All 2XKO Characters As of The Alpha Lab Playtest
If you’re looking for a list of all 2XKO characters, you’ve come to the right place.
Right now there are only six playable characters, Darius, Ekko, Ahri, Yasuo, Illaoi, and Braum.
New characters have been slowly getting added and will likely continue to do so until 2XKo’s release date.
Two other characters have been revealed but are not in the current build – Jinx and Katarina.
All 2XKO Characters That Are Currently Playable
Darius
2XKO’s premiere heavy, Darius swings a giant axe that nearly covers your entire screen. Similar to characters like Hulk, and Juggernaut in the Marvel vs Capcom franchise, or Gannondorf and Bowser in Super Smash Bros Ultimate, Darius’ attacks are slower than average but pack a punch!
Unique to Darius is his Bleed mechanic. Bleed activates after landing certain specials and charged normals, and causes Darius’ opponents to suffer increased chip damage on block. Once the opponent is affected by Bleed, Darius can mix up his normals and his S1 (Apprehend) which grabs his opponent with his axe and pulls them in close to him.
Bleed in combination with Apprehend is very strong because on block, Apprehend will deal significant chip damage and cannot be Push Blocked nor can the opponent respond with a Retreating Guard.
Darius’s kit is best suited for mid-range engagements. His play style is very similar to Hulk’s in MvC3, in that his slow and heavy attacks have good range and can overwhelm his opponents by playing just outside their normal attack reach.
Ekko
Ekko is 2XKO’s all-arounder character. He is a similar choice for players familiar with Shotokans in Street Fighter like Ken and Ryu, the Mishima/Kazama clan Heihachi, Kazuya, and Jin in Tekken, the ninjas in Mortal Kombat like Scorpion, Sub-zero and Reptile, or Mario in Super Smash Bros. A robust and well-rounded kit leaves Ekko with no obvious weaknesses and allows players to utilize a variety of playstyles. He can spam projectiles or go on an all-out offensive attack.
The unique ability in Ekko’s kit is his rewind mechanic. Using his S2, Ekko has multiple attack and movement options that leave an afterimage at the location he began the special attack. He can then choose to rewind to the afterimages location, or let it dissipate. The rewind can be used to extend combos but also makes whiff punishing his Chronobreak very difficult as he can teleport away and instantly reverse punish your attempt.
Timewinder (S1) is a CC projectile. When landed, the opponent is slowed and suspended in mid-air, allowing for a combo follow-up and massive damage. The S2 Super Tangled Timeline, gives Ekko a permanent clone to rewind to for the duration of the Super.
Ekko’s kit best allows for a hit-and-run hybrid of mid-range and rush-down style. He can both quickly approach and retreat while utilizing his Air Hop, Phase Dive, and Replay. Timewinder also gives him more mid-range options and can be used to open up his opponent’s defense for his approach.
Ahri
Ahri, the reigning queen of mobility in 2XKO. She is the only champion with the ability to air dash (Spirit Rush). Her playstyle is very similar to Storm in MvC and you’ll find some familiarity with Milia in Guilty Gear. Ahri players will find themselves spending a good amount of the match airborne and never in the same position for long.
Between her ground and air follow-up, Ahri is the only champion able to dash in all 8 directions and she can even double dash in the same or different directions. Her dashes give her almost instantaneous movement to close in on her opponents or to dash out then in, to bait out a whiffed attack from her opponent.
Players who prioritize movement, and the freedom it provides in creating their own strategies and playstyles should definitely have Ahri as one of their first considerations in choosing a main.
Also, you’ll be able to find a lot of strong high-low mixups in the neutral game, especially when utilizing Spirit Rush for combo follow ups off landed Foxfire Blast projectiles (S1).
Yasuo
Yasuo has the deepest technical kit in 2XKO due to him being a Stance character. He has a regular set of abilities and inputs that all get completely altered if he first enters his stance, Calm ( ↓+S1). Yasuo requires a good deal of mechanical effort to execute many of his best combos. Yasuo has both a high skill floor and ceiling making him an excellent choice for players who enjoy the challenge of character mastery!
