C Skins in Nuclear Throne are designed as late-game challenges that test how well you can exploit mechanics, crowns, ultras, and character quirks. Some are extremely simple and others require careful routing across multiple loops. What follows is a clear, fully actionable breakdown for each character, explaining not only how to unlock their C Skin but also why each requirement works and what strategies make the process repeatable.
Nuclear Throne C Skin Guide 2026 – How to get all Skins
Fish
Fish’s C Skin is locked behind a single requirement: you must own every B Skin in the game, including the one belonging to Yung Cuz. To unlock YC himself, reach Ultra level as YV. The moment you hit Ultra, the game sends you into the Crib, where YC sits playing a game on the couch. That encounter instantly unlocks him as a playable character.
To unlock YC’s B Skin, you need to use his gimmick properly. YC can hold three weapons, and his B Skin requires you to hold three golden weapons simultaneously. The most consistent path is to keep his golden revolver and push for Ultra, since Ultra brings you back into the Crib where multiple golden weapons reliably spawn. If you want to guarantee the third golden weapon, store one in a proto chest beforehand, making the Crib drop the remaining two. Taking Open Mind adds extra crates in the Crib, further increasing golden weapon odds. Once every B Skin is unlocked, Fish automatically receives his C Skin.
Crystal
Crystal’s C Skin requires taking one hundred total damage in a single run. This does not require you to heal that damage, only to accumulate it across the entire run.
The simplest approach is intentionally taking controlled chip damage on every level while staying high enough to avoid one-shots. Aim to stay around four health until Frozen City, then stabilize at five. This zone keeps you alive while allowing enough health pack drops to continue feeding the damage counter. Strong Spirit gives you a safety buffer, Stomach ensures frequent heals, and Rhino Skin increases the probability of medpack drops when you are low. Crystal’s defensive toolkit makes this challenge far less dangerous than it sounds once you commit to slow, methodical play.
Eyes
Eyes must defeat the Nuclear Throne without firing a gun. The game counts melee swings and Gamma Guts kills as allowed actions, so you are essentially doing a melee-only run.
A golden melee weapon makes this challenge far more reliable. Both the golden wrench and golden screwdriver allow you to burst damage through corridors while controlling enemy approach with telekinesis. Long Arms extends your reach, Gamma Guts melts small enemies instantly, and Stress accelerates melee attack speed under pressure. Hammerhead is surprisingly important because it lets you carve safe pockets into walls, pulling enemies into kill zones through telekinesis. Palace Guardians, dogs, and Orbs become far more manageable when you choose your own battleground.
Plant
Plant’s requirement is intentionally cryptic. You need to hold three blood-related elements at the same time. The valid pieces include Blood Lust, Crown of Blood, Blood Cannon, Blood Launcher, and Blood Hammer.
The most consistent technique is resetting runs until Blood Lust appears early, then grabbing Crown of Guns on 3-2. This is the earliest point blood weapons are allowed to spawn. The moment you pick up your blood weapon, swap your crown to Crown of Blood. As soon as all three blood conditions are active, Plant’s C Skin unlocks instantly. This trigger happens mid-run without needing to sit the throne.
Melting
Melting requires you to obtain twelve mutations in one run. Since mutation cap is traditionally limited, you must exploit crowns and ultras to bypass it.
Method one is straightforward: play normally, pick Crown of Destiny, drop it immediately, and later pick Detachment at Ultra. Destiny gives you one free mutation when taken and lets you exceed the mutation limit once dropped. Detachment adds three more mutation slots.
Method two is for players who have not unlocked Unstoppable. Transform into Skeleton, push to Ultra, and pick Redemption, which grants nine total mutations. Detachment adds three more, completing the twelve. Regardless of the method, the challenge is fundamentally one of survival. Melting’s fragility demands slow pacing, careful spacing, and a near-perfect awareness of enemy damage values.
YV
To unlock YV’s C Skin, you must play as Yung Cuz, reach Ultra, teleport into the Crib, and purposefully break the television. Doing so forces a duel with YV. Defeating him grants the C Skin immediately.
