In Vampire Survivors, released on Dec. 17, 2021, for PC, players have a choice of 16 characters from which to choose; 18 characters if the secret ones are included. Two of these characters, Suor Clerici and Dommario, were just introduced on January 30, 2022. The characters in this game all come with their own unique bonus (or ability). These abilities are fairly well-balanced, but the gameplay of Vampire Survivors makes some characters better than others.
Characters in Vampire Survivors also start with a specific weapon, and not all of them are created equal. They can all use any of the weapons, but each has its own at the start of the stage. This ranking is from worst to best – the last entry (#1) will be the character that experiences the least amount of difficulty during a playthrough. The MissingNZ character is not included in this because it is not an official character. Unlocking MissingNZ requires changing the game's code.
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Updated on June 25, 2022, by Jeff Drake: It's been a long time since the last update. Not only has Pugnala been included, but so have the other 11 new characters. New characters are added to this game frequently; in fact, there are two new characters in beta as of the writing of this update - Sir Ambrojoe and Peppino. Many of the new characters suffer from power creep and have passive bonuses that are much better than the original roster of characters. Coincidentally, many of the newer characters have starting weapons that are also new to Vampire Survivors. Many of these new weapons are great, but not as starting weapons.
30 Toastie
- Weapon: Peachone
- Unlock: Kill the Stalker, Drowner, or Trickster and press down and enter simultaneously when Toastie appears onscreen
- Cost: N/A
Toastie is a secret character with passive bonuses, let's call them penalties in Toastie's case, which make it the most difficult character to use in Vampire Survivors. This character's passive bonuses are; +10% Cooldown, +20% MoveSpeed, -99 Max Health, -50% Speed, +100% Luck, and -10% to Area, Might, and Duration.
With a -99 to Health, Toastie is killed if an enemy so much as brushes against it briefly. At least they gave Toastie a boost to movement speed.
29 Exdash Exiviiq
- Weapon: Ebony Wings
- Unlock: Type x-x1viiq while at the Main Menu
- Cost: N/A
Exdash is the secret character, that doesn't require changing Vampire Survviors' code. This ghostly character suffers a lot of penalties: -50% projectile speed, -23 max health, -10% movement speed, -10% damage, -10% weapon duration, and +10% cooldown times. In exchange for all these negatives, Exdash receives a +100% Luck.
Luck affects a lot of aspects in this game. Exdash will get better treasure chests than the other characters, which basically amounts to bonus levels. Ebony Wings is a great weapon when fully leveled, but it is lacking at the start. Players should pick the Cross (Heaven Sword) and Whip (Bloody Tear) weapons for the critical hit ability, which is affected by luck.
28 Suor Clerici
- Weapon: Santa Water
- Unlock: Restore 1000 hit points
- Cost: N/A
Suor Clerici was one of two new Vampire Survivors characters introduced on Jan. 30, 2022. Fortunately, the other new character is better, because Suor Clerici is probably the game's worst in terms of staying alive. Her ability is a 0.5 per second increase to hit point regeneration, and a +30 to max health. Considering how fast a character can be drained of their hit points, this isn't much of a bonus.
Santa Water is not the best starting weapon, since it's not a direct-fire weapon. To help out, all of Suor Clerici's attacks have a 400% area of effect. However, this reduces by 100% at every level; therefore, it's only there to help out at the very start of a stage. Oddly enough, even though she's ranked last, Clerici is one of the best characters for killing Death.
27 Poe Ratcho
- Weapon: Garlic
- Unlock: Get the Garlic weapon to at least 7th level
- Cost: 800 Gold
Poe is ranked low due to his starting weapon, as well as his bonuses. This character starts with the Garlic weapon, a somewhat polarizing weapon among Vampire Survivors players. Some people love how Garlic creates an area around the player that damages enemies. Others feel the weapon is too underpowered in the later minutes of a stage, and it is.
A +25 item pick-up radius is Poe's ability. However, the Attractorb accessory and/or the global Magnet power-up increase this radius by more than enough, so Poe's ability isn't really needed. Poe also suffers a -30 to max health. The benefits of Poe don't outweigh the negatives; however, he is one of the best characters when attempting the "no move" challenge.
26 Smith IV
- Weapon: Vandalier
- Unlock: Type "spam" at the main menu, character select screen, stage select screen, then "humbug" when the stage begins. This must be done in under 30 seconds.
- Cost: 7,777 Gold
Smith IV is the counterpart to Exdash and Toastie, and as such uses Vandalier, the union of Ebony Wings and Peachone, as its starting weapon. Like Exdash and Toastie, Smith IV has a long list of negative passive bonuses. Smith's passive bonuses are; +10% Cooldown Time, +7 Max Health, +20% MoveSpeed, -50% Speed, +100% Luck, and a -10% Area, Might, and Duration.
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Using this secret character is a little easier thanks to starting with an evolved weapon. The +100% Luck of the ghost characters works well with the melee weapons (Knife, Axe, Heaven Sword, and Whip) and the Slash Arcana.
