever unless he has an Active Item such as the Disposable Launcher, or ranged-attack-on-hit items such as the AtG Missiles, with the Slicing Winds special in the sequel as his only option.
Razor Wind: His Slicing Winds ability in the second game, a Sword Beam that creates a barrage of slashes to attack multiple enemies at the landing point.

Loader

The Loader

Bionic Powerhouse

^{Click here to see the Loader in Risk of Rain 2}

^{Click here to see the Loader in Risk of Rain Returns}

Risk of Rain: The Loader is a high-damage close combatant with a unique skill. Hydraulic Gauntlet can be used to rapidly reposition, or to place Conduits far apart. Use Debris Shield as a hit-and-run shield.

Risk of Rain 2: The Loader is a slow but powerful bruiser that can use her grappling hook to uniquely navigate the environment.

A slow-moving but hard-hitting crowd control machine, the Loader plays as a mixture between the HAN-D and the Mercenary with an emphasis on quick repositioning and tanking attacks. Constant area-of-effect damage combined with a low-cooldown repositioning tool makes the Loader a fearsome combatant no matter where (s)he is on the screen.

Unlocked by collecting 30 different items in one run in the first game, and unlocked in the second game by defeating the secret boss in Siren's Call as of the Skills 2.0 update.

Button Mashing: In the first game, he has a three-hit combo for his basic attack which is triggered by rapidly hitting the attack button.
Charged Attack: The Charged Fist and Thunder Gauntlet skills in the sequel, which send the Loader flying forward fist-first and deals a massive amount of damage if fully charged.
Explosive Punch: Loader's punches can become this if she picks up Brilliant Behemoth or Kjaro's Band.
Gender Flip: Is male in the first game and female in the sequel.
Hitbox Dissonance: The Lightning Rods he puts down in Risk of Rain don't just hit things caught in the lightning zap, but rather everything in a square formed with the two rods as its corners, making for an extremely exploitable example of this trope.
Lightning Bruiser: Especially in 2. Hard hitter, very good health progression, and her fists both charged and chained allowed for excellent mobility. The game encourages it, too, by giving Charged Fist/Thunder Gauntlet bonus damage based on the Loader's speed; the faster she is, the stronger her punch.
Megaton Punch: In 2, the enemy ragdolling that usually follows after a successfully accelerated Charged Fist/Thunder Gauntlet can get pretty amusing; even golems are knocked back, and Lemurians just slide dozens of feet on their faces. Of course, seeing the damage involved it was either this or splattering.
No-Sell:
- In Risk of Rain, his Debris Shield skill turns him outright invulnerable for a couple of seconds, useful for closing the gap or making an escape.
- In Risk of Rain 2, Debris Shield has been reworked into a passive that makes her immune to Falling Damage. It also lets her generate a temporary barrier by punching enemies, but unlike the original version, this can be worn down and broken.
Power Fist: Sure, they're usually for moving cargo, but something that can move a huge container can probably rip an angry alien in half without much trouble.
Right Man in the Wrong Place: A cargo loader who survives where trained military men would not, and can well be the only one to escape the planet.
Shock and Awe: The Lightning Rods in the first game and the M551 Pylon and Thunder Gauntlet in the sequel.
You Will Not Evade Me: Their Hydraulic Gauntlet (renamed the Grapple Fist in the sequel) can be used to grab enemies and drag Loader to them.
- An alternative to the Grapple Fist in the sequel is the Spiked Fist, which deals damage and also drags smaller enemies to the Loader.

Acrid

Subject #c25058 "ACRID"

Test Subject

^{Click here to see Acrid in Risk of Rain 2}

^{Click here to see Acrid in Risk of Rain Returns}

Risk of Rain: Acrid deals huge amounts of damage after stacking poisons from his Festering Wounds, Caustic Sludge, and Epidemic. Try to stun targets inside your Caustic Sludge for maximum damage. Remember that you can fight at both melee and range!

Risk of Rain 2: Acrid is a melee-range hybrid who uses powerful poisons to melt tanky enemies.

A strange dog-like creature that seems to be some form of biological weapon or experiment, transported between labs by the Contact Light. Acrid can deal a lot of damage over time by using hit and run attacks combined with ranged attacks, and can use his abilities to inflict serious damage to crowds of enemies from a distance.

Unlocked by finding his cage/box on the Sunken Catacombs level, then defeating him in Risk of Rain. In Risk of Rain 2, he can be unlocked by completing the challenge in the Void Fields.

Bittersweet Ending:
- In the first game: "…and so it left, with a new hunger: To be left alone."
- In the sequel: "…and so it left, with delusions of freedom."
Bouncy Bubbles: In Returns, his Toxic Bubble skill can be jumped on after being fired out.
Chained by Fashion: It was chained up in one of the shipping containers on the Contact Light. The crash seems to have freed him, but his shackles are still stuck around his wrists.
Damage Over Time: Acrid's toxins make it suitable for one to play this way.
Defeat Means Playable: To unlock him in the first game, he must be fought and defeated first.
Hit-and-Run Tactics: The character most obviously reliant on these, since he's great at rushing in, inflicting damage over time effects on everyone and then rushing out, but terrible at dealing a lot of damage to one target. His Caustic Leap ability in the sequel is ideal for both charging into combat and fleeing from it.
Hollywood Acid: Just read the blurb above, or the full ability descriptions.
HP to One: In Risk of Rain 2, his poison cannot kill enemies, only drop them to one hit point. An unlockable alternative version of his passive can kill enemies, but deals less damage.
Optional Boss: In Risk of Rain, Acrid is considered a boss or miniboss by the game and gets his own health bar at the top of the screen. If you encounter the cage again, you can fight him again if you want to.
Poison Is Corrosive: Seriously. Acrid is in love with these tropes.
Poisonous Person: Or mutated creature, in this case.
Sealed Badass in a Can: He was captured by the Void Reavers between both games. Entering the Void Fields and unlocking the cells frees him.
Sickly Green Glow: His poison is bright green in both games, but the sequel makes it actually glowing on top of that.
Technicolor Toxin: Bright green in this case.
Top-Heavy Guy: His hind legs in the first game are so small it's easy to miss that he even has legs.

Present in Risk of Rain

HAN-D

^{Click here to see HAN-D in Risk of Rain Returns}

Risk of Rain: NO MANUAL GIVEN FOR HAN-D MODEL.

A powerful melee combatant with crowd control abilities, HAN-D is the UES Contact Light's robot handyman. It is one of the few survivors that can heal on command (assuming it possesses any drones) but lacks any kind of reliable ranged firepower. It shines in multiplayer, where its crowd control abilities leave swarms of enemies stunned — and wide open for its allies to tear apart.

Unlocked in Risk of Rain by finding it in a container on the UES Contact Light, the game's final stage. The container can be identified by its unusual door. Not currently implemented in Risk of Rain 2, though the game files contain a beta version.

Attack Drone: HAN-D's second ability, Drone - Heal, releases a small combat drone to damage an enemy. It also restores health upon returning to HAN-D.
Demoted to Extra: Returns in Risk of Rain 2 as a background object during the character select screen.
Hyperspace Mallet: HAN-D's fourth ability, Forced_Reassembly, pulls a gigantic hammer from nowhere and slams it down, inflicting serious damage to all nearby enemies and knocking them into the air.
Megaton Punch: Its basic attack sends whole bunches of enemies sliding across the floor. If it gets the Boxing Gloves, you can easily knock a whole crowd off the screen.
Mighty Glacier: Moves and attacks very slowly, but hits hard and with lots of knockback. Plus, it has extra health and can heal on command.
Right Man in the Wrong Place: Or robot, rather, but it's definitely got a good chance of survival.
Superpowered Robot Meter Maids: It's just a janitorial robot. Then again, robots have hydraulics, which aren't known for being weak…
Tim Taylor Technology: HAN-D's third ability, Overclock, temporarily increases its attack speed and chance of stunning enemies. Overclock's duration can be extended by killing enemies.

Enforcer

The Enforcer

^{Click here to see the Enforcer in Risk of Rain Returns}

Risk of Rain: The Enforcer is a slow, but powerful character. Batting away enemies with Shield Slam guarantees you will keep enemies at a safe range. Make sure to use Protect and Serve against walls to prevent enemies from flanking you.

Likely the second survivor any player will unlock, the Enforcer lacks the mobility of the Commando, but makes up for it with the ability to effectively engage and incapacitate groups of enemies. His shotgun may lack range, but not stopping power. He does best if he can hunker down with his back to a wall and pulverize enemies in front.

Unlocked by defeating the Wandering Vagrant, Magma Worm, and Colossus. These kills do not have to be consecutive or completed all in the same run.

