Deadly Days: Roadtrip Character Unlock Guide for 1.0

How to Unlock New Characters

A new survivor gives your next road trip a different starting point. This Deadly Days: Roadtrip character unlock guide starts with the core recruitment loop: find, rescue, and recruit survivors during your travels. Each survivor brings their own playstyle and unique items, opening up different ways to build your backpack.

Explore your stops while collecting the fuel needed to move the bus onward. Levels are procedurally generated, so plan your exploration around the current map rather than relying on a fixed layout.

For the Vampire introduced in the October 29, 2026, version 1.0 update, follow the unlock hint pointing toward the Shady Merchant. Make finding him a priority when pursuing this survivor.

You can also play with a friend through shared-screen co-op or Steam Remote Play Together, which lets your friend join without owning another copy. In version 1.0, selectors can mark items in the other player's backpack, and each backpack gets an extra unlockable column. The two grids can touch, allowing item synergies to work across both backpacks.

Official page: Deadly Days: Roadtrip (store.steampowered.com)

Where to Find the Shady Merchant

At merchant stops in version 1.0, the Shady Merchant has a 50% chance to appear behind the wagon. Check that area when you visit instead of leaving immediately after shopping.

Image: Steam / Pixelsplit

Starting on day 4, a one-day route is guaranteed to include him once per run. Random appearances can happen in addition to that guaranteed opportunity. Watch your route choices from day 4 onward and check behind the wagon at merchant stops along the way.

To prepare for the trip:

• Use the coffee stand at base. Coffee increases movement and loot speed for your next run, and the days last a little longer.
• Collect fuel while exploring. Your bus needs it to continue, so keep gathering it as you search the map.
• Arrange gear for adjacency effects. Position weapons and supporting items so their bonuses connect, then merge compatible items into stronger versions.
• Extract before the horde overwhelms your build. Once departure is available, weigh another loot detour against your ability to survive it.

The Shady Merchant also sells items with substantial trade-offs. Ripped-Out Eye gives marked weapons +100% critical chance but reduces their range by 75%. Uranium lets hits from marked weapons and throwables trigger a small nuclear explosion, but it can also mutate the target into a titan. Read those effects carefully before changing a build that is already keeping you alive.

What the Vampire Changes About Your Build

The Vampire starts without a weapon and instead brings a group of bats. Each level-up adds another bat, expanding the group as you gain experience.

Image: Steam / Pixelsplit

Those bats deal melee damage and have a chance to steal life. Equip items with melee effects alongside them to support that starting attack. When comparing loot, consider how it interacts with the bats before defaulting to the ranged setup you used on another survivor.

Keep backpack placement in mind as you add equipment. The game’s item synergies depend on arrangement, and fitting another item into an open space can change which weapons or items receive an effect.

Character stickers also receive changes in version 1.0. Stickers from the same source combine when an item is upgraded, up to that sticker's maximum rank. In co-op, character stickers now stay attached when an item moves to the other player or passes through the stash. Item triggers also count events only from the matching character, keeping those effects tied to the appropriate survivor.

Version 1.0 also fixes two Empty Blood Bag tracking problems: kills immediately after revival and kill statistics after moving to the next day. If you are returning from Early Access, load your existing save to continue playing in 1.0; those saves remain compatible with the full release.