Pilot

Pilot

Stats

HP	100 (+25 per level)
Regen	0.60 (+0.12 per level) hp/s
Damage	12 (+4 per level)
Armor	0 (+1 per level)
Speed	28 km/h

Unlock

Collect 15 Monster Logs.

Ending phrase

..and so he left, with his dreams of the sky below.

"The Pilot is an airborne fighter that excels at raining damage from above. With the strong recoil of his weaponry and Rapid Deployment of his parachute, he can leap high into the sky to ready for a precision Airstrike."
―In-game character description.

Description

The Pilot is a playable character in Risk of Rain Returns. He is unique in that his mobility skills allow him to fight enemies while airborne and escape tricky situations with ease.

The Pilot is an agile, high-mobility character who works best while always on the move and airborne whenever possible. Clusterfire is a reliable mid- to short-range damage dealer that works to keep opponents at bay with its high-damage piercing third shot. Target Acquired can be used on the ground for fast, effective defense against flying or otherwise elevated enemies, or combined with Rapid Deployment for shredding large groups of enemies on the ground while floating above at a safe distance. Airstrike can be used on the ground to blast encroaching enemies into the air while dashing safely out of danger, or airborne over a horde to create zones of consistent damage to hit multiple enemies at once.

The Pilot's alternate abilities prioritize an even higher-octane playstyle that strongly emphasizes constant movement and repositioning from ground to air or vise-versa. Rapid Fire is more suited to short bursts of damage, and its spread makes it easier to use on the fly without having to aim precisely. Aerobatics encourages a high-risk, high-reward style of movement that, when executed skillfully, allows the Pilot to do near-constant damage while avoiding enemy attacks. Aerial Support can be used to single out dangerous enemies in a crowd, particularly bosses and elites, for high single-target damage.

Survivor Log

Departure:	Destination:
UES Shipping Dock 5, Redview, Mars	UES Shipping Dock 0, Redview, Mars

  Travel ID: 54D49445F564C41484
Passenger Details: [Employee Class]

Employee Details: United Enterprise Shipping invites pilots from across the known universe to apply to our Preferred Pilot Enhanced Commissions program! Benefits include access to cybernetic impact augmentations for easier landings, Weapons and Securities certification programs, and luxurious vacation opportunities! (Applicants expected to apply 5 years in advance of flight operations. Cybernetics not guaranteed to all program participants. Weapons and Securities certificates only valid through UES employment. All opportunities are listed as-is and no further gratuities, opportunities or benefits are to be assumed regardless of updates to space maritime law on participating planets.)

[SECURITY RECALL] [Event P1] Employee briefly lost consciousness while manning ship. Auto-pilot engaged and woke employee. [Event P2] [OVERRIDE] SOS HULL BEING RAPIDLY APPROACHED BY UNKNOWN VIOLENT ENTITIES. LOCATION UNLISTED PLANET V. EJECT BLACK BOX, DESTINATION MARS BASE.

Skills

Primary

Clusterfire
Fire weapon for 95% damage. Every third hit pierces and deals 190% damage.

• The damage of Clusterfire's third hit is reduced by 50% for each enemy hit beyond the first.

Rapid Fire
Rapidly fire weapon for 65% damage.

• Editor's note: The in-game description of 75% damage is incorrect.
• Rapid Fire has a random spread, and as such, can miss far-away small enemies, such as Lemurians or Wisps.

Secondary

Target Acquired!		4s CD /
Shoot diagonally upward for 3x125% damage. If airborne, shoot downward instead. Hold to fire continuously.

• Editor's note: The in-game description of 115% damage is incorrect.
• Target Acquired! starts with 2 charges.

Utility

Rapid Deployment		8s CD
Launch into the air, stunning enemies for 200% damage and activating a parachute. If airborne, launch forwards instead.

• Editor's note: The in-game description does not mention Rapid Deployment's 200% damage.
  • This damage only occurs if Rapid Deployment is used on the ground.
• Touching a geyser while Rapid Deployment's parachute is active will result in getting launched an incredible distance.