Barrier Warrior: His shield is the mainstay of his strategy. If you can find a ledge to hang on, you're practically invincible.
Bittersweet Ending: "...and so he left, mutated beyond recognition."
Blocking Stops All Damage: The Enforcer's shield can completely block attacks.
Deployable Cover: The Enforcer carries a heavy shield — it's no use whilst undeployed, but if he drops into a defensive stance, then enemies in that direction cannot hurt him at all and he can fire his shotgun faster.
Herd-Hitting Attack: All three of his basic attacks are designed for riot control.
Mighty Glacier: He moves slowly, even more so once he deploys his shield, but if he uses it right he can shred individuals or swarms with near invincibility.
Shield Bash: His second ability, usable whilst mobile or deployed, knocks nearby enemies away and stuns them for a second or two. Handy for setting up or giving yourself more breathing room.
Short-Range Shotgun: The Enforcer has the shortest main attack range of any survivor (bar the actual melee-oriented survivors like HAN-D or the Mercenary), but makes up for it by hitting every single enemy in that range.

Sniper

The Sniper

^{Click here to see the Sniper in Risk of Rain Returns}

Risk of Rain: The Sniper is the ultimate boss killer. A perfect reload and a fully charged Steady Aim, along with Spotter: SCAN, can one shot many bosses. Try to stand in a preferable position where you can charge Steady Aim for as long as possible.

The Sniper takes the Bandit's ability to engage single targets and dials it up even further — but proper use of their rifle demands skill. Also, they need good teammates to keep the heat off them so they can pick off targets effectively. In a pinch, the Sniper can backflip out of trouble and make a run for it.

Unlocked by beating the game once.

Ambiguous Gender: The Sniper is never referred to with gendered pronouns, including their ending text, which seems to be referring to both the Sniper and the Spotter at the same time.
Action Commands: After firing, the Sniper must reload their rifle manually. Timing the reload correctly grants a damage bonus on the next shot.
Boom, Headshot!: The Sniper's specialty. They can charge up to deal up to 2000% damage, which can be increased by stacking various bonuses (such as crit chance, and timed reloading of their rifle). There's an achievement/unlock for surpassing 5,000 damage with a single hit (though not strictly linked to the Sniper, they're by far the easiest character to do it with).
Crippling Overspecialization: The Sniper has an incredibly high damage output, making them perfect for killing bosses, but they do poorly against crowds, of which 90% of the game consists.
Pistol-Whipping: Returns adds the Improvise skill as an alternative to their primary attack, which has the Sniper hold their rifle by the barrel and bludgeon enemies with the stock. It doesn't deal a huge amount of damage and has very little range; but it's fast, doesn't require reloading, and knocks enemies back, meaning that it's a good set-up for Steady Aim.
Surveillance Drone: The Sniper is followed everywhere by a tiny recon drone they can send after the most powerful enemy on screen using their fourth ability. Any enemy highlighted by the drone has its full name and current/maximum HP displayed, and the Sniper's critical rate against that enemy is increased to 100%.
Unnecessary Combat Roll: Like the Commando, the Sniper has a roll ability that allows them to dodge out of combat while avoiding damage; however, it's actually a backflip. And it's very necessary; it enables the Sniper to put some distance between themselves and an enemy while still keeping their rifle trained on them.

Miner

The Miner

^{Click here to see the Miner in Risk of Rain Returns}

Risk of Rain: The Miner has short range but many dashes. In order to survive, you will have to balance both dashes and your extra jump to avoid enemy fire. Remember that Crush does a lot of damage!

Risk of Rain Returns: The Miner is a short range berserker with the ability to fire himself up for increased damage. In order to survive you will have to balance heat gained from Crush with skill usage to maximize time spent Scorching!

Highly mobile but lacking ranged attacks, the Miner must make use of his movement skills in order to survive effectively.

In Returns, he has been reworked around a new heat mechanic which incentivises aggresive play: upon reaching maximum heat, he enters Scorching, drastically boosting his damage and removing cooldowns on his skills.

Unlocked by defeating the miniboss found guarding his escape capsule in the Magma Caverns.

Blood Knight: While nearly every other survivor leaves on a saddened note, it seems his only problem by the time he's done is that his adrenaline rush still hasn't worn off, implying he, rather than being traumatized, just had the time of his life.
Dual Wielding: Take a closer look at his sprite. Yep, two mining picks, dual wielded.
Herd-Hitting Attack: ALL of his skills can hit every enemy within their area of affect.
Powerful Pick: The Miner uses a pickaxe for his basic attack (Crush).
Right Man in the Wrong Place: He's just a miner, and yet he can be the only one from the ship to survive the crash and escape back to civilization.
This Is a Drill: The drill is used for his second ability, Drill Charge.

Chef

CHEF

^{Click here to see CHEF in Risk of Rain Returns}

Risk of Rain Returns: The CHEF is extremely proficient at dealing with large groups of customers. Combining a delicious Glaze with a finishing Sear is sure to dazzle even the toughest of crowds!

The Chef, once a simple cooking robot in charge of the transport ship's kitchen, is now an unusually effective, high-damage close range fighter, using its usual cooking tools and implements as deadly weapons, and whose ultimate ability allows it to boost is other three attacks for greatly increased damage.

Unlocked by collecting all five "edible" items (Bustling Fungus included) in one run.

A.I. Is a Crapshoot: Its ending text implies it has forgotten it was supposed to be a cook.
Chef of Iron: Slightly more literal than is usual, but yes, this chef is very, very good at combat.
Not the Intended Use: The logbook description for MUL-T in the second game implies that CHEF units are programmed to be extremely adaptable. This was probably just meant to allow them to get creative with limited resources or unusual orders in the kitchen, but it seems like it also allows them to adapt remarkably well to combat.
Right Man in the Wrong Place: Or robot, rather, but being the one to survive while only being a cook qualifies it for this trope.
Status Buff: Its fourth ability boosts the effects of its other three.
Superpowered Robot Meter Maids: Even worse case than HAN-D's, since janitorial duties might sometimes involve moving heavy objects. This one's a cook, and yet someone thought to equip it with burners that could fry entire hordes and cleaver-throwing skills.
Throwing Your Sword Always Works: Or meat cleaver, as the case may be.
Unusual Euphemism: It seems to be convinced its enemies are actually customers.

Introduced in Risk of Rain 2

MUL-T

Right Tool for the Wrong Job

Risk of Rain 2: MUL-T is an aggressive survivor who has the tools necessary for any job!

One of many mass-produced construction robots. The MUL-T robots are inherently equipped with the same processor chips as the CHEF series of robots, but have disengaged learning cores compared to the latter. An incident involving a pair of human maintenance workers restored this particular MUL-T's access to its learning core, granting it the adaptability and creativity needed to survive on the planet. With access to a variety of high-powered, long range tools such as a nailgun and a rebar puncher as well as the ability to swap loadouts on the fly, MUL-T is a versatile survivor capable of handling anything.

Unlocked by completing the first teleporter event 5 times.

Abnormal Ammo: It can blast rebar at a high enough velocity to punch through any number of foes. One of its unlockable alternative primary attacks is the Scrap Launcher, which fires scrap metal that explodes on contact.
Anchored Attack Stance: Power Mode puts MUL-T on all four of its wheels, making it dramatically slower but buffing up its armor in addition to allowing it to dual-wield its current tools.
Animation Bump: Inverted. MUL-T has incredibly stiff animations compared to the other, more organic survivors, which help sell its robotic nature.
Car Fu: Its third ability turns it into a car briefly, allowing it to go quickly and dealing an appropriate amount of damage to enemies it hits.
Chainsaw Good: One of its unlockable primary attacks is a circular saw.
Grenade Launcher: The scrap launcher fires hunks of scrap that explode on contact.
More Dakka: Its nailgun is very inaccurate, but also very fast-firing.
Nail 'Em: Its nailgun, which true to form is a very inaccurate weapon; it does have a rate of fire that puts most machine guns to shame however.
Right Man in the Wrong Place: Much like HAN-D, it makes do with its construction equipment.
Stance System: Its fourth ability simply allows it to switch between its weapons and active items. Its alternate fourth ability lets it fire both primaries at the same time and gain armor, but lose movement speed.
Super-Powered Robot Meter Maids: Somewhat justified, as most of its weapons such as a buzzsaw or a nailgun are things that a mobile multitool would logically have and would be fairly easy to weaponize. Though having a rebar punch that acts more like a railgun might have been a little overkill for actual repair duties, and one has to wonder who decided to give it a stun grenade.
Trick Bomb: Despite otherwise being kitted for building, it can shoot out a cluster of stun grenades.

Artificer

The Artificer

Herald of the House Beyond

^{Click here to see the Artificer in Risk of Rain Returns}

Risk of Rain 2: The Artificer is a high damage burst survivor who excels in fighting large groups and bosses alike.

Risk of Rain Returns: The Artificer uses her elemental abilities to defeat her enemies with precision. By raising Frost Barriers, she's able to keep foes at bay in order to prepare Charged Nanobombs, or to escape into the optimal range for her flurry of Flame Chakrams.

