Character Overview


Frog is a secret character that can only be played by unlocking the Golden Frog Pistol. There is a dedicated unlock guide for Frog here. Does not have a B-Skin unlock.

Frog's starting loadout is a Golden Frog Pistol (GFP). While he can technically unlock golden weapons and crowns, he cannot directly use them. The only way Frog can start with a crown is by selecting it on the character who has GFP unlocked. Unlocking a crown on Frog will not unlock it on the character with GFP.

Frog Sprites
Icon
Idle
Walk
Death

As a secret character Frog is not allowed on weekly challenges. He can be played on dailies by opening up normal mode character selection, selecting GFP on a character that has it unlocked, then exiting back to the main menu. Starting a run as that character through the daily screen will then start that run as Frog instead.

In the 'Stats' menu, runs done by Frog may incorrectly count towards the character that starts the run with GFP on Non-Beta (u99r1). This is fixed starting from the 2021 openbeta forwards, he and Skeleton have their own dedicated stat screens. Even on Betas will not appear on the 'Best Run' for overall stats.


Abilities


(Active/Passive descriptors are from NTT.)

Active: "Toxic Cloud" Passive: "Can't Stand Still" (Also toxic immunity) Thronebutt: "Toxic Gas Spreads Faster"

Ultra A: Distance


Ultra B: Intimacy


Distance Ultra: "Rads Can Spawn Toxic Gas" Intimacy Ultra: "Continuously Spawn Toxic Gas" Other Perks:

Frog will start with the Golden Frog Pistol, which works similar to the Frog Pistol but with a slightly faster firerate. These use 'pellet bullet' projectiles which do 2 damage each and will be erased upon contact with IDPD Shields.

Weapon Ammo Type Fire Type Reload Time Ammo Cost Damage
Per Click
Golden Frog Pistol
Bullets Single Shot 0.20 sec 2 2 x 3

Full dmg: 6

Similar to how Ballguys die if Frog is killed he will explode into a ring of 20 pellet bullets that do 2 damage to each enemy.


Preloop Strategy Guide


As Frog is a secret character he is not meant to be balanced, he can be seen more as a gimmick but there are still useful strategies on how to best utilize his upsides and work around his downside.

Frog is constantly on the move just like Ballguy enemies which makes any sort of movement precision get thrown out the window. Any combat in close quarters or narrow corridors can easily result in death if not used to his moveset, as he will bounce off walls and may arc his turns rather than make sharp turns. First time Frog players should walk around the level a bit first to get used to how player inputs are interpreted.

Due to Frog's movement it is best to avoid most explosive weapons entirely unless if running Boiling Veins. Other characters using explosives in close to mid range can sort of get a 'feel' for how safe it is to fire an explosive weapon at an enemy, however for Frog having unreliable movement this can cause him to misjudge the spacing easily and die to his own weapons.

Active Rating: (Text)
Frog needs to stand completely still in order to spawn toxic clouds, which isn't really useful as an offensive tool. If Frog is close enough to charge toxic gas within range of enemies, they are close enough to attack. The best use of this is as a defensive tool such as in Sewers or Frozen City as he can charge up his active in chokepoints and then run backwards when any Rats or Snowbots (for examples) get close enough.

Melee weapons are always really useful to have, this especially goes in Frog's case as he will just have an awful time avoiding any projectiles at all. The downside is that melee swings will erase toxic clouds which will work against his active, so this should be kept in mind.

Toxic Immunity Rating: (Text)
A little extra bonus is Frog is able to avoid toxic damage, although these are rare types of damage to take in the first place. This is still quite useful as it makes Toxic Bow a very strong pick in early preloop, and Toxic Launcher less of a risky choice as well.

Thronebutt Rating: (Text)
In terms of preloop this will just help with Frog's active which is a decent upgrade as it will have a bit further range, a lot more useful if he decides to lean into toxic weapons. There are better picks, this falls around the middle of the pack in terms of mutations as sort-of helpful.

For mutation suggestions it's best that Frog focuses on whatever will give him the best defense or healing as he may take unexpected damage easily while learning how to play. Any normally good mutations would apply here, although Euphoria would be especially good given the reaction time. Hammerhead is probably worth skipping in Frog's case as he cannot utilize it as well as other characters, even if he could break more tiles than normal with his active.


