Captain is the commander of the UES Safe Travels, the same ship was shown in the opening cutscene, and the personnel on board make up most of the playable survivors in Risk of Rain 2. Captain is a unique survivor whose main strengths come from controlling the battlefield with AOE damage and specialized utility. Even when Captain steps onto the battlefield, he still manages and calls in support from his beloved ship above.
How To Unlock Captain in Risk of Rain 2
To unlock the Captain of the UES Safe Travels, you must defeat the final boss and beat the game. There are several ways to win or unlock alternative endings in Risk of Rain 2, but only defeating Mythrix and escaping the moon will unlock Captain as a playable Survivor.
If you wish to learn more strategies on how to do this, we have a separate article describing how to beat every ending in Risk of Rain 2.
Captain’s Abilities
Passive – Defensive Microbots
Captain’s Passive is Defensive Microbots, which grants a free copy of the unique legendary item of the same name. This item passively shoots down nearby projectiles, and any Drones under his command are also given Microbots. This passive encourages Captain to seek out multiple types of Drones during runs, and the recharge rate of the passive scales with attack speed.
Captain’s Only Primary Skill is Vulcan Shotgun
In Risk of Rain 2, Captain’s only primary skill is Vulcan Shotgun. It fires a barrage of pellets that deals 8×120% damage and has a proc coefficient of 0.75×8. The Vulcan Shotgun has no cooldown, but the time between shots can be reduced with attack speed items.
Charging the attack narrows the spread of the shot, and you can sprint while charging. Critical strikes are also rolled per attack and not for each pellet, meaning all bullets will critically strike.
Related Guide: Complete Risk of Rain 2 Acrid Build and Guide
The Only Secondary Ability for Captain in RoR2 – Power Tazer
Power Tazer is Captain’s only secondary ability. It fires a quick Tazer blast that deals 100% base damage when activated. Furthermore, it applies the Shocking status effect on hit. Power Tazer is guaranteed to shock any non-boss enemy, producing a 2m area of effect. Sadly shock doesn’t contribute to triggering the Death Mark item.
Utility
As more of a support hero, Captain in Risk of Rain 2 has some pretty great choices for Utility skills.
Orbital Probe
Orbital Probe is Captain’s default Utility skill which calls down three small orbital strikes from his ship to deal AOE damage in a targeted area. After painting the targeting area, the probes deal 1000% base damage and stuns any enemies hit. Orbital Probe stores up to three charges, and the cooldown only begins once all the charges are spent.
OGM-72 ‘DIABLO’ Strike Unlockable Utility Skill for Captain in RoR2
The OGM-72 ‘DIABLO’ Strike is Captain’s alternate Utility ability, and it’s one of the most difficult abilities to use in the game. Captain calls down a kinetic strike from the UES Safe Travels, and after 20 seconds, this ability deals 40,000% damage to ALL characters and stunning them. This ability is incredibly tough to use since the casting delay is 20 seconds, and it’s unlikely a group of enemies will remain in the area for long enough to be hit by the orbital strike.
To unlock the OGM-72 ‘DIABLO’ Strike for Captain in Risk of Rain 2, you must complete one of the most difficult challenges in the game, Smushed. You must kill the final boss using the blast damage of a Supply Beacon to finish this challenge. Using the Artifact of Command and the Artifact of Glass greatly helps setup since you can control what items you prioritize and increase your damage. We recommend taking items such as Armor-Piercing Rounds, Chronobauble, and Dio’s Best Friend.
Related RoR2 Article: How to Use the Laser Scope in Risk of Rain 2 Effectively
Special – Orbital Supply Beacon
Orbital Supply Beacon is RoR2 Captain’s only Special ability, but it comes with various choices. Captain requests a permanent Supply Beacon that can only be called down twice per stage. Each Supply Beacon lasts indefinitely once it’s called down, making its effective use last forever in a small area. If a beacon lands on an enemy, it deals 2000% damage after a short delay.