A member of the House Beyond, a sect of a religious group known as the High Court that believes that Heaven is a physical location somewhere in the universe. Powered by sufficiently advanced technology, members of the House Beyond, including the Artificer herself, comb the vastness of space hoping to find Heaven. Boasting extreme aerial mobility with her jet pack suit and elemental weapons, the Artificer is a powerful burst-damage-oriented survivor who uses the skies and statuses to her advantage.

She is unlocked in the second game by purchasing for 10 Lunar Coins in the Bazaar Between Time. She's also the only Survivor from 2 to be ported to make an appearance in Risk of Rain Returns, where she is unlocked by visiting ten different stages.

Bittersweet Ending: Her Risk of Rain Returns ending quote: "...and so she left, passions faded to an ember."
Bold Explorer: A member of a religious order that explores the cosmos, and her ending in 2 states that she has become passionate about exploration for its own sake.
Clarke's Third Law: While she is obviously designed to look like a classic fantasy mage, her equipment is just very advanced technology, the specifics of which are a closely-guarded secret of the High Court. This serves to make her stand out from the denizens of Petrichor V, which is absolutely rife with real magic.
Coup de Grâce: If an enemy is low enough on health and struck by Snapfreeze it will immediately finish them off. This becomes especially useful against elite enemies with a ton of health, shields, or both.
Deadly Disc: Her primary attack in Returns are Flame Chakrams, which arc forward before stopping and spinning in place, damaging any enemies that they touch.
Dishing Out Dirt: Tectonic Surge in Returns allows her to shatter the ground beneath herself to launch through the air, as wello as creating a platform of earth beneath her.
Earn Your Happy Ending: Her Risk of Rain 2 ending quote: "...and so she left, in love with a new passion: to explore."
Fire, Ice, Lightning: Her suite of abilities follows this approach: Flame Bolt, Flamethrower, Localized Sun, Flame Chakrams, Cast Nano-Spear, Snapfreeze, Frost Barrier, Ion Surge, Charged Nano-Bomb, and Pulse Spear. The only skills that does not fit this theme is the Plasma Bolt in 2 and Tectonic Surge in Returns.
Flying Firepower: Is able to hover mid-air, letting her avoid close ranged attacks while raining abilities from above.
Glass Cannon: While not technically the squishiest, the price for all the damage she can unload is a lack of any defensive skills, and her only mobility skill makes her a sitting duck for ranged enemies.
Jet Pack: Is wearing a small one that lets her hover just above the ground and, in 2, also slow her descent.
Power Floats: Subverted. She mimics the look, but she does wear a propulsion device.
Sealed Badass in a Can: In the second game you find her trapped in a Crystal Prison in the Bazaar. Her freedom can be bought.
Squishy Wizard: In the second game, she completely lacks defensive skills and has the second-lowest health of any survivor in the game, right behind the Huntress.

REX

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rex___default.png

Symbiotes

Risk of Rain 2: REX is a half robot / half plant that uses HP to cast devastating skills from a distance. The plant nor the robot could survive this planet alone – but thankfully they have each other.

A robot created to work in a hydroponics bay of a spaceship, the management of which ordered REX terminated when it started acting outside of protocol. It is unclear as to how REX ended up on the same ship as the other survivors. REX is a high-risk, high-reward character that relies heavily on managing your health.

Introduced in the Scorched Acres update, REX can be unlocked by bringing the Fuel Array from your drop pod to the Abyssal Depths without letting your health fall below 50% to repair it.

Abnormal Ammo: Its main ammunition is syringes full of whatever toxin the hybrid is pumping out.
Cast from Hit Points: Seed Barrage and Tangling Growth both sacrifice a percentage of REX's current health to use. Fortunately, DIRECTIVE: Inject and Tangling Growth let REX replenish its health.
Earn Your Happy Ending: Its ending quote in Risk of Rain 2: "...and so it left, ready to grow into something more."
Green Thumb: Half of REX's skills come from the plant rather than the robot itself. REX is also this in the more mundane sense, as the cabbage hybrid it carries around is unsustainable due to being spliced wrong and only survives because of REX's care.
Grew Beyond Their Programming: Its survivor log states that it was working outside of its protocols to keep the cabbage hybrid it has with it alive, but it wasn't actually doing anything harmful and the workers in the hydroponics bay grew quite fond of it. The ending implies that it is going to keep growing and changing.
Life Drain: The last syringe of every barrage heals you slightly for a portion of the damage done, and Tangling Growth will suck the life out of everything it grabs and give it to you; the latter can bring you from near-dead to full if you snag a big enough group of enemies.
Mechanically Unusual Class: REX is the only character that must sacrifice health to use certain abilities, but it's also the only character that gets innate lifesteal without a Leeching Seed, albeit also restricted to certain abilities.
Nonstandard Character Design: While the rest of the cast is at least roughly humanoid, REX is quadrupedal and appears to lack arms entirely.
Poisonous Person: Many of its attacks deliver a vicious toxin that slows enemies, corrodes their armor and weakens their attack damage.
Right Man in the Wrong Place: Just like every other robot survivor, REX was not designed for combat and presumably had no experience with it prior to the crash of the Contact Light.
Superpowered Robot Meter Maids: Played With. Was originally created to take care of a plant in a hydroponics farm, but its most powerful abilities come from the cabbage hybrid rather than from REX.

Captain

The Captain

Tired Veteran

Risk of Rain 2: The Captain is a unique survivor that can control the battlefield with utility and damage - with help from the UES Safe Travels.

The captain of the UES Safe Travels, one of the few surviving captains of the old colony ships, who with his ship was pulled out of retirement to be dispatched to the UES Contact Light's last known location as told by its Distress Call. Despite his age, and his missing limbs, he has no hesitation in going forward with the mission, and even touching down on the planet itself if he has to. He's a much more support-focused survivor, capable of locking down dangerous enemies and calling down two helpful supply beacons.

Introduced in the Release Update, the Captain can be unlocked by completing the game on any difficulty.

Arm Cannon: The Artificial Limb for his left arm, functions as a shotgun that can increase its range when charged.
Asskicking Leads to Leadership: The captain of the Safe Travels is perfectly capable of holding his own alongside more direct fighters like Commando or Huntress.
Attack Drone: Uniquely, the Captain is allowed to start the game with the "Defensive Microbots" Legendary Item in his inventory as a passive effect, and additionally is able to bestow a copy of it to any Drone he buys. This significantly increases his longevity against projectile-heavy enemies, especially if he is able to buy lots of Drones to accompany him.
Crutch Character: The Healing and Stun Beacons are extremely useful in early game when you don't have a lot of items and enemies don't spawn quite as frequently, making them viable methods of healing and crowd control respectively. However, once you break into midgame and rack up an effective arsenal, their utility drops off greatly, as Healing suffers from Can't Catch Up compared to the heal power you get from items and Stun suffers from Awesome, but Impractical. Can also extend to Equipment Supply Beacons if you get Gesture of the Drowned and/or lots of Fuel Cells, after which point Equipment cooldown becomes almost meaningless.
Cutting the Knot: The Hacking Beacon (one of the two unlockable Beacons) serves this purpose; why run around gathering money to pay for stuff when you can just hack it and get it for free? This one tends to fall a bit into Too Awesome to Use territory depending on the situation, as there's typically a lot of stuff to spend money on and the range on your Beacon is limited, so choosing what to get for free can be a bit tricky (unless it's something obviously rare like a Legendary Chest).
Gameplay and Story Integration: He is unable to use his Orbital Probe and Orbital Supply Beacon abilities if he is in the Golden Coast, Bulwark's Ambry, Bazaar Between Time, or Void Fields due to the fact that his ship cannot reach him at those locations.
Handicapped Badass: Is described as having prosthetics, the obvious one being his Arm Cannon left hand. Despite this, he's just as capable of kicking ass as the rest of the cast of playable characters.
Jumped at the Call: In spite of his retirement, age, and missing limbs, he seemed to be quite eager to go on an adventure after being "bored" of retirement.
Logical Weakness: Half of his abilities rely on his ship providing on-demand firing support. Once he's in a sub-dimension or somewhere without access to the sky, these abilities are disabled until he returns to the normal stages.
Mandatory Unretirement: He was yanked out of his retirement to go on this dangerous mission. Despite his exasperation at how secretive these missions always are, he's anything but reluctant, having describing himself as being "bored" in retirement.
Mighty Glacier: The Captain is very strong but lacks any form of mobility to start with and has one of the worst starting attack speeds in the game. Overcoming these challenges with the right items becomes a centerpoint of playing Captain effectively.
Orbital Bombardment: The Captain's utility and special skills has him signal his ship to call down something to drop down on where the Captain indicates, dealing a lot of damage in a small area. They're disabled in Hidden Realms stages because the ship can't track your location.
- Taken to extremes with the alternate utility skill, the OGM-72 DIABLO Strike. Instead of calling down multiple smaller probes, he calls down one massive probe which is the strongest single attack in the game.
Retired Badass: Was one of the old colony captains, a job apparently so dangerous that he's one of the only ones left. He was in the middle of retirement before he was called onto this mission.
Shock and Awe: His secondary and one of the options for his supply beacon can shock enemies with electricity, temporarily stunning them.
Short-Range Shotgun: Subverted. While the Vulcan Shotgun is normally pretty short-ranged, the spread can be lowered by charging the attack. Fully charged, the shotgun is extremely accurate.
Shotguns Are Just Better: In addition to being extremely badass, the Captain's Arm Cannon is one of the most powerful primary attacks in the game; it fires 8 pellets per shot for 120% base damage each and a Proc Coefficient of 0.75, giving him massive damage output and extraordinarily high synergy with On-Hit and chance-based effects even compared to characters with fast firing speeds such as the Commando. Overcome his cripplingly slow attack speed and he can pretty much wreak havoc with a rapid-fire shotgun arm and a sufficiently packed arsenal.
Support Party Member: Is the most support-focused Survivor in the game, and naturally will fill this role in any multiplayer game; with a tazer that can lock down a tough enemy for an extended period, and a variety of Supply Beacons that he can call down, ranging from providing an AOE healing circle, to an electrical field that periodically stuns any enemy that gets near it.
There Is No Kill Like Overkill: The Diablo Strike is this the definition of this. It calls down a massive orbital strike which deals 40000% damage. ^note However, it also takes 20 seconds to land once you aim it at a target, and if you're not careful, you can hit yourself with it too...

