Vampire Survivors Characters – Every Hero Rated and Explained

Vampire Survivors boasts dozens of colorful characters, each with their own abilities and weapons that make them unique. The problem with so much choice is, how do you know who to pick? That’s a question I hope to answer here.

Below, you will find a short write-up for every character in the game, including how to unlock them and if they are worth your hard-earned cash.

Gold is always at a premium in Vampire Survivors, so let’s make sure you spend it wisely!

Bottom Line Up Front

Every character in Vampire Survivors has a unique starting weapon, ability, and starting stats. It can be tempting to gravitate towards your favorites, but if you want to see everything and make a dent in your unlockables list, you’ll need to play as everyone.

Fortunately, even the worst Vampire Survivors characters can be dragged through the game with smart decision-making.

A Quick Word On Spoilers

New characters will appear naturally as you progress through the game, but as Vampire Survivors is so open-ended, every player obtains characters in a different order.

Many are locked behind milestones, so it’s impossible to make a character guide without the chance of spoilers. With this in mind, I’ve kept the more obvious end-game characters toward the bottom of the guide, but these will differ from player to player.

What are the Scrolls of Morbane?

Vampire Survivors has several secret characters that can be obtained once the Secrets page has been unlocked. This page is home to the Scrolls of Morbane, which offer cryptic clues on how to get the characters.

In this menu, you can type passwords (spells) to unlock the characters immediately. Arguably this takes the fun out of it, but I’ve included spells for the secret characters in the following section.

The Character Compendium

In this section, you’ll find an entry for every character, including their starting weapon and unlock requirements. I’ve rated every hero based on how good their starting kit is if you’re trying to win a run. This rating can change dramatically if you find good weapons on the field.

Antonio Belpaese

• Starting Weapon: Whip
• Unlock: N/A
• Rating: 3/10

Antonio is the first available character and is a nod to the Castlevania games. Unfortunately, he kinda stinks. Antonio starts with the Whip, a short-range weapon that forces the player to get up close and personal. As a new player, you’ll have awful base stats, so the Whip will quickly get you in trouble.

Antonio’s damage output increases by 10% every 10 levels up to 50%, which is great, but a new player won’t survive to level 10, let alone 50!

Imelda Belpaese

• Starting Weapon: Magic Wand
• Unlock: Purchase for 10G
• Rating: 6/10

Now, this is more like it! Imelda will likely be the first character you buy, and she starts with the Magic Wand. The Magic Wand is fantastic as it lets you stay away from your foes, and as it attacks the closest enemy, you can dish out respectable single-target damage.

Imelda gains more experience than other characters, which provides valuable level-ups early on, but it’s low impact, hence the rating.

Pasqualina Belpaese

• Starting Weapon: Runetracer
• Unlock: Purchase for 100G
• Rating: 10/10

Wow, now THIS is a starting character! Pasqualina is incredible for one reason, she starts with the Runetracer. The Runetracer is a phenomenal weapon that scales well and punches holes through most enemies in the game.

Runetracer is awesome because it combines with Armor (A great defensive tool in its own right) to create the NO FUTURE Evo. With Pasqualina, you get tremendous offensive power that will catapult you deeper into your runs than ever before.

Gennaro Belpaese

• Starting Weapon: Knife
• Unlock: Purchase for 500G
• Rating: 7/10

I’m not a big fan of weapons that fire in the direction you’re facing as you need to stop to deal with threats behind you. With this in mind, the Knife is a naff starting weapon, so why does Gennaro score 7/10?

Gennaro’s saving grace is his passive bonus of extra health and increased ‘Amount’ stat. ‘Amount’ makes projectile weapons fire an extra shot. One projectile might not sound like much, but it’s a huge DPS increase for many weapons.

Arca Ladonna

• Starting Weapon: Fire Wand
• Unlock: Own a level 4 Fire Wand.
• Rating: 5/10

Arca’s weapon of choice is the Fire Wand, which is a problem because it fires in random directions. This makes it impossible to do reliable damage; even when they hit, the damage leaves much to be desired.

Fortunately, Arca starts with a slightly higher Might stat and reduced cooldowns. If you can find a weapon that will give the Fire Wand more of a support role. Arca is fine, and even though the Fire Wand sucks, its Hellfire Evo is fantastic. You just need to survive long enough to make it happen.

Porta Ladonna

• Starting Weapon: Lightning Ring
• Unlock: Own a level 4 Lightning Ring
• Rating: 8/10

The Lightning Ring and its Evo, the Thunder Loop, are some of the most potent weapons in the game, so it should be no surprise that Porta is a force to be reckoned with.

