Characters


Nuclear Throne has 12 normally playable characters that each have their own unique active and passive abilities. Two of these are unlocked by default while the other ten must be unlocked through either area progression or visiting secret areas. Each character can unlock their own golden weapon, any crown and a unique alternative skin (B-Skin).

There are also 3 characters that are considered secret and are not played through normal means, and don't really have their own unlocks. These characters should be considered additional content and aren't actually balanced compared to normal characters.

This page will give a brief overview of each character's unique abilities and ultras, while every character page will go in-depth on all of their abilities and mechanics.
There are also strategy guides that gives advice on how to play as that character, this is subjective advice and does not have to be followed!

Note: Many character sprites are upsized for better viewing, meaning they are not completely accurate to how they are seen in-game.


Normal Characters

Fish

  • Unlock: Default
  • B-Skin: Loop With Every Character
  • Active: Can Roll
  • Passive: Gets More Ammo
  • Thronebutt: Water Boost
  • Ultra A: Confiscate
    • Enemies Sometimes Drop Chests
  • Ultra B: Gun Warrant
    • Infinite Ammo The First 7 Seconds After Exiting A Portal
Crystal

  • Unlock: Default
  • B-Skin: Reach 4-? As Crystal
  • Active: Can Shield
  • Passive: More Max HP
  • Thronebutt: Teleportation; Shorter Shielding
  • Ultra A: Fortress
    • +6 Max HP
  • Ultra B: Juggernaut
    • Move While Shielded
Eyes

  • Unlock: Reach 2-1
  • B-Skin: Reach 2-? As Eyes
  • Active: Telekinesis
  • Passive: Sees In The Dark
  • Thronebutt: Stronger Telekinesis
  • Ultra A: Projectile Style
    • Telekinesis Holds Your Projectiles
  • Ultra B: Monster Style
    • Push Nearby Enemies Away When Not Using Telekinesis
Melting

  • Unlock: Die
  • B-Skin: Defeat The Nuclear Throne As Melting Without Taking Rhino Skin Or Strong Spirit
  • Active: Explode Corpses
  • Passive: Less Max HP; More Rads
  • Thronebutt: Bigger Corpse Explosions
  • Ultra A: Brain Capacity
    • Blow Up Low HP Enemies
  • Ultra B: Detachment
    • 3 More Mutations; Lose Half Of Your HP
Plant

  • Unlock: Reach 3-1
  • B-Skin: Reach the Nuclear Throne In Under 10 Minutes As Plant
  • Active: Snare Enemies
  • Passive: Is Faster
  • Thronebutt: Snare Finishes Enemies Under 33% HP
  • Ultra A: Trapper
    • Big Snare
  • Ultra B: Killer
    • Enemies Killed On Your Snare Spawn Saplings
Y.V.

  • Unlock: Reach 3-?
  • B-Skin: Get A Golden Weapon For Every Character
  • Active: Pop Pop
  • Passive: Higher Rate Of Fire
  • Thronebutt: Brrrap
  • Ultra A: Ima Gun God
    • Higher Rate Of Fire
  • Ultra B: Back 2 Bizniz
    • Free Pop Pop Upgrade
Steroids

  • Unlock: Reach 6-1
  • B-Skin: Defeat Technomancer As Steroids
  • Active: Dual Wielding
  • Passive: Inaccurate; Automatic Weapons
  • Thronebutt: Firing Gives Ammo For Your Other Weapon
    • More Effective When Firing Both
  • Ultra A: Ambidextrous
    • Double Weapons From Chests
  • Ultra B: Get Loaded
    • Ammo Chests Contain All Ammo Types
Robot

  • Unlock: Reach 5-1
  • B-Skin: Eat Any Hyper Weapon
  • Active: Can Eat Weapons
  • Passive: Finds Better Tech
  • Thronebutt: Better Weapon Nutrition
  • Ultra A: Refined Taste
    • High Tier Weapons Only
    • Auto Eat Weapons Left Behind
  • Ultra B: Regurgitate
    • Eating Weapons Can Drop Chests
    • Auto Eat Weapons Left Behind
Chicken

  • Unlock: Reach 5-?
  • B-Skin: Reach 2-1 On Hardmode As Chicken
  • Active: Can Throw Weapons
  • Passive: Hard To Kill
  • Thronebutt: Throws Pierce Through Enemies
  • Ultra A: Harder To Kill
    • Kills Extend Bleed Time
  • Ultra B: Determination
    • Thrown Weapons Can Teleport Back To Your Secondary Slot
Rebel

  • Unlock: Defeat Throne II
  • B-Skin: Defeat Mom As Rebel
  • Active: Can Spawn Allies
  • Passive: Portals Heal
  • Thronebutt: Higher Ally Rate Of Fire
  • Ultra A: Personal Guard
    • Start A Level With 2 Allies
    • All Allies Have More HP
  • Ultra B: Riot
    • Double Ally Spawns
Horror

  • Unlock: Defeat Hostile Horror
  • B-Skin: Defeat Hyper Crystal As Horror
  • Active: Radiation Beam
  • Passive: Extra Mutation Choice
  • Thronebutt: Beam Charges Up Faster; Prolonged Beam Use Heals You
  • Ultra A: Stalker
    • Enemies Explode In Radiation On Death
  • Ultra B: Anomaly
    • Portals Appear Earlier
  • Ultra C: Meltdown
    • Double Rad Capacity
Rogue

  • Unlock: Defeat The Nuclear Throne
  • B-Skin: Defeat Captain As Rogue
  • Active: Portal Strike
  • Passive: Blast Armor; Heat
  • Thronebutt: Stronger Portal Strike
  • Ultra A: Super Portal Strike
    • Double Portal Strike Pickups And Capacity
  • Ultra B: Super Blast Armor
    • Super Blast Armor

Secret Characters

Skeleton

  • Playable: Die As Melting In Necromancer Circle
  • Unlock: Become Skeleton (NTT Only)
  • Active: Blood Gamble
  • Passive: Less HP, Speed, And Accuracy
  • Thronebutt: Better Odds
  • Ultra A: Redemption
    • Back In The Flesh
  • Ultra B: Damnation
    • Fast Reload After Blood Gamble
Frog

  • Unlock: Storing Golden Frog Pistol
  • Active: Toxic Cloud
  • Passive: Can't Stand Still
  • Thronebutt: Toxic Gas Spreads Faster
  • Ultra A: Distance
    • Rads Can Spawn Toxic Gas
  • Ultra B: Intimacy
    • Continuously Spawn Toxic Gas
Big Dog

  • Unlock: Defeat Big Dog (April Fools Only - Beta)
  • Active: Missiles
  • Passive: More HP; Spin Attack
  • Thronebutt: Faster Missiles And Bullets
  • Ultra A: Ultra Spin
    • Improved Spin Attack
  • Ultra B: Ultra Missiles
    • Missiles Fire Bullets