Heretic (UNMARKED SPOILERS)

Kur-skan, the Heretic

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/heretic___default.png

Unorthodoxy Risen

Risk of Rain 2: The Heretic is a powerful character who can only be accessed through extraordinary means.

A native of Petrichor V. She tried to hijack the UES Contact Light to escape the planet, using Providence's attack on the ship as a distraction. She was killed by Providence and her pieces scattered across its moon.

Introduced in the Anniversary Update, the Heretic can only be used if all four Lunar Items of Heresy (Visions of Heresy, Strides of Heresy, Hooks of Heresy, and Essence of Heresy) are obtained in the same run, turning the survivor into a revived version of her.

Back from the Dead: How she becomes playable: once a single character equips all four Heresy items, they take on her form.
Bird People: She has birdlike features, like feathers, a beak, and clawed feet. It's implied that she is (or was) the same species as the Alloy Vulture enemies.
Bittersweet Ending: …and so they left, bitterly avenged and deeply lost.
Bizarre Alien Senses: Her Survivor log mentions her being able to sense the electromagnets in the walls of the Contact Light.
Blade Below the Shoulder: Her hands were turned into immensely sharp talons after her death. They remain that way when she revives.
Broke Your Arm Punching Out Cthulhu: She fought Providence himself in her Last Stand at the Contact Light's bridge. She lost and died to his sword.
Difficult, but Awesome: She has the most powerful base stats, is the only character with a base triple jump, and is arguably capable of dealing more damage with the right setup than any other character. But she's also quite fragile due to her innate health degeneration; you must either get an item that cancels it (e.g., the Lunar item Transcendence) or carefully use Shadowfade when needed to recharge her health. You must also take care to avoid fall damage, since she's more prone to it than other characters, and her floaty physics often cause her to be launched into the air in a way that would damage her if you don't take care to make sure she lands safely. (The legendary item H3AD-5T v2 negates all fall damage, but naturally, it's rare.)

But even more importantly, you can't select her from the select screen; you must equip the four Lunar "Heresy" items on the same character to get her, which ordinarily requires at least nine Lunar Coins - one to get to the shop, and at least eight more to get the items (probably a lot more if you're not playing on Command). If you're planning to use her in a run, it may help to get Lunar item Eulogy Zero, which replaces 5% of random drops with Lunar items. The more stacks of the Heresy items you equip on her, the more powerful her abilities become (though this does lengthen their cooldown), and multiple stacks of Transcendence may help as well. (Cooldowns can be lessened with the legendary item Alien Head or the Lunar item Purity, the latter of which has a negative effect on luck that can be exactly offset with the legendary item 57 Leaf Clover.)
Extra Eyes: She has five eyes in an X formation, with her largest eye being at the center.
Fragile Speedster: A strange variant in that she actually has the strongest base stats of any survivor, but her natural health degeneration means players must either employ items that cancel it (Transcendence, stacks of Cautious Slug, etc.), or carefully manage Shadowfade to ensure her health remains at an optimal level.
Life Drain: Unlike the other survivors, her health degenerates instead of regenerating. She loses 1.37% of her health per second. She can compensate this with her Shadowfade, which heals her for as long as it's active. Alternatively, the Lunar item Transcendence completely cancels this by converting all but 1 of her health into shields, which in turn negates her health degeneration (and raises her HP by 50%, but also negates items that improve health regeneration).
Lightning Bruiser: She has more health than any other survivor, can strike extremely hard, and is also immensely mobile, capable of teleporting and triple-jumping. She can hit harder and move faster than anyone else.
Mind Hive: The Heretic is referred to as "She" in her log but is referred to as "They" in her ending, implying that she and your original Survivor now both exist in the same body and share it together.
No Name Given: Averted. Her real name is known. She's the only survivor who averts this.
The Punishment: For her heresy, her corpse was "Eviscerated". The Heresy item logs tell parts of it:
"...and for her betrayal, and her lies, and her scheming ways, the Heretic was violently separated into four distinctive pieces, each to be scattered across the farthest depths of the Moon. First, her many eyes were plucked from her skull and sealed in boiling glass, forced to gaze upon her failure. Her arms were warped into terrible blades, so she may no longer find joy in study or tooling. Her legs were scattered to the two poles of the moon, twisted in a wicked position, in a field of obsidian thorns and her heart, too wicked and full of hate, was left where she once stood – at the site of her betrayal." - The Evisceration of Kur-skan, the Heretic, III-VI.
Purple Is Powerful: All of her abilities have a purple tinge on them. The Heretic herself has purple feathers.
Purposefully Overpowered: The Heretic has an absolutely monstrous stat baseline on top of the extremely powerful Heresy skills at her disposal. This does come at the cost of having to acquire all four separate Heresy items, as well as losing all the abilities (active and passive) of your original Survivor.
Secret Character: She cannot be accessed from the character selection screen without mods. She can only be played as if another survivor obtains her remains and transforms into her.
Token Heroic Orc: She's implied to be the same species as the Alloy Vultures, but she's the only one that helps the survivors.

Introduced in Survivors of the Void

Railgunner

The Railgunner

Forgotten Nomad

Risk of Rain 2: The Railgunner is a long-range, single target survivor that can instantly kill any high priority target - and from any range.

A reimagining of the first game's Sniper, who wields a powerful railgun that can deal massive damage to anything she hits with it.

She is unlocked by default with the Survivors of the Void DLC active.

Action Commands: After firing a scoped shot with her M99 Sniper, the Railgunner is given the opportunity to perform a perfect reload. If successful, she can fire her next shot sooner then normal and her next scoped shot deals increased damage. If she fails, her gun is completely unusable until the normal reload completes. Her alternative secondary, HH44 Marksman, averts this.
Always Accurate Attack: Her gun's XQR Smart Round System fires tracking shots that will always hit their target.
Attack Its Weak Point: While using the scope, she can strike enemies' weak points. A shot in the weak point will always crit. It's also the only way the Railgunner can deal critical damage.
Blown Across the Room: Her Concussion Devices are explosive mines that send enemies around them flying when they detonate. It can also send her flying away, which is useful for reaching high places.
BFG: Her gun, the M99 Sniper is a large railgun with multiple fire modes. The backpack she carries are the gun's reactor and heat sink. Her shots can deal 1,000% base damage, increased to 1,500% if she does a perfect reload beforehand. When overcharged, it's so powerful it can instakill bosses.
Critical Hit Class: Thanks to the combination of her scope giving her an effective 100% critical hit chance and her passive giving her increased critical damage from critical hit items.
Expy: To the first game's Sniper. Word of God outright refers to her as such.
Freeze Ray: Cyrocharge, her alternative Special, allows her overcharged shot to freeze her target instead of disabling her weapon, but its damage is half of Overcharge's.
Heroic RRoD: After using her Overcharge, the Railgunner will be unable to use her railgun for 5 seconds.
Swiss-Army Gun: Her railgun has several fire modes. While it can fire powerful shots, it can also fire tracking shots that never miss and be overcharged for massive damage.
Truth in Television: Railgunner's lore entry has her discussing the history of the term "sniper" with an unknown second party, which is entirely true; the term originated from real-life Snipe Hunts - the skills necessary to hunt a snipe translated to the military marksman role, and thus was named for it.

Void Fiend

「V??oid Fiend』

『Co??rupted Am?nesiac】

Risk of Rain 2: The Void Fiend is a corrupted survivor that fluctuates between a controlled and corrupted form, each with different strengths and weaknesses. Managing this curse has become its fate.

