GRAVHOUNDS Character Unlock Guide: Every Hound and Luna

GRAVHOUNDS launched with five playable Gravhounds, but a fresh save does not start with all five. The roster opens through the same permanent progression track that unlocks weapons, turrets and mods, which means character unlocks are a pacing decision as much as a collection goal.

This guide covers how the unlock track works, what carries over from the demo (almost nothing), the fastest route to the full roster, and the one thing that will save you a wasted evening: the difference between a hound being locked and a hound being unranked.

Official source: GRAVHOUNDS on Steam ↗ — five playable Gravhounds at launch, up from four in the demo.

The short answer

Characters unlock through milestones and lab progression, not through a separate currency or a shop. Play runs, complete objectives, extract, and the roster fills in. The exact gate for each hound is shown on the roster screen in-game; the launch material did not publish a table of requirements, so this guide does not invent one.

What is confirmed:

• Five hounds at launch: Zane, Finn, Dozer, Selene and Luna.
• Four were in the demo: Zane, Finn, Dozer and Selene.
• Luna is new for Early Access.
• Demo progress does not carry into Early Access. The demo was a separate build; your save, unlocks and mods start fresh.

That last point is the one that catches returning players. If you played the October demo, you are starting over whether or not you extracted.

Why the roster is gated at all

A locked roster is a tutorial in disguise. Each hound teaches a different part of the game:

• Zane teaches crowd control and spacing.
• Finn teaches survival and timing.
• Dozer teaches pre-planning and area denial.
• Selene and Luna teach you to read a kit rather than a label.

If every hound were available at minute one, most players would pick one and never learn the others. The gate is short enough to be a nudge and long enough to make you try something new.

The fastest unlock path

The progression currency is Research Points from milestones. Milestones come from completing run objectives, not from farming kills, so the fastest unlock path is also the most efficient way to play:

1. Finish the tutorial. It unlocks multiplayer and the first weapon platform.
2. Extract from the starter system twice. Two clean runs generate more milestones than five messy ones.
3. Take every objective you can finish. Objectives are the milestone engine.
4. Extract early and often. A completed run is worth more than a deep run that dies.
5. Check the roster between runs. The unlock screen tells you what the next hound needs.

The pattern is consistent: short, completed runs beat long, failed ones for every progression track in the game.

What to unlock first

If the roster gives you a choice of order, take the hounds in this sequence:

1. Finn. Play Dead is the strongest survival tool in the game and the easiest way to learn hard planets.
2. Dozer. Bone mines add area damage without a mod slot, which makes every build more stable.
3. Zane. Bark is the best solo panic button.
4. Selene. A full kit with an undocumented ability; worth unlocking for the stat profile.
5. Luna. The launch addition. Unlock her when you want a new toy, not when you need power.

That order is about coverage, not power. Finn covers death, Dozer covers swarms, Zane covers space. Selene and Luna are exploration.

Demo to Early Access: what changed

The demo was a vertical slice. Early Access is the full progression loop, which is why the roster gating exists now and did not exist then.

Locked vs unranked

Two different things get confused in every new game with an opaque roster:

• Locked means you have not met the unlock requirement. The roster screen shows the requirement.
• Unranked means the hound is playable but the community does not have enough data on the ability. Selene and Luna are unranked because their abilities were not published before launch, not because they are locked.

If a guide tells you Selene's ability is X, check whether it cites a source. The launch material available at release did not document it.

Co-op and the roster

In multiplayer, each player brings their own unlocked roster. A friend who has Finn can play Finn even if you do not, which makes co-op the fastest way to see a hound in action before you unlock it.

Two practical notes:

• You cannot duplicate a hound's ability for free. Two Finns means two Play Deads, which is strong, but you lose mine or knockback coverage.
• Character choice does not affect your deck. Progression is account-wide, so switching hounds never costs you a build.

The multiplayer guide covers pack composition; the characters guide covers each kit.

Troubleshooting a stuck unlock

If the roster is not progressing:

• Check that you are extracting. A death gives partial milestone credit at best.
• Check the objective type. Some milestones require a specific objective, not just any run.
• Finish the tutorial. Multiplayer and the first weapon platform are gated behind it.
• Restart the client after a patch. Early Access patches occasionally leave the roster UI stale.
• Verify you are on the Early Access build. Demo saves and demo builds do not share progression.

If none of that works, report it on the Steam community hub ↗ rather than grinding blindly.

FAQ

How many characters can I unlock? Five at launch: Zane, Finn, Dozer, Selene and Luna.

Does demo progress carry over? No. Early Access starts fresh.

How do I unlock Luna? Through the same milestone progression as the rest of the roster. She is the launch addition.

Can I buy characters? No. There is no character shop or code.

What is Selene's ability? Not published before launch. Treat any specific claim as unverified.

Further reading

• IGN hands-on preview ↗

Summary

Play short completed runs, take objectives, extract, and let milestones fill the roster. Finn first, Dozer second, Zane third, then the unknowns. The progression guide covers the wider lab; the best character ranks the roster by mode.