Those who have used Red Ranger in Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid will find similarities in Yasuo’s basic game plan in that both characters favor a more defensive approach to the fight. His stance ability functions similar to Shulk in SSBU, Phoenix in MvC3, and Leo White Fang from Guilty Gear Strive. All of these character’s kits are built around placing themselves in the appropriate stance in order to have access to the optimal offensive and defensive options for a given situation.
Wind Wall (← + S2) which can cancel out enemy projectiles and Zephyr Step allows Yasuo to pass through his opponent, are two of abilities that set Yasuo apart. The pass-through mechanic is similar to Leo White Fang whose Brynhildr Stance grants him a pass-through ability. Yasuo is also currently the only Champion who can delay hyper combo into himself by combo chaining his S2 Super into his Ultimate. Players who enjoy a more calculated and patient play style should give Yasuo a go!
Illaoi
Coming in as the first Champion added to the original roster of 4, Illaoi brawls with her tentacles assisting her every move! Her game plan completely revolves around setting up tentacles on the ground, then using them to either independently attack her opponents or hit them into the tentacles for combo extenders.
She can be thought of as a summon character archetype similar to Zato-1 with his shadow puppet from Guilty Gear Strive, or Nier who controls Death in Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising. Illaoi, however, has much less emphasis on her summon tentacles compared to these other two summon characters. While the tentacles can be commanded to attack separately from Illaoi, there is far less stress on controlling them independently.
She has decent normals and hard-hitting Specials. S2 has options for both overhead and low attacks that require the opponent to quickly react and block accordingly. All of her standard S2 abilities summon a tentacle on both block and hit, giving her a deadly block string game.
After Illaoi gains the offensive advantage she can keep stacking tentacles from her specials and summon an extra two superpowered tentacles with her S2 Super, Wrath of Nagakabouros. Once she has multiple tentacles out for the opponent to deal with, her true power is unleashed. If steamrolling your opponent is what you’re after in a fighting game, we highly recommend spending some time with the Kraken priestess!
Braum
The giant man who wields his door like a bashing shield enters 2XKO as a champion with an impenetrable defense! Braum’s kit favors a defensive playstyle and is currently the only hero to have a special move that can be used to block his ally. Equally as strong in offense, Braum’s signature moves are reminiscent of Juggernaut in Mvc2.
Both heroes have a dash charge in as an assist, and players can use Battering Ram (S2) similar to Juggernaut’s Juggernaut Headcrush. The similarities don’t stop there, both heroes have relatively simple combos that deal massive damage, long-reaching pokes, and a ground slam that sends a low-hitting shock wave across the ground (Earthquake Punch for Juggernaut, and Shattering Spires for Braum).
The closest champion to being a grappler, Braum’s command throw leads to huge damage juggles and lets him set up lethal 50-50 grab/strike mixups. When positioned as the assist champ, Braum can be called in to shield an enemy attack, giving your point character a chance for a counterattack, or he can come barreling in with a Batter Ram assist.
Braum has a unique feature where certain special moves like Glacier Breaker (S2 followed by S2), give him an empowered Unbreakable door, shown by enveloping the entire door in Ice. When attacking with the Unbreakable door, all of Braums normal attacks gain one hit of armor and all of his special attacks deal increased damage. For players who like to let their opponents make the first attack and wait for openings to punish them, Braum and his army of Poros will be an excellent fit!
All 2XKO Characters That Have Been Teased
Jinx
Jinx is an officially confirmed champion that has yet to be made playable in demos or the Alpha lab. Her kit is built around her arsenal of explosives, traps, and guns. From the small amount of available gameplay videos from Riot, Jinx looks to be a zoner archetype whose primary strategy is barraging her opponents from a distance with her multiple projectile abilities.
Katarina
While Ahri is the current queen of mobility, she will likely be dethroned once Katarina is released. Katarina was teased in the early days of Project L’s reveals but hasn’t made her debut just yet.
Similar to her League of Legends kit, she will likely be an ultra-flashy assassin with dashes, burst options, and an overall trickster feel.
Her signature daggers will likely be used as pokes and/or mobility options, allowing her to Shunpo to them or use them as projectiles.
