BALL x PIT is a roguelite that mixes brick-breaking with base building. You fire volleys of balls up a lane at monsters, and when a run ends, you spend what you earned rebuilding New Ballbylon above a giant pit. Each run is led by one of the game's characters, and most of them start with their own ball and a trait that changes how the run plays out. Knowing what each one does and how to unlock them makes the early game much easier to follow.
Character
Items
The Warrior
A straightforward starter with no unique combat effect.
- Starting Ball
- Bleed
- Ability
- Has no character-specific combat effect.
- How to Unlock
- Available from the start.
- Platform Limit
- All platforms
The Itchy Finger
Trades accuracy for rapid automatic fire while keeping full movement speed.
- Starting Ball
- Burn
- Ability
- Aims erratically, fires twice as fast, launches every ready ball continuously, and moves at full speed while firing.
- How to Unlock
- Find the Sheriff's Office blueprint in The BONExYARD, then build it in New Ballbylon.
- Platform Limit
- All platforms
The Repentant
Builds damage with each bounce and sends balls back through enemies after the back wall.
- Starting Ball
- Freeze
- Ability
- Balls gain 5% damage each time they bounce. After hitting the back wall, they return through enemies and damage them.
- How to Unlock
- Find the Haunted House blueprint in The BONExYARD, then build it in New Ballbylon.
- Platform Limit
- All platforms
The Cohabitants
Covers mirrored lanes with paired balls that each deal half damage.
- Starting Ball
- Brood Mother
- Ability
- Each launched ball creates a mirrored copy; both copies deal half damage.
- How to Unlock
- Find the Cozy Home blueprint in The BONExYARD, then build it in New Ballbylon.
- Platform Limit
- All platforms
The Cogitator
Automatically chooses upgrade, fusion, and evolution options.
- Starting Ball
- Laser (Vertical)
- Ability
- Automatically chooses level-up upgrades, fusions, and evolutions.
- How to Unlock
- Find the Villa blueprint in The SNOWYxSHORES, then build it in New Ballbylon.
- Platform Limit
- All platforms
The Embedded
Keeps each ball moving through enemies until it reaches a wall.
- Starting Ball
- Poison
- Ability
- Balls pierce enemies until they hit a wall.
- How to Unlock
- Find the Veteran's Hut blueprint in The SNOWYxSHORES, then build it in New Ballbylon.
- Platform Limit
- All platforms
The Shade
Shoots from behind the enemy field and starts with a 10% critical-hit chance.
- Starting Ball
- Dark
- Ability
- Balls launch from behind the enemy field and have a 10% base critical-hit chance.
- How to Unlock
- Find the Mausoleum blueprint in The LIMINALxDESERT, then build it in New Ballbylon.
- Platform Limit
- All platforms
The Shieldbearer
Reflects balls with a shield and adds 100% damage per shield bounce.
- Starting Ball
- Iron
- Ability
- A shield rebounds balls that hit it; each shield bounce adds 100% damage.
- How to Unlock
- Find the Iron Fortress blueprint in The FUNGALxFOREST, then build it in New Ballbylon.
- Platform Limit
- All platforms
The Spendthrift
Launches the full ball loadout together in a wide spread.
- Starting Ball
- Vampire
- Ability
- Fires all equipped balls at once in a wide arc.
- How to Unlock
- Find the Mansion blueprint in The FUNGALxFOREST, then build it in New Ballbylon.
- Platform Limit
- All platforms
The Juggler
Aims each volley at a landing point before the balls start bouncing.
- Starting Ball
- Lightning
- Ability
- Lobs balls toward a chosen point; they begin bouncing after they land.
- How to Unlock
- Find the Theater blueprint in The GORYxGRASSLANDS, then build it in New Ballbylon.
- Platform Limit
- All platforms
The Empty Nester
Removes baby balls and fires several copies of one special ball per shot.
