Skip to main content

Secrets and Unlocks

By ScotPublished Updated Sources checked

Tactical Quick Answer

The three big secrets in Risk of Rain Returns are Boar Beach, the nine Strange Prisms, and Robomando. Boar Beach hides behind a fence in the top-left corner of the Ancient Valley #2 variant, and its teleporter sends you back to a fresh Ancient Valley and never onward. Robomando, the 16th survivor, takes a two-run sequence built around the Strange Battery.

The developers integrated a labyrinthine secret system into the map variants of Risk of Rain Returns. Navigating these secrets requires profound map knowledge and, in some cases, extremely precise execution across multiple runs.

Boar Beach​

Boar Beach is a hidden environment sitting between the third and fourth stages, with a single layout and no artifact of its own.

You access Boar Beach exclusively from the "Ancient Valley #2" map variant. Go to the top-left corner of the map and find the fence there. Stand next to it and hold your 'Up' input for a couple of seconds to travel to the secret stage.

Boar Beach does have a teleporter and it does spawn a boss, the Toxic Beast, which screeches and summons swarms of Boarlits as horde fodder. The Scavenger can show up here too, and it is a genuine threat with 1305 health that heals itself. Community testing reports that the teleporter here is ready immediately instead of running the usual charge, though the official wiki does not document its behavior either way.

Treat Boar Beach as a detour, not a farm. Its teleporter does not advance you. It drops you into a freshly generated Ancient Valley that you still have to clear, so every second spent here is added to a run clock that never stops and that drives all difficulty scaling. Go for the secrets, then leave.

The two secrets are worth the trip. Acrid's Obsidian prism sits down and to the right of the spawn area, past the environment log, and you need a Hopoo Feather, Photon Jetpack, or Rusty Jetpack to reach it. The stage also holds exactly one Armored Boarlit, a unique variant that frequently dodges damage, and killing it always drops the White Undershirt (M). Neither reward comes from the boss.

Strange Prisms​

There are nine hidden Strange Prisms scattered across specific stage variants. Each one unlocks a differently-named skin for one survivor and not a single shared "Prismatic" look. Acrid is the only survivor with two of them.

PrismSurvivorWhere
SnareBanditTutorial Stage
PyriteCommandoDesolate Forest Variant 3
StasisArtificerDried Lake Variant 3
NebulaLoaderSky Meadow Variant 2
PollenDrifterAncient Valley Variant 2
ObsidianAcridBoar Beach
ExtinctionHuntressMagma Barracks Variant 2
CalciumAcridRisk of Rain Variant 2, inside the Cabin
MaliceMercenaryRisk of Rain Variant 2

The in-game challenge for each reads "Strange Prism" followed by the skin name, and the pickup itself is labeled a Prismatic Shard. You do not need to be playing as a survivor to collect their prism, though you do appear to need that character unlocked first.

The Robomando Unlock Sequence​

Unlocking the 16th survivor, Robomando, takes a hidden two-run sidequest the game calls the Strange Battery quest. Nothing about it happens outside the game, but nothing signposts it either.

Before you start, three things will silently ruin the attempt. Do not enable the Artifact of Sacrifice, which stops the urn spawning at all. Bring mobility items, because the urn sits somewhere you have to climb to. Avoid carrying a Prophet's Cape or a Happiest Mask into the final fight, since both are reported to crash the game there. The Artifact of Command is safe.

Run 1: The Deposit

  1. Initiate a run on Drizzle difficulty. The Strange Battery only appears on Drizzle.
  2. Reach the Temple of the Elders. Find the interactable urn along the edge of the stage, marked with a plus-shaped symbol between two bracket-like shapes, and take the Strange Battery from it.
  3. Proceed to the final stage, Risk of Rain. Find a Keycard and use it to open the Cabin. Keycards drop from golden canisters and from enemies marked with a purple icon.
  4. Jump off the cliff and follow the wall on your left until you find an entrance. Pilot is a good pick here if your survivor has no mobility skill.
  5. Follow the passage left, past three dancing golems, then drop through a small divot.
  6. Continue to the equipment chest and place the Strange Battery inside it.

Run 2: The Retrieval and Sacrifice

  1. Initiate an entirely new run on Rainstorm or Monsoon difficulty.
  2. On stage 2, find the Equipment Transfer Chest, identifiable by the red-orange latch on its lid, and take the Strange Battery back out. It costs gold to open.
  3. On stage 3, leave the stage through the teleporter after the run clock passes 22:00 and before it reaches 23:00. This is the step players most often get wrong. You have to be gone inside that window, not merely starting the event, and you still have to kill the teleporter boss to go anywhere. Start the event with time to spare.
  4. Proceed to stage 4. Locate Robomando in the environment.
  5. Insert the Strange Battery to reactivate it.
  6. Intentionally allow the reactivated robot to kill your survivor to finalize the unlock.

The "Rules" menu lets you raise the damage you deal and lower the damage you take without voiding the unlock, which helps you survive long enough to hit that window. It will not help you hit the window itself, since the constraint is about waiting and not about killing faster. The difficulty requirements are part of the quest, so those you cannot adjust away.

Frequently Asked Questions​

How do you get to Boar Beach in Risk of Rain Returns?

You access it exclusively from the Ancient Valley #2 map variant. Go to the top-left corner of the map, find the fence, stand next to it, and hold your Up input for a couple of seconds to travel in.

Is Boar Beach a good farming spot in Risk of Rain Returns?

No. Its teleporter does not advance you, it sends you into a freshly generated Ancient Valley you still have to clear, and the run clock that drives all difficulty scaling never stops. Go for the secrets and leave.

What is worth collecting on Boar Beach?

Acrid's Obsidian prism, found down and right of spawn past the environment log, which needs a Hopoo Feather, Photon Jetpack, or Rusty Jetpack to reach. The stage also holds one Armored Boarlit that always drops the White Undershirt (M). Neither comes from killing the Toxic Beast.

What do Strange Prisms do in Risk of Rain Returns?

Each of the nine hidden prisms unlocks a differently-named skin for one survivor and not a shared Prismatic look. Acrid is the only survivor with two. You do not have to be playing as that character to collect their prism.

How do you unlock Robomando in Risk of Rain Returns?

It takes two runs. On Drizzle, pull the Strange Battery from the urn in the Temple of the Elders, then use a Keycard to open the Cabin on the final stage and follow the passage past three dancing golems to the equipment chest, and deposit it there. On a fresh Rainstorm or Monsoon run, retrieve it from the stage 2 Equipment Transfer Chest, leave stage 3 through the teleporter between the 22:00 and 23:00 marks, then insert the battery into Robomando on stage 4 and let it kill you. Do not run the Artifact of Sacrifice, which stops the urn spawning.