Drifter is one of the Alloyed Collective Character introduced through a special encounter. Unlocking this character isn’t complicated, but the process can feel unclear the first time you reach the area. This guide walks you through every step, from entering the boss arena to grabbing both required items and finishing the encounter safely.
How to Unlock Risk of Rain 2 Drifter Guide – Alloyed Collective Character
1. Finish the Alloyed Collective Boss Encounter
Once you defeat the boss, the arena doesn’t immediately end. Instead, you’ll notice two passageways opening behind the fight area. These are the paths that lead to the items needed to free Drifter.
Take the path on the right side of the portal. This route climbs upward and leads you toward a secondary arena-like space.
2. Reach the Upper Platform and Clear the Enemies
Follow the path until you reach a large elevated platform. A small group of enemies will spawn here. Clear them out so you can safely explore the area.
Directly underneath this platform is your first chest. Drop down or circle around to reach it. Inside is a special cube required for unlocking Drifter.
That’s your first key item done.
3. Find the Second Chest
The second chest sits farther along the same cliff system. If your mobility is low, you’ll need some careful jumps, but even without many Hoopo Feathers, you can still reach it.
Look for a single platform sticking out near the edge. Land on it, and you’ll find another identical chest. This one holds your second cube.
With both cubes collected, you’re ready for the final sequence.
4. Defeat MUL-T’s Shadow
As soon as you return to the main portal area, a shadow version of MUL-T will ambush you. This mini-boss mirrors MUL-T’s melee pressure, so keep moving and burn it down quickly.
Once the shadow is defeated, the path ahead becomes safe to approach.
5. Use the Cubes to Access the Locked Terminal
Head back to the portal. This time, look to the left side. You’ll see a sealed-off corridor with a terminal placed beside it.
Interact with the terminal and deposit the two cubes you collected earlier. Doing this unlocks the gate and frees Drifter.
After activating the terminal, the character is automatically added to your collection.
The Drifter unlock path is simple once you understand the layout: defeat the boss, climb the right-hand route, collect both special cubes, take down the shadow enemy, and activate the terminal near the portal. Follow the steps above, and you’ll secure Drifter on your very next run without confusion.
Risk of Rain 2 Drifter Guide – Abilities, Playstyle, Item Synergy
The Drifter is one of the most mechanically creative characters introduced in the Alloyed Collective update. Their entire kit revolves around manipulating scrap, transforming interactables, and creating value through careful item management. This guide breaks down how the Drifter works, how their Tinker system changes the flow of a run, and what you can learn from a full early-game demonstration.
Cube
The cube acts as a movable platform and crowd-control object.
Its physics can vary slightly between builds, but key uses include:
- Surfing for movement
- Blocking certain projectile paths
- Launching enemies when spawned underneath them
- Relocating enemies or interactables in the environment
It has a learning curve, as the trajectory and bounce differ depending on terrain and development tweaks.
Bag
The bag allows Drifter to pick up select interactables and reposition them.
Useful for:
- Moving printers into safer locations
- Pulling drones away from danger
- Compacting important objects into a single resource area for macro plays
Mobility and control are the theme here. You decide the shape of your run by moving the map’s key elements around.
Tinker
The Tinker system is the heart of Drifter.
It lets you:
- Temporarily store printers and scrappers
- Change one interactable into another
- Reroll the items a printer offers
- Create entirely new opportunities for scrap conversion
Because Drifter gains benefits from holding specific scrap types, this mechanic becomes the backbone of the character’s power curve.
Some examples seen in the run include:
- Turning a medkit printer into a mocha printer
- Converting various shops into more useful versions
- Storing a scrapper and using it in multiple locations
- Maintaining a recycler to repeatedly reroll item options
This allows Drifter to build the exact item macro they want rather than relying on chance.
Crafting System (Cooking)
Later in the run, the player demonstrates a new mechanic: item crafting.
This system allows you to:
- Combine certain items to produce new ones
- Upgrade existing drones and interactables
- Create unique utility items depending on recipes
- Turn scrap into specific outcomes
Not every recipe is intuitive, but learning what’s possible expands your macro choices even further. Crafted items can drastically change the direction of a run.
Late-Game Bosses
Drifter’s damage output is tied to positioning and mobility rather than a single burst window. Boss fights become a dance of cube usage, careful spacing, and managing the environment.
Key takeaways from the demonstrated boss fights:
- Avoid being grounded during ring explosions
- Use cube placements to interfere with incoming projectiles
- Leverage mobility items to maintain a safe distance
- Some bosses become easier if drones are repositioned ahead of time
- Items like Spur can push your movement to extremes, making dodging easier and harder at the same time
Because Drifter can’t rely on simple point-and-click DPS, success comes from mechanical awareness and the advantages created through your scrap and Tinker systems.
Umbra Encounter
The Umbra fight is especially dangerous because the clone can use your own mobility against you. Running a difficulty-modified Umbra, as in the video, creates a high-pressure battle where spacing and reaction speed matter.
Notable insights:
- Some Umbra abilities can instantly kill you
- Cube positioning becomes vital
- Over-speeding yourself with Spur can backfire
- Tinker’s cooldown helps act as a pseudo-dodge tool
Surviving this encounter reinforces the central theme of Drifter: outplay through planning and movement, not brute force.
Drifter is one of the most inventive survivors Risk of Rain 2 has ever introduced. Their depth comes not from a complicated rotation, but from strategic thinking. You constantly evaluate the map, reshape interactables, create your own shops, and engineer a build instead of waiting for luck.