25 Lama Ladonna
- Weapon: Axe
- Unlock: Survive 20 minutes with at least 10% Curse
- Cost: 500 Gold
Lama is an interesting character. She starts with a 10% bonus to Might and move speed, which increases by 5% every ten levels to a maximum of 30%. She also starts with a 10% Curse, which increases at the same rate. In Vampire Survivors, Curse increases the amount, frequency, health, and move speed of the enemy. This essentially negates Lama's bonuses; however, it makes her the character of choice when a player is trying to beat their previous kill count record.
The Axe is Lama's starting weapon, and it's not a good one. It has a limited range and a rather long cooldown time. This will make surviving the first five minutes a little challenging. Once the player gets a few alternate weapons though, they will find that Lama is a powerful character.
24 Pasqualina Belpaese
- Weapon: Runetracer
- Unlock: Purchase at the in-game store
- Cost: 100 Gold
This character can increase the speed of her weapon's projectiles by 10% every five levels (maximum of 30%), which works quite well with her starting weapon, the Runetracer. However, the Runetracer is almost as polarizing as the Garlic. This weapon flies across the battlefield, changing course when it bounces off the edge of the screen or hits a solid surface.
Pasqualina's ability works well with most other weapons. It makes the King Bible and La Borra much deadlier, and they were already awesome weapons.
23 Porta Ladonna
- Weapon: Lightning Ring
- Unlock: Get the Lightning Ring to at least level 4
- Cost: 400 Gold
Porta starts off pretty strong, but she can be overwhelmed around minute 15 if the player chooses the wrong weapons. The Lightning Ring Porta starts with is pretty powerful, but it's slow. Her ability to increase a weapon's area of effect by 30% complements the Lightning Ring, but it also works well with nearly every weapon.
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With the Candelabrador accessory, Porta's weapons have an enormous area of effect. Porta gets a -90% cooldown time for weapons until she reaches level two. Exploit this by leaving the experience crystals on the ground until there's enough to get a few levels. This exploit works with Suor Clerici as well.
22 Arca Ladonna
- Weapon: Fire Wand
- Unlock: Get the Fire Wand to at least level 4
- Cost: 650-800 Gold
Starting a stage with Arca can be a little tricky. His starting weapon, the Fire Wand, does a lot of damage, but it's painfully slow in terms of both projectile speed and cooldown time. When the Fire Wand is evolved into Hellfire, it becomes one of the best weapons in Vampire Survivors.
Cooldown times are reduced for Arca's weapons by 5% every ten levels, to a maximum of 15%. This makes the Laurel and Pentagram weapons great choices for Arca.
21 Zi'Assunta
- Weapon: Vento Sacro
- Unlock: Open the coffin in Cappella Magna
- Cost: 5,000 Gold
This is the newest character in Vampire Survivors as of the writing of the second update. Zi'Assunta's starting weapon is Vento Sacro, a variation of the Whip weapon. Her passive bonuses are a =20% MoceSpeed, +10% Curse, and a 0.5% increase to Area, Might, Speed, and Duration at every level.
The Vento Sacro is a great weapon when it's fully leveled, but at level one, it is next to useless. This weapon also requires another evolved weapon, Bloody Tear, to evolve (in a union with Bloody Tear). The passive bonuses aren't much help until about halfway through a stage; however, towards the end of a stage, she is one of the stronger characters.
20 Giovanna Grana
- Weapon: Gatti Amari
- Unlock: Open the coffin in Inlaid Library
- Cost: 1,000 Gold
Giovanna starts with the Gatti Amari weapon and a passive bonus that can be exploited to make some weapons incredibly powerful. A +20% MoveSpeed is her secondary bonus, but her primary passive bonus is a +1% to projectile Speed per level. There isn't a maximum to the primary bonus.
The Runetracer, Magic Wand, King Bible, Bone, and Phieraggi weapons become astonishingly efficient when used by a high-level Giovanna.
19 Dommario
- Weapon: King Bible
- Unlock: Get 5000 Gold while playing a stage.
- Cost: 850 Gold
Dommario was the other new character released on Jan. 30, 2022, and should soon become a favorite among players. The reason for this is Dommario's starting weapon, the King Bible. It's arguably the best weapon in the game, and now players can have it from the start of the stage.
Dommario's ability is a +40% to his weapon's projectile speed and duration. In return for these hefty bonuses, he suffers a -40% move speed. This is a major hindrance, but this penalty can be negated with the Wings accessory and the MoveSpeed global power-up. Dommario is another good choice when attempting the "no move" challenge.
18 Antonio Belpaese
- Weapon: Whip
- Unlock: N/A
- Cost: N/A
Antonio is the only character available to beginning players, and when they begin unlocking the other characters, it's easy to overlook him. Antonio's ability increases his weapons' damage by 10% every ten levels (to a maximum of +50%), which is one of the best. When he uses the Spinach accessory, which also boosts damage, Antonio can clear the screen of even the strongest enemies in seconds.