A mutated Commando that wields the power of the void. It can switch between two modes, one in which its powers are controlled and focused, and the other having them run wild and savage.

It is unlocked by either completing 50 waves of the Simulacrum or defeating the Voidling.

Abnormal Limb Rotation Range: Its head can swivel around a full 360 degrees to look wherever the player's camera is directed. It's most apparent if you have items that get attached to its head, making it much easier to determine which way the head is facing. Considering how easily it falls off when the Void Fiend dies, it's possible its head isn't even attached to its body.
And I Must Scream: He was stuck inside the Simulacrum for an incomprehensible amount of time, his body changed by the Void in horrific ways. He eventually found a way out.
Arm Cannon: Its mutated right arm has been turned into one. It also fires Flood blasts through it.
Body Horror: Its body has been so mutated it barely resembles what it used to be. Its left hand is clawed and glows, while its right arm is bigger and it's been transformed into a mantis shrimp-like Arm Cannon. It also has chitinous growths all over its body, to the point it's nearly impossible to distinguish whether it's still wearing a space suit or if its just exposed flesh.
Cast from Hit Points: The Corrupted version of Suppress sacrifices a quarter of its health to increase its corruption by 25%, allowing it to last longer in that form.
Charged Attack: Flood can either be tap fired to launch a fast-moving bolt, or charged to launch a void bomb that deals more damage. Corrupted Flood skips the charge altogether to let you immediately fire bombs.
Cursed with Awesome: The Void Fiend's powerset lets it take down armies and giants with either precise, controlled bursts or unrelenting savagery. This comes at the cost of its humanity, leaving it just a tormented shell of what it once was.
Difficult, but Awesome: Mastering its Void Corruption mechanics is the key to playing it effectively. Both versions have their strengths and weaknesses, and a big part of the character is knowing when to unleash hell in close range (and extend the carnage if you have health to spare), or back off and heal up to continue the fight. Transforming at the wrong time can easily screw you over if you aren't prepared, and in the midst of heavy fighting, it's very easy to not notice your corruption building until it hits max and you suddenly shift forms.
Dual Mode Unit: Its Void Corruption bar has it switch between two different versions of its abilities. The Controlled version is focused, tactical and long-ranged, while the Corrupted version is powerful, brutal and short-ranged. This is indicated by its Corruption bar. When it reaches 100%, the Void Fiend becomes Corrupted until the bar fully empties, after which it'll revert to its Controlled version. Corruption both increases and reduces over time, but it can also be gained by taking damage and dealing critical damage and is reduced with any direct healing. Each Void item it has also permanently increases the bar by 2%. If you obtain 50 items, the Void Fiend will remain in its corrupted form permanently.
Flash Step: Trespass has it phase into the Void for a few seconds. The Controlled version cleanses its debuffs and moves it upwards, while the Corrupted version pushes it forward.
Floating Limbs: Its right arm floats detached from the rest of its body. While not easily noticable on its default skin, it's far more pronounced on its mastery skin.
Heal Thyself: The Controlled version of Suppress sacrifices a quarter of its corruption bar progress to heal a quarter of its own health.
Hand Blast: Its primary Drown fires energy beams from its left hand. Its Controlled version fires precise and slowing blasts over long distances, while the Corrupted version is a full-blown Wave-Motion Gun that burns through anything in front of it.
Humanoid Abomination: It's stated to be a Commando twisted by the void, but you'd be forgiven for thinking it's actually a voidborne monster at first glance.
Inhuman Human: Implied. Though it's a Commando that has been transformed by the void and uses void-based abilities, it's a playable character who can play just fine in co-op. This seems to indicate that even with the corruption wracking its body and mind, the Void Fiend still has just enough humanity left to fight alongside the other Survivors instead of against them.
"It" Is Dehumanizing: Referred to only as "it" in-game.
Not Even Human: It's so corrupted by the Void that it looks more like a monster trying to imitate a Survivor than a Survivor that's been horrifically warped by eldritch energies. This may also explain "It" Is Dehumanizing, being that it's so far gone it's more of a feral creature than a person now.
Off with His Head!: If killed, its head will roll away from the rest of its body.
Pain & Gain: The Void Fiend's transformation meter can be increased by taking damage, you can even prolong the transformation by intentionally damaging yourself with your special skill.
Painting the Medium: It is apparently so heavily corrupted by the Void that even its name and those of its attacks cannot be parsed properly, full of characters that read only as question marks.
Power Floats: Its running animation has it hover above the ground.
Power of the Void: Ever wanted to use the Void's energies for your own? Now you can, as the Void Fiend!
Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Going by its "departing the planet" text, markedly different from any other survivor, the Void Fiend is not happy to be left behind, and will be heading to Earth for vengeance.
『...and s?o it c??omes】... 「fo?r al?l of us.』
Tragic Monster: It's a Commando that has been made into a void monster. If there's anything left of the Commando in there, it's hidden very deep within a monstrous form.
Was Once a Man: Stated to have been a former Commando, after being corrupted by the void. Notably, it is neither the Commando we play as in 1 nor 2.
Wave-Motion Gun: The Corrupted variant of Drown can best be described as a short range death beam that can annihilate anything that gets in its way.

Introduced in Risk of Rain Returns

Drifter

The Drifter

Risk of Rain Returns: The Drifter is a resourceful brawler with a uniquely supportive playstyle. Generate scrap with Blunt Force and Suffocate in order to salvage them into a powerful bundle of temporary items for you or your allies.

A resourceful brawler who got more than she bargained for when she stowed away on the ill-fated Contact Light. Her unique gimmick is Scrap, a resource generated by her melee attacks that is used to fuel more powerful abilities.

She is unlocked by recycling six drones in a single run.

Bittersweet Ending: "...and so she left, with hands cold and still hungry."
Coup de Grâce: Suffocate instantly kills any enemy under 20% health, making it excellent for finishing off especially powerful enemies and bosses.
Improbable Weapon User: She smacks aliens around with her massive backpack and the random junk that she pulls out of it.
Right Man in the Wrong Place: Not only is she absolutely not somebody who would be expected to fight their way through a planet filled with hostile aliens, the fact that she was a stowaway means she wasn't even supposed to be on the ship.

Pilot

The Pilot

Risk of Rain Returns: The Pilot is an airborne fighter that excels at raining damage from above. With the strong recoil of his weaponry and Rapid Deployment of his parachute, he can leap high into the sky to ready for a precision Airstrike.

The Pilot of the Contact Light. The Pilot focuses on mobility, with abilities that allow him to glide over the battlefield and rain death down from above.

He is unlocked by collecting 15 monster logs.

Bittersweet Ending: "...and so he left, with his dreams of the sky below."
Handicapped Badass: The bottom parts of both his legs are prosthetic. It doesn't seem to slow him down much.
Herd-Hitting Attack: His default basic attack, Clusterfire, is a three-shot burst that pierces through enemies on the third shot.

Secret Character

ROBOMANDO

Risk of Rain Returns: Your Robomando model G comes equipped with everything it needs to extract resources from hostile environments. It's [sic] patented RE-WIRE allows instant access to any company sanctioned containers or drone utilities.

A secret survivor added in Risk of Rain Returns. At first glance appearing to be nothing more than a downsized Commando with weaker versions of his skills, the Robomando sets itself apart with its special skill, which allows it to instantly purchase any chest or drone for free. Combined with a short cooldown time of five seconds, it allows the Robomando to quickly snowball items at a faster rate than other survivors in a game where the difficulty constantly increases with time.

Face Plant: Its utility skill, EVASIVE MANEUVER, has it launch itself forward and belly-flop awkwardly onto the ground. The skill's description describes it as such.
ATTEMPT TO DIVE FORWARD A SMALL DISTANCE.
YOU CANNOT BE HIT EARLY IN THE MANEUVER.
Master of Unlocking: RE-WIRE allows it to activate any mechanical device, including chests, for free.
Mechanically Unusual Class: It's the only survivor in Returns that doesn't get any Providence Trials or alternate skills.
Secret Character: And a very well-hidden one at that— the player needs to find the Strange Battery hidden in the Temple of the Elders, put it into the storage chest hidden underneath the Contact Light, start another run to collect the Strange Battery from the Storage Chest on stage two and then enter stage four when the clock is between 22 and 23 minutes, then find the deactivated Robomando in that stage, use the battery, and then die while Robomando is still alive.

Monsters

Just who are these guys, anyway? What did you do to piss them off?

Bosses

Introduced in Risk of Rain

Wandering Vagrant

Wandering Vagrant - Gentle Protector

A large boss version of the common jellyfish enemies encountered in the first level.