I love characters with stats to complement their weapons, and Porta starts with a 30% Area increase. This increase makes the Lightning Ring strike a much larger area and makes an already superb weapon even more deadly. If you want to be the queen of Lightning and fill the screen with electricity, none do it better than Porta.

Lama Ladonna

• Starting Weapon: Axe
• Unlock: Survive 20mins with at least 10% Curse
• Rating: 7/10

I’m a big fan of movement speed, especially when I get it for free! Lama starts with the Axe and a modest +10% Movement Speed. The Axe is a superb high-damage weapon, even if its Evo is a little lackluster.

Lama starts with a 10% Curse, which makes enemies stronger and faster. This isn’t a deal breaker, as 10% is manageable, but it’s worth mentioning as you’ll need to work that much harder to survive.

Poe Ratcho

• Starting Weapon: Garlic
• Unlock: Own a level 7 Garlic
• Rating: 4/10

Poe’s weapon of choice is Garlic which melts enemies early on and provides a few easy level-ups. Sadly, Garlic’s power doesn’t last, so finding something better is Poe’s top priority.

I understand Poe is an old man, but they did him dirty in Vampire Survivors. He starts with a -30 penalty to his Max Health, which really hurts as he wants to be close to use his Garlic. Poe draws in nearby gems, which is a nice bonus, but it’s not enough.

Suor Clerici

• Starting Weapon: Santa Water
• Unlock: Recover 1000 total health
• Rating: 8/10

Suor is a fantastic character in Vampire Survivors! She starts with Santa Water, but best of all, she’s incredibly tanky. Suor has +50 max health and slowly heals through time.

I don’t rate the regenerative health Passive Item as it takes up a valuable inventory slot, but it feels great to have it for free. Santa Water is also part of the devastating La Borra Evo, which you should always be aiming for as this character.

Dommario

• Starting Weapon: King Bible
• Unlock: Collect 5000G in a single run
• Rating: 5/10

Dommario starts with the King Bible and additional Projectile Speed and Duration, making the weapon even better. This Vampire Survivors combination makes Dommario like a spinning top of death… at least it would if it wasn’t for one fatal flaw.

Dommario has been slapped with a 40% movement penalty, and it feels dreadful. The Wings passive item (increased movement speed) helps, but seeking out this item every time is a huge drawback.

Krochi Freetto

• Starting Weapon: Cross
• Unlock: Defeat 100,000 enemies
• Rating: 7/10

Krochi’s weapon may feel like a peashooter (seriously, the Cross isn’t great), but his unique abilities make up for it. Krochi starts with a respectable +30% movement speed and a free revive if things go wrong.

The 30% movement speed increase makes Krochi feel great to use, and once you grab a few weapons you like, you can run rings around your enemies. It’ll take a while to unlock Krochi, but he’s well worth the time investment.

Christine Davain

• Starting Weapon: Pentagram
• Unlock: Own a level 7 Pentagram
• Rating: 5/10

Christine is an odd character as her stats are all over the place! She has less Health and Might than usual but +30% extra Movement Speed and reduced cooldowns. The Pentagram is a polarizing weapon because it clears the screen but takes the gems along with it until it’s leveled up.

In short, Christine feels very different from most other characters. With smart choices, she’s OK but needs a decent supporting weapon to shine.

Pugnala Provola

• Starting Weapon: Eight the Sparrow & Phiera Der Tuphello
• Unlock: Find Pugnala’s Coffin in the Mad Forest
• Rating: 10/10

Pugnala is Vampire Survivor’s resident Gunslinger and a force to be reckoned with. The pistols combine into a devastatingly powerful Evo, the Phieraggi, which can carry runs all the way to the end.

If the pistols weren’t good enough, Pugnala gains up to 50% Might and starts with +20% movement speed. I guess the developers were in a very good mood when they made Pugnala. She’s fast, deadly, and easily one of the best characters in the game.

Giovanna Grana

Starting Weapon: Gatti Amari
Unlock: Find Giovanna’s Coffin in the Inlaid Library
Rating: 5/10

Giovanna gains 1% Projectile Speed every level, and unlike most character abilities, this one is uncapped! If you have weapons that excel with quick projectiles, Giovanna is broken. She has a low rating because this stat doesn’t do much for most weapons, and Gatti Amari is a gimmick weapon at best.

Giovanna looks awesome on her broomstick, but that shouldn’t be her most redeeming feature.