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The Whip is another underrated weapon that deserves more love. It strikes quickly, does decent damage, and after it evolves into the Bloody Tear, it heals the user by a portion of the damage dealt.
17 Gennaro Belpaese
- Weapon: Knife
- Unlock: Purchase at the in-game store.
- Cost: 600 Gold
Gennaro has become a favorite due to his ability to give all his weapons an extra projectile. This doesn't sound like much, but it's a huge bonus that makes using him much easier to use than most of the other characters. Some weapons aren't helped out much by this; however, some, like the Axe, Santa Water, King Bible, and Cross, are greatly improved by this ability.
Players using Gennaro will want to get the Duplicator accessor – this adds even more projectiles, giving new meaning to the term "bullet hell shooter." He starts with the knife, which is a so-so weapon.
16 O'Sole Meeo
- Weapon: Celestial Dusting
- Unlock: Defeat 3,000 Dragon Shrimp (found in Gallo Tower)
- Cost: 500 Gold
This canine character has an excellent passive bonus, but an absolutely terrible starting weapon. O'Sole Meeo starts with the Celestial Dusting weapon, which fires its projectiles in the opposite direction the character is walking. This helps cover the character's rear but also makes it a low-efficiency weapon.
O'Sole Meeo's weapons receive an additional projectile every twenty levels, to a maximum of +3. This allows O'Sole to become very powerful towards the mid-point of a stage - provided the right weapons are selected.
15 Christine Davain
- Weapon: Pentagram
- Unlock: Get the Pentagram weapon to at least 7th level
- Cost: 500 Gold
Christine is the newest character in Vampire Survivors (officially). She starts with the Pentagram weapon, which was given an evolved version, the Gorgeous Moon, with Christine's introduction. The Pentagram is a powerful weapon that destroys all enemies on the screen approximately every minute. The evolved version also acts as a vacuum pick-up item and pulls all the experience gems in the area to the user.
Christine starts with a +20% to move speed, and -25% to weapon cooldown times. However, she suffers a -35% to Might (weapon strength) and starts with the lowest amount of health among the available characters. Christine gains a free level at the start of the stage due to starting with the Pentagram, giving her a chance for a weapon that fires faster than once a minute.
14 Imelda Belpaese
- Weapon: Magic Wand
- Unlock: Purchase at the in-game store
- Cost: 10 Gold
Imelda is the first character most players will unlock since she only costs ten gold, with no other requirements. Imelda's ability to increase the amount of experience she receives by 10% every five levels (to a maximum of 30%) is stealthily overpowered. One of the keys to surviving in Vampire Survivors is gaining levels faster than the time it takes the enemies to get more powerful. Imelda gets stronger more quickly than the other characters.
Her starting weapon is the Magic Wand, which is excellent. This character is also great because her ability doesn't make some weapons better than others; a player is free to use any weapon without consequence.
13 Bianca Ramba
- Weapon: Carrello
- Unlock: Defeat 3,000 Milk Elementals (found in Dairy Plant)
- Cost: 500 Gold
Ramba is another character that begins weak, but by around minute-15 begins to outpace the enemy swarms in terms of strength. The Carrello is her starting weapon, and Ramba's passive bonus is a +1 to Amount every twenty levels. This bonus caps at +3, but three extra projectiles for every weapon is powerful.
The Carrello sends out mine carts that bounce off the edge of the screen and solid objects. If the player can get Ramba's movement speed to match the cart's speed they can build a wall of carts to clear a path through the enemy horde.
12 Mortaccio
- Weapon: Bone
- Unlock: Kill 3000 skeletons
- Cost: 750 Gold
Mortaccio's ability is similar to Gennaro's but better. Instead of the one extra projectile, Mortaccio grants one extra projectile for every 20 levels (to a maximum of +3). Towards the end of a stage, when a player has all their weapons maxed in level, this ability is absolutely overpowered.
Unfortunately, the Bone is an awful weapon, perhaps the worst in the game. It behaves similarly to the Runetracer, but it bounces off enemies instead of passing through them. It can get frustrating watching bones slowly fly across the battlefield without hitting many enemies.
11 Yatta Cavallo
- Weapon: Cherry Bomb
- Unlock: Kill 3000 Lion Heads.
- Cost: 500 Gold
Cavallo has the same bonus as Mortaccio: one extra projectile every 20 levels, to a max of +3. Cavallo starts with the Cherry Bomb, which bounces off enemies and surfaces like Mortaccio's Bone weapon. Unlike the Bone, these bombs explode when they come to a stop. This explosion does quite a bit of damage and covers a large area. Additionally, the Cherry Bomb's ability to bounce off enemies makes it one of the best weapons in Vampire Survivors when surrounded on all sides.
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The Cherry Bomb is an extremely effective weapon. There is a chance for other characters to get the Cherry Bomb when going up a level, but this chance is incredibly low. Many players will never get the Cherry Bomb as an option with the other characters.