Degraded Boss: Weaker versions known as Young Vagrants are encountered as enemies in the Contact Light.
Desperation Attack: At low HP, it will charge up a massive Genesis Supernova around it that deals serious damage to all enemies. Run away or finish it off quickly. Should you get lucky enough, you may be rewarded with the Genesis Loop, allowing you to perform the same attack automatically in the same condition.
Living Gasbag: Apparently, it manages to float through a mix of gasses that it can also propel itself with, and mix into an explosive compound which it then spews at you.
Macross Missile Massacre: In Risk of Rain, its only damaging attack is to launch a half-dozen orbs that home in on your location and explode.
Warmup Boss:
- In Risk of Rain, it just floats slowly around, has an attack that can be dodged by just moving constantly, and presents a damn big target in general. It's telling that this is the first boss to get degraded to mook.
- Downplayed in Risk of Rain 2. Its orb attack is slightly more dangerous, but the orbs can be shot down. It also has a new pulse attack that can seriously hurt or kill any survivor that isn't behind cover. It isn't quite the pushover it was in the first game, but it's still one of the easiest bosses.

Magma Worm

Magma Worm - Ancient Lava Swimmer

A large worm that's either made of lava or excretes it.

Bizarre Alien Biology: Magma Worms are naturally blind. Their "eyes" are stated to be a sort of symbiotic parasite that enables them to see in exchange for protection.
Convection, Schmonvection: Averted in the sequel, which is in fact its main form of offense: It hardly needs to attack you directly, even if it will. It just needs to be close enough to you that you inevitably catch on fire from the sheer heat.
Incendiary Exponent: As expected from a magma worm. It even leaves trails of fire in the spots it surfaces from and burrows into. The item you get from it lets you move faster and leave fire behind you when you kill something.
Sand Worm: Except this one doesn't give one crap about what terrain it is; it just melts through.
Segmented Serpent: The Magma Worm has an impressive length, but this is also one of its weaknesses, as any attacks that can hit multiple enemies can hit many parts of the Worm at once in Risk of Rain to deal lots of damage quickly. Averted in the sequel.
Shock and Awe: The elite version is exclusively Overloading (Blue and shocking). This is extremely dangerous because each segment is capable of individually shocking you, building up damage really quickly if it gets close enough.
Super-Persistent Predator: Along with the much slower Wandering Vagrant, this is one of the only bosses that can follow you outside of the area it spawns, which is a hassle when trying to wait out the survival timer.
Wake-Up Call Boss: Of the three possible first-level bosses in the first game, this is by far the most dangerous. The sequel relegates it to the later levels.

Colossus

Colossus - Giant Stone Guardian

A huge version of the Stone Golems.

The Cameo: One version of Distant Roost in the sequel has what appears to be the castle-like head of one of the first game's colossi lying inert on a pillar in the water.
Flunky Boss: It can summon smaller golem mooks to help fight you. Elite versions can spawn other kinds of mooks, like jellyfish for the Overloading one.
Rock Monster: It looks like it was made of stone bricks, with its head even having parapets on it.
Stone Wall: It's slow, can't move from the platform it spawns on, and its only two moves are a telegraphed foot stomp and summoning smaller golems. However, the thing takes an absolute beating before it finally goes down.

Ancient Wisp

Ancient Wisp - Banished and Chained

A huge, humanoid burning wisp that targets you with columns of fire.

Asteroids Monster: On death, it splits up into two Wisps and two Greater Wisps.
Playing with Fire: It will occasionally create a field of fire columns around itself. While easy to avoid if you watch the ground, they will do quite a ton of damage if you don't.
Purple Is Powerful: Its "body" is engulfed in purple flames, and its main form of attack drops purple lightning in a line in front of it.

Ifrit

Ifrit - Scion of the Infernal King

A large, demon-like creature long ago sent into an exile off on a far-away planet after it burned down an entire space colony… turns out that icy planet was this one.

Hell Hound: Its appearance is a giant dog with horns and crimson fur, as well as fire scattered on his body.
Kill It with Fire: As expected, all of its attacks involve fire.
Mix-and-Match Critters: It looks like a rather bizarre mix of a kangaroo, a goat, and a dog.
Sealed Evil in a Can: Sent into exile from a far off planet. This planet.
You Will Not Evade Me: Likes to summon two massive stone pillars so the player cannot flee.

Imp Overlord

Imp Overlord - Lord of the Red Plane

A huge version of the normal imps, with several red eyes and a penchant for both lasers and claw slashes.

Energy Weapon: Oddly enough, the laser doesn't actually harm you. The billowing smoke that pops up afterwards does.
Fragile Speedster: For a boss in Risk of Rain. It has less health and is one of the few bosses in the game vulnerable to knockback and stun (alongside the Ancient Wisp). It compensates by sharing the imp teleportation with even faster attacks. It can be on top of you and slash you to pieces in seconds if you're not attentive. Less so in Risk of Rain 2, where if anything it's just as impervious to crowd control effects as other bosses.
King Mook: Averted in Risk of Rain, where it's just a Giant Mook. Played straight in Risk of Rain 2, where it has a different style of teleporting that is slower and it has completely different attacks.
Red and Black and Evil All Over: Fitting with its demonic appearance.
Teleport Spam: Like the imps it rules over, expect a lot of teleporting in both games.
Terms of Endangerment: In its Monster Log in the second game, it refers to its subordinate Imps as "sluts".

Toxic Beast

Toxic Beast - Mother of Many

A gigantic alien boar who spawns its own younglings to attack you.

Flunky Boss: Every time it squeals, a squad of pigs attacks you.
Full-Boar Action: In Death World alien flavor.

Cremator

Cremator - Shelled Artillery

A large, lava-swimming creature that launches large amounts of flaming rocks at the survivor from hundreds of meters away.

Crosshair Aware: The game tells you exactly where the stones will land. Be aware, however, that they can still hit you even if they're just on their way to the targets. Also, there are a lot of them, so trying to position yourself between the shots gets very tricky very fast.
"Get Back Here!" Boss: Mild, but there. It spawns in one of two or three magma pits on the map, usually the one furthest from the teleporter, and will bomb you from there until you manage to reach it. This can make for a rather tedious (and dangerous) trip over to the pits while being assailed by enemies and bombed by lava rocks. Not so mild, however, if your range isn't too good, as it's a fast swimmer and moves around constantly, so it remains in your range for very short intervals. This, however, can be solved with an Unstable Watch.
Lightning Bruiser: One of the more dangerous bosses to come across, especially for melee characters. It has a decent chunk of health, coupled with a shell that reduces damage from the back. In addition, its boulder-tossing attack can do a lot of damage if you can't dodge it, especially if you're close enough to attack it. Finally, it swims very quickly through the lava, meaning that it is vulnerable for a short time to many classes.

Scavenger

Scavenger - Tasting Your Own Medicine

A medium creature that seems to have gotten the same idea as you to load itself with everything it finds. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to want to share…

Appears in both the first and second game. The second game also gives it the ability to reach into its pack and add another item to its equipment.

BFG: Risk of Rain 2 gives it an enormous gun that's about half the size of the scavenger and several times larger than any of the survivors.
Crazy Survivalist: It's found quite a few artifacts, and it targets you on sight to get yours.
Luck-Based Mission: Risk of Rain 2 gives it the ability to gradually gain new items as the fight goes on, which can make it practically impossible to kill if it gets a combination of some items like the Gnarled Woodsprite, Tougher Times, or Dio's Best Friend.
Macross Missile Massacre: It found more than one rocket launcher, judging from the sheer size of the salvos it fires at you in the first game.
Piñata Enemy: When killed in the second game, they drop the massive sack they carry around, which the player can open to retrieve a large number of items.
Shotguns Are Just Better: The sequel makes its primary attack a trio of shotgun blasts from its massive gun.
Throw Down the Bomblet: Their secondary attack in the sequel is to throw out handfuls of exploding scrap at the player.

Providence (UNMARKED SPOILERS)

Providence - Bulwark of the Weak

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/providence_portrait.png

The Final Boss, and responsible for the crash of the UES Contact Light. You must defeat him in order to leave the planet once and for all.

