For many roguelikes and roguelites, what character or class you’re playing is a big part of the game, andNeon Abyss 2brings with it six varied characters for you to test your luck with. Each Agent comes with a unique starting Weapon and a special keepsake that grants them unique passive bonuses.

Besides Nik, all characters have to be unlocked in their own special way, often relating to the type they have an affinity for, and this can help you build them. Every character can excel, no matter what their affinity, but if you want to use most of the characters, you’ll need to dive into the abyss first.

Task menu focusing on the Agent tab and showing several completed tasks including Xuan’s in Neon Abyss 2.

Neon Abyss 2 is currently inEarly Access on Steam, so the information below may be subject to change or addition at a later date.

How To Unlock Every Agent

Agents serve as the different charactersyou can play as, and there aresix available to choose from– Nik, Elise, Saya, James, Xuan, and Lúcia – and you canchange who you’re playingas on theAgent screen near the dance floor. Except for Nik, the default character, each Agent needs to beunlocked by completing a specific Task.

Tasks can bechecked on the screen next to the Agent oneor via the menu while you’re at the bar, and then through theAgent tab. All Agents havevarying amounts of starting Heartsand differentstarting resources, but theyall begin with three Crystals, no matter what.

James upgrading his weapon, Yinyang, against a black and green background, in Neon Abyss 2.

AllAgent-based Tasks are cumulative, so you don’t have to complete them in a single run, and all progress you make towards them is carried over.

AllAgents come with a basic Weaponexclusive to them and aspecial Agent Itemthat gives them unique bonuses, such asenabling them to use an additional weaponor giving them apassive bonus towards a particular resource.

Nik, a young man with white hair holding a gun, against a purple background and text describing him on the left in Neon Abyss 2.

While Agentscan have an affinity for a category, such as how Xuan benefits from anything Wisp-type,any category can work with any character.

Multiple items can benefit from their affinity or provide a similar bonus, soyou aren’t at any disadvantageif you run a Hatchmon-themed build on James as opposed to Elise, for example.

Elise, a young girl with blond hair, holding a hatchmon plush against a purple background with text describing her on the left in Neon Abyss 2.

TheFull Of Energy Fate Card makes you start all runs with Two Shields, which can help you get through the early stages on Agents with lower Hearts if you’re having trouble survivingdue to their naturally low health.

Thataffinity they havegenerally makes iteasier to start a type of build, rather than needing to run a specific thing for the Agent to do good damage or have good survivability, andlate-floor builds of any category can do just as well.

Xuan, a young man with black and white hair, holding an ofuda against a purple background with text describing him on the left in Neon Abyss 2.

Nik

Nik is thefirst Agentyou unlock, and all you need to do to get him isstart a save file and begin the game. His exclusiveWeapon is Windcaller, which shoots anadditional laser every four attacks, and moreCoins increase the power of the laser.

HisAgent Item is the Legacy Watch, which makes himdrop coins any time he takes damage. His slightaffinity to Coin-type items makes him a good fit for them, especially whencombined with his Agent Item, and this is doubled if you get lucky with Coins or go for Coin-related Faiths.

James, a middle aged man in a suit, with text to his left describing him against a purple background in Neon Abyss 2.

Nik and anyone else running items that get boosted by the number of Coins you hold benefit greatly from getting a Loan from the Temple of Consumerism, especially if you don’t buy anything with what they give you, and the Grabie Hatchmon doesn’t hurt Coin gain much.

He’sone of the easiest charactersto use due to hisstarting health and resources, and thefairly guaranteed Coin dropsyou get from each roommake his basic weapon go far, which ishandy if you keep getting weapons you don’t likefrom Challenge Rooms and Shops.

Saya, a teenage girl with blue hair and a katana, with text to her left describing her against a purple background in Neon Abyss 2.

Elise

Elise is unlocked bysuccessfully hatching eight Hatchmon, and herstarting Weapon is Warming, a Hatchmon-type Weapon that usesshort-range projectilesand produces one ofseveral random, homing bullets with unique effects every five shots.

HerAgent Item is the Plush Gloves, and they allow herunique Hatchmon Kiddy to follow herat all times. Kiddy can’t be fused and canrevive nearby unconscious Hatchmonif it’s still awake.

Lucia, a woman with a purple cloak, with text describing her to the left against a purple background in Neon Abyss 2.

