Risk of Rain Returns Tier List: All Characters, Ranked

Risk of Rain Returns features a total of 15 playable characters called survivors. You start with two survivors, and more are acquired by completing various requirements and making progress in the game. Each survivor has a unique set of skills, varying starting health, and much more, and this is why not all of them are the absolute best in the game to play with.

Tier lists are subjective and reflect an opinion of rankings that may or may not align with a general audience. Regardless, if you are new to Risk of Rain Returns, our tier list aims to provide you with a quick burst of knowledge that should get you started on an easy foot, especially if rogue-like games are not your forte!

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Here is a quick rundown of all characters in Risk of Rain Returns and the tier ranking of each one of the survivors in the game.

S-Tier

The S-Tier Risk of Rain characters are absolutely the best in the game in terms of crowd control, mobility, and survival for a longer time. These characters have amazing skills that keep them away from harm’s way, either by melting enemies quickly or by being mobile enough to stay out of danger.

Pick the S-tier characters we have listed above if you are new to the franchise and do not understand much of rogue-like gameplay mechanics in general. Surviving will be the least of your concerns, and you will enjoy the versatility these survivors offer in Risk of Rain Returns.

A-Tier

The A-Tier survivors in Risk of Rain Returns mentioned above are almost close to Tier S characters. However, they have a tedious learning curve that requires mastery to control various situations and boss encounters.

It is safe to say that the A-tier characters are not beginner-friendly, and players who are returning to this game from Risk of Rain 2 will definitely enjoy them. However, newcomers will find it challenging to utilize the skills and their timely execution and, as a result, will not have much success.

B-Tier

B-Tier characters in Risk of Rain Returns that we have listed above are not the best but not the worst as well. Playing with these survivors could be fun if you want to enjoy character diversity and unique playstyle. Otherwise, once you unlock characters other than B-tier ones, these will quickly be forgotten!

Characters such as Artificer and Bandit are good for high damage but are very weak when it comes to defense. Similarly, Sniper hits hard, but her mobility is the downside of the character in the game.

C-Tier

As of now we only find Drifter Survivor an underwhelming character in the game and, therefore, is ranked in the C-tier. Drifter doesn’t have many strengths, but his being the melee character in the game is one of the biggest weaknesses of the survivor.

This is what we have experienced so far, and Drifter, for you could be a better character in the game based on how you play. However, when we draw parallels between Drifter and some of the best characters in the game, his skills do not strike a wow factor, neither on paper nor in the field!

There you have it: the complete ranking of all 15 survivors in the game. Now that you know about it all, we recommend you also learn about the best offensive items, best equipment options, and best defensive items in Risk of Rain Returns.