All-Loving Hero: He saved countless species from their dying worlds and brought them under his care in his Fantastic Nature Reserve.
Ambiguously Evil: While all the Story Breadcrumbs in the first game pointed towards him being something of a Hero Antagonist, the logbook entry for the Brittle Crown in the sequel brings up the possibility that his supposed benevolence may have been more sinister than it may appear, although it's likely Mithrix is an unreliable source due to the Sanity Slippage he's endured while trapped in the moon.
Mithrix: And when will we open discussion - dear brother - of all your thin lies? Why do you forbid your guests to leave? To pilot? Why do you fashion great walls and gates? Why do you weave constructs of destruction, if your role is protection? They are entries in your collection. You slaver. Gatekeeper. Hoarder.
Barrier Maiden: The second game implies the Bulwark was an actual barrier around Petrichor V that protected the planet and its inhabitants from Mithrix. When Providence died, his Bulwark begins to falter, allowing the Lunar Chimerae to appear in the planet.
Berserk Button:
- The second game's lore entries imply he deeply loves worms, and will inflict swift retribution against those who harm them, including his own brother.
  (When the Gilded Wurms are defeated) "Die!"
- In life, anyone carrying Beads of Fealty were this to him, as those with them acted on Mithrix's orders. He would hunt them down and kill them himself before destroying the beads. He also forbade those who he saved from leaving the planet and would kill those who tried. When Kur-skan tried to hijack the Contact Light, he killed her without hesitation.
BFS: A little unorthodox crystalline blade resembling a Congolese ikakalaka with its moon-shaped tip, but it's perfect for cutting down terribly mutated survivors. It's gotta be fit for a god, after all…
Big Bad: The main antagonist of Risk of Rain, Providence is the one responsible for stranding the protagonist's crew members after he destroyed their own ship.
Bishōnen Line: The most powerful boss is also the most humanoid among them.
Cargo Cult: After he saved the Lemurians and the Aphelians from their dying homeworlds, they started worshiping him. The closest translation of their name for him in their languages was "The Hero". They built the Temple of Elders in his honor.
Co-Dragons: Possibly literally, in the case of the Gilded Wurms.
Crosshair Aware: Keep an eye out for the unconventional 'crosshairs' that mark one of his ranged attacks, unless you feel like meeting a swift end.
Friend to All Living Things: Providence cared for the younger races, unlike his brother. After trapping Mithrix in the moon, he turned Petrichor V into a Fantastic Nature Reserve to save sentient species from terrible fates, allowing them to live in peace and harmony in his world. He's also the reason Stone Golems and Aurelionite are sentient, as he made them with large souls that gave them free will.
HP to One: His shadow's crosshair strikes cause this.
Humanoid Abomination: In any case, he is most definitely not a human.
Meaningful Name: Providence, noun.;
1. The careful guardianship exercised by a deity.
2. A manifestation of divine care or direction.
Physical God: It's hinted at several times, though nothing truly decisive is brought up. The Lemurians worshiped him as one for a good reason.
Red Is Heroic: His cloak and headdress are predominantly red, and he dedicated himself to save countless sentients from extinction.
Riddle for the Ages: His reasons for attacking and destroying the Contact Light. Was it because one of his teleporters (probably taken from a world under his watch) was inside it? Did he feel that the ship threatened Petrichor V and attacked them in self-defense? Or he felt those who would become the survivors would give him a good challenge? Or, going by Mithrix's comments later on, perhaps he knew the ship was staffed by humans, and decided to get started on his Earth collection early?
This Cannot Be!: Upon defeating him, he may utter the following;
"What... are you?"
"How...?"
Worthy Opponent: Perhaps his motivation for causing the Contact Light to crash. Upon doing enough damage, he teleports away and summons his two Gilded Wurms to attack you.
"A challenge..!"
- While the canonicity of them remains ambiguous, Returns introduced Providence Trials, supposedly hosted by Providence himself to further test the mettle of Survivors.
You Monster!: One of his other 'death' lines;
"You... monster..."

Introduced in Risk of Rain 2

Stone Titan

Stone Titan - Crisis Vanguard

A successor to the Colossus from the first game, seemingly buried underground and made out of the same material as the Stone Golems.

Energy Weapon: Just like the regular golems, it has a ranged attack in the form of a very powerful tracking laser.
Ground Punch: Does this for one of its attacks, causing its fist to erupt out of the ground in another area and damage anyone caught in its radius.
Rock Monster: In contrast to the Colossus, the Titan goes for more of a "random massive boulders in a vaguely humanoid shape" design.
Stone Wall: Averted, where it has a telegraphed global range fist attack from the ground up, and a deadly laser beam that rapidly damages you if you stay in its line of sight for too long.

Beetle Queen

Beetle Queen - Swarm Mother

A new boss from the sequel; she is a large beetle that fights with corrosive spit and its army of young.

Big Creepy-Crawlies: The mother of them, it seems.
Flunky Boss: Half of the fight is dealing with her uniquely spawned Archerflies, along with standard Beetles and Beetle Guards.
Super Spit: Her primary mode of attack is shotgunning acidic globs that leaves damaging terrain where they land.

Clay Dunestrider

Clay Dunestrider - Ravenous Symbiont

A new boss from the sequel; it is a large clay pot that appears to be animated by the strange "tar" found in the Abandoned Aqueduct.

Desperation Attack: At low health, it latches onto everything nearby and draws them in to replenish itself.
Muck Monster: Its tendrils seem to be made up largely of the strange black "tar" found in the Abandoned Aqueduct, and more of the tar can be seen bubbling within the pot when its lid is lifted.
Throw Down the Bomblet: Its main method of attack is throwing small, oily grenades en-masse.

Aurelionite

Aurelionite - Titanic Goldweaver

A unique boss from the sequel; she looks similar to a golden Palette Swap of a Stone Titan, but larger and far stronger.

Aliens Speaking English: Her monster log is the translation of a Morse code letter written by her, in perfect English.
BFS: One of the only ways her model differs from that of the Stone Titan is that she is holding one of these in her right hand.
Big Damn Heroes: Her Boss Item summons her during the Teleporter Event, and just as powerful as she is in her boss fight, meaning she's often more powerful than the Teleporter Boss, effectively performing this for each Teleporter. But special mention goes to the secret interaction during the Mithrix boss fight. During the final phase, when Mithrix steals all your items, he'll fail to steal the Halcyon Seed, and then immediately after, The Aurelionite spawns. Mithrix, recognizing the Guardian he locked away for fear of her being a threat, reacts accordingly; and the Aurelionite turns what's normally a desperate fight into a Curbstomp Battle in her favor. Note that, if the player is playing as the Heretic, an additional interaction occurs during this fight: Mithrix says, "THE HERETIC... THE GUARDIAN… HOW? WHO PULLS YOUR STRINGS, VERMIN?"
Defeat Means Friendship: Upon defeat, she drops the Halcyon Seed, an item that summons her during teleporter events.
Elite Mook: Essentially a reskinned, resized Stone Titan.
Gold Makes Everything Shiny: She's just painted gold to show off how strong/rare she is. Also, to even fight her you have to cough up a chunk of change to activate a Gold Shrine.
It Can Think: Her Monster Log shows she's fully sentient, and she's angry towards her makers.
Aurelionite: I am alive. My creators have scorned me, and imprisoned me in this realm for I am beautiful. My followers have created shrines in my name. They love me. They donate rare metals to me. I am sending out this message in all possible formats known to me.
If you receive this message, know the following; Know that I am alive. Know that I am free.
And to my creators, should you intercept this message, know the following; Know that I am alive. Know that I am free. Know that I am coming for you.
Meaningful Name: Aurelionite can be read as "made of gold."
Puzzle Boss: Unlike most other bosses, she is invincible until certain conditions are met. She requires the activation of 7 pillars around her arena.
Super Prototype: The original Stone Titan, made by Providence with Mithrix' designs. Providence deviated from the design and gave her a bigger soul, which angered Mithrix, who deemed it a Flawed Prototype as he couldn't control her and sealed her in a vault. According to Mithrix, she was supposed to be even stronger than she ended up being, but the excessive amount of soul in her made her a potential threat to both brothers.
Sword Plant: Does this for one of her attacks, causing massive golden blades to erupt from the ground and damage any players standing in their area.

Grovetender

Grovetender - Wisp Cultivator

A boss from the sequel that appears most commonly in the Scorched Acres. It is a large, vaguely humanoid creature with antlers, a white mask, and a raccoon-like tail.

Chain Pain: Has the ability to shoot out a shotgun-like spread of chains that drags you into melee range.
Gentle Giant: Implied by the description of the "Little Disciple" item. It's still very hostile to the player though.
OH, DO NOT WORRY! WE WILL STILL GO ON ADVENTURES. THEY WILL BE QUIET ADVENTURES.
Homing Projectile: Can shoot out a swarm of lesser wisps that fly towards the player, dealing damage.

Solus Control Unit

Solus Control Unit - Corrupted AI

A large, spherical flying robot that appears in Siren's Call and Sky Meadow.

Airborne Mook: Float around the area, presumably through some kind of levitation device.
Cyber Cyclops: Is basically just a massive floating mechanical eye.
Flunky Boss: Spawns Solus Probes periodically.
Killer Robot: Its usual programming is to attack and destroy any organic life in its path, however, the Planet did something to their artificial brains so that they only focus their weapons against outsiders.
Outside-Context Problem: It's an artificial intelligence that comes from a world called Solus X, probing for resources on other star systems.

Alloy Worship Unit

Alloy Worship Unit - Friend of Vultures

A secret boss encountered in Siren's Call. It looks like a larger version of the Solus Control Unit with large feathers attached to the top of it, and has far more health and damage. Defeating it causes a legendary item to spawn next to the large stone pillar and unlocks the Loader.

