Risk of Rain 2 Tier List (February 2024) | Best Characters Ranked

Risk of Rain 2 was released for early access in 2019 for PC, and it is the sequel to the popular Risk of Rain game, which launched way back in 2013. This game series is developed by Hoppo Games and is published by Gearbox.

Risk of Rain was based on a 2D environment, and even though the signature rogue-like shooter gameplay mechanics of the first game are still there, Risk of Rain 2 took it up a notch by not only featuring a fleshed-out 3D environment for players to move around in and engage in large-scale battles, but the action in the game now takes place in third person, instead of the previously used 2D mechanics.

Moreover, like the previous game, Risk of Rain 2 also has the same base plot. Players are stranded on an alien planet, and in order to survive on this planet, and try to get off the hostile territory for good, they have to fight endless hordes of monsters and try and push through the various different environments by collecting upgrades along the way that boost their combat abilities and survivability.

The game features a vast open area on the map and the player is free to choose whichever way he wants to go. The main objective is reaching the teleporter in order to proceed to the next level.

This gameplay mechanic gives the game an open-world-like feel, much more like Crysis or Tomb Raider, where the player has the choice of how to approach an objective, even when the game’s plot, along with the world around it, is linear.

The game uses the extremely popular Unity Engine. The game graphics are very smooth and colorful, and combined with its electronic soundtrack playing in the background, it sure promises to provide its playerbase with an unforgettable experience.

The game has a unique level design that loads the next level already in advance with the need for a loading screen. When the player enters the teleporter he does not have to wait for the next level to load and is sent directly at the start of the next level. This uninterrupted experience is what most players want with their games, and Risk of Rain 2 tries to provide it.

This was earlier possible with the 2D game genre which had low CPU usage. The developers of this game have done a great job bringing this feature to 3D gaming.

Now that we know what the Risk of Rain game series is all about, let us look at the Tier List for Risk of Rain 2:

Risk of Rain 2 Character List

Risk of Rain 2 has fourteen playable characters, with all of them having completely different skill sets and abilities. At the start of the game, we get only one character and the rest are unlocked by completing challenges.

Below is the list of all characters:

• Acrid
• Artificer
• Bandit
• Captain
• Commando
• Engineer
• Heretic
• Huntress
• Loader
• MUL-T
• Mercenary
• REX
• Railgunner
• Void Feind

Please Note: Railgunner and the Void Fiend are 2 new characters introduced in the Survivors of the Void DLC, and are only accessible by players after they have downloaded the DLC.

We have prepared a tier list according to the best characters in the game and classified them into five tiers.

Characters in the S-Tier are those who are most versatile and powerful and have many skill sets they can use in battle. These characters are useful for any type of combat and can deal with all types of monsters.

Characters in the D-Tier, however, are those who deal very little damage and have limited skill sets. Moreover, these characters cannot last long in a fight in the later levels of the game against tougher foes, making them bad picks for gamers who are looking to complete the game.

This list contains those characters that are unlocked in the beginning levels of the game, and every player has to play with these characters for a while before unlocking the more powerful characters.

Risk of Rain 2 Tier List

S-Tier:

1) The Captain

The captain is suitable for close-quarter offensive combat. His survival kit contains a shotgun as the primary weapon microbots for defense and a taser for stalling the enemies. A shotgun may seem like a close-quarter weapon but this one can be charged up to reduce its spread, allowing players to deal long-range damage as well.

The taser lets the captain keep his enemies down for a while and gives him time to either distance himself from them or prepare for his next attack. The Microbots are for defensive purposes, as they deflect any projectiles coming toward him.

2) The Loader

The Loader has the ability to grapple the enemies and can also stun the enemies with these attacks. It can also pull down smaller enemies to bring them closer to itself or to drop them from a height and damage them.

Players can also use the Loader’s grapple ability to grapple heavier enemies to slingshot over them to reach decent heights, and attack from above them. The loader might not be as flexible as the Captain but it is more than capable of completing runs with minimal difficulty

3) Void Fiend

Void Feind is the second new character introduced in the Survivors of the Void DLC. It needs to be unlocked first.

To unlock this character you have to enter the new environment called planetarium and kill the final boss. When you exit the environment you are transformed into a Void Feind.

It’s a corrupted survivor which can harness the power of the void. This survivor has two forms- controlled and corrupted, and it constantly fluctuates between them. Once in the corrupted form, its abilities become more aggressive.

The corruption meter starts decreasing in corrupted form and it comes in controlled form when it depletes completely and reaches zero.

A-Tier:

1) The Engineer

The engineer is the strongest character in the game when it comes to fighting in close combat and dealing very high damage to their foes.

The only downside to them is that they are less mobile, so overall movement and evading maneuvers with them do not feel quite as smooth when compared with other nimble characters in the game.

Engineers can also set defensive lines by deploying turrets which can also be used for flanking the enemies. It has two deployable turrets- a TR12 Gauss Auto and a TR58 Carbonizer. These turrets can also be upgraded using items found in-game.

