How Many Dudes Tier Unlocks & Gold Stars

Last updated: 2026-09-24

The important rule is easy to miss: Tier access is earned per Dude, not for the whole roster at once. A Tier 1 Gold Star unlocks that Dude for Tier 2; a Tier 2 Gold Star unlocks that Dude for Tier 3. Beating Tier 1 with one team therefore does not make every unused Dude available in Tier 2.

Quick answer

Beat the G.O.A.T. at round 105 in Tier 1 to Gold-Star the Dude types in that winning roster. Only those Gold-Starred Dude types become usable in Tier 2. Gold-Star a Dude in Tier 2 to use that Dude in Tier 3. This does not unlock the whole Tier for every Dude.

The actual Tier 2 and Tier 3 unlock rule

The developers gave the clearest version of the rule in a Steam forum response:

“To use dudes on Tier 2, you'll need gold stars on them for Tier 1. For Tier 3, you'll need golds for those dudes in Tier 2.”

You want to use…	Required result	What unlocks
A Dude in Tier 2	Earn that Dude a Tier 1 Gold Star	That Dude in Tier 2
A Dude in Tier 3	Earn that Dude a Tier 2 Gold Star	That Dude in Tier 3
The rest of the roster	Repeat with each Dude type you want	There is no account-wide roster unlock

Per Dude means per Dude type represented in the winning team, not one account-wide checkpoint. If Knight, Viking and Necromancer earn Tier 1 Gold Stars, those types can move up; a Dude type that was not Gold-Starred remains locked.

Round 18 recruitment screen offering Knight, Assassin and Construction Dudes — Round 18 visibly offers Knight, Assassin and Construction Dudes; the star is tracked against each Dude type.

What counts as a Gold Star?

Tier 1 ends with the G.O.A.T. at round 105. Defeating that endgame boss awards the Tier 1 Gold Stars used by the unlock rule above. Tier 2 ends with the Killipede, which is the Tier 2 Gold-Star boss and the source of the Gold Stars that unlock Dudes for Tier 3. Tier 3 has its own final boss, but the official achievement wording only calls it “the final boss battle in Tier 3”, so this page does not attach a name to it.

A near-win is not a Gold Star. Reaching round 105 and losing to the G.O.A.T. does not satisfy the Tier 1 unlock condition because the achievement is tied to defeating the boss. You also cannot combine two incomplete attempts into one Gold Star.

Progression is still cross-run. Stars and metaprogression rewards already earned are not erased when a later run ends. The distinction is:

Inside one run: assemble a roster and defeat the required boss to award that run's Gold Stars.
Across runs: previously awarded stars, starting cash, consumables, Pocket Dice and unlocked Ensemble Mode slots remain available.
Not cumulative: partial damage to a final boss or merely reaching its round does not build toward a future Gold Star.

What retroactively backfills to lower Tiers?

The official Butterscotch guide explicitly says that Gold and Silver Stars for Relics and Trinkets earned in a higher Tier are retroactively applied to lower Tiers. If you can reliably play Tier 2, you do not need to return to Tier 1 just to finish the remaining Relic or Trinket stars there.

Do not misread the backfill rule.

It does not mean that losing any Tier 2 run automatically awards a Tier 1 Gold Star. A reward must actually be earned before it can cascade downward. The old page's claim that “even a loss pays out” was too broad and has been removed.

Silver Stars carry permanent value as well, but they are not a substitute for Gold Stars: the check for using a Dude one Tier higher reads your Gold Stars, so earning Silver on a Dude does not move it up. Treat Silver as metaprogression currency — starting cash, consumables, Pocket Dice and Ensemble slots — and Gold as the Tier gate.

How Many Dudes battle screen showing Round 69 — The battle UI visibly shows Round 69. This screenshot illustrates a run in progress, not a Tier unlock condition.

Why most of the roster can still be greyed out

The common confusion is winning Tier 1 with a favourite composition and expecting Tier 2 to open for all Dudes. The game instead records Gold Stars against the Dude types that earned them. Your strongest types move up first; unplayed or unsuccessful types remain locked.

That changes the efficient progression route:

Use a stable core that can reach the G.O.A.T.
Include the Dude types you specifically want available in Tier 2.
Defeat the G.O.A.T. so those types receive Tier 1 Gold Stars.
Once Ensemble Mode slots are available, pre-select more of the types you are targeting instead of depending entirely on random recruitment.
In Tier 2, repeat the process with the Dude types you want to carry into Tier 3.

This is a roster-unlock plan, not a recommendation to weaken every run. If adding too many unproven types makes the team unable to beat the boss, unlock them in smaller batches around a reliable core.

How the three Tiers differ

Butterscotch's official guide describes Tier 2 and Tier 3 as adding new constraints, unique enemies and new endgame bosses. It does not publish a complete numeric modifier table, so this page does not invent one. The verified practical difference is that a composition that clears the Tier 1 G.O.A.T. may still fail when a higher-Tier boss tests a different weakness.

Tier	Verified progression role	Unlock requirement for a Dude
Tier 1	Initial challenge; G.O.A.T. at round 105	Available at the start
Tier 2	Higher constraints, unique enemies and a different endgame boss	Tier 1 Gold Star on that Dude
Tier 3	Highest challenge and another endgame test	Tier 2 Gold Star on that Dude

How Many Dudes battle screen showing Round 104 — The UI visibly shows Round 104. The next-round G.O.A.T. fact comes from the official guide, not from the image itself.

The all-Tiers beta was rolled back

In early August, the developers tested a Steam beta that removed the Gold-Star gate and let players choose any Tier immediately. They then narrowed the experiment to Tier 2 being open at the outset while Tier 3 retained a per-Dude Gold Star gate.

On August 5, 2026, Butterscotch said the change would not move to the live game after mixed-to-negative feedback. The live rule therefore remains the per-Dude progression described above. Switching to a beta branch is not a current shortcut.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does beating Tier 1 unlock Tier 2 for every Dude?

No. A Tier 1 Gold Star unlocks the Dude that earned it for Tier 2. Other Dude types remain locked until they earn their own Tier 1 Gold Stars.

How does a Dude unlock for Tier 3?

That Dude needs a Tier 2 Gold Star. A Tier 1 Gold Star is enough for Tier 2, not Tier 3.

Can several Dude types earn a Gold Star in the same run?

Yes. The star is tracked per Dude type represented in the winning roster, so a successful team can advance multiple types together.

Does a failed higher-Tier run backfill lower-Tier stars?

Only rewards actually earned can backfill. The official guide specifically confirms that higher-Tier Gold and Silver Stars for Relics and Trinkets retroactively apply to lower Tiers; simply losing a run is not itself a reward.

Do I need to finish every Tier 1 star before trying Tier 2?

No. Move up with the Dudes already unlocked when your composition is ready. Higher-Tier Relic and Trinket stars can backfill lower-Tier entries, so fully clearing Tier 1 first is not required.

Sources: Butterscotch's official new-player guide · official Steam announcements · Steam store and achievements. Unlock wording was cross-checked against the developer's Steam forum response.