Orcs Must Die! 2: Complete Guide

A guide to Robot Entertainment's 2012 action tower defense sequel: how traps, skulls and the spellbook work, how to pick a loadout, co-op teamwork, Endless and Nightmare, and a clear path through the achievements.

Researched September 2026 — current as of the final PC build with all four DLC (Fire and Water, Family Ties, Are We There Yeti?, and the soundtrack). The series continues with Orcs Must Die! 3 (2021) and Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap. Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Quick Start

• Protect the rift. Every monster that reaches it costs rift points; lose them all and you fail. The number of rift points left (and your time) decides how many skulls you earn.
• Traps kill, you funnel. Build chokepoints with barricades, then stack traps along the path. Your character cleans up leakers.
• Skulls are permanent upgrades. You get up to five base skulls per level (earned once, based on rift points left and completion time), plus bonus skulls from your score and from skulls dropped by fallen monsters that you can earn on every replay. Spend them in the spellbook's upgrade tome.
• You can respec. Spent skulls aren't locked in forever — experimenting is cheap.
• Loadout size depends on mode. Solo you bring up to 10 items (traps, weapons, trinkets, guardians); in co-op each player brings 5, so coordinate.
• Kill streaks and combos earn bonus coin. Chaining kills quickly pays out more, so traps that group enemies together pay for themselves.
• Pick up dropped skulls and mana. Enemies drop resources — collect them between waves.
• Start early waves before the timer runs out. Calling the next wave early earns a bonus and saves time for the skull clock.

Heroes

Hero | Style | Notes

War Mage | Aggressive, direct damage | The headstrong hero who charges into danger

Sorceress | Control and support | Keeps the mob at bay with mind-control (charm orcs to fight for you) and magic

Both are playable in the campaign and in co-op. Charming 100 orcs as the Sorceress is an achievement ("Queen of the Orcs"), and healing an ally in co-op is another ("Thanks Bro").

Core Systems

Resources

Resource | What it's for | Tips

Coins | Placing traps and guardians during a level | Spend early — traps placed in wave 1 kill for the entire level

Mana | Casting weapon abilities and spells | Regenerates and drops from enemies; don't spam at full health

Rift points | Your health bar for the level | Losing rift points costs skulls at the end

Skulls | Permanent upgrades in the spellbook/tome | Earned by completing levels; more for faster, cleaner wins

The Spellbook and upgrades

• The spellbook holds everything you've unlocked: traps, weapons, trinkets and guardians.
• Spending skulls in the tome upgrades an item. Each trap can be boosted up to three levels, and upgrades add things like damage, lower cost, or extra effects.
• There are more than 50 traps, weapons and guardians and over 225 persistent upgrades, so focus your skulls on the handful you use every level.

Trap types

Placement | Examples | Role

Floor | Spike Trap, Tar Trap, Push Trap, Brimstone | Damage, slowing, knocking enemies off ledges or into hazards

Wall | Arrow Wall, Spike Wall (Yeti DLC), Dart Spitter (Fire and Water DLC) | Damage along corridors

Blocking | Barricade | Reroutes monster paths — the backbone of every build

DLC specials | Web Spinner, Floor Portal (Fire and Water DLC) | Crowd control and repositioning

Guardians | Archer, Paladin, Dwarf | Allies that act on their own; hold chokepoints

Trinkets | Berserker trinket, Freedom trinket, Guardian Trinket (Yeti DLC), Jar of Ghosts (Family Ties DLC) | Utility; some are required for achievements

How to build a killing zone:

• Find where the lanes merge, ideally a long corridor.
• Use Barricades to lengthen the path and force monsters through your traps.
• Put a slowing trap (Tar Trap) at the start so enemies spend more time in the zone.
• Stack damage traps (floor and wall) along the slowed stretch.
• Add knockback (Push Trap) near pits or lava if the map has them — instant kills.
• Place a guardian at the exit to catch leakers.

Enemies

The game has over 20 enemy types, including new ones like Earth Elementals, Trolls and Bile Bats, plus everything from the first game. DLC adds more:

Enemy | Source | Threat

Bile Bats | Base game | Fliers that ignore ground traps; use weapons or wall traps

Trolls | Base game | Big health pools; stack slowing and heavy damage

Earth Elementals | Base game | Tanky; keep traps upgraded

Yeti | Are We There Yeti? | Climbs over barricades and throws icy shards

Goblin Sapper | Are We There Yeti? | Disables placed traps — kill it before it reaches them

Ball and Chain | Family Ties | Billed as the most frightening enemy yet

Hobgoblin Healer | Family Ties | Heals nearby monsters; prioritize it

Two elemental enemies | Fire and Water | New tricks against trap mazes

Rule of thumb: fliers and trap-disablers are your top targets; everything else your traps should handle.

