Vampire Survivors: How to unlock Exdash, Toastie, and Smith IV

Of all the secret unlockable characters in Vampire Survivors, three in particular stand out: Exdash, Toastie, and Smith IV, a trio of ghosts with unusual abilities, and even more unusual unlock conditions. These three must be unlocked in sequence, and on top of that, they also require you to make quick-fire use of your keyboard; meaning that it’s not just a matter of knowing how to unlock Exdash, Toastie, and Smith IV, but also a test of your typing skills and reflexes.

This guide will help you handle all aspects of unlocking this terrifying trio, from preparation to execution. If you’re ready to get spooky in Vampire Survivors, read on to find out how.

Vampire Survivors: How to unlock Exdash

Screenshot by PC Invasion

As mentioned above, the three ghosts need to be unlocked in sequence, meaning you can’t unlock Toastie until you’ve unlocked Exdash, and you can’t unlock Smith IV until you’ve unlocked Toastie. We’ll start by covering Exdash, the easiest of the three to unlock by far. In order to do so, you must have collected the Forbidden Scrolls of Morbane, the relic that gives you access to the Secrets list and the code input screen.

The hint given for unlocking Exdash is “Cast the spell x-x1viiq.” To do this, head to the Secrets list, move over to the code input section, type in “x-x1viiq,” (no quotations) then press ‘Enter’ to lock it in. Make sure you type carefully, as your characters will be converted to runes on the screen, meaning it’s easy to make a mistake. Once you’ve done this successfully, Exdash will be unlocked.

Vampire Survivors: How to unlock Toastie

With Exdash unlocked, we can now move on to Toastie. This is the awkward middle child of the ghost trio, and the trickiest one to unlock by far. As the Forbidden Scrolls of Morbane tell you, you need to “Uppercut a non-red Reaper” to do so, which translates to pressing the down arrow key and enter simultaneously on your keyboard when you defeat a Stalker, Drowner, or Trickster enemy.

These enemies appear as special events in certain stages, and as rare encounters in others, but the most consistent way to encounter one is to head to the Boss Rash challenge stage. Check out our guide for more details on how to unlock this stage. At around the 11 minute mark in Boss Rash, all three of these enemies will appear, giving you a prime opportunity to defeat one and unlock Toastie.

An important thing to note is that the way in which you defeat them matters. If you defeat one with normal attack damage, which is possible with the right build, you won’t be able to unlock Toastie. If you use a special item, such as the Pentagram weapon or the Rosary item, then you will. There’s a Rosary in Boss Rash, which you can pull in with the Mad Groove Arcana, and keep around until you need it. If you do this right, Toastie will appear in the corner briefly after the enemy is defeated, which is your cue to press the down arrow key and enter together. If you manage this while he’s on-screen, you’ll hear Vampire Survivors’ ‘secret unlocked’ jingle, and Toastie will be unlocked.

Vampire Survivors: How to unlock Smith IV

With two ghosts down, you’ll now be able to unlock Smith IV. The hint you’re given for doing so in-game is “Sometimes you just need to ask for help,” which is marvelously unhelpful, but thankfully the unlock process isn’t too difficult once you know how it works. We’ve broken it down into simple steps below:

• On the main menu screen, type “spam” using your keyboard (no quotations). This will start a 30-second timer, within which you’ll need to complete all of the tasks listed here in order to unlock Smith IV.
• Next, head to the character select screen and type “spam” again.
• Next, head to the stage select screen and type “spam” again.
• Finally, head into a stage and type “humbug.”

If you manage to get everything done in time, you’ll hear the ‘secret unlocked’ jingle. Time is of the essence with this one, so make sure you’ve got your controller ready and your typing fingers primed before you attempt it. Once this is done, Smith IV will be unlocked.

Vampire Survivors: Using your new ghost friends

The ghost trio are unique in that you don’t need to purchase them: once they’re unlocked, you can play as them right away. All three start with one of the bird weapons, with Smith IV getting their evolved form, Vandalier, and incredibly weak base stats, balanced out with some kind of upside. Exdash gets high Luck, Toastie gains huge stat boosts at high levels, and Smith IV gets consistent, minor stat gains with every level.

This makes them difficult to play early on in a run, but unstoppable later, providing an interesting challenge for veteran players. Now that you know how to unlock Exdash, Toastie, and Smith IV, your options for unique Vampire Survivors challenge runs are considerably more open.