2) The Huntress

Huntress is another character who is also unlocked by default at the start of the game. She has low health but high mobility and damage. She can shoot homing arrows which allow her to keep moving.

Huntress has the ability to move out of dangerous situations easily, and evading is the most important part of her gameplay.

She carries a glaive with her at all times for close combat situations, and moreover, she has an ability called arrow rain which rains down a hail of arrows on her foes, to help to deal with multiple enemies at once.

3) MUL-T

MUL-T stands for multipurpose robot. It is an aggressive survivor with high armor and damage. It can initially be difficult to control for beginners, but learning to pacify is worth the effort as its high armor makes it a popular choice among players looking for a ‘tank’ build.

It carries four different weapons with it simultaneously and can swap between them quickly.

In the armor-powered mode, the robot can use 2 weapons at the same time. In transport mode, on the other hand, it increases MUL-T’s overall speed and damage output.

4) The Bandit

The Bandit is an agile and sneaky fighter, its abilities focus mainly on keeping on the move to get the enemies off guard and then dealing massive damage to them.

His kit contains a Shotgun as a primary weapon, daggers for melee attacks and close combat, and smoke bombs for defense.

Moreover, the Bandit has a very cool passive skill called Backstab. If he attacks an enemy from behind, the backstab skill will turn his attacks into critical strikes.

5) The Railgunner

The Railgunner is a new character introduced in the Survivors of the Void DLC and is accessible only to those gamers who have access to the DLC. T

he Railgunner is a long-range combatant. It carries an M99 sniper rifle which can highlight enemy weak points and deal heavy damage.

Its railgun feature deals heavy critical damage to enemies by piercing right through them.

The Railgunner is unlocked by default in the DLC.

B-Tier:

1) Acrid

Acrid is an offensive character and has a comparatively higher damage output, which is comparable to Heretic. It can engage in both melee combat and crowd control measures.

His abilities allow him to deal damage in medium-range attacks. It can spew poison on enemies too, which is so powerful that it can melt down multiple enemies at once.

2) REX

REX is a unique character that is half plant and half robot. Playing with REX is a bit trickier than playing with the other characters in the game as it uses its health to damage the enemies.

To counter the decreasing health problem, however, it has an ability called ‘Weakening’. This ability allows players to refill their health bars whenever they attack an enemy on an HP per hit basis.

3) The Heretic

The Heretic is a very powerful character that cannot be accessed from the start menu directly. Players have to transform into it by collecting and having all four Heresy items in their possession at the same time.

Each of the items collected gives the heretic a different skill. Along with these four skills, the heretic has a higher health pool and damage output, and can also move comparatively faster than the other characters in the game.

Moreover, the Heretic also has a triple jump ability under his sleeve that allows it to traverse distances faster and farther.

One downside of this character is that it has negative health degeneration i.e. the character’s health keeps decreasing the more you play using it. The farther the player progresses using this character, the more challenging it becomes to survive against the endless hordes of enemies.

C-Tier:

1) The Artificer

Artificer is not an impressive character, and although it somehow feels wrong to put her in the last tier, she does not have that many abilities to be in the B-Tier as well.

She can do mid to long-range attacks and is effective for crowd control.

The Artificer carries a flamethrower with her that deals a fair amount of damage to the enemies. Moreover, she is less mobile, too, but her ability to efficiently deal with multiple enemies at once sets her apart from the other characters below her in the ranking.

2) Mercenary

The Mercenary is an offensive character in Risk of Rain 2, and its abilities are focused primarily on melee attacks and chaining attacks to keep moving constantly.

It has smaller cooldowns which makes it possible for players to constantly attack their foes.

The main highlight or strength of this character is its higher speed and mobility which allow it to dodge attacks, and move in and out of combat effortlessly.

D-Tier:

1) Commando

Commando is the first character of the game that players will play with and it is unlocked by default. Players will have no option but to play with the commando for a while except if they choose to play as the Huntress, who is also unlocked by default.

He was an important character in the first game but that does not hold true in this game. In Risk of Rain 2, the Commando is the ‘jack of all trades but master of none’ type of character. He does all the things well but doesn’t excel at anything in particular.

His abilities are not as unique as other stronger characters in the game, and even though he has a vast skill set and an array of different abilities at his disposal, they never feel strong enough as they don’t deal substantial damage to the enemies to justify their usage.

Moreover, compared to the other stronger late-game characters, the commando deals less damage, has a much slower speed, and mobility-wise he is not as fluid.

At the end of the day, The Commando is a great option for players looking for an all-rounder type of character to begin with before eventually graduating to a better character down the road.

Conclusion

This is it for the Risk of Rain 2 Tier List. We hope the information provided in this post will help you all select the right characters based on your specific playstyles and preferences, for an ultimate gaming experience.

Please refer to this post whenever you are in doubt regarding which character to pick while playing this game as there are no right or wrong characters to select in this game, as it eventually comes down to the player’s perspective and what kind of gameplay experience they are looking for.

Feel free to drop your feedback in the comments section below and stay connected with us. We will be back with more exciting gaming news soon, till then have a great time enjoying your favorite games.