Largest expansion to date. 80 characters, 107 weapons, plus the 2025 update.
Ode to Castlevania is the largest Vampire Survivors expansion ever shipped. The wiki specifies the original release as 80 new characters and 107 new weapons on 31 October 2024, then the 28 October 2025 update layered another 16 secret characters, 3 weapons, 1 evolution, and 15 weapon unions on top. Total Castlevania content now stretches across roughly 96 characters, 110+ weapons, and 15 unions.
The DLC is also the only Vampire Survivors crossover with Konami so far. The wiki frames it as a celebration of Castlevania across multiple eras, with the Belmont line (Leon, Julius, Richter, plus Simon via Vampire Killer chain), Alucard, Maxim Kischine, John Morris, and Stanley all appearing as playable characters. Vampire Killer the weapon itself ports in as a base-game evolution reward and as a Belmont-only selector.
Build context. According to the wiki, Ode to Castlevania introduces weapon unions as a deeper mechanic than evolutions. A union combines two max-level weapons (instead of weapon + passive) into a single more powerful weapon, and the DLC ships 15 named unions including Darkness Illusion (Valkyrie Turner + Svarog Statue), Million Cut, Dies Irae, and Carnage Heart. The new stage layers in destructible furniture, hidden rooms, and breakable walls borrowed from the Castlevania level design playbook.
This guide covers the DLC unlock and stage access, the headline characters including the Belmont line and Alucard, the 107-weapon roster with key evolutions and unions, the 2025 update content, the castle stage layout, and how to slot Castlevania weapons into base-game builds.
Alucard, the Castlevania flagship character with Tyrfing as the starter and an iconic evolution path.
Vampire Killer, the Belmont-only whip selector that ports from the OG Castlevania franchise.Ode to Castlevania is a paid expansion. The wiki lists $3.99 USD across PC, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android. Buy the DLC on the relevant storefront, install, and the Castlevania roster enters the character pool. The castle stage opens after a separate in-run unlock once Inlaid Library is available.
| Step | Requirement |
|---|---|
| 1. Buy the DLC | $3.99 USD on Steam, Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, iOS, Android |
| 2. Unlock Inlaid Library | Reach character level 20 in Mad Forest |
| 3. Defeat Malphas in normal mode | 25-minute boss to unlock hyper mode on the castle stage |
| 4. Explore the castle for coffins | Hidden rooms unlock Belmont characters, Alucard, and 30+ other coffins across the map |
Per the wiki, the castle map itself appears in Stage Selection once Inlaid Library is unlocked and the DLC is owned. Most coffins require specific exploration routes (the wiki notes "find Dracula in his throne room with Richter Belmont gives 20 new characters" as the first major unlock chain). Exploring the new areas in the castle stage unlocks the other 40 base-roster characters.
The base 80-character roster covers every major Castlevania subseries. Belmont line members appear with their canonical whips. Alucard ports in with Tyrfing and his Castlevania: Symphony of the Night moveset. The 2025 update pushed the roster past 96 named characters once secret unlocks are counted.
| Character | Era | Starting weapon |
|---|---|---|
 Leon Belmont | Castlevania: Lament of Innocence | Alchemy Whip (Svarog Statue tied to his evolution chain) |
 Julius Belmont | Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow | Vampire Killer whip selector |
 Richter Belmont | Castlevania: Rondo of Blood | Vampire Killer with Item Crash evolution path |
| Alucard | Castlevania: Symphony of the Night |  Tyrfing starter with crit-stack scaling |
 Vincent Dorin | Castlevania: Rondo of Blood |  Iron Shield (retaliate kit) |
 Maxim Kischine | Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance | Discus (sawblade with crit stacking) |
 John Morris | Castlevania: Bloodlines | Iron Ball (Armor-scaled damage) |
 Sara Trantoul | Castlevania: Bloodlines | Star Flail (Recovery-scaled damage) |
 Stanley | Castlevania: The Adventure |  Operation Guns starter with Castlevania tie-ins |
According to the wiki, the unlock chain for the full 80-character roster mixes coffin discoveries inside the castle, level-thresholds with Belmont characters, and evolution-chest pickups on Castlevania-specific weapons. The wiki notes that defeating Dracula in his throne room with Richter Belmont specifically unlocks 20 characters in a single run, which is the densest unlock event in the game.
The base 107 weapons cover every Castlevania subseries weapon archetype: whips, throwing knives, holy water, axes, crucifixes, bibles. Per the wiki, the weapons are roughly split between selector-style picks (Vampire Killer chooses from 8 magic whips for Belmont-only characters) and traditional base-plus-evolution chains.
| Weapon | Type | Evolution or chain |
|---|---|---|
| Vampire Killer | Belmont-only whip selector | Picks from 8 magic whips for Belmont line |
| Heaven Sword | Holy sword | Pairs with Grand Cross for Arch Angle union |
 Holy Wand | Magic wand | Pairs with Summon Spirit for Spirit of Light union |
| Hydro Storm | Item Crash spell | Pairs with La Borra for Hydro Pump Climax union |
| Pocket Knife | Sub-weapon throwing knife | Evolves into Claimh Solais (2025 update) |
 Claimh Solais | Holy sword evolution | Pocket Knife evolution (added October 2025) |
 Anura | Frog familiar | Pairs with Soul Eater for Dark Frogamorphosis |
 Kaiser Knuckle | Brass-knuckle melee | Pairs with Tri-Bracelet for Lapiste Tepisto union |
Per the wiki, the Belmont selector mechanic mirrors the base-game Morning Star pattern: only Belmont-line characters can equip Vampire Killer, and the selector chooses from 8 specific magic whips (Alchemy Whip, Dragon Water Whip, Crissaegrim, and so on). Non-Belmont characters cannot pick or roll Vampire Killer at all.