Aerobatics		5s CD
Dash forwards, briefly becoming invincible. Can latch onto and climb walls upon dashing into one.

• Pilot can use his other skills while latched onto a wall.
• While latched onto a wall, the Pilot can only shoot Clusterfire 3 times before being forcibly detached.
• Rapid Fire shoots 12.782% faster while latched onto a wall, going from a 0.15 second delay between each shot to a 0.133 second delay.
• Aerobatics can be used to wavedash. This is performed by jumping while holding DOWN, activating Aerobatics, then quickly jumping again as Pilot hits the ground. This technique can be used to gain massive amounts of speed if executed properly.
  • (Tutorial (courtesy of WeAreWhispers))

Special

Airstrike		12s CD /
Dash backwards, leaving a bomb that knocks enemies into the air for 150% damage. Can trigger 8 times. If airborne, dash upwards and drops a bomb directly below instead.
Ancient Scepter Upgrade your special skill. Upgrade your special skill. Unique to each character. Reduces special skill cooldown by 30% per stack. Air Raid Dash backwards, leaving a bomb that knocks enemies into the air for 187.5% damage and stunning. Can trigger 8 times. If airborne, dash upwards and drops a bomb directly below instead.

• Editor's note: The in-game description does not mention that a mine can trigger 8 times.
• Editor's note: Air Raid's in-game description of 185% damage is incorrect.
• Airstrike starts with 2 charges, while Air Raid starts with 3.
• Airstrike also gives Pilot immunity for a short time.
  • This immunity window lasts longer if the skill is used on the ground.

Aerial Support		12s CD
Mark an enemy in front of you, launching an airstrike for 10x125% damage over time.
Ancient Scepter Upgrade your special skill. Upgrade your special skill. Unique to each character. Reduces special skill cooldown by 30% per stack. Aerial Barrage Mark an enemy in front of you, launching airstrike for 20x125% damage over time.

• Editor's note: The in-game description of 120% damage is incorrect.
• Aerial Support's bullet deals 125% damage, then the target is hit for 9*125% damage, for a total of 10*125% damage (and twice that for Aerial Barrage).
• The airstrike deals damage in a small area around the target.
• Aerial Support also gives Pilot immunity for a short time.

Achievements & Trials

Survivors

Name	Unlocks	Requirement	Alt
Big Red Button	Rapid Fire	Kill 30 enemies after launching them using Airstrike.
Aerodynamic	Aerial Support	Kill 10 enemies without touching the ground or geysers.
Paratrooper	Classified Access Codes	Complete the Providence Trial "Emergency Ejection".
Steady Grip	Aerobatics	Complete the Providence Trial "Race to the Finish!".	Collect 300 items as Pilot.
Keep It Up	New Skin	Complete the Providence Trial "Juggling Priorities".

Gallery

CSS Sprite

Skins
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Unlocked by default.
Complete Trial "Juggling Priorities".	Currently Unobtainable	Complete Trial "Judgement" as Pilot.

Crudely-Drawn Buddy Decoy

Multiplayer Drone

Version History

Patch 1.0.5

• Fixed poor interaction of both of Pilot's primary skills with aiming.
• Pilot's Secondary skill now interacts with Brilliant Behemoth in a more expected way.
• Pilot no longer incurs slowdown from backing up while shooting while his parachute is active.
• Fixed Pilot's Parachute physics change applying at the start of the next stage if the player died while it was active.

Patch 1.0.4

• Normalized survivor movement speed. All slower survivors now move faster.
  • Base speed: 2.6 ⇒ 2.8
• Pilot may now cancel his primary skill into other abilities.

Trivia

• Pilot appears in the trailer for the game.
• Pilot's curved feet were also present on an unreleased Risk Of Rain 2 character, Warden. This led many to believe Warden would be joining the Risk Of Rain Returns cast, as Pilot's feet can be seen briefly in the official trailer.
• Pilot's unlock is identical to Huntress' in the original Risk of Rain, while Huntress is now unlocked by default.
• Pilot and Drifter are the two brand new survivors added in Risk of Returns and is unique to both the original 2013 game and Risk of Rain 2.