- Starting Ball
- Ghost
- Ability
- Has no baby balls; each shot fires multiple copies of one equipped special ball.
- How to Unlock
- Find the Single Family Home blueprint in The SNOWYxSHORES, then build it in New Ballbylon.
- Platform Limit
- All platforms
The Flagellant
Keeps balls in play when they reach the bottom edge.
- Starting Ball
- Egg Sac
- Ability
- Balls bounce normally off the bottom of the screen instead of returning there.
- How to Unlock
- Find the Monastery blueprint in The GORYxGRASSLANDS, then build it in New Ballbylon.
- Platform Limit
- All platforms
The Makeshift Sisyphus
Gives up direct-hit damage and baby balls for fourfold area and status damage.
- Starting Ball
- Earthquake
- Ability
- Balls deal no direct-hit damage, but area and status-effect damage are multiplied by 4. Baby balls are disabled.
- How to Unlock
- Find the Rocky Hill blueprint in The LIMINALxDESERT, then build it in New Ballbylon.
- Platform Limit
- All platforms
The Physicist
Changes ball paths by pulling them toward the back of the field.
- Starting Ball
- Light
- Ability
- Gravity pulls balls toward the back of the screen.
- How to Unlock
- Find the Laboratory blueprint in The FUNGALxFOREST, then build it in New Ballbylon.
- Platform Limit
- All platforms
The Tactician
Pauses the real-time battle flow between player turns.
- Starting Ball
- Iron
- Ability
- Combat becomes turn-based.
- How to Unlock
- Find the Captain's Quarters blueprint in The SMOLDERINGxDEPTHS, then build it in New Ballbylon.
- Platform Limit
- All platforms
The Radical
Automates movement, shooting, and upgrade choices during a run.
- Starting Ball
- Wind
- Ability
- Automatically plays the run, moving, shooting, and selecting upgrades and fusions without player input.
- How to Unlock
- Find the Campground blueprint in The HEAVENLYxGATES, then build it in New Ballbylon.
- Platform Limit
- All platforms
The Falconer
Fires balls from two falcons positioned at the sides of the field.
- Starting Ball
- Lightning
- Ability
- Two falcons at the sides of the screen fire the balls.
- How to Unlock
- Find the Falconry Hut blueprint in The HEAVENLYxGATES, then build it in New Ballbylon.
- Platform Limit
- All platforms
The Carouser
Adds a short orbit around the player to returning balls.
- Starting Ball
- Charm
- Ability
- Returning balls can orbit around the player briefly.
- How to Unlock
- Find the Party House blueprint in The VASTxVOID, then build it in New Ballbylon.
- Platform Limit
- All platforms
The Tunneller
Sends balls from one vertical edge of the screen to the other.
- Starting Ball
- Earthquake
- Ability
- Balls wrap between the top and bottom edges of the screen.
- How to Unlock
- Find the Stone Domain blueprint in The SMOLDERINGxDEPTHS, then build it in New Ballbylon.
- Platform Limit
- All platforms
The Tiptoer
Avoids detection by regular enemies but has much less health.
- Starting Ball
- Laser (Horizontal)
- Ability
- Enemies cannot detect the character except for bosses and minibosses; the character has much less health.
- How to Unlock
- Find the Hidden Temple blueprint in The SMOLDERINGxDEPTHS, then build it in New Ballbylon.
- Platform Limit
- All platforms
The Hoary Hoarder
Trades most ball slots for extra passive slots.
- Starting Ball
- -
- Ability
- Has 2 ball slots; every other equipment slot becomes a passive slot.
- How to Unlock
- Find the Unstable Tower blueprint in The HEAVENLYxGATES, then build it in New Ballbylon.
- Platform Limit
- All platforms
The Ballbearer
Doubles ball capacity and removes passive slots.
- Starting Ball
- Stone
- Ability
- Has twice the usual number of ball slots and no passive slots.
- How to Unlock
- Find the Ball House blueprint in The VASTxVOID, then build it in New Ballbylon.
