The Forever Winter: Character Guide and Which One to Pick

Here's a breakdown of every character and which one fits your play-style best in The Forever Winter.

Picking a character in The Forever Winter isn't straightforward, since the game doesn't clearly show every stat or explain how each one plays out in the long run. Three things separate the characters from each other - the weapons they can use, the rigs available to them, and how they hold up in a fight.

Understanding Weapons and Rigs First

Weapon access varies heavily between characters. The Grenade Launcher stands out as the strongest option in the game, dealing well over 1,000 damage with AoE on top, capable of dropping medium armor and spawner-type enemies.

Pistols and SMGs sit at the weaker end, useful for fast kills on weaker enemies but lacking the punch of heavier weapons.

Rigs matter just as much as guns. Icons marked S, M, or L show how much and how heavy of an item can be carried in that slot, while a pistol-shaped icon means broken guns can be equipped there to sell or repair.

Some unique weapons in The Forever Winter can only be found and repaired rather than bought outright, making rig space for these an important consideration for anyone planning to use them later.

Container-style rig slots also allow water, tactical gear like cameras or ID scanners, and mobility tools like the pneumatic jump to be equipped.

A character with a single rig slot, like the Pack Mule setup, might only fit one item, but that item is often worth more than raw carrying space - bringing in meds, ammo, and consumables can matter just as much as what gets looted out.

Old Man

Old Man can use rifles, shotguns, heavy rifles, and pistols, along with a smaller version of the grenade launcher that only fires once before needing a reload. His health and speed are listed as average, but both perform better than the stat sheet suggests.

Two hidden stats - walk speed and sprint speed - improve as a character gets prestiged, though Old Man's ceiling here is higher than some other characters. He has strong containers and rigs once unlocked, making him a solid all-rounder for support-focused runs.

He's the character recommended for new players in The Forever Winter, since he balances survivability with decent offense without any major weaknesses.

Scav Girl

Scav Girl is built entirely around speed. She's restricted to SMGs and pistols, with a rig option specifically suited to stealth that makes her harder to spot while moving. Her passive lets her see loot from twice the normal distance, which pairs well with her low health pool.

Since she can't sustain combat well, avoiding fights and prioritizing loot runs and extraction is the better approach with her. She's the character best suited for players who want to play cautiously, grab good loot fast, and get out before things get dangerous in The Forever Winter.

Mask Man

Mask Man is a glass cannon in the truest sense. He can use grenade launchers, LMGs, and everything smaller, and he can equip heavy gun containers without needing any skills unlocked first, which is a notable advantage over other characters early on.

His stamina training is weak though, and his health sits lower than his stat sheet suggests. Ammo for LMGs and grenade launchers takes up a lot of space too, meaning inventory management becomes a real concern. He rewards aggressive, high-damage play-styles but punishes any mistake severely.

Shaman

Shaman uses SMGs and shotguns, both fairly loud weapons, but makes up for it with strong sprint speed, stamina, and carry capacity. He can use some of the heavier containers, though not the very largest ones available in the game.

He's often considered one of the weaker character picks, since his skill set leans toward carrying more in smaller containers, a niche that doesn't come up often enough to matter. His technical skills reveal more battlefield information, functioning more like a support or scouting role than a front-line fighter.

Gunhead

Gunhead stands apart as a robotic character capable of using every weapon type in the game from the very start, but he cannot heal and cannot be revived if downed. This makes every run with him high-risk despite his strong starting kit and solid health pool.

He functions best as a solo, high-aggression character - go in, deal as much damage and grab as much loot as possible, then extract quickly before anything catches up. Since there's no way to recover lost health mid-run, overextending with Gunhead in The Forever Winter tends to end runs early.

Bagman

Bagman is the tank of the roster, built around high health and heavy weapons like grenade launchers alongside strong carry capacity and stamina training. His biggest weakness is speed - he's extremely slow, making him a large, easy target if enemies close the distance.

That durability and firepower make up for the slow speed, but running away from a bad fight just isn't realistic once he's committed. Pairing him with a faster teammate in co-op works well - he holds ground while the other player handles positioning and retrieval.

Choosing a Character

Old Man is the easiest starting pick for new players, since he balances health, speed, and weapon access without any glaring weakness.Scav Girl suits players who want a stealthy, loot-focused play-style, while Mask Man rewards those chasing maximum damage output despite the fragility that comes with it.

Shaman leans support, Gunhead rewards aggressive solo play at high risk, and Bagman anchors a team with raw durability. Picking one of the first three as a main character and saving the latter three for later, once enough resources are built up to absorb the occasional lost run, tends to be the smoother path through The Forever Winter.