Among all the characters you can play in Risk of Rain 2, the Heretic is the most unique. Unlike the others, you can only unlock this character for a short time by doing something special.
The Heretic doesn't get as much attention or praise as some of the top characters in Risk of Rain 2, but it’s definitely powerful. If you want to try this secret character, here’s how you can do it.
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What Is The Heretic In Risk Of Rain 2?
The Heretic is a unique survivor focused on dealing with damage over time. It has the highest base HP of any character, even more than Risk of Rain 2's False Son. However, it also has negative health regeneration, losing health every second. The Heretic abilities consist of:
| Hungering Gaze | Fires tracking shards that explode after a short time. You can hold up to 12 charges, and it reloads automatically after not firing for 2 seconds. |
| Slicing Maelstrom | Charges up a projectile that damages nearby enemies before exploding. The explosion also roots enemies in place. |
| Shadowfade | Makes you intangible (removing your hitbox) while boosting your movement speed and healing you for a percentage of your maximum health. |
| Ruin | Passively adds Ruin stacks to enemies when you deal damage. Activating this skill detonates all Ruin stacks, dealing increasing damage based on the number of stacks consumed. |
How To Unlock The Heretic In Risk Of Rain 2
The Heretic isn’t unlocked the same way as other characters. Instead of beating a boss or obliterating yourself in Risk of Rain 2, you can become the Heretic by collecting four special Lunar items, including:
| Visions of Heresy | Changes your Primary Skill to Hungering Gaze. |
| Strides of Heresy | Changes your Utility Skill to Shadowfade. |
| Essence of Heresy | Changes your Special Skill to Ruin. |
| Hooks of Heresy | Changes your Secondary Skill to Slicing Maelstrom. |
The easiest way to become the Heretic is by using the Artifact of Command in Risk of Rain 2. This artifact lets you pick the items you get based on their rarity. To get all the items needed for the Heretic, find and activate a Newt Portal, then open all the Lunar Buds in the Bazaar Between Time. Sometimes you can also find Lunar Buds in the levels themselves. Just remember, you’ll need Lunar Coins for this.
The Lunar Heresy items will give you the Heretic's abilities, but you don’t need to fully transform into the Heretic to use these powers. Just be careful about which items you choose first, as they might mess up any synergies you have with your current items or abilities.
Note: Player-created mods also let you choose the Heretic as a survivor from the character selection screen.
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