Unlock requirements and ability names can vary in older guides because Ratropolis has received balance and localization updates. If your in-game unlock screen disagrees with an older guide, trust the current game client first.
Fast answer
The answer before the background
Ratropolis has six core leaders: Merchant, General, Builder, Scientist, Shaman, and Navigator. Merchant is available from the beginning. General unlocks after you play one game, Builder after surviving wave 10, Scientist after surviving wave 20, Navigator after earning five achievements, and Shaman after playing ten games. Each leader has a distinct role, passive bonus, active ability, starting deck, and adviser. A later update added a gender-swap option for every leader type; these alternate versions use different abilities, advisers, and starting cards, so they are meaningful gameplay variants rather than cosmetic skins.
Roster
All six leader types at a glance
The game presents leaders as different ways to build and defend the same rat settlement. They are not individual battlefield heroes that you move around the map. Instead, each one shapes your deck from the first wave onward through a passive bonus, a rechargeable leader ability, a starting adviser, and a small group of starting cards.
The Steam version lists six leaders. The later gender-swap update adds a second setup for each type, including a different ability, adviser, and opening deck. For practical purposes, think of the roster as six strategic identities with twelve available leader configurations, not twelve unrelated classes.
- Merchant: economy, discounts, gold generation, and flexible spending.
- General: military cards, population, unit growth, and direct combat strength.
- Builder: buildings, defensive walls, construction, and temporary building cards.
- Scientist: Skill cards, technology effects, card discovery, and rapid ability cycling.
- Shaman: Souls, sacrifices, curses, and death-based value.
- Navigator: quests, redraws, stock management, and extra card choices.
| Leader | Core role | Unlock condition | Best first question |
|---|---|---|---|
| Merchant | Economy and buying power | Available from the start | Can I turn gold into cards and tempo? |
| General | Military and population | Play one game | Can my army scale before later waves? |
| Builder | Buildings and walls | Survive wave 10 | Can structures carry my defense? |
| Scientist | Skills and technology | Survive wave 20 | Can I cycle enough Skill cards? |
| Navigator | Quests and card selection | Earn five achievements | Can I exploit better choices and redraws? |
| Shaman | Souls and sacrifice | Play ten games | Can deaths and curses become resources? |
The official store description states that Ratropolis has six leaders with distinct play styles and traits. Alternate gender setups were added later through a leader-selection gender-swap button.
Unlocks
How to unlock every leader
The fastest route is to play normally while targeting the milestone tied to the next leader. You do not need to win every run. The General is the easiest additional unlock because the relevant achievement is earned simply by playing a game. After that, wave milestones and achievement progress open the remaining choices.
The achievement list also names the associated milestones: Builder corresponds to surviving wave 10, Scientist to surviving wave 20, Navigator to winning a game in the achievement list’s naming structure, and Shaman to playing ten games. The Navigator’s specific five-achievement requirement is documented in the leader reference, so do not confuse it with the separate Navigator victory achievement.
- Merchant: no unlock requirement. Select it immediately.
- General: play one game. A loss still advances the basic play requirement.
- Builder: survive the tenth wave. Prioritize reliable walls and early military coverage.
- Navigator: earn five achievements. Check the achievement page for simple objectives you can complete naturally.
- Scientist: survive the twentieth wave. A stable economy and repeatable defense matter more than greed.
- Shaman: play ten games. You can work toward this while learning the other leaders.
| Milestone | Practical method |
|---|---|
| Wave 10 | Use cheap units early, avoid overbuilding, and keep one answer for fast enemies. |
| Wave 20 | Trim weak cards, upgrade reliable defenses, and preserve enough gold for emergencies. |
| Five achievements | Complete simple progression objectives instead of forcing difficult challenge runs. |
| Ten games | Start short learning runs if your only goal is to reach the play-count requirement. |
Some older guides describe different unlock wording or refer to earlier leader versions. The conditions above are the most consistently supported by the current Steam achievement list and the available leader reference.
Roles
Which leader should you choose?
Choose Merchant if you are still learning the shop, card costs, and deck-thinning decisions. Its discount and gold-focused identity gives you more room to buy key cards, recover from mistakes, and experiment with different economy packages. It is the safest general-purpose starting point.
Choose General when you want the clearest combat plan. Military cards are the center of the run, so you can focus on unit upgrades, frontline durability, and population support. This is a strong recommendation for players who prefer direct answers to enemy waves rather than complicated card-engine setups.
Choose Builder when your defense depends on buildings and walls. The leader rewards planning the layout and timing construction, but it is less forgiving if your early military coverage is weak. Do not assume more buildings automatically mean a safer city; construction still needs gold, space, and time.
