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Best Recruits in Deltarune: Who to Recruit and Why

By Freedom251 Team · · 3 min read

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There is no single strongest recruit in DELTARUNE. If you want a fuller Castle Town and access to its recruit-related activities, the best strategy is to recruit every eligible enemy you encounter: use ACTs to make enemies SPARE-able, or have Ralsei PACIFY a TIRED enemy when you have at least 16% TP. Recruiting starts in Chapter 2; Chapter 1 enemies are recruited automatically at the start of Chapter 2.

What makes a recruit “best”?

Recruitment is primarily a Castle Town and completion system, not a ranking of characters by combat power. The official DELTARUNE gameplay reminder sheet says that recruiting more enemies makes the town livelier and may unlock activities. An enemy type joins after you spare enough of that type; the game brings recruited enemies to Castle Town the next time the story allows you to visit.

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Choose your priority before deciding how to handle an enemy:

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  • Castle Town completion: Recruit eligible enemies rather than defeating them violently.
  • Town content: Recruit broadly, since some activities depend on recruitment.
  • Current-Chapter battle strength: Violent victories raise party HP, Attack, and Magic for the rest of that Chapter, up to a limit.

Those goals can conflict. A recruitable enemy defeated violently becomes LOST and cannot be recruited later. The official guidance does not identify a universally “best” recruit or establish a combat-strength tier list.

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DELTARUNE Standard - Nintendo Switch 2 [Digital Code]
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How to recruit enemies

Use ACT until SPARE is available

Choose actions that build an enemy’s MERCY. When the enemy can be spared, choose SPARE. Recruit a sufficient number of the same enemy type to complete that type’s recruitment.

PACIFY a TIRED enemy

Ralsei can PACIFY an enemy once it is TIRED, provided the party has at least 16% TP. This is another way to spare an eligible enemy and recruit it.

Check progress before leaving a Chapter

At Dark World SAVE points, the Chapter 2 recruit menu displays recruited counts and remaining counts for enemy types that are only partly recruited, according to the community-maintained Deltarune Wiki recruitment reference. The official reminder sheet says there is always a way near the end of a Chapter to check whether all enemies have been recruited. Use that Chapter’s in-game completion cue rather than assuming a count from another Chapter applies.

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Which recruitment outcomes matter?

Completing the recruit roster

If your goal is a complete Castle Town roster, recruit every eligible enemy type and finish each type’s required count. Chapter 1 is an exception: recruitment was not yet a mechanic, so those enemies are automatically recruited at the beginning of Chapter 2.

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Preparing for the Chapter 2 Thrash Machine

The Deltarune Wiki reports that each Chapter 2 recruit adds 5 HP to the Thrash Machine, starting from 200 HP and capping at 250 HP. This is a Chapter 2-specific preparation benefit, not a general measure of a recruit’s value or a rule for later Chapters.

Unlocking Castle Town activities and conditional content

Recruit counts and particular recruits can affect Castle Town activities and dialogue. The secondary recruitment reference also describes conditions in Chapters 3 and 4. These details are Chapter-specific; check the in-game counter and completion cue for the Chapter you are playing instead of treating a single roster threshold as a universal requirement.

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When should you choose violence instead?

Violence can make the party stronger for the rest of the current Chapter: the official guide says it increases HP, Attack, and Magic up to a limit. The trade-off is that violently defeating a recruitable enemy makes it LOST, closing off that enemy’s recruitment. If Castle Town completion matters to you, avoid FIGHT and damaging spells against standard recruitable enemies; if you prioritize immediate strength, understand that the lost recruitment cannot be recovered later.

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Bosses may follow different rules. The official guide cautions that some bosses cannot be defeated either violently or nonviolently, so do not assume every encounter supports a fully pacifist resolution.

Which Chapters does this advice cover?

The recruitment system begins in Chapter 2, and the advice above applies to eligible enemies in released Chapters with their own rules and checks. Chapter 1 enemies join automatically at the start of Chapter 2. The official DELTARUNE FAQ, updated June 24, 2026, says Chapter 6 is still in development and is not complete, so no current recruit list should be treated as a guide to future Chapters.

Quick Recap

Bestseller No. 1
DELTARUNE Standard - Nintendo Switch 2 [Digital Code]
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Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

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