How unlocking works
Brotato tracks your progress across every run. Locked characters show their condition on the selection screen, so you always know the next goal. Many unlocks happen naturally as you play.
There are four main types of condition. Some count total kills, some count total materials, some ask you to reach a stat value, and some ask for a specific event during a run. Kill and material totals carry over between runs.
Stat challenge unlocks
Several characters unlock by pushing one stat high. Ghost unlocks at 60% dodge and Speedy at 50% speed. Explorer unlocks after chopping down 50 trees in total.
These goals are easiest with a character that already boosts that stat. Lean your shop picks toward the target stat for one run instead of trying to win. Once the popup appears, you can stop worrying about the rest of the run.
Run goal unlocks
Some characters ask for a specific situation during a run. Cryptid unlocks when you finish a wave with 10 or more living trees. Fisherman requires two Baits in a single run, and Renegade requires 10 different tier I items in a single run.
A shop guide by Jawless Paul explains a trick for Cryptid. Characters with tree-related tags, such as Explorer, see tree items more often and play on a bigger map. That makes the tree goal far easier than with a random character.
Difficulty and feature unlocks
Winning a run on Danger 3 or higher unlocks the Ban system, which lets you block up to eight items per run. Nightmare difficulty unlocks after winning Danger 5 ten times on different characters, or on different maps if you own Abyssal Terrors. Each character that beats Nightmare gets a special frame on the selection screen.
The New Dawn update also added challenges such as winning without locking any items, collecting 100 fruits at full health, burning 30 enemies in a single wave, and reaching 100% crit. These unlock new items and weapons. Check the Codex for the current list.
- Ban system: win on Danger 3 or higher.
- Nightmare: ten Danger 5 wins on different characters or maps.
- Wounded: one Nightmare win with any character.
- Rail Gun: win any difficulty with Wounded.
Update and DLC unlocks
Wounded unlocks after one Nightmare win, and the Rail Gun unlocks when you win a run with Wounded on any difficulty. The Paws & Claws update added nine Pets, each with its own unlock method, plus nine new challenges. Beast Master arrived in the same update.
DLC characters, weapons and items require owning that DLC. Abyssal Terrors and Primal Dread each add their own unlock goals. Primal Dread adds 10 characters, 17 weapons, more than 30 items and three Pets.
A note on achievements and saves
New Dawn added three save slots, so you can copy progress to another profile or reset a save. Players have shared save-file edits to unlock everything, but those are unofficial. Since New Dawn, a save with everything unlocked no longer earns achievements.
In local co-op, players report that only the host's save receives unlocks and achievements. If you are hunting unlocks, play them on your own profile. See Brotato co-op for more.
Pets and Paws & Claws challenges
Paws & Claws added nine Pets in February 2026, each with its own unlock method. It also added nine new challenges and the Beast Master character. Expect to play a fair amount to see them all.
Primal Dread adds three more Pets for DLC owners. Pets also light up fog on Nightmare, which makes them useful beyond their damage. Check the Codex for each Pet's unlock condition.
Tracking your progress
The Codex added in New Dawn tracks items, weapons and enemies, including kill counts. The progress menu now lives inside it as well. Check it between runs to see what is left.
Locked characters on the selection screen show their exact conditions. Pick one goal per session so runs stay focused. Small, targeted runs unlock content faster than random play.
Kill and material unlocks
Several characters unlock from totals that build up across all your runs. These include total enemies killed and total materials collected. You will earn most of them simply by playing.
The selection screen shows the exact target for each locked character. Strong economy and crowd-clearing builds speed these totals up. Loud and Bull, for example, kill large numbers of enemies per wave.
Fastest way to progress
Play full runs with strong characters to build up total kills and materials quickly. Between those, do short challenge runs aimed at one stat. That mix unlocks the roster faster than random play.
When you start winning on Danger 5, rotate characters so each win also counts toward Nightmare. Use the best Brotato character list to pick reliable winners. Full roster details are in Brotato characters.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I unlock Ghost in Brotato?
Reach 60% dodge during a run.
How do I unlock Cryptid?
Finish a wave with 10 or more living trees. Characters with tree tags, such as Explorer, make it easier.
How do I unlock Nightmare difficulty?
Win Danger 5 ten times on different characters, or on different maps if you own Abyssal Terrors.
Do unlocks count in co-op?
Players report that only the host receives unlocks and achievements in local co-op.
How do I unlock the Rail Gun?
Win a run on any difficulty with the Wounded character.