Risk of Rain 2 Acolyte and Enforcer: Every Revealed Skill

TL;DR: Acolyte's passive, N'Kuhana's Grace, banks part of her lost health and all incoming healing into a reserve she reclaims while fighting. Her primary is a three-hit glaive combo with a sprint lunge or a jump uppercut mid-swing, Bola Throw pulls a soul from range, and Sacrifice is a big single-target burst that builds conviction. Enforcer has Steel Protection (block everything, parry projectiles), a two-charge Shield Tackle, and Rally Point, which leaves a barrier beacon for the team.

Who is the Risk of Rain 2 Acolyte? (quick answer)

Acolyte is one of two new survivors in Risk of Rain 2: Hallowed Concepts, the paid expansion from Gearbox Software and 2K. Gearbox's reveal on September 14 introduced her as "a close-range glaive-wielding Survivor who can wield powerful combos, but not without cost." Enforcer, revealed the same day, is described as "the defensive vanguard."

Gearbox's Dev Diary #4 on September 24 added the skill names and how each one works. It also explained who built them: "we'd drafted a squad of elite mod creators onto the team," and "they've been hard at work on our new survivors for Hallowed Concepts." For the first announcement and the DLC's other content, see our Hallowed Concepts reveal coverage.

The official Risk of Rain channel posted the dev diary as a video too:

Key takeaways

• Acolyte banks lost health and incoming healing in a reserve pool instead of healing normally
• Her three-hit glaive primary branches mid-swing: sprint to lunge through, jump to uppercut
• Bola Throw closes the gap; Sacrifice deals a burst of massive damage and builds "conviction"
• Enforcer's Steel Protection blocks everything it faces and can parry projectiles back
• Shield Tackle has two charges that can be spent together; Rally Point leaves a barrier-granting Holdout Beacon

Risk of Rain 2 Acolyte skills, one by one

N'Kuhana's Grace (passive). Gearbox says it "changes how healing works for her entirely." Part of the health she loses "isn't gone forever: it's set aside for her to reclaim later," and incoming healing "is also fully diverted into that same reserve pool." That's a big change for a roguelike where most healing items assume your health bar refills directly. How existing healing items interact with the reserve hasn't been explained, so we won't guess at item picks yet. Our Risk of Rain 2 items and artifacts guide covers the current item pool you'll be choosing from.

Primary: three-hit glaive combo. Her primary "slices through enemies in a three-hit combo with her glaive, but mid-swing, she's got options." Sprinting turns the swing into a lunge forward through the target, and jumping launches the target into the air with an uppercut. Gearbox's own advice is to "pick your strike, keep moving, and cash in that stored health while you dance," which suggests the reserve from her passive is reclaimed through attacking.

A frame from Gearbox's Dev Diary #4 clip of the primary. The clip labels the attack "Blade Slice"; the diary text itself does not name it. Image: Gearbox, Steam news.

Bola Throw. For when you've "slipped too far from your target," Bola Throw "pulls the soul right out of whatever it hits." The diary does not say whether it pulls the enemy toward you or Acolyte toward the enemy.

Sacrifice (special). Sacrifice "marks an enemy and channels the power of the Death God through it, ripping them apart in a burst of massive damage." The diary adds that "every kill earns more conviction," then cuts off mid-sentence on purpose. What conviction does at higher levels is the biggest open question in her kit.

GODEEPER: Still learning the rest of the roster? Our survivors guide ranks all of them, with a quick read on each one's role. Risk of Rain 2 Survivors Guide: All Characters Ranked →

Enforcer's skills: Steel Protection, Shield Tackle, Rally Point

Gearbox's Enforcer card from Dev Diary #4. The diary names three of his skills but not his primary attack. Image: Gearbox, Steam news.

Gearbox introduces Enforcer as "the immovable object himself," built "to be in the thick of it, with the tools to survive a whole map of Lemurians bearing down on him." The diary says it is "(re)introducing" him, without saying more.

Steel Protection. Activate it, and "as long as that shield is pointed at the danger, it blocks everything. Yes. Everything." Reactivating it "at the perfect moment" parries "all dangerous projectiles, sending them right back to their owners," and also knocks back and stuns nearby monsters. In practice that means the reward goes to players who watch projectiles closely rather than just holding the shield up.

A frame from Gearbox's Steel Protection clip in Dev Diary #4, with "Parried!" pop-ups on screen. Image: Gearbox, Steam news.

Shield Tackle. This is his gap closer for when "another survivor needs cover." It "has two charges, with the option to use those charges simultaneously to power up the tackle and really close the distance."

Rally Point. Enforcer "smashes the ground below, creating a shockwave that knocks enemies away," leaving a Holdout Beacon "that grants a barrier." Since "each kill incrementally restores the barrier," Gearbox pitches it as the skill that keeps "even the squishiest survivor teammates alive." On paper, Enforcer is the support pick for groups, while Acolyte's kit is built around her own survival. Our Risk of Rain 2 complete guide covers how the current survivors split those roles.

