Character recruitment in FNaF World works a little differently from most RPGs, and is in a sense closer to Pokemon than, say, a Final Fantasy. As you progress through the game you will occasionally get into a fight with one of the iconic members of the Five Nights at Freddy’s crew, and if you manage to beat them in battle they will join your party. These characters can range from absolutely easy to dead difficult - though, admittedly, by about halfway through the recruitment fights get pretty simple regardless of who you’re fighting. Early on, though, watch out.
Characters do not necessarily appear based on which area you’re in. They do, however, only seem to start appearing once you reach certain areas. Character levels also seem to come into play to some degree, so you typically won’t fight animatronics that are too strong for your teams. The further down the list an animatronic appears, the stronger it will typically be at lower levels. (Which isn’t to say that the starter animatronics are automatically useless as a result. You’ll just have a harder time beating the game with them.)
Can’t find a specific animatronic? Move on to the next area. Your chances of finding it will be greater. I’m pretty certain you can run into all of them by the time you reach Pinwheel Funhouse. The Find: Characters Chip makes locating them easier, as well. Beside each animatronic I'll also provide the area where I found them, in case you're having trouble tracking down any particular animatronics.
There are forty animatronics to recruit in all. I’ll provide a brief analysis of each of them below, in order of appearance.
I REPEAT: You can find these animatronics in any area. The locations listed beside their names are just a general reference for where you may start seeing them. IF YOU CAN'T FIND AN ANIMATRONIC, JUST KEEP LOOKING. Preferably in Pinwheel Funhouse.
Freddy (Starting Character)
- Mic Toss
- Pizza Wheel
- Birthday
The main star! Freddy's a decent character for the first few areas of the game. Mic Toss is rather outclassed by Pizza Wheel, essentially negating one of Freddy's three attacks, but Birthday is a good enough buffing move that Mic Toss is forgiven. All told, pretty solid, though once you start getting into the Phantom animatronics Freddy will be swiftly outclassed and probably forgotten.
Bonnie (Starting Character)
Possibly the best starting character, but that's a matter of opinion. Bonnie's Bite is an okay attack, but you're almost always going to want to use the multi-hitting Bash Jam instead. Bonnie also has Happy Jam, a healing move that more or less negates the need for a dedicated healer in your party. Alas, he suffers from the same power restrictions as the other starting animatronics, and will become antiquated after a while.
Chica (Starting Character)
- Cupcake
- Party Favors
- Regen Song
Poor Chica. As a healer Chica is pretty great, I will admit, but her almost complete inability to harm the enemy is bad. (You can do
some damage with Party Favors, but nowhere near enough to be worth the effort.) Bonnie can fill in as healer. I prefer swapping out one of the Toy animatronics for Chica and ditching her early.
Foxy (Starting Character)
- Hook
- Jumpscare
- Hot Cheese
Not bad. Hook is strong early on, and Hot Cheese is a good draining skill. Foxy's likely to get the most long-term longevity because of Jumpscare, which can be used to good effect against many of the late-game bosses. He will
not be a hard hitter, though, which is a shame.
Toy Bonnie (Starting Character)
- Bash Jam
- Munchies
- Prize Ball
Kind of an inferior version of his normal counterpart. Bash Jam and Munchies are both good damage-dealers, but Prize Ball is too damned random to be much use. The loss of Happy Jam really hurts.
Toy Chica (Starting Character)
- Cupcake
- Birthday
- Waterhose
By contrast with Toy Bonnie, Toy Chica is
better than her normal counterpart. Cupcake is an able healing ability, Birthday is nice for buffs if you don't use Freddy, and Waterhose is excellent at taking down recruitable animatronics if the rest of the team can whittle their target down to 30% of their full health. Not a long-term character, but still handy.
Toy Freddy (Starting Character)
- Mic Toss
- Party Favors
- Speed Song
Meh. Not great. Mic Toss is a weak attack, Party Favors doesn't hurt or heal enough to be worth your time, and Speed Song, though longer-lasting than Birthday, isn't
quite enough to save Toy Freddy. The original Freddy is better.
Mangle (Starting Character)
Ehhhh... could be better. Hook is a decent single-hitting attack early on, but Prize Ball is too random to be of great use. Poppers is Mangle's saving grace, and is best implemented if you have another character with Poppers, though you'll have to wait a few turns before the little things go off. (Though combined with a speed buff from another character you can potentially hurl a lot of Poppers onto the field, resulting in more damage.)