Poppea Pecorina

• Starting Weapon: Song of Mana
• Unlock: Find Poppea’s Coffin in the Dairy Plant
  Rating: 8/10

Poppea starts with the Song of Mana, a devastating weapon that shreds enemies above and below her. This weapon is especially useful on vertical levels.

She starts with a nice chunk of extra movement speed and an uncapped bonus to her Duration stat, which helps with the Song of Mana’s slow firing speed. Poppea has everything she needs to start runs with a bang and is unstoppable with a good set of weapons.

Concetta Caciotta

• Starting Weapon: Shadow Pinion
• Unlock: Find Concetta’s Coffin in Gallo Tower
• Rating: 4/10

This may be a hot take, but I can’t stand the Shadow Pinion. You need to stop moving to use it, which feels gross compared to every other weapon. Concetta starts with +20% movement speed, which is always welcome but also starts with a 10% Curse.

With the right weapons, you can take advantage of Concetta’s uncapped Area stat increase, but she needs specific items to work.

Mortaccio

• Starting Weapon: Bone
• Unlock: Defeat 3000 Skeletons
• Rating: 8/10

I love filling the screen with a ridiculous amount of projectiles, and no other character enables that quite like Mortaccio. Every 20 levels, Mortaccio gains +1 to his Amount stat (to a maximum of 3).

Combine this with the Duplicator and a few projectile weapons; your computer might break a sweat trying to render everything!

Yatta Cavallo

• Starting Weapon: Cherry Bomb
• Unlock: Defeat 3000 Lionheads (regular enemies in the Inlaid Library)
• Rating: 5/10

Yatta has the same Amount increase as Mortaccio but pales in comparison, thanks to his lame starting weapon. The Cherry Bomb is awful without significant support. It has no Evo either, so your early game strategy is to kneel and pray that a better weapon comes along.

The stat increase is fine, but there needs to be more reason to use Yatta over Mortaccio.

Bianca Ramba

• Starting Weapon: Carrello
• Unlock: Defeat 3000 Milk Elementals (White ghosts in the Dairy Plant)
• Rating: 6/10

Bianca once again has the same Amount stat as Mortaccio. The difference in rating is purely based on her starting weapon, which is fun but OK at best. The Carrello spawns minecarts to crush enemies, and they look hilarious but don’t do enough to carry a run.

O’Sole Meeo

• Starting Weapon: Celestial Dusting
• Unlock: Defeat 3000 Dragon Shrimps
• Rating: 8/10

O’Sole is the final character to share Mortaccio’s Amount increase. Fortunately, Celestial Dusting is a great weapon that launches bouncing flowers at enemies. It does respectable damage and hits a ton of foes.

You’ll probably pick O’Sole because you get to play as a dog, and if you ask me, what other reason do you need? If you grab a couple of projectile-based weapons, this powerful pooch can comfortably survive runs until the very end.

Sir Ambrojoe

• Starting Weapon: La Robba
• Unlock: Defeat 6000 Stage Killers (regular enemies in Cappella Magna)
• Rating: 9/10

Sporting a dapper suit and top hat, Sir Ambrojoe is the defacto gentleman of Vampire Survivors. His weapon of choice, furniture?

That’s right, Sir Ambrojoe drops huge chunks of furniture on his enemies, and they do decent damage. Ambrojoe has the same Amount stat as Mortaccio and has additional Luck, Greed, and Magnet. Even if you don’t like La Robba, he’s powerful enough to shine with many other weapons and look great while doing it.

Iguana Gallo Valletto

• Starting Weapon: Clock Lancet
• Unlock: Obtain the Infinite Corridor
• Rating: 5/10

Iguana has several odd stats that give him a mediocre rating. Iguana has improved Duration and Cooldown stats, which work well with his Clock Lancet. On top of that, he has additional Rerolls and Skips and a bizarre -50% Greed stat, so he finds less Gold.

I’ll be honest; I don’t understand the direction a player is meant to take an Iguana build. He’s not ‘bad’ but has a bunch of stats that don’t gel together.

Divano Thelma

• Starting Weapon: Laurel
• Unlock: Obtain the Crimson Shroud.
• Rating: 7/10

Divano has the same odd Greed penalty as Iguana but, fortunately, fares better elsewhere. He starts with the Laurel, which is a respectable survivability item and an extra level so you can pick an offensive weapon when you start.

So you’re not clutching at straws; Divano can Banish 10 items when he starts so you can be picky with your builds. He also recovers health and has a bonus to his Luck stat. Divano has unusual stats, but he’s decent.

