Killer Roster Guide

Abyssal Escape Roster at a Glance

Five killers arrive at launch, and no two of them run a chase the same way. Two of them — No More Innocence and 2017 X — transform partway through a round and hand you an entirely different move set. The other three lean on one kit that scales through phase buffs. Because survivors are cosmetic vessels rather than named characters, the Abyssal Escape roster is where the personality of the game actually lives.

Every killer also gets its own selection intro, and the launch map pool is intentionally small: two maps, one of them a reworked Chemical Plant Zone renamed Don't Drown. Cosmetics are lopsided right now — X owns three skins (an alternate variant, a 2011 model, and a returning Disaster X), Fleetway has a slight recolor, and the rest have nothing yet. That imbalance is worth knowing before you commit to a main.

How the Killer Phase System Works

Phases advance on the match clock rather than on downs or objectives, so the phase timeline is a shared schedule both sides can plan around. The early game always looks the same, and the late game rarely does.

Phase one is the great equalizer: every killer begins with a 20-damage M1. Beast-form 2017 X is the exception later on, swinging a 35-damage ranged ground slam. Abilities and M1s both draw from stamina, and stamina never slows your sprint — it only gates your kit. It regenerates passively, considerably faster while walking than while running, and survivors follow the same rule.

Timer length matters because phase three lands near the end. With one survivor the round is short — roughly three to four minutes — and each additional survivor adds 75 seconds. Dispersing mist in groups of up to four cuts that clock back down, but the minigame roots you in place while you work, so treat it as a coordinated job rather than a solo errand.

Killer-by-Killer Breakdown

X — The Free Starter

X is the default killer and the cleanest entry point: three abilities, no transformation, and a kit that teaches you when to commit. Hide and Seek turns you invisible, leaves a decoy behind, and reveals every survivor while it is active — running into someone during it deals 30 damage.

Ring Trap is the sleeper pick: half a health bar for anyone who walks into it, plus a teleport network that lets X cross the map by clicking rings on his own screen. Peekaboo is the weakest link — survivors cannot reliably tell the real X from the decoys, and touching the real one stuns X and kills his momentum, so the ability can punish the person using it.

Furnace — Heat, Flight, and Fire

Furnace runs on a resource called heat, built by landing hits or by channeling Charge Heat, which locks him in place and can be interrupted by a stun. Every heat spender converts that stored value into pressure.

Scorched Earth is his damage spike and the reason survivors should never stack on one another. When phase three begins, Furnace automatically regenerates heat up to 50% of the bar, which effectively removes his downtime — he can rebuild resources while moving instead of standing still. He is also one of the cheaper killers to unlock, which makes him a strong early purchase on the Abyssal Escape roster.

No More Innocence — TV Travel and Mind Games

No More Innocence desaturates the entire map while in play, which is your first hint that you are dealing with a deception kit. Screen Transportation sends him between TVs and reveals all players; activating it again while not aiming at a screen crawls him out with a short animation and a small speed boost. Deceit spawns a clone of a random survivor and lets him teleport into its place. Hallucination darkens nearby survivors' vision while fake copies of him sprint around them.

The transformation swaps a map-control kit for a brawling one. Tormenting Dash grabs and slams for 30 damage and forces shift lock, Spring Trickery drops a trap that slows anyone who steps on it and can be placed mid-chase, and Yokai Sight marks nearby survivors so he can teleport straight to a marked target. Learn both halves before you queue.

Fleetway Super Sonic — Simple and Brutal

Fleetway has one of the smallest toolkits and one of the highest threat levels. Flight costs stamina and reveals everyone on the map; slamming into the ground near a survivor knocks them back and deals damage. His laser demands real aim but connects at long range. His grab applies slow damage over time, and its real value is combo potential — fly with a grabbed survivor, drag them away from help, and slam them into a wall.

Phase three hands him a major speed increase and nothing else. That simplicity is the point: Fleetway punishes separated teams brutally and struggles against coordinated ones. If you are choosing a main from the Abyssal Escape roster purely on aggression, he is the pick.

2017 X — Two Killers in One Match

2017 X is the most flexible entry on the list because he changes jobs halfway through. His base form builds a red bar by running, then spends it on Top Speed — a boost that reveals every survivor and still allows an M1 mid-dash. Spin Dash deals less than a standard M1 but rewards accuracy, and Obsession marks a target, granting reduced stun time, extra movement speed, and faster cooldowns while you stay near them. His weakness is verticality.

Beast form plays like a different character. Roar reveals and slows nearby survivors, Savage Jump is a charged pounce that closes distance frighteningly fast, and Vicious Grab lets him haul a survivor around and slam them repeatedly. If you enjoy adapting mid-round rather than repeating one script, he is the most rewarding killer in the Abyssal Escape roster.

Survivor Vessels and Abilities

You do not pick a named survivor — you build one. Each vessel is fully customizable in appearance, and you slot two abilities into it. That freedom is why the killer side gets all the character identity, and why loadout choices matter more than cosmetics.

Only Slide and the Awareness passive come free, so new players start without a single stun. Phantom Reflex is the skill pick — it blocks damage and gives you a speed boost if the killer swings into it, drops to a short cooldown on a successful parry, and stuns the killer outright if you land three in a row. Stacking two stuns halves both durations, so variety beats duplication. Healing is strong but roots you, and burning stamina on it leaves you unable to escape.

Who Should You Main?

• Brand new to the genre: X. Three abilities, no phase homework, and a kit that forgives sloppy timing.
• Resource and tempo players: Furnace. Heat management rewards planning, and his phase three regen removes dead time.
• Mind-game specialists: No More Innocence. Two complete move sets means opponents must relearn you at phase three.
• Pure aggression: Fleetway Super Sonic. Fast, direct, and unforgiving of teams that split up.
• Players who hate repetition: 2017 X. You effectively play two killers per match.
• Budget-conscious players: Furnace is among the cheaper unlocks and performs well without skins.

One teaser worth flagging: a secret collaboration killer has been hinted at, alongside social posts suggesting the game is "getting bigger." Nothing is confirmed yet, so plan your ring spending around what is actually playable today.

FAQ

How many killers are in the Abyssal Escape roster right now? Five: X, Furnace, No More Innocence, Fleetway Super Sonic, and 2017 X. Two of them transform in phase three and gain entirely new abilities, so the practical move set count is higher than the character count suggests.

Which killer is easiest for a new player? X. His kit is straightforward, he is the free starter, and he has no transformation to learn. Hide and Seek alone will carry early matches because it reveals every survivor on the map.

Does every killer get stronger in phase three? No. Furnace, Fleetway, No More Innocence, and 2017 X all gain something concrete. X currently has no known phase buffs, which makes him the one killer largely unaffected by the phase system.

What should I run on a survivor vessel first? Start with Slide plus the Awareness passive, since both are free. Save rings for a stun such as Weak Punch or Fireball, and only add a second stun if you accept the halved duration penalty on both.

Final Thoughts

The Abyssal Escape roster is small but deliberately varied: one beginner-friendly stealth killer, one resource manager, one deceiver, one bruiser, and one hybrid that changes shape mid-round. Pick based on how you like to apply pressure rather than on tier talk, spend your early rings on a stun, and learn the phase three timing — that is the moment most rounds are actually decided.