If you’veunlocked the Agapeism Faith from the Evolve Tree, you can use it to guarantee yourHatchmon eggshatch successfully and ramp up your damage early on, as it’s easy to gain Faith for it.

Her starting Weapon and Kiddygive her an affinity for anything Hatchmon-type, as themore Hatchmonyou have, themore special homing bullets you’ll getfrom Warming’s empowered shot, making it apotent damage-dealerand very useful for enemies that like to move a lot.

Elisepairs well with the Adorable Companion Fate Card, as it ensures youstart every run with two Hatchmonand gets youstarted on her Weapon’s bonus. Even if youplan to get rid of itlater, theextra damage from it will help you clear Challenge Roomsearly on.

Xuan

Xuan isunlocked by having at least ten Purple Wispswith youduring a single run. His starting Weapon is theWisp-type sword Fanchen, whichreleases Runestones that track down enemiesand do damage to them whenfully charged, and themore Wi,sps makes it generate more Runestones.

HisAgent Item, theClarity Gourd, grants himbrief invulnerabilityand acharge for his gourd when grazed by enemy bullets. When it’sfully charged, you may use theAgent Skill Keyto activate it,destroying nearby projectilesandreleasing several Wisps.

Gettinggrazed by a bullet means that the projectile has to nearly hit you, and it can be done just by happening to stand near a projectile that misses you closely, or by intentionally moving near and then away from one before it can hit youor out of its path.

Both his Starting Weapon and Agent Itemgive him an affinity for Wisp-type items, as he cangenerate tons of Wisps for himselfif you’re careful with enemy projectiles, and thebrief invulnerability is always helpful, especially if you can use it to get another gourd charge.

James

James isunlocked by using 30 Weapons, and hisstarting Weapon is Final Wolf, a Coin-type weapon thatfires a spread of short-range bullets and a final, long-range bullet at the last shot, and thenumber of Coinsyou haveincreases the number of bulletsavailable.

Completing Challenge Rooms is the best way to accumulate a lot of Weapon usage, as it always drops one Weapon for succeeding, and both the Shop and the Fire Support Fate Card will also helpyou get new weapons to use.

HisAgent Item, the Wedding Rings, allows him tohold two Weapons at once, hisFinal Wolf and another, andincreases the Soul Shards he gets when VaporizingWeapons.

James works as ajack-of-all-trades character, with aslight focus on Coinsthanks to his permanent starting Weapon. His Agent Item means he canquickly upgrade anything he uses, allowing evenhigh-resource-requirement weapons to reach some good damage numbers earlyon, thanks to Badges and additional Artifacts.

James synergizes perfectly with theTemple of Artisanism, as even asingle Vaporized Weapon can nearly max out your Faith, giving youaccess to the temple and its free Weapon.

Saya

Saya isunlocked by reaching Floor Five, and herstarting Weapon is Sakurafall, a Jump-typesword that allows you to dash toward an enemywhen attacking them, granting abrief invulnerabilityupon doing so, andadditional jumps increase the amount of dashesyou get.

HerAgent Item, Rabbit & Bear, allows her touse Sakurafalland also grants her theability to hold two Weapons at once, Sakurafall and another.

Even if you aren’t attacking an enemy,Sakurafall’s dash essentially acts as a free movement skill, and can be useful for dodging enemy projectiles or trying to reach higher platformswithout extra jumps.

Sakurafall’s level isdependent on the level of her primary Weapon, so with her, you’ll want toVaporize everything you canandlevel her primary weaponas much as possible, andallow Sakurafall to reap the benefitsof doing so.

Saya has anaffinity for all Jump-type items, so anything thatgrants her additional jumpswill greatlyboost both Sakurafall’s damage and your survivability, and you can easilydash between enemies just by aiming at themand attacking.

Lúcia

Lúcia can beunlocked by obtaining and using at least 30 Curios, and due to this, she’s themost difficult character to unlock, asmost Curios cost three or more Crystalsto use, and depending on your luck,Crystals can be in short supply.

Sinceprogress on Agent Tasks is cumulative, you can do quick runs of the early levels to try and get a Curio as quickly as possible from a Crystal Chest, use it, then reset and try againfor the same level of luck.

Her Agent Item gives her theability to hold two Curios at once, andswap between themat will with the Agent Skill Key. Combined withitems that improve Crystal drop rateand add Crystal containers, Lúcia can beincredibly powerful once unlocked, as she canmix and match different Curio effectsto deal damage to entire rooms or give herself bonuses, depending on your luck.