Peppino is a secret playable character in Vampire Survivors that resembles a tree with fruit. As one would expect of a tree, Peppino starts every Stage with -100% MoveSpeed, making it one of the slowest characters in the game. However, this tree makes up for this disadvantage by also beginning with +20 Max Health, +2 Armor, -60% Area, and +100% Magnet in Vampire Survivors. Furthermore, it receives an additional +10% Area after certain level intervals. This passive buff helps Peppino take advantage of its starting weapon, the Soul Eater.
As the evolution of Garlic and Pummarola, the Soul Eater generates a black aura with a pulsing visual effect around Peppino, dealing damage to any enemy within the effect's radius. Enemies struck by Soul Eater's aura will be inflicted with more knockback and be more vulnerable to freeze. Moreover, this weapon has a chance to spawn hearts that heal 1 point of health upon killing an enemy, making it an excellent rudimentary means of sustain for Peppino in combat. To further enhance Peppino's healing from Soul Eater, players are recommended to select Sarabande of Healing (VI) as their Arcana for double the hearts and bonus damage in Vampire Survivors.
To unlock Peppino in Vampire Survivors, players need access to Il Molise, the first bonus stage that becomes available after getting Hyper Mode for any normal Stage. Next, enter Il Molise with the character O'Sole Meeo. O'Sole is unlocked by killing a total of 3,000 Dragon Shrimps, enemy mobs found within Gallo Tower. The reason players should use O'Sole is for its starting weapon, the Celestial Dusting. Of course, another character could also obtain Celestial Dusting in-Stage, but O'Sole's default feature to have the weapon upon starting is much more convenient.
Unlocking Peppino In Vampire Survivors
Next, enter Il Molise and run through the flower beds with O'Sole. Instead of damaging the plants, O'Sole's Celestial Dusting will heal them. Fortunately, O'Sole does not take damage from plants, allowing the player to run about the fields freely as they heal the flowers. After healing the plants for a total of 100,000 HP, a jingle sound will trigger in Vampire Survivors, indicating that Peppino has been unlocked and has become purchasable in the Character Selection menu.
However, one important thing to note is that Peppino is currently not part of the official game but will be released in an update in the near future. Therefore, those who want access to Peppino must right-click Vampire Survivors in their Steam client and choose Properties. Go to Betas and select the "public beta" for the game. Once it has been updated, players should now be able to unlock Peppino.
Vampire Survivors is available on PC via Steam.