Risk of Rain Returns: How to Find All Hidden Event Bosses

Whether you’re looking to fight some unique enemies or aiming to unlock Huntress’ Pierce skill, these secret bosses will be interesting to you. They’re hidden around the different areas variations in the game. Here’s how to find all hidden event bosses in Risk of Rain Returns.

How to Find All Hidden Event Bosses in Risk of Rain Returns

There are various event bosses hidden throughout RoRR. The reason they’re hard to find is that you have to actually find them and also land in the right variation of the area they’re in. For example, the Direseeker only appears in a specific variant of the Magma Barracks. 

Still, finding all of these event bosses and fighting them can be fun, and defeating three of them will unlock The Hunt achievement for the Huntress (Pierce skill). I recommend turning on classic RoR map variations to make finding these secret bosses easier (except for the first Cognation one). Here are all of them in the order of levels in which they appear.

Golem of Cognation

The first secret mini-boss appears in the first level in the Desolate Forest. To be exact, the fourth variant of the Desolate forest. This special Golem is tied to getting the Artifact of Cognation. You can find the boss by descending down a secret vine hanging from this tree in the picture.

You’ll find yourself in an underground hall with an Artifact gate. Press the buttons on the right, and you’ll initiate a series of small fights. One of the enemies will be the special Golem enemy. I found that defeating him counts toward the Huntress Pierce skill progression.

Related: How to Unlock Artifact of Command

Acrid

Our resident acid goodest boy is located in the first three variants of the Underwater Catacombs. You’ll need to explore in the top right of the level to find his prison container. Interact with this container to free and fight him. I recommend moving away from the container as soon as you open it and then start kiting him.

Be careful, Acrid can apply various damage-over-time effects if you stand in one place for too long. Defeating him will both unlock him and count toward the Huntress Pierce unlock progression. You’ll also unlock an alternate ability for him if you beat him by playing as Acrid.

Direseeker

This massive fire-infused Elder Lemurian is a bit of a bullet sponge that hits slightly harder than his counterparts. However, fighting him is nowhere near as difficult as actually finding him. This boss is located in the first and second variants of the Magma Barracks.

You’ll need to search in the bottom-right of the level. This is where you’ll encounter a tunnel at the bottom of the stage leading to the right through a pool of lava. Make sure you have enough HP to pass through the lava and have enough left over to fight the Direseeker. You’ll face this event boss on a narrow platform, so make sure you kite him around so you don’t get hit by his fire breath. Defeating him will unlock the Miner for your next run.

Related: How to Beat the Cremator

Boar Beach

Everyone loves a good reference. Whether you’ve visited the Pig Beach map in Maplestory or the Cow Level in the Diablo series, you’ll love Boar Beach in RoR Returns. You can access this secret level and its event boss through the snowy Ancient Valley level.

Climb up to the top left of Ancient Valley’s second variant . You’ll see a fence that you need to approach and hold up. This will transport you to Boar Beach, where you can fight a horde of boarlings and a special version of the Toxic Beast.

Providence Last Phase and Gilded Worms

I’ve discovered that Providence also counts toward unlocking Huntress’ Pierce skill. I’m not currently sure what part of this fight is the event boss. My guess would be that it’s either the Gilded Worms or Providence’s new fourth phase that’s unique to Returns. Either way, clearing this fight will count.

Related: Best Characters Tier List in RoR Returns

Now you know how to find all hidden event bosses in Risk of Rain Returns. It can be a fun challenge to find and fight them all, whether you’re chasing achievements or doing it for exploration purposes. That said, some of them are required for unlocking survivors like Acrid of the Direseeker. If you’re interested in more content on the game like how to unlock Robomando, check out our RoR Returns guides.