Risk of Rain 2 Tier List: All Characters Ranked

After putting in almost 100 hours in Risk of Rain 2, dying in every possible way, and finally mastering each survivor (or at least getting as close to that as possible), I am finally ready to provide you with the up-to-date Risk of Rain 2 tier list that reflects how these characters actually perform once you’ve got everything else perfected.

If you’re trying to figure out who to main, which survivor fits your style, or which one gives you the best shot at surviving past the mid-game chaos, read on!

Risk of Rain 2 Survivors Overview (Best Features & Playstyle)

Every survivor in Risk of Rain 2 brings something unique to the table. Some are great for hit-and-run tactics, some for brute force, and others reward precision or planning – each being potentially awesome depending on how you like to play.

To help you decide, if you don’t want to be spoiled by actual rankings, here’s a quick look at what each one does best and how they’re meant to be played:

Bandit – Stealth expert with high burst potential. Great for sneaky, hit-and-run combat.

Railgunner – Single-target powerhouse. Best at long-range precision and positioning.

Engineer – Turret master with strong defensive play and area control.

Captain – Tactical support with solid offense and utility tools.

Loader – Melee beast with insane mobility and durability.

Mercenary – Fast, agile, and lethal in melee combat.

Rex – Mid-range hybrid that trades health for power.

Huntress – Agile, mobile, and always on the move with auto-aim and fast attacks.

MUL-T – Tanky and adaptable, capable of switching between loadouts mid-fight.

Void Fiend – Late-game monster with corruption-based transformations.

Artificer – Explosive mage with devastating AoE and burst potential.

Acrid – DoT specialist with both melee and ranged attacks.

Heretic – High-risk, high-power secret character with flight and huge damage.

Commando – The reliable all-rounder built for consistency and easy item stacking.

Seeker – A mid-range hybrid who can heal, damage, and even revive allies, adding utility and flexibility to any run.

CHEF – A ranged damage dealer with combo mechanics revolving around throwing and recalling cleavers.

False Son – A tanky close-range bruiser with strong defense, heavy health, and melee tools, but slower movement.

Also read: Risk of Rain Returns Artifacts List & Location

ROR2 Tier List Breakdown

I will go in-depth with each of these characters and explain why I placed them in their respective tiers, but if you want the “at a glance” setup, here it is:

S-Tier: Bandit, Railgunner, Engineer, Captain, Loader, False Son
A-Tier: Mercenary, Rex, Huntress, MUL-T, Void Fiend, Seeker
B-Tier: Artificer, Acrid, Chef
C-Tier: Heretic, Commando

S-Tier

I recommend new players refer to our S-ranking Risk of Rain 2 Tier List to get a better understanding of which character to start with.

Bandit

Bandit is the definition of a high-risk, high-reward survivor. He’s all about stealth, critical hits, and precise execution. You can’t just spam abilities here – timing and positioning matter.

His Backstab passive makes critical hits from behind a core part of his gameplay, and chaining kills with cooldown resets lets you keep the damage rolling nonstop. Used right, Bandit feels unstoppable – wiping mobs, resetting skills, and vanishing before the counterattack lands.

The stealth skill gives him breathing room when things get ugly, and his hemorrhage debuff melts stronger enemies fast. Skilled Bandit players can juggle stealth, crits, and cooldown resets in a loop that’s basically endless aggression with zero downtime.

Also read: Risk of Rain Returns Artifact Shards Locations

Railgunner

Engineer

Engineer plays completely differently from anyone else in the game. He’s all about planning, positioning, and letting his gadgets do the heavy lifting.

His turrets copy your items, which means they scale ridiculously well once you start stacking. Combine that with his Bubble Shield, and you can hold ground like no other survivor.

Playing Engineer turns Risk of Rain 2 into a tactical defense game – drop turrets, pop shields, and watch everything walk into your trap. With good item synergy, you can go fully offensive or build an unbreakable fortress. Either way, he’s one of the safest picks in the entire game.

Captain

Captain is the ultimate hybrid – a mix of support and heavy firepower. His abilities call in orbital strikes, supply beacons, and automated defenses straight from his ship, the UES Safe Travels.

His Orbital Probes are devastating when timed well, and his Supply Beacons can heal allies or zap enemies for crowd control. Add the Microbots for defense and his Vulcan Shotgun for close-range combat, and you’ve got a survivor that can do it all.

