The four starting heroes
These are unlocked the moment you first play — no run required:
- Scarlet — starts unlocked
- The Snow Queen — starts unlocked
- Beowulf — starts unlocked
- The Pied Piper — starts unlocked
The Chapter 1 unlock chain
Nine heroes unlock by completing Chapter 1 with a named hero. The chain branches from the starters:
| Hero | Unlock condition |
|---|---|
| Aladdin | Complete Chapter 1 with Scarlet |
| Carmilla | Complete Chapter 1 with Aladdin, Melusine, Geppetto, or Sun Wukong |
| Geppetto | Complete Chapter 1 with Beowulf |
| Melusine | Complete Chapter 1 with The Pied Piper |
| Sun Wukong | Complete Chapter 1 with The Snow Queen |
Because Carmilla accepts four different precursors, the most efficient route is: Scarlet → Aladdin → Carmilla, which also feeds Geppetto (via Beowulf) and Melusine (via Pied Piper) on parallel branches.
DLC heroes
Three heroes are tied to downloadable content rather than in-game clears:
- Romeo — Free Romeo & Juliet DLC
- Juliet — Free Romeo & Juliet DLC
- Merlin — Merlin DLC
- Kintarō — Kintarō DLC
Romeo and Juliet share the trait Until death do us part: if one dies, the other dies too, but each can spend 15% of maximum health to heal the partner for 200% of that amount (overflow becomes Shield). They are strongest played together.
A practical unlock order
- Clear Chapter 1 with Scarlet → unlock Aladdin.
- Clear Chapter 1 with Aladdin → unlock Carmilla.
- Clear Chapter 1 with Beowulf → unlock Geppetto.
- Clear Chapter 1 with The Pied Piper → unlock Melusine.
- Clear Chapter 1 with The Snow Queen → unlock Sun Wukong.
- Own the DLCs for Romeo, Juliet, Merlin, Kintarō.
That covers all thirteen heroes. For what each one actually does once unlocked, read the hero abilities guide and the best heroes tier list.