Loop Strategy Guide


Frog will struggle quite a bit more in loop due to having to constantly be on the move. Leaning into just ranged weapons leaves him incredibly vulnerable, pretty much forcing him to using a melee weapon unless if really experienced. The sooner that Frog can lean into any high-tier weapons, the better. Trying to play Frog in loop may simply lead to a few frustrating deaths as he is simply punished for things that other characters may not be.

Distance Rating: (Text)
This is generally considered to be the better of the two options for Frog as he gets extra range damage that can help clear out low HP enemies throughout the level, all the while doing chip damage to higher HP enemies. Melee will erase any toxic clouds from enemies killed by it, so if running melee then Frog's secondary weapon should be more focused on mid to long range in order to get usage out of Distance.

Intimacy Rating: (Text)
The idea behind running Intimacy is that it lets Frog damage enemies at close range, similar to Gamma Guts. However in the case of both of these it's not too useful in loop play due to the volume of enemy projectiles and enemies, making any close range encounters dangerous. This is especially relevant on Frog who has limited precision, Intimacy really only works if Frog actively runs away from enemies which adds time doing damage that is only partly useful. Another issue is that running melee weapons will actively erase toxic clouds in the same direction that it is swung in, which is usually the direction Frog will want his toxic clouds the most.

Thronebutt Rating: (Text)
Frog's toxic damage is mostly just a small boost so Thronebutt is never necessary to take, but if wanting to try a toxic-centered build to fully explore Frog's active then it's worth a shot. This can be a lot more useful for Intimacy as Frog can create a wall of toxic that spreads out much quicker which is useful for close-ranged combat, while for Distance it is mostly just a decent boost making toxic more likely to damage enemies. In either case there are better mutation choices.


Meta Strategy Guide


Note that this is an advanced guide, it is meant to be used by those primarily looking at loops 3+. This builds off of content shared in the meta guide.

Frog is considered a lower tier character in meta as he provides little benefits to a run. His active isn't useful at this point in the game as Ultra Shovel will immediately erase any toxic clouds, so trying to damage enemies with it is a pretty fruitless endeavor. His negative passive of constant movement is more of a nuisance at this point of the game especially for boss fights; they can be far more difficult than they otherwise be. At this point his active can just be used in order to get him to stand still for positioning.

Distance Rating: (Text)
Distance is the superior pick on Frog as he can get constant extra ranged damage on top of SPC damage. This isn't game changing as it just adds extra damage throughout the level, but will be particularly useful for levels with higher rad counts such as Caves or Palace.

Intimacy Rating: (Text)
As mentioned above Frog's active is not very useful at this point of the game, Intimacy runs into the same issue as Ultra Shovel will constantly be used to deal with any nearby enemies which makes his toxic clouds pretty useless. This ultra is an easy skip for meta loops.

Thronebutt Rating: (Text)
Frog typically runs standard meta meaning that taking Thronebutt is a waste of a mutation slot. Toxic clouds are a nice boost to damage but isn't a game changer, and TB doesn't change that.

Boss Tips:
Big Bandits
This fight will pose a big threat to Frog in later loops as he cannot stick to walls and hug corners which is often one of the better strategies for Big Bandit cleanup. When trying to bait Big Bandits into charging it's better to hold RMB as close to a wall as possible rather than trying to repeatedly walk into one, though be ready to be on the move the moment any Big Bandit charges close enough.

Mom:
A common strategy in this fight is to hug walls/corners to avoid being damaged by Mom's contact damage, in Frog's case he can either choose to walk around in circles to give him the best reaction time or try to hug a wall with RMB, whatever the player feels more comfortable with. This fight will be a bit more difficult to deal with as well, but not as badly as the other two listed here.

Throne II:
Frog will need to bring his A-game to the Throne II fight as it will be really difficult for him. Lasers leave very small gaps that Frog will only be able to stand between if he uses his active, although the safer option is usually to use ushov swings to get to a fully safe area where no lasers are present. Another annoyance during this fight is due to the high amount of projectiles on screen constantly, Frog will have a difficult time hotswapping SPC. While walking over the hotswap weapon Frog can quickly hold RMB, hotswap the SPC, then continue walking around to try to find the best moment to shoot T2 with.

With all this in mind it shows why Frog is considered to be one of the more difficult mutants to play in meta. He provides little direct benefits while his passive has a bit of a learning curve to get used to, thus it can be considered a challenge to get any really good runs with.