The fight itself is defined by windows of safety rather than aggression. YV’s attacks come in fixed patterns, and his damage output punishes careless movement. Hiding behind walls, letting his attack strings finish, and capitalizing on the short pause between volleys keeps the fight manageable. YC’s firepower specialization makes the duel faster if you lean on high-burst weapons.
Steroids
Steroids’ C Skin requires beating the Nuclear Throne without picking up a single weapon. You must finish the run with only your starting loadout.
The golden assault rifle is the most consistent starting choice if you find the challenge overwhelming. It shares ammo type with Steroids’ revolver, ensuring efficient drops and continuous firepower. Scarier Face tightens your time-to-kill, Recycle Glands helps sustain ammo, and Stress accelerates DPS during low-health emergencies. Do not forget that the run only counts if you actually sit on the throne after defeating it.
Robot
Robot’s C Skin is tied to consuming a rusty revolver. To obtain it, you need a proto chest that contains nothing. Enter any vault while holding a crown, eat the proto-chest weapon so the chest becomes empty, and then enter another vault later. The next proto chest will always contain the rusty revolver. Eat it to unlock the skin. The requirement is simple as long as you properly empty the first proto chest.
Chicken
Chicken’s C Skin is among the most demanding in the game. You must kill every boss using the Black Sword. You obtain this weapon by discarding your starting sword on 1-1. Doing so causes the Black Sword to spawn in L1 1-1.
The most stable approach is storing the Black Sword in a proto chest, then retrieving it on 5-? during your next run. This lets you enter the boss gauntlet fully prepared with your preferred main weapon and the Black Sword ready for finishing blows. Boss kills count as long as the Black Sword is held when the boss dies, so you can weaken each boss with your primary weapon and then deliver the final strike with the sword. After defeating every boss up to and including Technomancer, enter HQ, kill the Captain with the Black Sword in hand, and the C Skin becomes yours.
Rebel
Rebel’s C Skin is a cumulative requirement: achieve one thousand Bandit kills across any number of runs using any characters. Once your account hits the total, simply start a run as Rebel and the C Skin unlocks immediately. There is no strategy necessary beyond natural gameplay progression.
Horror
Horror needs to reach HQ while possessing three mutations or fewer. The most direct way to control mutation count is holding right-click once you have taken exactly three mutations, preventing further pickups.
Strong Spirit is almost mandatory because low-mutation builds leave little room for error. Rhino Skin adds basic survivability, but depending on your style, you might feel safer with defensive utility like Trigger Fingers or Euphoria. The key to this challenge is patience. Avoid unnecessary engagements, clear from maximum range, and never allow yourself to get flanked. Once you reach HQ, the skin unlocks automatically. Throne sitting currently works but may not remain valid in future versions.
Rogue
Rogue must clear 5-3 without killing Lil Hunter. Instead, you must eliminate every other enemy on the stage. Once all enemies except Lil Hunter are dead, he will fly away and the C Skin unlocks. Rogue’s mobility and portal manipulation make it easy to control which enemies remain. If you avoid panic shooting and keep track of explosive spawns, the challenge becomes a matter of discipline rather than difficulty.
Yung Cuz
YC’s C Skin demands that you hold six cursed weapons simultaneously. His ultra ability Arsenal allows him to carry six weapons, and Crown of Curses is your main source of cursed item spawns.
The run begins by ensuring you have Crown of Curses before reaching L1. From that point onward, pick up every cursed weapon you see. If you enter L1 4-1 with at least three cursed weapons, you are guaranteed the remaining three from 4-?, but a bug in u100r2 prevents 4-? from appearing if your first two weapon slots are non-cursed. Keeping a cursed weapon in one of those two slots avoids locking yourself out. After obtaining two cursed weapons, cursed ammo also begins spawning, so consider taking Boiling Veins early to avoid accidental self-damage. Avoid Last Wish, avoid looping, and avoid switching crowns, since all three will uncurse your weapons and undo your progress.