Risk of Rain 2 Tier List — Every Survivor Ranked for 2026

Definitive Risk of Rain 2 tier list ranking every survivor from S to D tier. Covers base game, Survivors of the Void, and Seekers of the Storm DLC.

By the Choost Games team — indie game developers behind Granny's Rampage and Granny's Gambit. We play what we recommend.

Railgunner, Huntress, and Loader sit at S-tier for Risk of Rain 2 in 2026, followed closely by Void Fiend and Captain. This ranking covers all survivors from the base game, Survivors of the Void, and the Seekers of the Storm DLC, evaluated on scaling potential, safety, build flexibility, and contribution to late-game Eclipse runs.

The Full Tier List

Tier	Survivors	Why They're Here
S	Railgunner, Huntress, Loader	Dominant scaling, safe at all stages, flexible builds
A	Void Fiend, Captain, Bandit, Engineer	Strong kits with one clear strength that carries runs
B	Commando, MUL-T, Artificer, REX	Viable but require specific items to feel good late
C	Acrid, Heretic, Seeker	Niche kits that work in specific setups but struggle generally
D	Chirr	Fun concept, inconsistent execution

S-Tier Breakdown

Railgunner dominates because of one mechanic: her scoped shot crits for massive damage with no item dependency. She one-shots most bosses through stage 5 with just a few damage items, and her Supercharge ability scales infinitely with attack speed. The downside — limited close-range options — barely matters when everything dies before it reaches you.

Huntress is the safest survivor in the game. Her auto-aim means you never stop moving, and her Flurry alternate ability turns every proc item (Ukulele, ATG, Brilliant Behemoth) into a screen-clearing machine. She's the best survivor for learning Eclipse difficulty because she forgives positioning mistakes that would kill anyone else.

Loader hits harder in melee than any other survivor and is functionally invincible during her Charged Gauntlet dash. Her Thunderslam ability gives her mobility that other melee characters lack, and her passive shield prevents one-shot deaths. The only reason she's not the clear number one is that her kit requires closing distance, which gets riskier on Eclipse 8.

A-Tier — One Strong Angle

Void Fiend is a risk-reward character. His corrupted form is devastatingly powerful, but managing the transformation meter requires practice. In the right hands, he's S-tier. In average hands, he's B-tier. We split the difference.

Captain brings team utility that no one else can match — his Orbital Probes and Hacking Beacons make early stages trivial. He falls off compared to S-tiers in solo Eclipse runs because he lacks innate scaling, but in multiplayer he's arguably the best pick.

Bandit has the highest single-target burst damage of any survivor thanks to Lights Out resetting all cooldowns on kill. Against bosses with add phases (most of them), he chains resets indefinitely. His weakness is crowd-clearing without specific items.

Engineer with Bungus turrets is a meme for a reason — it works. Stationary turrets with healing zones create unkillable death fields. It's cheesy, it's boring to watch, and it wins runs consistently.

B-Tier — Item Dependent

Commando is the baseline. He does everything okay and nothing exceptionally. His double-tap scales with attack speed items, and Phase Round gives him brief invincibility, but he never feels powerful the way S-tiers do without very specific item combinations.

MUL-T has the highest theoretical DPS in the game if you get Rebar Puncher with the right procs, but his large hitbox makes him a damage magnet. Runs live or die based on whether you find defensive items early.

Artificer has the most raw damage in her base kit but the worst mobility. She can one-phase teleporter bosses in early stages, then dies to a stray wisp on stage 4 because she can't dodge. Ion Surge helps, but it's a bandaid on a fundamental problem.

REX heals himself with every attack, which sounds great until you realize he damages himself to use his best abilities. He's a tightrope walk — incredible when items support the health-cost playstyle, frustrating when they don't.

C and D Tiers — Situational Picks

Acrid poisons everything on the stage, then waits. His damage is consistent but slow, and his melee abilities force him into dangerous range without the tools to survive there. Best used as a "break glass in case of boredom" pick.

Heretic is a transformation, not a character — you become her by collecting four Lunar Heresy items. She's a glass cannon with no defensive options and abilities that actively drain health. A style pick for experienced players, not a competitive choice.

Seeker from the Seekers of the Storm DLC has an interesting kit centered around chi and meditation mechanics, but the execution feels clunky compared to the polished survivors above. Likely to improve with patches.

Chirr can convert enemies into allies, which is a wild concept that doesn't consistently produce useful results. Fun for a few runs, then you realize Huntress just kills everything faster.

What Matters More Than Tier Lists

Honestly, item RNG matters more than survivor choice in Risk of Rain 2. A Commando who finds Soldier's Syringe, Predatory Instincts, and Harvester's Scythe in the first three stages will outperform a Railgunner who gets three Cautious Slugs. The tier list reflects ceiling potential with average luck, not guaranteed outcomes.

The survivors at the top are there because they perform well without perfect items and become absurd with them. That's the real metric.

What we make at Choost

We're a small indie studio. Our games: Granny's Rampage — a bullet heaven where grandma grabs a minigun and fights through hell — and Granny's Gambit, a Victorian deckbuilder roguelike starring a card-slinging nan with a chip on her shoulder. Granny's Rampage is $2.99 on itch (Windows) and Google Play (Android), with the Steam launch on June 22 (also $2.99). Granny's Gambit is pay-what-you-want on itch.