Deltarune Chapter 5 Guide: The Complete Recruitment Checklist
Before you start swinging your sword at every new creature that blocks your path, you need to understand exactly how the recruitment system punishes your mistakes.
Deltarune Chapter 5 once again brings back the pacifist mechanics, meaning you can invite your former enemies to live in Castle Town. Instead of grinding encounters for experience, you use your ACT commands, the Pacify spell, or standard Spare actions to end fights peacefully. Do this enough times and the enemies will pack up and move to your hub world. The catch is that a single spare is rarely enough. Almost every species requires you to show them mercy multiple times before they actually join you. Also keep in mind that this system is strictly for standard grunts. Bosses are immune to recruitment entirely.
All Required Chapter 5 Recruits
There are eight distinct enemy types you can invite back to your base this time around. I put together a table with the exact number of peaceful victories you need for each one so you are not left guessing in the dark.
The Danger of the LOST Status
You can permanently ruin a pacifist run with a single misplaced attack.
If you defeat an enemy violently during standard gameplay, that entire species gets tagged with the LOST status. Once a creature becomes LOST, recruiting them becomes mathematically impossible on that specific save file. It does not matter if you already spared them three times before that fight. One violent victory permanently locks them out of Castle Town.
You do get a permanent boost to your maximum HP for dealing fatal damage, but you have to decide if that extra health is worth dealing with an empty hub town. If you accidentally trigger the LOST status and you still want a full roster, your only real option is to swallow your pride and reload an earlier save.
There is one major exception here. The Party Dojo acts as a completely safe space for combat. You can fight as aggressively as you want during Dojo challenges without worrying about anyone becoming LOST.
Tracking Your Progress
You don't need to keep a manual tally on a physical notepad to know who is coming to the party.
The game tracks everything for you in the Recruits menu, which you can open at any standard SAVE point. This screen gives you a clean breakdown of exactly which enemy types are fully recruited and how many more spares you need for the stragglers. The game also flashes a helpful recruitment counter on your screen immediately after you spare an enemy if their species is not fully recruited yet.
The menu gives you a neat little profile for everyone you recruit. It lists their name, a brief description, level, Attack, Defense, Element, Likes, and Dislikes. Chapter 5 updates this menu by adding a brand new Wish slot right below their Dislikes, leaving only one empty slot left to fill in future chapters. If you want a final confirmation before wrapping up the chapter, look for an RSVP style check near the top of the castle late in the game. If it tells you that everyone is invited, you successfully cleared the list.
Hanging Out in Castle Town
Dragging all these creatures back to your home base actually gives you some fun downtime activities to mess around with.
Once your recruits settle into Castle Town, you can find them hanging around the area. If you head over to the Cafe, you can seat them at the available tables and chat with them about their favorite drinks. There are three tables you can use for this, and the pair sitting around the southern table are clearly sharing it. Keep in mind that the Tasque Manager is the only recruit you cannot place at a table, mostly because she is already hanging out at the very top of the Cafe. It is a nice reward for taking the pacifist route, and checking in on your recruits gives the hub world a lot more life.