Zi’Assunta Belpaese

• Starting Weapon: Vento Sacro
• Unlock: Find Zi’Assunta’s coffin in Cappella Magna
• Rating: 8/10

Zi’Assunta starts with unremarkable stats and a more powerful version of the Whip. Vento Sacro isn’t a good weapon, even if it’s shiny; It’s Zi’Assuntas uncapped stats that make him a great character.

Zi’Assunta’s Area, Duration, Projectile Speed and Might increase by 0.5% per level. If you survive long enough for these benefits to matter, he becomes an absolute powerhouse that can steamroll through end-game enemies.

Exdash

• Starting Weapon: Ebony Wings
• Unlock: Cast the spell “x-x1viiq”
• Rating: 4/10

Ebony Wings is a great weapon to start with, but Exdash has a strange mix of stats that do more harm than good. Let’s get the positive stuff out of the way; Exdash starts with an insane Luck stat of +100% which means he crits more and gets extra value from Treasure Chests and Light Sources.

Sadly, Exdash has negative stats for everything else, including a -10% penalty to Movement Speed. Luck is great, but not good enough to offset the rest.

Toastie

• Starting Weapon: Peachone
• Unlock: Forbidden Scroll or the spell “tramezzini”.
• Rating: 1/10

Oh dear, someone was in a terrible mood when they made Toastie! Toastie has an amazing Luck stat like Exdash and +20% Movement Speed. He also has a host of negative stats, including a whopping -99 Max Health!

Yes, this means Toastie will die in one hit and needs a very specific set of items to survive. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate a ‘hardcore’ character, but he gets a bad rating because of it.

Random

• Starting Weapon: Any
• Unlock: Open a previously opened coffin
• Rating: 5/10

Unsurprisingly, Random starts with a random weapon and starting stats. He can be tremendously powerful or shrivel up and die after a single hit.

There’s little to say about this one. Random is a fun gimmick character for challenge runs, but that’s about it.

Boon Marrabbio

• Starting Weapon: Thousand Edge
• Unlock: Forbidden Scroll or the spell “fettinepanate”.
• Rating: 8/10

Boon has decent stats across the board and starts with the powerful Thousand Edge evo. His gimmick is a -110% Speed stat, making projectiles slowly float across the screen. Shots move so slowly that Boon can keep up with them and hide among them for protection.

Boon basically lives in a world of constant bullet time. He’s powerful, and trying other projectile weapons with his unique stats is fun.

Avatar Infernas

• Starting Weapon: Flames of Misspell
• Unlock: Forbidden Scroll or the spell “kalvasflam”.
• Rating: 7/10

Avatar is a powerful character with impressive stats. He starts with a respectable boost to his Might, Magnet, and Luck, which make him feel great to play.

Avatar’s description says he ‘loses control’ every level. In practice, he constantly gains speed and will zip around the stage by the end of a run. If you build for this, Avatar can lay waste to giant swathes of enemies with mobility you won’t find anywhere else.

Minnah Mannarah

• Starting Weapon: Bloody Tear
• Unlock: Forbidden Scroll or the spell “foldinthecheese”.
• Rating: 6/10

Minnah starts with one of the best close-range weapons in the game and one of the few that offers lifesteal. Her stats are unusual because they constantly change.

Fortunately, none of the changes are harmful, and although stats do decrease, they never go lower than the default values. Minnah gets a great starting weapon but is hard to build effectively.

Leda

• Starting Weapon: Holy Wand
• Unlock: Forbidden Scroll or the spell “iwillneverletyouforgetaboutme”.
• Rating: 9/10

Leda may be a little slow with a -20% Movement Speed penalty, but with a 100% increase to her Might, she’s built like a tank! Leda’s starting weapon is the Holy Wand which fires a never-ending stream of powerful projectiles.

Her raw offensive power makes the early game easy and gives you time to toughen up for the future. She may look grotesque, but don’t underestimate her.

Cosmo

• Starting Weapons: Peachone & Ebony Wings
• Unlock: Forbidden Scroll or the spell “lhovistoio”.
• Rating: 3/10

Cosmo is a bird, so it makes sense that they use both bird-themed weapons. These birds don’t take inventory space either, so you can create amazing builds if you survive long enough… and that’s the problem.

Cosmo starts with a pitiful health pool. It’s so bad that running into a few early enemies will kill you. You have the extra movement speed to be evasive, but sadly, playing Cosmo is an uphill struggle.

Peppino

• Starting Weapon: Soul Eater
• Unlock: Forbidden Scroll or the spell “pinociampino”.
• Rating: 1/10

OK, I know this is a meme character! Peppino is a tree and has the slowest Movement Speed in the game with a -100% penalty. This penalty means Peppino slowly inches across the screen and is so slow that it barely feels like there’s any point moving at all.