- Platform Limit
- All platforms
The False Messiah
Lets a Twitch audience vote on selected upgrades and random events during streams.
- Starting Ball
- Bleed
- Ability
- While streaming on Twitch, viewers can vote on selected choices and random events.
- How to Unlock
- Enable the Twitch Extension and link a Twitch account.
- Platform Limit
- PC only; Twitch Extension required
What the Characters Do in a Run
A character is the hero you control during a run, and it shapes how your balls behave from the first shot. Most characters start with a particular ball, such as Bleed for The Warrior, Burn for The Itchy Finger, or Iron for The Shieldbearer, and that starting ball sets the early direction of the run.
Most also have a trait of their own, like The Repentant's balls gaining damage with each bounce or The Shieldbearer's shield sending balls back with extra force. The Warrior is the plain exception, with no special trait at all.
The Ballbearer and The Hoary Hoarder, both from the Naturalist update, work in opposite ways when it comes to slots. The Ballbearer can hold twice as many balls but has no passive slots, while The Hoary Hoarder holds only two balls, turns its spare equipment slots into passives, and starts without a base ball.
Characters Added in Free Updates
Several characters arrived in the free updates, starting with the Regal update, which added The Falconer and The Carouser. The Falconer's pair of birds launch balls from the sides of the screen, while The Carouser lets returning balls orbit around you for a moment.
The Shadow update added The Tiptoer, who goes unnoticed by regular enemies but has much less health, and The Tunneller, whose balls wrap around the edge of the screen and come back from the other side. The Naturalist update, the final free update, added The Ballbearer and The Hoary Hoarder.
The False Messiah works differently. The character is only available on PC, and you unlock it by turning on the Twitch extension and linking your Twitch account, rather than by building a house.
How to Unlock Characters in BALL x PIT
You start with only The Warrior, so every other character has to be earned. Unlocking begins with blueprints, which drop from enemies and bosses while you play certain levels. That means the places you fight decide which characters you can unlock. Once you have a blueprint, you build that character's house at your base, and the house makes the character available to play.
Building uses four resources: wheat, wood, stone and gold. You bring gold back from runs and harvest wheat, wood and stone around New Ballbylon.
Bringing Two Characters Into One Run
Normally a run has one character, but the Matchmaker building lets you bring a second one along. When you pick two, their abilities merge into a single unit for that run, and both start with their own ball. All XP earned during the run goes to both characters in full, so neither one falls behind.
The Matchmaker raises the starting level of the second character's ball, while the Jeweler building is what upgrades the first character's ball. Not every pairing is allowed.
Which BALL x PIT Characters Are the Best
Rankings don't fully agree, because strength depends on your starting ball, the perks you pick, and how well everything fits together. Still, The Itchy Finger is the one that shows up near the top most often.
It fires at double speed and keeps moving while it shoots, which keeps steady pressure on enemies. The Shieldbearer is another strong pick, since its shield sends balls back with extra damage on each bounce.
The Makeshift Sisyphus is often ranked among the strongest because of its early area damage boost, but it only unlocks later in the game. The Warrior, the plain starter, still lands in the upper middle of most rankings, which makes it a solid choice while you learn.
FAQ
Where do I find The Shieldbearer's blueprint?
Its blueprint is found in The FUNGALxFOREST. Once you have it, build the Iron Fortress at your base to unlock The Shieldbearer.
Do characters get stronger the more I use them?
Yes. Each character earns experience as you play it, and every level adds bonuses to its base stats. Most characters also get harvest upgrades as they level up.
How does The False Messiah work on stream?
While you stream, viewers vote on level-up upgrades, on which balls and passives go into a fusion or evolution, on a partner character and on random good or bad events. With every vote turned off, it plays the same as The Warrior. It can't be sent out on harvests or assigned to buildings, and it can never be picked as another character's second character, though a viewer vote can give it a partner.