Captain rewards strategic thinking. You can dictate the pace of fights, set up defensive zones, or just drop beacons mid-chaos for clutch survivability. If you like playing support in co-op or leading the charge solo, Captain belongs in your roster.

Also read: Cookie Run Kingdom Treasures Tier List

Loader

Loader is pure adrenaline. She’s fast, tanky, and hits like a truck. Every punch feels satisfying, and her grappling hook gives her unmatched mobility.

Her Scrap Barrier passive grants defense boosts on hit, turning her into a juggernaut that shrugs off punishment. She’s built for aggressive melee players who love high-risk, high-damage gameplay.

Her grappling hook also doubles as a crowd control and movement tool, letting you swing through levels, punch bosses mid-air, or escape bad situations. Loader rewards players who like to play boldly or recklessly and look good doing it.

False Son

False Son brings raw durability and lethal melee tools. His high HP, solid armor, and strong melee toolkit let him outlast or out-damage many survivors in late game. After the Phase 3 rework, his kit got even stronger—he deals massive close-range damage, can control fights, and remains tanky enough to survive mid-game swings.

False Son is a close-range bruiser. His base stats: high health scaling (180 + 54 per level), solid health regen, and armor.

His melee attacks (like Club of the Forsaken) deal heavy damage at close range. He also has ranged tools—Lunar Spikes and Laser of the Father—to pick off or pressure from distance when needed. But his core strength is in the brawler space: withstand punishment and trade up.

Because he scales with health and cannot be executed, he fits the archetype of a juggernaut who dominates close combat. So play him aggresively and smart!

Note: His unlock is special: you must defeat False Son as a boss with the Halcyon Seed in inventory to purify him, thereby unlocking him.

A-Tier

Whether you are a beginner or a veteran player, the Risk of Rain 2 Tier List Characters under the A-ranking category is for everyone.

Mercenary

Mercenary is a fast-paced melee survivor who feels like playing a Souls boss on turbo mode. His Laser Sword and Eviscerate combo make him lethal in close-range fights, while his double jump and dash keep him nearly untouchable.

He’s not easy to master – you’ll need to stay in motion and manage cooldowns smartly – but once you do, Mercenary can wipe mobs faster than most ranged characters. The flow of chaining dashes, slicing enemies, and dodging hits makes him one of the most satisfying survivors in the game.

Also read: BattleBit Remastered Class Tier List

Rex

Rex is part plant, part machine, and entirely unique. He sacrifices HP to deal damage but heals himself as he goes, creating a constant push-and-pull between risk and reward.

Mastering Rex means managing that balance – use too much health and you’ll die mid-fight, but play too safe and your DPS tanks. Once you get the rhythm down, though, Rex becomes self-sustaining and incredibly strong.

His ability to both heal and hurt at the same time makes him one of the most strategic survivors in the lineup.

Huntress

Huntress is fast, flashy, and deadly from range. She’s basically the definition of a glass cannon.

Her Strafe ability locks on to targets, and she can keep firing while sprinting – a huge advantage when the screen is filled with chaos. Add her Blink teleport for instant repositioning, and she’s one of the most mobile survivors in the game.

She can’t take much punishment, but with the right movement and timing, she stays alive by never standing still. Perfect for players who love mobility and precision.

MUL-T

MUL-T, a multi-purpose robot survivor in Risk of Rain 2, stands out due to its ability to adapt to various in-game situations. Armed with a high base health and the ability to quickly switch between its tools and equipment, MUL-T delivers robust performance.

MUL-T truly shines when it comes to versatility and survivability. The robot’s high base health and the ability to hold two equipment pieces simultaneously give it an edge, offering the potential for strategic combinations. Furthermore, its unique primary abilities – Auto-Nailgun and Rebar Puncher – provide excellent offensive power, compensating for MUL-T’s lack of speed and mobility.

With its dual equipment capacity, varied offensive abilities, and durable build, MUL-T can effectively tackle a wide range of situations. Furthermore, specific items can enhance its performance, making it a formidable choice for longevity in the game.

Also read: Best Weapons in Atomic Heart

Void Fiend

Introduced in the Survivors of the Void expansion, Void Fiend plays with a corruption mechanic that constantly shifts its abilities between offensive and defensive forms.