Captain’s Beacon Options in Risk of Rain 2
Beacon: Healing
The Healing option causes the Supply Beacon to heal all nearby allies for 10% of their maximum health every second. Their effects will stack if multiple beacons are stacked in a small radius.
Beacon: Shocking
The shocking beacon fires a rapid shocking pulse every three seconds, immobilizing them and applying the shocking debuff.
Beacon: Resupply
The Resupply Beacon from Captain in Risk of Rain 2 grants any equipment a quick recharge. The Resupply Beacon can be used up to three times before it deactivates.
To Unlock Resupply Beacon, you must complete the Wanderlust challenge. This challenge requires you to visit ten different environments in a single run. These environments include different levels or visiting alternative areas such as the Void Fields or the Bazaar Between Time.
Related Guide: How to Play and Build the Huntress in Risk of Rain 2
Beacon: Hacking
The Hacking Beacon is Captain’s final option in Risk of Rain 2 and is regarded as his strongest pick. Captain calls down a Hacking Beacon that hacks all nearby purchasables to a cost of $0 over time. Multishop Terminals or Equipment Triple Shops will unlock the closest item to the beacon’s location. Chests and Drones will be immediately bought.
Shrines of chance will attempt to buy items and make every repeated attempt cost 0$, Altars of Gold and Shrines of the Woods will be automatically activated.
To Unlock the Hacking Beacon, you must complete the Worth Every Penny challenge. Finishing this challenge requires you to repair and recruit a TC-280 Prototype. This rare drone can only be found on Rallypoint Delta and costs thousands of gold to buy.
The Best Risk of Rain 2 Captain Build
Captain is a very strange character to build, especially since your only real options are for alternate Supply Beacons since his alternate Utility is basically a joke ability. Typically, two copies of the Hacking Beacon would be the most consistent. Healing Beacon requires Captain to stay in an area, Shock Beacon has limited usage and poor overall area denial, and Resupply Beacon only works in a small burst. In contrast, Hacking Beacon allows access to the most expensive chests and loot with zero money required.
Captain struggles with many of REX’s gameplay issues in Risk of Rain 2 but builds differently. The lack of mobility forces Captain to build the typical movement-enhancing items like Wax Quail, and Paul’s Goat Hoof is heavily recommended.
Captain builds like Commando in RoR2 but with On-Hit instead of Crit due to having a .75 proc-coefficient on a spammable shotgun blast. Attack Speed lowers the charge time and delay between utilizing Captain’s Primary, so treat Captain like a movement-lacking Commando.
Tips & Tricks to Playing with Captain in Risk of Rain 2
- Captain cannot use his Orbital Supply Beacon, Orbital Probe, or OGM-72′ DIABLO’ Strike abilities while in the Hidden Realms because his ship doesn’t orbit in Hidden Realms.
- Vulcan Shotgun pairs well with Tri-Tip Dagger, Shatterspleen, and Shattering Justice since each projectile has a proc coefficient of 0.75.
- The item Bandolier will restore one charge of Orbital Probe but doesn’t grant additional charges.
- One of the best Equipment you can obtain while playing Captain in Risk of Rain 2 is The Back-up since it calls in a temporary drone squad, and all those drones share his Passive.
- Prioritize obtaining some mobility items since Captain has no way to evade out of harmful situations in RoR2.
Wrapping Up Our Risk of Rain 2 Captain Build and Gameplay Guide
Captain is a more supportive survivor who works better in a team than flying solo. His limitations when venturing into the Hidden realms make it difficult to bring him everywhere. However, he can still steamroll and provide specialized utility and strength with drones, making him a solid character to play.
If you’re looking to give extra support to your team or enjoy controlling a horde of flying drones, then Captain is the best Risk of Rain 2 survivor for you!
For other playstyles, consider checking out one of our other Survivor guides. You may find our guide on unlocking and building Bandit in Risk of Rain 2 very interesting. They are quite a unique Survivor.
