13 Days to Escape Classes Roster & Unlock Order

Roster philosophy

This page is the identity sheet for 13 Days to Escape [ALPHA] classes. Where the Classes Tier List asks “who wins this goal?”, the roster asks “who am I when I equip this kit?” Use both: pick a fantasy that matches how you like to spend the day in Cell 13, then confirm it is not D-tier for the goal you actually need tonight.

Classes unlock in the lobby with Gems earned from challenges and runs. Equip before you queue. You can replay as Prisoner forever, but paid kits compress the path to OJ’s Deals tools (Screwdriver 25, Saw 110), the free lockdown Power Drill, and the toilet dig that defines the escape fantasy.

Sibling pages worth tabbing: Players Hub, Tier List Hub, Classes Guide, Suspicion & Stealth, Digging & Tunnels.

Recommended unlock order (story, not only power)

Think of Gem spends as chapters:

1. Prisoner — Chapter zero. No bill, no training wheels.
2. Hustler (20) — Chapter one. You finally feel the economy bend.
3. Medic (30) or Engineer (50) — Chapter two. Choose heal fantasy or dig fantasy based on whether you play with friends.
4. Murderer (100) — Optional side path for players who want knife stories.
5. Spy (200) — Endgame identity for clean, quiet clears.

You can skip Murderer entirely and still clear content. Skipping Hustler makes every other unlock feel poorer because tools arrive late.

Prisoner — the blank badge

Cost: Free (default)
Starter gear: None
Perks: None across levels
Identity: The honest inmate. You learn roll call lines, job stations, where OJ sells, how long RETURN TO CELLS gives you, and how scary lockdown footsteps feel — without a perk explaining your mistakes away.

Play Prisoner for your first successful hide-tools / move-toilet / dig attempt. When deaths feel like “I get the loop” instead of “I don’t know the schedule,” graduate. Staying Prisoner after that is a challenge run, not an optimization.

Hustler — the yard economist

Cost: 20 Gems
Starter gear: None
Perk theme: +50% job cash → suspicion drops faster while working → 80% dice win chance
Identity: Looks busy, dies rich. Hustler is the class that treats the prison timetable as a paycheck. Library books, potatoes, and litter are not chores; they are Saw installments.

If your friends always need someone to hit OJ before evening, that someone is you. Dice tables stop being a coin-flip tax and become a Hustler slot machine. Pair with a future Engineer so your cash becomes dirt instead of vanity purchases.

Medic — the cellblock stabilizer

Cost: 30 Gems
Starter gear: First-aid kit and bandage
Perk theme: Kit on hand → faster passive healing → faster team healing
Identity: The reason co-op digs recover after a bad CCTV sprint. Medic does not open the tunnel faster, but Medic keeps the Engineer and Spy in the shaft instead of back in a failed-run requeue.

Choose Medic early if you mainly play with up to three friends and someone else already hustles or digs. Solo Medic is comfortable but slower at buying the Screwdriver than Hustler. In parties, call your heals — silent Medics waste the kit’s identity.

Engineer — the toilet architect

Cost: 50 Gems
Starter gear: Spoon
Perk theme: +25% dirt removed → tools last longer → dig critical hits
Identity: Escape is a construction project. Engineer players measure nights in dirt, not drama. The Spoon means you are never fully tool-less even before OJ shopping, and every Power Drill swing during lockdown workshop routes hits harder.

This is the “main character” of the dig fantasy. Solo players who hate multi-night shafts unlock Engineer right after Hustler. Co-op teams should not stack four Engineers; one focused digger plus support kits clears cleaner than a spoon choir.

Murderer — the knife rumor

Cost: 100 Gems
Starter gear: Knife
Perk theme: Knife equipped → move faster while holding it → less suspicion after a kill
Identity: Violence as a tool, not a tantrum. Murderer exists for players who want tempo plays, contract-style aggression, or shutting down threats that block a dig window. The kit courts attention even with post-kill suspicion relief.

Unlock Murderer when you already understand Suspicion & Stealth well enough to survive the heat you create. It is a poor second purchase for brand-new accounts. In co-op, announce knife plans so Medic is ready and Spy is not dragging your meter into shared routes.

Spy — the quiet countdown

Cost: 200 Gems
Starter gear: None at purchase; perk line grants lower suspicion, stronger night lighting, starting cash and a flashlight
Identity: Act normal harder than anyone else. Spy is built for players who treat CCTV cones and guard sightlines as the real boss. Night lighting and the flashlight make toilet shafts and dark tunnels readable without broadcasting your position as loudly as panic movement does.

Spy is expensive on purpose. Buy it when stealth walls — not cash or dirt — are why your thirteen-day fantasy fails. Combined with good habits, Spy feels like the alpha’s “I belong in Cell 13” fantasy: present at roll call, invisible when it counts.

Playstyle matrix

If you want…	Equip…	Avoid first…
To learn the map	Prisoner	Murderer
Faster Saw / Screwdriver	Hustler	Pure dig stacking
Safer co-op nights	Medic	Quad Murderer lobbies
Faster toilet tunnels	Engineer	All-cash no-dig parties
Knife tempo	Murderer	Buying it before Hustler
Lowest heat	Spy	Expecting it to replace job skill

Co-op identity draft (4 players)

• Seat 1 — Hustler: Funds OJ, runs dice, looks employed.
• Seat 2 — Engineer: Owns the shaft and Power Drill swings.
• Seat 3 — Medic: Stabilizes failed night attempts.
• Seat 4 — Spy: Scouts, ferries tools, keeps meters calm.

Swap Seat 4 to Murderer only for meme lobbies or specific hostile objectives. Keep at least one earner and one digger in serious escape attempts.

Alpha caveats

RoDark Studios can retune Gem prices, perk percents, or starter gear during ALPHA. New Prison Saturdays (~3 PM ET) change layouts and can temporarily favor Spy scouting or Engineer digs more than usual. Recheck Alpha Notes and the in-game class panel before you teach friends outdated costs.

Related reading

• Classes Tier List — S–D boards by goal
• Classes Guide — mechanical perk walkthrough
• Players Hub — roster index
• Getting Started — first-day loop without class stress