It’s not easy to control, but learning to manage corruption levels adds depth and flexibility. In its corrupted form, Void Fiend’s damage skyrockets, especially with skills like Corrupted Drown and Corrupted Flood.

The constant transformation keeps things interesting – and dangerous. Void Fiend rewards players who like complexity and can juggle chaos with precision.

Seeker

Seeker brings a unique toolkit that blends offense, sustain, and team utility. She’s not always top DPS, but her ability to heal and revive fallen allies gives her a reliability edge in longer runs.

Her playstyle revolves around juggling multiple roles. She can dish out damage via ranged and mid-range attacks, control crowds, heal herself (and sometimes teammates), and – uniquely – revive a dead ally mid-run.

Her abilities include Unseen Hand, which fires a piercing phantasmal hand that also heals based on damage dealt, and Soul Spiral, which launches spiraling orbs that grant a barrier on hit. Her utility skill Sojourn lets her take flight and explode for damage at some HP cost.

B-Tier

B-Tier characters of ROR2 are average ones. They have a difficult learning curve and will require a lot of dedication before you master them.

Artificer

Artificer is Risk of Rain 2’s spellcaster – hovering above the battlefield, launching fireballs, lightning, and frost blasts like a floating artillery unit.

She can dish out massive AoE damage but lacks mobility, making positioning everything. If you can manage her cooldowns and stay out of reach, she’s a powerhouse.

Artificer is perfect for players who like ranged combat and tactical control, but she punishes mistakes hard. She’s rewarding but unforgiving.

Also read: Black Desert Online: Class Tier List

Acrid

Acrid is the toxic beast of the roster – a hybrid fighter that spreads poison and damage over time. His attacks, both melee and ranged, infect entire groups, slowly melting enemies while you stay mobile.

He’s not about burst kills – he’s about watching health bars tick down as poison does the work. His versatility between melee and range makes him adaptable, and his DoT mechanics make longer fights a breeze.

Acrid is for players who enjoy patience and sustained control rather than explosive bursts.

CHEF

CHEF is interesting mechanically but hasn’t shown dominance yet. His combo cleaver mechanics reward precision and planning, but compared to more stable picks, CHEF struggles in chaotic or high-pressure scenarios.

CHEF specializes in throwing cleavers, recalling them, and chaining combos. He plays with timing and positioning more than raw power. His mechanics add depth, letting you stack returns, manage trajectories, and optimize damage with each throw-return cycle.

He’s fairly fragile (base stats are light) and needs the right supports and items to scale. His potential is there, but he tends to fall short in consistency.

C-Tier

The C-tier survivors that I have ranked in this ROR2 tier list are not worth your time. They have a very high difficulty learning curve & are hardly high-reward characters.

Heretic

Heretic is a secret survivor — powerful, but tricky to use. You’ll need to collect all four Heresy items to unlock her, and she comes with huge upsides and serious downsides.

She’s got flight, triple jump, massive damage potential, and devastating abilities that can wipe groups instantly. But the trade-off is harsh — negative health regeneration. You’ll constantly fight against your own HP bar unless you build around healing items.

Playing Heretic is like playing on hard mode. High ceiling, high punishment, and plenty of bragging rights if you master her.

Commando

Commando is the classic starter – solid, simple, and reliable. He’s great for learning the game but doesn’t scale as well as others.

His Double Tap and Phase Round abilities deal consistent damage, and his Tactical Dive keeps him mobile. He’s versatile and benefits a lot from item stacking, especially attack speed buffs.

Commando isn’t bad… just basic. He’s perfect for new players, but once you’ve tried the rest of the roster, he starts to feel outclassed.

Also read: Arena of Valor Tier List

Final Thoughts

Risk of Rain 2’s survivors each bring their own flavor to the chaos, and there’s no truly “bad” pick if you know how to play them.

But if you’re aiming for the strongest, most consistent runs in at the moment, S- and A-tier survivors like Bandit, Railgunner, and Loader are your best bet.

Experiment, find your rhythm, and see which one best fits your play style. Then, keep in mind that the right items, timing, and a bit of chaos management can make even Commando feel godlike…

Do you agree with my rankings? What’s your favorite? Let us all know by commenting below!