Balloon Boy (Fazbear Hills)
- Balloons
- Hot Cheese
- Munchies
Despite the general dislike of the little guy, Balloon Boy's a fairly effective early-game animatronic. Balloons is unpredictable: either the balloons will do virtually
no damage or they'll pound up the pain in a hurry. Fifty-fifty, really. Hot Cheese is always good for draining enemy health, and Munchies does more or less the same. A decent replacement for Chica if you find Bonnie to be an able enough healer on his own.
JJ (Fazbear Hills)
JJ is deceptively useful. Balloons is an unpredictable multi-attack, and Poppers takes two turns to be effective, but JJ has a secret weapon in Unscrew. Insta-death attacks typically suck in other games, but they're quite useful in FNaF World,
particularly in Hard Mode, because they stand a good chance of sticking (roughly one in four uses of Unscrew will kill). This makes her a great choice when recruiting animatronics early on, as they're often
very strong compared to your party... but are vulnerable to Unscrew.
Phantom Freddy (Fazbear Hills)
- Gloom Song
- Sludge
- Rainy Day
Looooove this guy during the early stages. Phantom Freddy is the consummate debuffer, and all three of his moves target enemy stats. He can't do any damage himself, but these three skills are
amazing for quickly whittling the earlier bosses down to size. You may find the effects less useful once the later characters unlock the upper-tier versions of these moves, but Phantom Freddy is nevertheless a great character for much of the game.
Phantom Chica (Choppy's Woods)
- Toxic Bite
- Sludge
- Unscrew
Not bad. Toxic Bite is a solid group attack with lingering effects, Sludge is a decent debuff, and Unscrew has an okay chance of killing normal enemies in one hit. She won't last for a
really long time, but Phantom Chica has slightly better longevity than her earlier incarnations since she's better at handling bosses.
Phantom BB (Choppy's Woods)
- Toxic Balloon
- Gloom Balloon
- Rainy Day
Meeeeeh. Phantom BB does things that other animatronics do better. The Balloon attacks are okay, but Toxic Balloon takes longer to cast than Phantom Chica's Toxic Bite, and Gloom Balloon takes longer than Phantom Freddy's Gloom Song. Phantom Freddy also already has Rainy Day, so... meh. Decent if you're a fan of BB, but, well, you probably aren't a fan of BB.
Phantom Foxy (Choppy's Woods)
- Jumpscare
- Toxic Bite
- Unscrew
Pretty good. Phantom Foxy seems a tad underwhelming when you first get him, since Toxic Bite and Unscrew are not
amazing attacks, but he has decent longevity since he's a Jumpscare user. He can be relatively effective at delaying the final boss if your other Jumpscarers are busy attacking. Sort of mid-tier, like the other Foxies, and useful for it.
Phantom Mangle (Mysterious Mines, Choppy Woods Northern Entrance)
- Toxic Bite
- Mystery Box
- Pizza Wheel 2
Not half bad. Toxic Bite is a good attack for poisoning enemies, and Pizza Wheel 2 is a solid damage-dealer for a fairly long time, whether you're fighting bosses or mobs of enemies. That leaves Mystery Box, an attack I recommend only using for lulz. You could wind up with a good party, orrrrr you could end up with a big 'ol heap of trash. Definitely avoid it during boss battles.
Withered Bonnie (Choppy's Woods)
- Eye Beam
- Pizza Wheel
- Unscrew 2
Situational. Withered Bonnie is largely an attack character, and Eye Beam / Pizza Wheel have the potential to hit pretty well, so long as you're applying debuffs. The main reason to use him is Unscrew 2, which will quickly chew through enemy formations and make level grinding much less of a slog, particularly if you pair him with Reaper Bytes. He's not that amazing against bosses, though, which limits his long-term viability as a party member.
Withered Chica (Mysterious Mine, Choppy's Woods Northern Entrance)
- Bite
- Cupcake
- Prize Ball 2
A fairly solid 'meh'. Cupcake is an okay healing attack, and Bite is... not amazing... so the main draw here is Prize Ball 2. This may turn out really well for you, oooooor it may not. I don't like randomization in my party
that much, so Withered Chica gets the heave-ho unless you don't have a better healer.