Game Modes

Mode | What it is | Key achievements

Campaign | Story levels split into Act 1 and Act 2, solo or co-op | "Halfway There" (Act 1), "Restoring Order" (Act 2)

War Mage difficulty | The standard campaign difficulty | "Perfectionist": 5 base skulls on every campaign level

Nightmare | Much harder difficulty | "Tough Going" and "I'm So Awesome" (Acts 1 and 2 on Nightmare)

Endless | Survive escalating waves | Wave 25 ("They Just Keep Coming"), wave 40 co-op ("BFFs"), wave 50 ("Impossible!")

Classic | Co-op versions of 10 levels from the first game, unlocked if you own Orcs Must Die! on Steam | "Stay Classy": finish all classic levels

Weekly Challenges | Restricted loadouts | Good for skull income and practice

DLC Summary

DLC | Adds

Fire and Water Booster Pack | 3 levels + 3 Endless conversions; Web Spinner, Floor Portal, Dart Spitter traps; 2 elemental enemies; a "Trapless" skull award

Family Ties Booster Pack (Sept 26, 2012) | 3 levels + 3 Endless variants; Stone Staff and Teleportation Ring weapons; Jar of Ghosts trinket; Ball and Chain and Hobgoblin Healer enemies; "Zero Mana Use" skull award

Are We There Yeti? | Ice-themed 3 levels + 3 Endless conversions; Dwarven Missile Launcher weapon; Spike Wall trap; Guardian Trinket; Yeti and Goblin Sapper enemies

Soundtrack | 18 tracks from both games

Co-op Tips

• Split the loadout. With only 5 slots each, one player should bring barricades and slow/control traps while the other brings damage and weapons.
• Split the map. Take separate lanes when they diverge; meet at the merge point.
• War Mage + Sorceress is the classic pairing: one deals damage, the other charms and controls.
• Heal and free your partner. The Freedom trinket breaks a partner out of a stun ("Freedom!").
• If you get disconnects in co-op Endless, a community Steam guide covers fixes.

Achievement Plan

• Play the campaign on War Mage difficulty for Act 1 and Act 2. Aim for five skulls; replay levels once upgrades are in.
• "Friends 'Till the End" — complete the level Twisted Halls in co-op.
• Nightmare Acts 1 and 2 once your core traps are fully upgraded.
• Endless: wave 25 solo, then wave 40 in co-op and wave 50 solo. A community guide covers setups for waves 40–50.
• Niche ones:
• "All Aboard" — 1,000 kills with minecarts (on levels that have them).
• "Kingdom Rush" — beat a Nightmare level using only weapons, trinkets and the dwarf, archer and paladin guardians (no traps).
• "What is Best in Life?" — use the Berserker trinket to drop below 15% health.
• "Pot of Gold" — a 10x or higher combo.
• "Predator" — collect 30 dropped skulls.
• "Indecisive" — respec your character.
• Kill counts (25,000 and 50,000 orcs) come naturally from Endless.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Placing traps where monsters don't walk. Watch the path lines and use barricades to control them.
• Spreading skulls across every trap. Max a small core set first.
• Ignoring fliers. Floor traps can't touch bats; bring an answer.
• Forgetting to collect drops. Coins, mana and skulls sitting on the floor are wasted.
• Bringing overlapping loadouts in co-op. Two players with the same five items waste slots.
• Leaving the rift unguarded. A guardian or a last-line trap near the rift saves skulls.

Advanced Tips

• Barricade mazes that double the path length multiply the value of every trap.
• Environmental hazards (pits, lava) are free kills; push traps next to them are among the most efficient setups.
• Start waves early in the first half of a level where your defenses are overkill — it banks time for your skull rating.
• Weekly Challenges force unusual loadouts and teach you traps you'd otherwise ignore.
• Combos: tightly grouped monsters dying at once raise your combo multiplier — slow them first, then hit them all with area traps.
• Trapless and Zero Mana Use skull awards (from the DLC) are extra skulls if you're confident on a level.

FAQ

Do I need the first game? No. Owning Orcs Must Die! on Steam unlocks Classic mode (10 co-op levels from the original), but the story makes sense on its own.

How many players does co-op support? Two.

How do I get more skulls? Finish levels faster and with more rift points left, replay levels with better upgrades, and play Weekly Challenges and Endless.

Which DLC is best? All three content packs add three levels plus Endless versions; Are We There Yeti? and Family Ties add new weapons, Fire and Water adds the most traps.

Is it still worth playing after Orcs Must Die! 3? Yes — OMD2's co-op campaign and Endless mode are still considered some of the series' best, and it's frequently on deep discount.

What's the hardest achievement? "Freedom!" and "What is Best in Life?" are the rarest on Steam, followed by "Six Degrees" and "Pot of Gold".

Sources

• Orcs Must Die! 2 — Wikipedia
• Orcs Must Die! 2 global achievements — Steam Community
• Orcs Must Die! 2 — Steam store page
• Fire and Water Booster Pack — Steam
• Family Ties Booster Pack — Steam
• Are We There Yeti? — Steam
• Orcs Must Die! 3 launch announcement — Steam news
• Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap — Robot Entertainment