October 2026 demo adds The Legend of Catachan, rescued to the northeast, and Lyssa Revenya with Rope and Grapnel. Unlock steps and IGN verdict.
Warhammer Survivors Legend of Catachan and Lyssa: Demo Unlock Guide
The refreshed demo, as of the demo (October 2026), adds two playable characters: The Legend of Catachan, rescued to the northeast, and Lyssa Revenya, the Hammerhal rogue whose Rope and Grapnel drags packs together before her mentor Rhea answers with a banshee mist blast. IGN's hands-on verdict is split: the rescue treks feel slow and repetitive, but the pair round out the demo roster nicely ahead of the full game at launch on November 10.
- Catachan: march about two minutes northeast of spawn to the question-mark event, cut through the Tyranid Warrior ring, and pull him out.
- Lyssa: official spelling is Revenya; IGN prints it as Ravenya, so expect both spellings in search results and community posts.
- Scope warning: the demo runs on PC via Steam and Xbox, holds roughly two hours of goals per IGN's playthrough, and everything below can shift before launch.
Who the two new fighters are
Both names arrived with the October 6, 2026 demo refresh, which pairs the release-date announcement with community-feedback fixes (media report). They sit on opposite sides of the game's split identity: Catachan fights on the Warhammer 40,000 side, Lyssa on the Age of Sigmar side, and each campaign keeps its own unlocks, stages, and progression, so progress with one does not carry to the other (demo hands-on).
| Character | Universe | Role in the demo (October 2026) | Signature gear | Source level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Legend of Catachan | Warhammer 40,000 | Rescuable survivor at a northeast map event | Not yet confirmed | Demo hands-on, media report |
| Lyssa Revenya | Age of Sigmar | New roster addition, savior of Hammerhal Cinderfall | Rope and Grapnel, evolves through Rhea banshee mist | Officially confirmed |
| Trooper Bartosz Kozlowski | Warhammer 40,000 | Earlier rescue precedent, not new | Lasgun, recruits as ally when picked | Demo hands-on |
Official source: Warhammer Survivors launches November 10, new characters revealed
The table is thin on Catachan's weapon because neither the official posts nor the hands-on coverage name one. The full game advertises an officially announced 40+ character roster and 75+ weapons, but those are counts only, and this page does not guess which slots these two fill. If you want the wider confirmed cast, the full roster page tracks every officially named fighter, and the Morvenn Vahl and Lyssa dive covers her official reveal in more detail.
How to unlock The Legend of Catachan
Catachan follows the rescue-event formula the demo already taught with Trooper Kozlowski: a question-mark marker appears on the map, you walk to it, and the survivor joins you once the surrounding threat is cleared. IGN's player found him to the northeast, roughly a two-minute walk from the start, circled by Tyranid Warriors whose Synapse Emitter aura strengthens nearby enemies (demo hands-on). Expect the ring to hit harder than its headcount suggests.
A practical sequence that fits what the hands-on coverage describes:
- Start the run with Malum Caedo, the demo's opening character, and level your Chainsword a few times before committing to the march. The Malum Caedo guide covers his opener and the Kozlowski recruit that previews this same rescue loop.
- Angle northeast early, while enemy density is still thin. Early move speed is slow, and the trek gets tedious when repeated, so going early beats going strong.
- When the marker's Warrior ring appears, chew through the edge of the pack instead of diving the center. The Synapse aura buffs everything nearby, so thinning the ring first keeps the bonus from stacking against you.
- Touch the marker once the ring breaks and Catachan is exposed. Rescue events in this demo convert the survivor on contact after the guards fall, matching the Kozlowski pattern.
One honest gap: the hands-on account confirms the location, the Warrior ring, and the Synapse aura, but no separate recruit prompt for Catachan beyond the rescue itself. Treat the steps above as the confirmed route plus the established rescue pattern, not as a datamined trigger list. If a run goes wrong on the way back, the beginner tips page has kiting and chest priorities that apply to any long rescue walk.
Take movement and early clear over single-target damage when you plan a Catachan run, because the two-minute northeast march through rising density is the real check, and the Warrior ring only starts once you arrive.
How to unlock Lyssa Revenya
Lyssa arrives from the official side rather than the hands-on side: PlayStation's official reveal names Lyssa Revenya as a new character, a rogue billed as a savior of Hammerhal Cinderfall, armed with the Rope and Grapnel, which snags enemies and drags them together, and evolving through her spirit mentor Rhea into a banshee mist detonation (officially confirmed). The IGN release-date article lists the same addition but spells her Lyssa Ravenya, so both spellings now circulate (media report).
What that means for unlocking her in the demo specifically: the October refresh adds her to the playable pool, but neither the official reveal nor the hands-on coverage publishes a step-by-step in-demo unlock the way Catachan's rescue is mapped. Do not trust any post that lists exact Lyssa trigger steps without citing a source, because as of the demo (October 2026) those steps are simply unconfirmed. The safe path is to install the current demo build through the demo download guide and check the roster screen directly, since demo contents already changed once, from the May 21, 2026 first build to this October refresh.
