How to get the Skull O Maniac in Vampire Survivors

The Skull O’Maniac is an item in Vampire Survivors that adds the Curse mechanic to your map. It causes more enemies to spawn which are tougher and move faster, but you have more chances to earn XP. There are a lot of steps required in order to unlock it. The condition to unlock it sounds easy, but it’s a multi-step process that will take some time — the results will be worth it. The condition to unlock the Skull O’Maniac is to survive for 30 minutes with Lama.

How to unlock Lama

Unfortunately, Lama isn’t a character that is available for purchase at the beginning of the game. He has his own unlock condition, which is to survive 20 minutes in any map with a Curse modifier of at least 10%.

You can enable a Curse modifier in your games by going to the Power Up section at the start screen and scrolling down to the end to find the Curse modifier, which is between Greed and Revival. Applying Curse to your Power Ups will mean increasing enemy speed, health, enemy numbers, and the frequency that they arrive. The first interval starts at 10% and can be as high as 50% (which is the maximum).

To purchase your first Curse modifier, you will need to spend at least 3998 gold to enable it. That gives you the 10% Curse necessary to unlock Lama.

Survive for 20 minutes

With the modifier enabled, play as any character on any map, then survive for at least 20 minutes. It doesn’t matter who you use or what weapons you fight with — you just need to survive without dying. You can double check that the modifier is in place by looking at the left column before you commit to playing a map and looking at the Curse section. If the modifier is at 10% (the minimum), you are ready to go.

After surviving for 20 minutes, you will get a notice indicating that you have unlocked Lama for use in-game. You still have to purchase him in order to be able to use him, but it shouldn’t be too difficult with the amount of gold that you have on hand.

Survive as Lama for 30 minutes

Now you need to survive any map while playing as Lama. He does come with an existing 10% Curse modifier, meaning you can’t refund your Power Ups and expect things to be easy. Lama will also add to the existing Curse modifier by 5% as he gains 10 levels (up to a maximum of 20%).

If you aren’t used to playing with the Curse modifier, this can be difficult. Put as many points into Power Ups as you can, and don’t get discouraged if you don’t make it at first. Lama will naturally make things harder for himself as he levels up, but it’s a good time to put your existing knowledge to the test.

When Lama manages to survive for 30 minutes, you can unlock the Skull O’Maniac and begin to use it when you play your next map. If you are struggling to survive as Lama, there are some survival tips that may help you, as Lama will need some help early on.