Choose Scientist when you enjoy Skill cards and active timing. The core version can obtain temporary Skill cards and reduce its ability cooldown by using skills, which encourages fast cycling. It is powerful once your deck has enough Skill density, but awkward if your early deck cannot protect the city while you assemble that engine.
Choose Shaman when you are comfortable treating losses as part of the plan. Souls and curses can produce strong swings, yet careless sacrifices can leave the walls exposed. This leader is more specialized than Merchant or General and is usually better after you understand enemy timing.
Choose Navigator when you value options over consistency. Extra choices, quests, stock, and redraw interactions can produce excellent runs, but the leader asks you to evaluate more lines and accept more variance. It is a good fit for players who enjoy adapting instead of following one fixed deck plan.
- Best beginner pick: Merchant for economy flexibility or General for straightforward defense.
- Best building-focused pick: Builder.
- Best Skill-card pick: Scientist.
- Best sacrifice and curse pick: Shaman.
- Best high-variance choice: Navigator.
| If you enjoy... | Start with... | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Buying and upgrading flexibly | Merchant | Gold and discounts smooth out card choices. |
| Deploying a strong army | General | Military cards and population are central. |
| Planning a defensive layout | Builder | Buildings and walls define the run. |
| Casting frequent effects | Scientist | Skill use feeds the leader’s engine. |
| Sacrifice and curse mechanics | Shaman | Souls turn death into a resource. |
| Quests and unusual card lines | Navigator | Extra choices reward adaptation. |
There is no single best leader for every map, difficulty, or player. The comparisons above are strategic recommendations based on each leader’s documented mechanics, not claims of a permanent balance ranking.
Variants
What does the gender-swap option change?
The gender-swap button is more important than a portrait change. The official update notes say that each alternate leader receives a different ability, starting adviser, and starting cards. That means the same broad role can open with a different economy, military line, or card-engine priority.
Use the alternate setup when you understand the base leader but want a new opening puzzle. For example, an alternate Merchant can push a different labor or purchasing plan, while an alternate Scientist can change how you copy or cycle cards. The exact strength of each variant can depend on the map, available cards, and difficulty, so compare the opening deck before choosing a familiar strategy.
- Treat each gender configuration as a separate opening plan.
- Read the starting adviser before committing to a deck archetype.
- Check which economy card replaces the base version’s opening economy card.
- Do not assume a strategy from the base leader transfers unchanged to its alternate setup.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Are the variants cosmetic only? | No. They change the ability, starting adviser, and starting cards. |
| Do they create six more leader types? | They are alternate configurations of the same six leader types. |
| Can I switch during a run? | No. Choose the configuration during leader selection. |
| Should beginners use them immediately? | They can, but learning the base setup first makes comparisons easier. |
The gender-swap system was introduced in the December 2022 update, which also added six leader abilities and twelve advisers. Later patch notes fixed issues involving changed leader text and the female Navigator, so current clients should display the intended variant information.
FAQ
Common questions
How many characters are in Ratropolis?
The official game description lists six leaders: Merchant, General, Builder, Scientist, Shaman, and Navigator. The gender-swap update adds an alternate setup for each leader, with different abilities, advisers, and starting cards. It is most accurate to describe the roster as six leader types with alternate configurations.
Who is the best Ratropolis character for beginners?
Merchant is the safest general recommendation because discounts and gold give you more flexibility when buying cards. General is another strong beginner choice if you prefer a direct military plan. Neither is universally strongest; your map, card offers, and difficulty still matter.
How do I unlock the General?
Play one game. The associated Steam achievement is the basic play-one-game milestone. The run does not need to be a victory, so this is normally the first additional leader unlock.
How do I unlock the Scientist?
Survive wave 20 in a game. Focus on a stable defense, remove weak cards when possible, and avoid spending all your gold before a dangerous wave. The Scientist is unlocked by the wave milestone rather than by winning with another specific leader.
Is the Navigator unlocked by winning a game?
The Navigator leader reference lists five achievements as the unlock requirement. Steam also has a separate Navigator achievement for winning a game, so those two facts are easy to mix up. Check your current in-game unlock panel if the requirement is presented differently in your build.
Are alternate gender leaders separate characters?
They are alternate versions of the six leader types, but they are mechanically significant. Each receives a different ability, starting adviser, and starting cards, so you should evaluate the variant as its own opening strategy.
Sources
What we checked
Official listings establish current availability and product facts. Community pages are used for mechanics and build history, then labeled separately.
- OfficialOfficial Steam store page
- OfficialOfficial leader update announcement
- OfficialCassel Games developer diary on new leader abilities
- OfficialSteam achievement list
- CommunityRatropolis Wiki leader references
- ReferenceLeader comparison and unlock reference