Official source: Warhammer Survivors release date revealed alongside a new demo you can play right now
Her kit, at least, is concrete enough to plan around. A gather-then-detonate loop rewards anything that groups enemies before the mist goes off, and the banshee evolution gives her scaling that pure line-damage starters lack. How that evolution triggers in the demo build is not stated in the confirmed material, so hold the weapon evolution rules lightly: only three pairings are confirmed anywhere so far, and hers is not among them.
How they actually play: IGN hands-on impressions
IGN played the demo build for this preview and came away warm but specific about the flaws (demo hands-on). The relevant verdicts for these two characters:
- Rescue gameplay is the weakest loop. Slow opening, sluggish early movement, and rescue treks that turn boring when repeated, with Catachan's northeast walk as the prime example. Every run that wants him pays the march first.
- New-character hunts carry the demo. The reviewer chased unlocks and paint-pot combinations as the main reason to keep playing, which frames both additions as content worth the trek rather than filler.
- Roughly two hours of goals. After about two hours the reviewer had finished most demo objectives and felt repetition settle in, so treat the pair as the late-demo payoff, not the start of a long endgame.
- Final line: must-play for Warhammer fans. The preview closes by calling the game a must-play for franchise fans and a standalone title built in partnership with poncle, not a Vampire Survivors extension (media report).
None of that is a tier-list placement. No published stats exist for either newcomer, so any letter grade for Catachan or Lyssa right now would be invented. The confirmed weapons list is the safe reference until real numbers appear. The safe read: Catachan costs time, Lyssa promises control, and both are demo-limited evaluations that the November 10 launch build can overturn.
For context on where the demo fits, the demo download guide covers platforms and install steps, and the Steam page confirms the single-player, achievement-bearing shape of the full release. Demo progress systems already include gold-based meta growth plus unlockable characters, weapons, abilities, and relics, with green-highlighted elites dropping random chests that feed up to five weapons or passives per run (officially confirmed, demo hands-on).
Official source: Warhammer Survivors on Steam
A note on the art below: released key art of an Ork warboss facing an Imperial officer, not the Catachan rescue event. No official capture of the northeast ring appears in the confirmed material as of the demo (October 2026).
FAQ
How do I unlock The Legend of Catachan in the demo?
Head northeast from spawn for about two minutes until the question-mark event appears, break the surrounding Tyranid Warrior ring (demo hands-on), and reach the survivor. The Synapse Emitter aura makes the ring tougher than it looks, so clear the edges before pushing the center. Exact recruit-prompt wording beyond the rescue is unconfirmed.
Is it Lyssa Ravenya or Lyssa Revenya?
Revenya. The official reveal spells her Lyssa Revenya, and this page uses that spelling throughout. IGN's release-date article prints Ravenya, which explains why both versions appear in search results and forums. They are the same rogue from Hammerhal Cinderfall with the Rope and Grapnel.
Which platforms have the updated demo with both characters?
PC via Steam and Xbox carry the demo, and the October 6, 2026 refresh is the build that adds the pair (officially confirmed, media report). Grab the current build rather than an older install: the first demo dates to May 21, 2026 and predates both additions.
Will Catachan and Lyssa play the same at launch on November 10?
Unknown. Everything here is scoped to the demo as of October 2026, and the full game launches November 10 with its officially announced 40+ character roster. Balance, unlock steps, and evolution details can all change, so re-check the roster and evolution pages after launch before treating demo habits as permanent.
Related Guides
- Warhammer Survivors demo download and contents guide - install the October 2026 build first, since the older May demo lacks both characters.
- Warhammer Survivors confirmed character roster - every officially named fighter in one place, with unannounced slots marked pending.
- Morvenn Vahl and Lyssa Revenya explained - the official-reveal side of Lyssa, including the Rope and Grapnel into Rhea banshee line.
More Warhammer Survivors Guides
Demo weapon rankings for Warhammer Survivors: S/A/B tiers from IGN, PC Gamer and community play, plus who to start with. Demo only.
Tyranid Synapse auras, Ork WAAAGH surges, and the Skaven Bell of Doom explained, with the kill-first order that saves runs.
Extremis Bosses like the Norn Emissary flip bullet heaven into bullet hell. Confirmed roster, mechanics, and demo-era build plan.
Play Malum Caedo with the Chainsword, rescue Kozlowski, take the Lasgun to recruit him, then level the squad to snowball demo runs.
Gold in Warhammer Survivors persists across runs and unlocks characters, weapons, abilities, and relics that open alternate modes. Spending order inside.
Morvenn Vahl brings the Fidelis bolter, evolving into Purgator Mirabilis, and Lyssa Revenya drags Skaven into the Ghost of Rhea fog. Bios and evolutions.
No co-op announced. Warhammer Survivors is listed as single-player on Steam, and crossplay plus cross-save remain unconfirmed as of October 2026.
Neave Blacktalon starts with Tempest Axes. Pair them with the Sabaton move-speed passive to evolve Whirlwind Axes in the demo, plus Skaven stage tips.