Badges in Examination are not just profile decorations. A large share of them feed directly into your rank, and a handful permanently unlock classes, weapons, and movement abilities that carry across every run. Knowing which ones pay out is the difference between grinding aimlessly and clearing the Itagura NPP with sliding, night vision, and a Leader loadout.
Quick answer: The game currently lists 35 obtainable badges, 1 restricted, and 14 unobtainable. The four that change how you play are VETERAN-OF-PURGATORY (Leader class), UNDEREQUIPPED (Special Forces classes), ONE-MAN-ARMY (sliding, night vision, door bash), and EXOTIC-EXONERATION (M1911).
Badges that unlock classes, weapons, and movement
Start here if you only have time for a few runs. These badges hand over permanent account-level unlocks rather than a cosmetic tick, and most of them also push your rank forward at the same time.
| Badge | Requirement | Unlock |
|---|---|---|
| VETERAN-OF-PURGATORY | Reach the Sector-3 entrance without dying | Leader class, rank |
| UNDEREQUIPPED | Complete the game in a solo private server as Classless or Rioter | Special Forces classes, rank |
| ONE-MAN-ARMY | Reach the Sector-3 entrance in a solo private server | Sliding, night vision, door bash, rank |
| EXOTIC-EXONERATION | Complete the Blood Handed Retriever quest | M1911, rank |
| LAST-RITES-OF-A-RUINED-KING | Complete the Blood Handed Retriever quest as Classless | M1911 “Regalia” skin, rank |
| SCOUT-OF-CHERENKOV | Complete Manhattan Ristretto’s quest | Character model badge, rank |
| MENLONIAN-CONSTABULARY | Complete Delgado’s task | Enforcer class |
| HEART-OF-MENLO | Win a developer-hosted event | M1911 Night Stalker |
HEART-OF-MENLO is flagged as restricted rather than freely obtainable, because the events it comes from are announced and run through the developer’s own Discord server. There is no in-game trigger for it.
How badges convert into ranks
Rank is a straight count of qualifying badges, and it is displayed above your nametag to other players. Two ranks act as hard gates on quest content, so they matter more than the rest.
| Rank | Badges | Perk |
|---|---|---|
| Conscript | 0 | None |
| Private | 1 | None |
| Specialist | 3 | None |
| Corporal | 4 | None |
| Sergeant | 5 | Flashlight Lock-17; unlocks Elsher Tachyon’s and Manhattan Ristretto’s quests |
| Senior Sergeant | 6 | None |
| Field Agent | 8 | None |
| Officer | 10 | Flashlight AOP-9; unlocks Yuri Scarlet’s quest |
| Executive Officer | 11 | None |
| Lieutenant | 12 | None |
The badges that count toward rank are the challenge-based ones: THE-POINTMAN, THE_JUGGERNAUT, THE_COMMANDER, LOST_COMMAND, ONE-MAN-ARMY, UNDEREQUIPPED, VETERAN-OF-PURGATORY, TEMPORAL-ANOMALY, SCOUT-OF-CHERENKOV, GUINEA_PIG, EXOTIC-EXONERATION, and LAST-RITES-OF-A-RUINED-KING. They can be earned in any order. Additional ranks above Lieutenant have been added since the original tier list was written.
Sector progression badges (Sector 1 to Sector 3)
These come automatically on a normal run and are the fastest route to your first rank. None of them carry a reward on their own, but they all count toward your badge total.
| Badge | Requirement |
|---|---|
| NECROTIC-CONTROL | Enter Sector-1 (the nuclear power plant) |
| DONT-LOOK-AT-ME | Enter the basement, also called the valve room |
| NUMBER-FOUR-REACTOR | Release the basement valve |
| SECTOR-SWEEP | Enter Sector-2 |
| TAKE-OVER | Drop below 10 health so your visor breaks and you become Infected |
TAKE-OVER is easiest to force against Lurkers or Mutants, since they chip you down fast without ending the run outright.
Boss kill badges and rank advancement
Every named boss kill is worth a rank step. Chimera and Sinitzyn are the two hardest fights in the set, so bring a full squad rather than attempting them on a solo run you also want to keep deathless.
| Badge | Target | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| THE_POINTMAN | Gilbert | ★★★☆☆ |
| THE_JUGGERNAUT | Sinitzyn (SIN) | ★★★★★ |
| THE_COMMANDER | Chimera | ★★★★★ |
| BRAZEN_BULL | Take part in destroying the Cerberus | ★★★★★ |
ROLLING_STEEL is the companion badge to BRAZEN_BULL. Simply encountering the Cerberus in Sector 3 awards it, without needing to bring the machine down.
Quest badges: Tachyon, Manhattan, and Yuri
The RSU researchers gate the highest-value rewards in the game, and each of them needs a minimum rank before you can even start. Sergeant opens Elsher Tachyon and Manhattan Ristretto. Officer opens Yuri Scarlet.
| Badge | Requirement |
|---|---|
| GUINEA_PIG | Complete Elsher Tachyon’s quest |
| SCOUT-OF-CHERENKOV | Complete Manhattan Ristretto’s quest |
| LAB_ASSISTANT | Help Yuri with his task |
| INITIATION | Start the Blood Handed Retriever quest |
| EXOTIC-EXONERATION | Finish the Blood Handed Retriever quest |
| LAST-RITES-OF-A-RUINED-KING | Finish the Blood Handed Retriever quest as Classless |
Yuri’s Blood Handed Retriever drops you into a simulation where the objective is to return with clean data. Difficulty scales with the time you spend inside, so the run gets harder the longer you stall. Doing it as Classless is what separates the M1911 from the M1911 “Regalia” skin.