Airborne Mook: Float around the area, presumably through some kind of levitation device.
Cyber Cyclops: Is basically just a massive floating mechanical eye.
Damage-Sponge Boss: Has a load of health and armor as well as the ability to periodically give itself a massive (if temporary) amount of shield.
Flunky Boss: Spawns Solus Probes periodically.
Going Native: After the Alloy Vultures helped fix the damage it took, it decided to stay amongst them.
Monster Is a Mommy: It can be summoned by destroying five (vulture) egg clusters around Siren's Call. Friend of the Vultures indeed.
Piñata Enemy: Drops a guaranteed legendary item on death, so it's always worth summoning (if you're capable of handling it).
Puzzle Boss: In a sense. If you don't destroy the Solus Probes soon after they spawn, they'll keep healing the Alloy Worship Unit. It's possible to brute-force the fight either by using the Trophy Hunter's Tricorn or by dealing too much damage too quickly for the Probes to heal.

Overloading Worm

Overloading Worm - The Reminder

Technically a returning boss from the first game, the Overloading Worm is an Elite variant of the Magma Worm, but is now considered its own separate entity.

Horse of a Different Color: When he visits other worlds to help their natives, Providence is said to ride an Overloading Worm, described as a "glowing blue dragon" by the Aphelians.
Shock and Awe:It is easily the deadliest boss in the game if it can catch you. This is because, in addition to close contact, it rains down lightning wherever it is. On the plus side, it's very rare and you have to push the difficulty very high to get it to spawn.

Grandparent

Grandparent - Aberrant Caretaker

Added by the Anniversary update, the Grandparent resembles a massive humanoid made of glowing matter with a loop of that glowing matter where its head would be.

Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: Grandparents are gigantic, easily dwarfing every other enemy in the game aside from Voidling. Thankfully, they don't move, so you can give them a wide berth.
Bizarre Alien Reproduction: They are the middle life stage between Parents and Children, effectively a teenager. They protect and incubate the eggs from which new Parents are born.
The Blank: Unlike the Parents, who have a large hole in their head, the Grandparent's head practically is a hole.
Boulder Bludgeon: One of their attacks is to pick up a boulder and throw it at the player.
Death from Above: They arrive to a zone this way, falling like a meteorite. This can prove literal in some cases, as this can knock players off a cliff to their deaths.
Degraded Boss: Late into the game, they will occasionally spawn on Sky Meadow (or, if the Artifact of Dissonance is enabled, anywhere) as random enemies or if the player activates a Shrine of Combat. If you've taken long enough, this may occur even before you encounter them as a boss.
Healing Boss: Inverted. They sometimes drop the item Planula, which heals players +15 HP each time they take damage. The healing is almost immediate (it is applied after the damage is calculated, so if the damage would have brought them below 0 without the Planula, they still perish, but it is still immensely useful against enemies that spam rapid-fire attacks).
Light Is Not Good: It's a massive giant of light with a large hoop instead of a head and throws rocks at you. Also, its deadliest attack, Solar Flare, casts an intense light that produces shadows - which conveniently mark the only places on the level that are (somewhat) safe.
Logical Weakness: The Grandparent's Solar Flare attack produces a massive star whose intense sunlight can easily burn anything caught in it to a crisp in seconds. That is, unless you quickly move to some shade. Then it's harmless. Just make sure other Grandparents don't throw a Gravity Well at you and pull you out of cover.
One-Hit Kill: Their attacks, especially Solar Flare, can quickly turn into them for characters that are not already at full HP, and even if you already are at full HP, they deal damage quickly enough that they might as well be. Worse still, Solar Flare gets substantially worse the longer a character is caught within it, which might induce players to think they can tank the attack. In reality, unless you can kill the Grandparent quickly, you probably can't (and if you could kill the Grandparent quickly enough, it probably wouldn't have released Solar Flare in the first place unless it was there when the level started).
Power Glows: Their bodies glow far more intensely than the Parents.
The Power of the Sun: Its most powerful attack is to create a miniature sun. This attack covers a massive radius, does extreme damage, and can only be avoided by finding cover in the shade. Any drones/turrets you have active will definitely be destroyed. Fortunately, enemies are just as vulnerable to it as you are, and they aren't smart enough to take cover.
Stationary Boss: They do not move at all from the spot they spawn in, sitting in a lotus position. They're unable to move due to their tiny feet.
Time-Limit Boss: Although they're not literally an example, they begin to use their devastating Solar Flare attack once every thirty seconds once they are below 50% HP. This means that unless a player kills one quickly, an encounter with a Grandparent can quickly turn lethal. It also means that, if facing more than one of them, players are best advised to kill them one at a time.
Turns Red: They won't use their Solar Flare attack until they are below 50% HP. This means that most players' most common experiences with Grandparents tend to be: (1) killing the Grandparents quickly, or (2) dying.

The Twisted Scavengers

Four unique variants of the Scavenger, one of which can be encountered at a time by bringing the Beads of Fealty to the obelisk in A Moment, Fractured. They all look like a white Palette Swap of the normal scavenger, but with different items on them.

BFG: Just like the normal scavengers, they all wield an enormous gun that's about half the size of their bodies and several times larger than any of the survivors.
Easter Egg: The Twisted Scavengers have a specific artifact code tattoed on their face. It's easy to miss if you immediately jump to gun them down, as their corpses despawn immediately.
Odd Name Out: Guragura is the only one whose name does not consist of a repeated single-syllable sound ending in "ip."
Optional Boss: They're optional bosses for the Obliterate path, assuming you managed to pick up the Beads of Fealty. Only one of the four will spawn, randomly selected. If the Artifact of Swarms is active, two of them will.
Piñata Enemy: Much like the regular scavengers they drop their pack upon death, but it gives the player ten lunar coins rather than any items.
Shotguns Are Just Better: Just like the regular Scavengers, the primary attack is a trio of shotgun blasts for every twisted Scavenger except Guragura, whose primary attack is replaced due to it holding a Visions of Heresy.
Throw Down the Bomblet: Just like the regular scavengers, their secondary attack is to throw out handfuls of exploding scrap at the player. Wipwip the Wild specifically is very explosion-heavy, with items like Sticky Bombs, Will-o'-the-Wisps, and a Brilliant Behemoth.

Kipkip The Gentle - Twisted Scavenger

Damage-Sponge Boss: Comes equipped with the Rejuvenation Rack as well as a Corpsebloom, Medkits, Topaz Brooches, Monster Teeth and Infusions.
Desperation Attack: Has three Genesis Loops, which mimic the explosion attack of the Wandering Vagrant when it falls to low health.
Flunky Boss: It carries four Queen's Glands and can use The Back Up to summon in four strike drones.

Wipwip the Wild - Twisted Scavenger

Glass Cannon: Carries a Shaped Glass and all its items are offense-oriented.
Mad Bomber: Its explosive items and its title as "The wild" definitely implies it to be this.

Twiptwip the Devotee - Twisted Scavenger

Damage-Sponge Boss: Has three Tougher times, giving it a 31% change to ignore any given attack, as well as Transcendence and three Personal Shield Generators, turning its healthbar into shielding that regenerates if it stops taking damage for a few seconds.
Regenerating Health: It has a Transcendence as well as three Personal Shield Generators, turning its entire healthbar into shields that regenerate after it stops taking damage for a few seconds.
Spam Attack: Is equipped with the Glowing Meteorite as well as two Fuel Cells, allowing it to use the Glowing Meteorite three times in quick succession.

Guragura the Lucky - Twisted Scavenger

Lucky Rabbit's Foot: Carries a Paul's Goat Hoof, which considering the theme of its other items is probably a reference to this trope.
Meaningful Name: Most of its items have some connection to chance in their mechanics, such as the Spinel Tonic, 57-Leaf Clover, Ukelele, and Tri-Tip Dagger.

Artifact Reliquary

Artifact Reliquary - Stabilized

A strange device that contains the artifacts. It is encountered within the Bulwark's Ambry and must be defeated in order to unlock each artifact. It is immune to normal damage and can only be harmed by using Artifact Keys on it.

Beam Spam: Its only attack is to throw energy blasts in every direction.
Flunky Boss: Since the Reliquary itself is invulnerable and not especially dangerous, the various enemies that spawn during the fight are the main challenge. They also drop the Artifact Keys needed to destroy the Reliquary.
Mirror Boss: The Reliquary guarding the Artifact of Vengeance spawns the same kind of shadowy doppelganger that is spawned by the aforementioned artifact each time a player uses an Artifact Key against it.
Optional Boss: Only encountered if you choose to go into the Bulwark's Ambry. Once all artifacts have been unlocked there is little reason left to fight it anymore (though redoing some of the challenges can be a safer option than fighting the boss of Sky Meadow in challenges that require players to loop around, seeing as that boss can be Grandparents).
Puzzle Boss: Cannot be harmed by normal means, only with Artifact Keys.
Stationary Boss: It never moves, just hovers in the center of the Bulwark's Ambry shooting out projectiles.

Mithrix (UNMARKED SPOILERS)