Risk of Rain 2: How to Unlock Every New Survivor Skill in Hallowed Concepts

The free update tied to Hallowed Concepts hands six returning Survivors a brand-new alternate skill, and every one of them is locked behind a challenge you have to clear while playing that exact character. Finish the challenge and the skill appears straight away in that Survivor’s loadout, ready to slot before your next run.

Quick answer: Complete each Survivor’s named challenge while playing as that Survivor. The skill then unlocks in that character’s loadout menu. Clearing a challenge on the wrong character does nothing.

Every new skill and its unlock challenge

Each skill belongs to one Survivor and one slot. You must be playing as that Survivor when the challenge registers, so pick the right character before you start the run.

Survivor	Skill (slot)	Challenge
Artificer	Tectonic Blast (Utility)	One Giant Leap
REX	Proliferation (Utility)	Invasive Growth
Acrid	Cloying Breath (Special)	Miracle
Engineer	Laser Cutter (Primary)	Mad Scientist
Huntress	Laser Cyclone (Secondary)	Tomb Raider
Commando	Sabotage (Special)	Retribution

Artificer: Tectonic Blast (One Giant Leap)

This is the quickest skill to earn. For One Giant Leap, reach the moon’s final boss arena with every Pillar of Mass uncharged. Mithrix does not have to be defeated, and you can do it without items.

Make your way to Commencement without using any Pillar of Mass. Then activate Ion Surge to rise and drift directly into the boss arena. Arriving there with no pillars activated unlocks Tectonic Blast in Artificer’s Utility slot.

REX: Proliferation (Invasive Growth)

To earn Invasive Growth, complete a run carrying at least five distinct Lunar items. You need five separate items; duplicates won’t add to the count.

The easiest approach is to visit the Bazaar Between Time and purchase at least five different Lunar items. Keep all five in your inventory as you finish the run by any ending. Proliferation then becomes available in REX’s Utility slot.

Lunar items carry drawbacks that can change how your build plays, so pick a combination you can still survive with for the rest of the run.

Acrid: Cloying Breath (Miracle)

To unlock Miracle, complete a run after using inventory sequencing at least once. A Shrine of Order performs this sequencing by turning all items of a given rarity into one shared item of that rarity.

Rallypoint Delta is a dependable place to find a Shrine of Order. A second shrine is on the moon, among the floating rocks near the exit after the final boss is defeated. Activate it once and complete the run. Acrid unlocks Cloying Breath as his new Special.

Engineer: Laser Cutter (Mad Scientist)

Mad Scientist requires you to fix an Equipment Drone with the Fuel Array from an Escape Pod. The challenge is protecting the volatile Fuel Array: it detonates once its health reaches 50 percent. You can complete this challenge without going to Mithrix.

After landing, take the Fuel Array from the rear of your dropship. You carry it for the rest of the run. It can be safer to clear the starting area first, rather than take it along while dealing with the run’s opening moments.

Stay on the move and steer clear of attacks. Because the item is fragile, prolonged damage can destroy it before you locate a drone.

Locate an Equipment Drone and use the Fuel Array to fix it. You may encounter these drones in several biomes, such as Aphelian Sanctuary and Scorched Acres. Completing the repair unlocks Laser Cutter as Engineer’s new Primary.

Huntress: Laser Cyclone (Tomb Raider)

Tomb Raider requires you to secure an Artifact in Bulwark’s Ambry before 25 minutes have elapsed. Beating the clock is the hardest part; lower the difficulty and rush through the early stages.

Get to stage five or later and locate the Compound Generator, which is the artifact computer. Sky Meadow and Helminth Hatchery are promising spots to check.

Enter an artifact code on the 3×3 light-node grid, then submit it to open the portal. The Artifact of Command code is three squares across the top row, three squares across the middle row, and three triangles across the bottom row.

In Bulwark’s Ambry, place a key into the central Artifact Reliquary to begin the trial. Kill enemies to make additional keys appear, then return each key to the Reliquary until enemies stop spawning. Take the Artifact before the 25-minute mark to unlock Laser Cyclone for Huntress’s Secondary.

Commando: Sabotage (Retribution)

Retribution is the toughest of the six challenges. With the optional Karma system active, defeat the final boss while carrying 8 Karma; this makes the moon encounter much more punishing.

Before you launch the run, enable Karma on the character-select screen. The setting starts turned off.

Gain Karma as you play. Ways to do so include collecting 50 items, defeating enemies such as Aurelionite, and being thrown out of the Bazaar. For a quick repeatable route, visit the Bazaar Between Time and take three Lunar items to earn three Karma, then damage Nute enough to get ejected for one additional Karma. Each visit nets four Karma; repeat the route until you have eight.

Defeat Mithrix while 8 Karma is enabled. The battle is much harder at this level, so lowering the difficulty may help. His defeat unlocks Sabotage as Commando’s new Special.

At Karma 8, Mithrix can bring down even a powerful build. Lowering the difficulty is a useful measure, not something to save for a last resort.

Confirming a skill unlocked

After the challenge is recorded, check that Survivor’s loadout menu for the new skill. Assign it to its corresponding ability button before your next run. If the skill is missing, you did not complete the challenge with that specific character; begin a new attempt with the correct Survivor selected.

Hallowed Concepts and its accompanying free update are available on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X and Series S.