The Castlevania weapons benefit from base-game arcanas just like any other weapon set. In actual play, Slash (XVI) doubles crit multiplier on Tyrfing builds. Sarabande of Healing (VI) pairs with Belmont-line whip stacks for the healing-while-cycling pattern. Build for arcanas first, then layer Castlevania-specific union weapons on top.
The wiki specifies the weapon union mechanic as a deeper evolution path than the standard weapon-plus-passive recipe. A union combines two max-level weapons into a single more powerful weapon, and the 28 October 2025 update added 15 named unions to the Castlevania roster. Many of them tie base-game weapons to Castlevania weapons for cross-DLC build payoffs.
| Union | Weapon A | Weapon B |
|---|---|---|
 Dark Frogamorphosis | Soul Eater | Anura |
| Million Cut | Thousand Edge | Valmanway |
| Ninth Circle | Unholy Vespers | Icebrand |
| Dies Irae | Mannajja | Arrow of Goth |
 Darkness Illusion | Valkyrie Turner | Svarog Statue |
| Carnage Heart | NO FUTURE | Troll Bomb |
| Hydro Pump Climax | La Borra | Hydro Storm |
| Arch Angle | Heaven Sword | Grand Cross |
| Spirit of Light | Holy Wand | Summon Spirit |
| Venus Crescent | Gorgeous Moon | Summon Spirit Tornado |
According to the wiki, the union mechanic is gated by both weapons reaching max level AND a specific in-run trigger. Unlike evolution chests that fire on any chest pickup, union triggers require both weapons to coexist in the same kit at level 8, which constrains the build to 6 + 6 - 2 = 4 free slots after the union pair locks in.
On 28 October 2025, almost exactly one year after launch, the DLC received a major content drop. Per the wiki, the update added 16 new secret characters, 3 new weapons, 1 new evolution, 15 new weapon unions, and 12 new music tracks. The added characters include Hugh Baldwin, Morris Baldwin, Annette, Tera, Genya Arikado, Drolta Tzuentes, Witch Actrise, Persephone, and Astarte.
| Update addition | Count | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Secret characters | 16 | Hugh Baldwin, Morris Baldwin, Annette, Tera, Genya Arikado, Drolta Tzuentes |
| New base weapons | 3 | Anura, Kaiser Knuckle, Pocket Knife |
| New evolution | 1 | Claimh Solais (Pocket Knife evolution) |
| New weapon unions | 15 | Darkness Illusion, Carnage Heart, Spirit of Light, Million Cut |
| New music tracks | 12 | Out Of Time, Treasury Room, Dance of Gold, Wandering Ghosts |
According to the wiki, the update is a free patch for existing DLC owners. Buyers who picked up Ode to Castlevania at launch automatically get the 2025 additions without a separate purchase. The wiki also notes 3 unlisted music tracks (Mysterious Curse, Pressure, Stage Clear jingle) beyond the announced 91, which puts the actual count at 94 tracks total.
The Ode to Castlevania stage is the DLC's flagship map. Per the wiki, it sits behind the standard Inlaid Library prerequisite plus DLC ownership. The map carries +40% Move Speed, +40% Enemy Move Speed, and +40% Gold modifiers in its base mode, with the Malphas boss at 25:00 unlocking hyper mode and the standard +90% Gold + 10% Luck hyper modifiers on top.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Unlock | Unlock Inlaid Library + own Ode to Castlevania DLC |
| Time limit | 30:00 |
| Base modifiers | +40% Move Speed, +40% Enemy Move Speed, +40% Gold |
| Hyper boss | Malphas (25:00) in normal mode |
| Hyper modifiers | +90% Gold, +10% Luck |
| Stage items | Arma Dio (x2),  Shuriken, Curved Knife, Discus, Tirajisu,  Parm Aegis |
| Relics | Castlevania Map, Stallion Gate, Scorpion Gate, Capra Gate, King's Gate |
| Coffins | Leon Belmont, Julius Belmont, plus 30+ more |
The wiki describes the stage as a multi-room castle with breakable walls, destructible furniture, and Gate relics that unlock sub-areas. The Stallion Gate, Scorpion Gate, Capra Gate, and King's Gate each open a different wing of the castle that hides coffins, hidden characters, and relic drops. Most of the 80-character base unlock chain runs through these gate-locked rooms.
Pair the Castlevania DLC roster with related base-game weapons, Belmont starter chains, and the evolution and tier list context for the full picture.
Game data and screenshots adapted from vampire.survivors.wiki, used under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0. Original content remains the property of the wiki contributors and Poncle.