Fortunately, Soul Eater is the ideal weapon for this situation, but even early-game bosses will penetrate its aura and hurt you.

The absurdity makes Peppino worth trying at least once, but I doubt it’ll become your main character.

Big Trouser

• Starting Weapon: Candybox
• Unlock: Forbidden Scroll or the spell “earrivatolarrotino”.
• Rating: 8/10

Big Trouser is the character you turn to when Gold is the priority. He boasts an impressive +30% Movement Speed stat but, most importantly, an uncapped Greed stat.

His Greed increases by 1% every level, so if you make it to the end, you’ll rake in serious cash. Big Trouser’s Candybox lets you pick any starting weapon, so you can build a run any way you like.

missingN▯

• Starting Weapon: Axe or Death Spiral
• Unlock: Forbidden Scroll or the spell “rightninetyseven”.
• Rating: 5/10

missingN▯ is a reference to the famous glitched Pokemon of the same name. missingN▯ is a glitchy mess with random stats. Reportedly, these stats have been known to make missingN▯ spawn with negative hp, making it invincible!

Regardless of stats, missingN▯ spawns with either the Axe or Death Spiral, and both are excellent. If you’re a gambler and want to try your luck, this is the character for you.

Gains Boros

• Starting Weapon: Heaven Sword
• Unlock: Forbidden Scroll or the spell “highfive”.
• Rating: 7/10

Gains is rather simple and starts with a decent weapon that quickly destroys most early-game enemies. Gains’ standout ability is its uncapped Growth stat, which governs EXP. Gains gets +2% Growth each level, which really adds up.

The EXP is nice, but you’ll usually have everything leveled up by the end game anyway. Regardless, the Heaven Sword is good, hence the rating.

Gyorunton

• Starting Weapon: Bracelet
• Unlock: Forbidden Scroll or the spell “secondevolution”.
• Rating: 8/10

I love Gyorunton, and his unique ability blows the game wide open! Gyorunton starts with +200 Max Health and +30% Might so he hits like a tank. His starting weapon is the Bracelet, which is decent, and his passive is phenomenal.

Gyorunton can find Evo’s in Treasure Chests even without the appropriate items. This makes opening Treasure Chests exciting; it’s just a pity it doesn’t trigger very often. Gyrorunton’s Curse stat increases every level, so the mid-game can be tough, but he remains a fun and powerful character.

Red Death

• Starting Weapon: Death Spiral
• Unlock: Forbidden Scroll or the spell “ablasphemousmockery”.
• Rating: 10/10

Red Death is as dangerous as he looks and is an absolute powerhouse. He starts with double Movement Speed and a massive bonus to Max Health and Might. If that wasn’t enough, his Death Spiral is an evo that does ridiculous damage.

Red Death has it all with zero downsides and can comfortably take on the most demanding content in the game.

Scorej-Oni

• Starting Weapon: Lightning Ring
• Unlock: Forbidden Scroll or the spell “notsureitsthunder”.
• Rating: 9/10

Scorej has a powerful ability that might dethrone Porta as the ruler of Lightning! Scorej gains a Lightning Ring every eight levels and quickly fills the screen with electricity.

Lightning Rings earned this way don’t hit particularly hard, but they are a spectacle and can be boosted with Arcana cards.

Because of the random nature of Lightning, Scorej benefits from a decent targeting weapon like the Magic Wand. Once you’ve got that taken care of, enjoy the show!

Queen Sigma

• Starting Weapon: Victory Sword
• Unlock: Complete every entry in the Collection
• Rating: 11/10!

Queen Sigma is the last character most players will unlock, and she’s a fitting reward for essentially beating the game. She has ridiculous buffs to each of her stats and spirals out of control so fast; she’s like a boss character.

There’s not much more to say. Queen Sigma turns the game into easy mode and is so strong you can go out for a jog, knowing she’ll still be slaying when you get back. Queen Sigma is broken on every level, and that’s the point.

Frequently Asked Questions

Useful Resources:

If you want to skip the unlock process for the base characters, Vampire Survivors lets you do that with cheat codes. You can view all of those here

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Anthony Yates

Anthony is a content writer who is also a competitive gamer. He plays and streams a variety of retro games. He spent hours exploring the indie gaming world and learning its mechanics. He knows how to complete challenges, and creates strategies for different playthroughs. In his spare time, he enjoys cosplaying and creating assets for events and Cons.

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