The pixelated land in Rain World is one of stagnation and harsh conditions caused by the desire to end the cycle of perpetual life and death. Though lifeforms are rare these days, slugcats are one of the few that are resilient enough to survive in this heavy rain apocalypse. Each slugcat comes with unique abilities that could make or break your survival.
While technically there isn’t a ‘best’ or ‘worst’ slugcat, people are going to have their favorites. Others will get left by the wayside due to some vital flaw that makes them a less-than-viable pick for either competitive mode or the individual campaigns of each slugcat. Harsh, but that’s how it is in Rain World.
9 ???
This slugcat is a joke. That isn't a diss toward it, but the truth. He doesn't even have a name, unlike the other slugcats.
It’s a non-canon addition that was added with the Downpour DLC, and to unlock him you have to be able to find and solve riddles that you’ll need another DLC active in order to meet the unlock prerequisite. That’s right, he’s also the only slugcat in the game that doesn’t require you to beat either the survivor or monk’s quests, playing with your expectations.
Having heard all that, surely that means he’s amazing once unlocked, right? Nope! Unlocking up changes many aspects of the game making survival damn near impossible. Couple that with his absurdly steep food requirements needed to have a successful hibernation will probably be the dealbreaker.
8 The Artificer
For challenges, the artificer is highly capable in combat with the way she uses explosives to jump further or be immune to the explosives of others. Be warned that she can still be stunned by those same explosions.
One of her strongest abilities is to temporarily avoid damage if she happens to fall into some acid by using one of her explosives to counteract the fall and pop you back onto land.
The Artificer takes these tools and uses them on her road of violence and revenge. Her little pups were murdered, and she has been seeing red ever since.
Her campaign is reflective of both her mission and her heart, meaning she won’t be able to raise her karma organically to reach other places on the map, making her campaign twice as brutal.
7 The Monk
One of two available slugcats at the start of the game, He is the younger sibling of the ‘default’ can, Survivor, who tragically falls into the waters below. A combination of love and instinct sent him following his brother below.
Though siblings with a tight bond, they don’t share similar stats or passive skills. The Monk lacks the strength that Survivor does, but that doesn’t mean your Monk friend doesn’t have its own tools to survive.
For instance, once Monk opens any Karma Gates he finds, they’ll stay open, unlike other slugcats. Moreover, predators are becoming less willing to fight you, and you’ll even be able to trade with Scavengers more quickly than the rest (or at all, in Artificer’s case).
Some of these changes will make your playthrough easier but be warned: he severely lacks in the breath department, making water travel that much more treacherous.
6 The Survivor
Survivor is the blueprint of what to expect when controlling the various slugcats within the game. The baseline, if you will. Everything about him is average and overall just in the middle.
There’s nothing wrong with that of course, but if you’ve already experienced the other cats, coming back to play as the survivor tends to feel lacking.
This is also the character whose world makes the least number of changes, meaning that this is the original (as far as you know) start to current events of the game and the ‘default’ world. Everything still sucks, but not as much as the other world states you’ll experience with other slugcats.
5 The Hunter
If you’ve already gone through the game with either Survivor or the Monk and are looking for even more of a challenge than what this game already is, then you might want to try giving Hunter’s campaign a go. Canonically known as the ‘hard mode’ of the game, you’re going to need everything you’ve learned from your first few playthroughs and you’ll have a timer working against you.
Instead of the clock counting how long each of your cycles is, Hunter’s clock gives you 19 cycles to get everything you need done to see the end and break the Hunter’s cycle by ascending at the end. If you are unfortunate enough to not complete what you need within those cycles, each subsequent cycle causes the Hunter to experience negative effects.
4 The Spearmaster
Spearmaster doesn’t have a mouth, but he still must feed. With his tail, The Spearmaster can create his life-siphoning spear and duel wield them too.
This messenger’s attacks hit harder than other slugcats, but that advantage quickly evens out since predators are stronger during his campaign. As he is the messenger in the story, he’ll have to persevere if he wants his role to come to an end quickly.
His actions carry a heavyweight in the story, as he is tasked with making a dangerous delivery to one of the ‘gods’ of the world. The price of admission for his campaign is no less than two playthroughs: one with either Survivor or Monk to unlock the other characters, and one playing as the Artificer, Gormand, or Hunter before the Spearmaster becomes available to play.
3 The Gourmand
Your boy Gourmand is a powerhouse of strength, with easily the strongest base strength of all the slugcats in the game and it’s easy to see why. He’s bigger than the others and requires a lot more food to hibernate.
His need to keep feeding helps, but that’s only if you’re able to find enough food. Good thing he's able to craft what you need to survive, at least for a while.
The trade-off here though is his stamina. Gourmand’s endurance doesn’t hold up as well as the other slugcats, meaning it requires you to keep an active role in managing how you use your stamina. You don’t want to be caught needing to swim when you’re close to passing out. If you’re willing to put in the extra work, his strength is worth it.
2 The Rivulet
Speed is the name of the game in regards to the Rivulet. They are faster on land and in the water, but you wouldn’t want to wade in that water for long no matter how aquatic you are.
That speed bleeds into the world as well, since their playthrough has the fastest cycle times among the slugcats.
Their speed contributes greatly to their survival. If you can reach top speed near creatures, they won’t be able to get their grips on you, giving you the advantage of planning out your next attack.
Couple that with the highest jump in the game, and you’ve to a slugcat that will get you where you’re going fast.
1 The Saint
Playing as the Saint brings a challenging experience, but ultimately rewarding once you can master its agility and movement skills. As the final slugcat is to be unlocked, it is important to have a strong understanding of how to navigate through the various environments.
Because any type of damage the Saint takes will leave them stunned and vulnerable for four seconds. Your reflexes will have to be on point if you want to avoid damage.
The Saint is a mysterious addition to the lineup, and even as you play through their campaign, you are left with more questions piling up than the number of answers you find. Nothing about the Saint’s role in breaking the cycle is confirmed outside of knowing it is supposed to carry it out.
Maybe down the line, you’ll get some answers, but for now, you’re left only with theories.