Contraband weapon and dog tag badges
Four weapon badges are tied to finding specific contraband guns, and a fifth asks you to hold all of them at once. Everything here must happen within a single life, so dying resets your progress toward OVEREQUIPPED and NO_MAN’S_LAND.
| Badge | Requirement |
|---|---|
| REQUIEM | Obtain the R-12 |
| RASONIAN_STEEL | Obtain the SHC-23 |
| ESCAPE_FROM_ITAGURA | Obtain the AK-74 |
| OVEREQUIPPED | Hold the R-12, SHC-23, AK-74, and AEN-50 in one life |
| NO_MAN’S_LAND | Collect 7 dog tags in one life |
Tunnels, encounter, and squad badges
The Tunnels hold their own small badge cluster, and several enemy encounters award on sight or on kill. TEMPORAL_ANOMALY and GEAR-FEAR both advance your rank.
| Badge | Requirement |
|---|---|
| TEMPORAL_ANOMALY | Escape the Tunnels |
| GEAR-FEAR | Complete the Tunnels without your starter gear |
| A-FAMILIAR-FACE | Found in the Tunnels |
| NEUTRUSPHYRIA | Experience xen-gedankenwelt |
| UPCHUCK | Encounter and neutralize a Vorax in Sector 3 |
| WOLF_IN_SHEEPSHEAD | Kill a Deceiver |
| TOTAL-WAR | Restart the server using the Relay Station |
| WAR-CRIMINAL | Shoot a Combat Medic who is healing a RIF |
Three more badges depend on other players being in the lobby with you. UNFORTUNATE requires finding the kneeling engineer past the Sector-2 staircase and having a Medic or Corpsman heal him, at which point his nametag resolves to Josh Katzmann. LAST-LIGHT-OF-A-DYING-STAR follows on from that, awarded for getting Josh back to the checkpoint alive. SURVIVOR’S_GUILT needs at least four players total, with at least one of them dying, and it fires when you reach the Sector-3 entrance. FULL_HOUSE simply requires the server to fill to its 20-player cap while you are in it.
Solo private server rules and why runs fail to count
ONE-MAN-ARMY, UNDEREQUIPPED, and LOST_COMMAND all share the same validation logic, and it is stricter than most players expect. The run must be solo in a private server, and nobody may join your server at any point during it. A single player entering invalidates the attempt even if you finish alone.
These three do not require a deathless run. You can die and continue, so long as the server stays empty and you reach the Sector-3 entrance. LOST_COMMAND additionally requires you to be playing the Leader class, which means clearing VETERAN-OF-PURGATORY first.
VETERAN-OF-PURGATORY is the exception and works differently. It can be earned in a public server, but the run must be deathless up to the Sector-3 entrance. If you die, leave and join a fresh server rather than continuing.
Confirmation is immediate. Roblox displays the badge award notification on screen the moment the trigger fires, and the badge appears on your profile straight afterwards. Rank changes show up as the new title above your nametag, which other players can see in chat through the TRC-44.
Tip: The developer describes the experience as a heavy work in progress and recommends private servers, which also happens to be where every solo challenge badge has to be attempted. You can start a run from the Examination experience page.
Badges you cannot earn right now
Fourteen badges sit in the unobtainable column. Some were removed outright, some are attached to content that is not live, and several were one-off event or milestone rewards that have already passed. Chasing them is wasted time.
| Badge | Listed condition |
|---|---|
| DECEIVER | Encounter the Siren |
| NIGHTMARE | Encounter the Abomination |
| CONTRACTED | Not specified |
| PEACE_PAWN | Reach Sector 2 with fewer than one kill |
| GRITTED-TEETH | Receive 100 damage in a single life |
| TILL-THE-LAST-BREATH | Kill five Infected while a Controllable Infected |
| ROLE-REVERSAL | Kill a Slasher with the Axe |
| NERVE-WRECK | Kill a Kamikaze before it explodes |
| SAVING_GRACE | Take the cross to Sector 2 |
| WE-30 CHASSEUR | Win the Hide & Seek event |
| A-DROP-IN-THE-OCEAN | Play during the 1,000,000 visits event |
| ONE-GRAIN-OF-SAND | Play during the 10,000,000 visits event |
| IN-A-NAME-OF-SCIENCE-! | Play as the Elsher Tachyon class during the April Fools’ update |
| PREVIEW | April Fools’ 2026 content |
If you are working through the list from scratch, the efficient order is progression badges through Sector 2 for your first few ranks, then VETERAN-OF-PURGATORY to open the Leader class, then a solo private server for ONE-MAN-ARMY and UNDEREQUIPPED. That combination gets you to Sergeant and beyond, which is what actually opens the researcher quest lines and the weapon rewards behind them.