What Hallowed Concepts adds besides the two survivors

The Hallowed Concepts Steam page promises "haunting unexplored regions of Petrichor V," "harrowing Trials" and "horrific new enemies." It also says you can "Discover and endure Hexes in exchange for Hallowed Items" and collect pages for a new curio, the N'tormat. For co-op, "Only one player is required to own Hallowed Concepts" for its monsters, levels and items to show up for the whole lobby, but players without it can't pick the new survivors. Gearbox Software develops it and 2K publishes it.

Alongside the DLC, Gearbox announced a free update for the base game with "New Survivor Abilities and the Karma System," first shown in a video recap posted October 1. A patch notes preview on October 2 promised "a huge list of balance changes, fixes and updates to lots of existing content." The launch notes now spell it out: "New skills for six OG Survivors, each with its own new unlock condition," including Commando's Sabotage and Huntress's Laser Cyclone, plus an optional Karma system that "can make the final confrontation on the moon significantly more challenging."

Gearbox had said it would reveal the release date at The Triple-i Initiative showcase on October 8 at 9am PDT. It went further: Hallowed Concepts came out that same day, and the Steam store lists it at $14.99. Gearbox's launch notes say Enforcer is "unlocked by default" and Acolyte is "unlockable," without giving the unlock condition. The same notes count 3 new enemies, 3 new bosses, 3 new standard stages, 14 Hexes, 11 Hallowed Items and 3 new standard items. If you're new to the bosses these survivors will face, the Alloyed Collective bosses guide covers the previous DLC's fights, and the achievements guide lists the challenges that unlock current survivors.

What players are saying, and our take

The r/riskofrain thread on Dev Diary #4 mixed excitement with questions about the health mechanic. u/homicidalhummus wrote that "Acolyte looks like one of the coolest characters yet," while u/Kangaturtle worried: "Boy I hope Acolytes playstyle isn't completely nerfed by eclipse 8 curse."

Our take, based only on what Gearbox has published: Acolyte is the survivor to watch, because N'Kuhana's Grace changes how healing works for her, and nothing Gearbox posted up to launch says how healing items or the Eclipse curse interact with the reserve. Enforcer's kit is easier to read from the descriptions: block, tackle, and a barrier beacon for the team. The DLC only came out on October 8, so treat any tier placement for either survivor as a guess until players have spent real time with both.

GODEEPER: Expansions in Risk of Rain 2 bring new items as well as survivors. Our item tier list shows what's worth taking in a run today, before Hallowed Concepts shakes it up. Risk of Rain 2 Item Tier List 2026: Best Items for Every Run →

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Acolyte do in Risk of Rain 2? Acolyte is a close-range glaive fighter from the Hallowed Concepts DLC. Her passive, N'Kuhana's Grace, stores part of the health she loses, plus any incoming healing, in a reserve she can reclaim later. Her primary is a three-hit combo she can change mid-swing.

What are Enforcer's skills in Risk of Rain 2? Gearbox has shown three: Steel Protection, a shield that blocks everything in front of it and parries projectiles if reactivated at the right moment; Shield Tackle, with two charges; and Rally Point, a shockwave that leaves a barrier-granting Holdout Beacon.

Is Acolyte's special called Sacrifice? Yes. Sacrifice marks an enemy and channels the power of the Death God through it for a burst of massive damage. Gearbox says every kill earns more conviction, but has not explained what conviction unlocks.

Who made Acolyte and Enforcer? Gearbox says it drafted a group of elite mod creators onto the Risk of Rain team, and that they have been working on the new Hallowed Concepts survivors since.

When did Risk of Rain 2 Hallowed Concepts release? Hallowed Concepts released on Steam on October 8, 2026, the day of The Triple-i Initiative showcase. The Steam store lists it at $14.99.

Do you have to unlock Acolyte and Enforcer? Enforcer is unlocked by default once you own Hallowed Concepts. Acolyte is unlockable, per Gearbox's launch notes, which don't say what the unlock condition is.

Related Reading

• Risk of Rain 2 Hallowed Concepts Reveals Acolyte, Enforcer: the original reveal and what the DLC adds.
• Risk of Rain 2 Complete Guide: survivors, items and bosses in one hub.
• Risk of Rain 2 Survivors Guide: every current survivor ranked.
• Risk of Rain 2 Item Tier List 2026: the items worth grabbing in a run.
• Risk of Rain 2 Achievements Guide: challenges and survivor unlocks.
• 11 Best Risk of Rain 2 Mods: Thunderstore picks from the modding scene Gearbox recruited its new survivor team from.

References

• Hallowed Concepts: Dev Diary #4 - Acolyte and Enforcer: skill names and descriptions
• Survivor Double Feature - Acolyte and Enforcer Reveal: first reveal and Triple-i date
• Hallowed Concepts Content Recap and Free Update Details: free update with New Survivor Abilities and the Karma System
• Hallowed Concepts Patch Notes Preview: balance changes and release date reveal at Triple-i
• Risk of Rain 2: Hallowed Concepts on Steam: DLC store page, developer and publisher
• Dev Diary #4 video on YouTube: official Risk of Rain video