Withered Freddy (Mysterious Mine, Choppy's Woods Southern Entrance)
- Mic Toss
- Gloom Song
- Esc Key
Decent. Mic Toss is bad by the time you get Withered Freddy, but Gloom Song is a nice debuff, and Esc Key is a decent way to wipe mobs of stronger enemies, so long as you're lucky. Good for grinding for Tokens in Mysterious Mine against normal enemies. Also, enthusiastic about his job.
Withered Foxy (Dusting Fields)
- Hook
- Rainy Day
- Hot Cheese 2
Solid. Hook is underwhelming by this point in the game, but Rainy Day is a solid debuff and Hot Cheese 2 is a pretty great move for chewing away at bosses or large groups of normal enemies. His usefulness won't last
too long, but there are far worse animatronics than Withered Foxy.
Shadow Freddy (Mysterious Mine, Choppy's Woods Northern Entrance)
- Unscrew
- Esc Key
- Waterhose
Want to fight normal enemies? Shadow Freddy is great. All three of his moves have the potential to result in insta-death, and are good at various stages of any given fight (Esc Key for mobs, Unscrew when there are only one or two enemies left, Waterhose if the fight is dragging on and enemies are low on health). Problem is, he is completely and utterly useless against bosses. Keep him out of any parties that are about to face a big bad.
Marionette (Lilygear Lake)
- Prize Ball 2
- Mystery Box
- Esc Key
Not terribly amazing, because all of Marionette's movies are basically crapshoots. Prize Ball 2 might give you a really good attack, orrrrr it might suck. Mystery Box might give you a really good team, orrrrr it might suck! And Esc Key, well, it might kill the whole enemy team, or... that's right... it might suck. Okay for grinding teams thanks to Esc Key, but ultimately too random to be worthy of attention.
Phantom Marionette (Blacktomb Yard)
- Jumpscare
- Hot Cheese 2
- Mystery Box 2
Pretty solid. Mystery Box 2 is a crapshoot you usually want to avoid, but Hot Cheese 2 is good for gradually sapping enemy health, and Jumpscare is great for stalling any form of enemy. I found Phantom Marionette particularly useful against Security, where stunning attacks really drag out its use of Alarm to annihilate the universe. An overall good choice if you don't mind its somewhat underwhelming damage output.
Golden Freddy (Blacktomb Yard)
- Jumpscare
- Rainy Day 2
- Haunting
Freddy's listless counterpart is pretty good for much of the game. Golden Freddy is another character who can't dish out damage like other characters, but he's excellent at stalling: Jumpscare is a great stunner for bosses and normal enemies alike, and Haunting is tremendous at freezing normal foes for long periods of time. The addition of Rainy Day 2 makes him a pretty good character for boss fights, and you can use him long into the end game.
Paperpals (Deep-Metal Mine)
- Prize Ball 2
- Mystery Box 2
- Mimic Ball
Similar to Marionette, Paperpals is a crapshoot animatronic, if you can call them an animatronic. Prize Ball and Mystery Box could be great, or they could do little to help you. (Hell, Mystery Box can straight up hobble you if your luck is bad.) Its major advantage is Mimic Ball, which summons a little dude who will copy all of your moves so long as he's deployed, allowing you to hit twice. Pretty solid... at least until you get RXQ, which
also has Mimic Ball, and some other, better moves besides. Don't expect the Paperpals to last long.
Nightmare Freddy (Deep-Metal Mine)
A decent multi-hitting animatronic. Bite 2 hits reasonably hard, Sludge is a good debuff for some of the heftier bosses, and the unique attack Freddles is basically a better version of Pizza Wheel. Nothing absolutely outstanding, but a solid later-game hitter. And hey, he looks cool, amirite?
Nightmare Bonnie (Deep-Metal Mine)
- Bite 2
- Rainy Day 2
- Pizza Wheel 2
One of the better Nightmare animatronics, Nightmare Bonnie's moves are all solid. Bite 2 and Pizza Wheel 2 are both good damage-dealers (though you'll almost certainly use Pizza Wheel the majority of the time), and Rainy Day is a great debuff. A great choice if you have a gap in your final team.
Nightmare Chica (Deep-Metal Mine)
- Bite 2
- Bad Pizza
- Waterhose
Probably the worst of the Nightmare animatronics. Nightmare Chica isn't
bad, per se, but her moveset is rather underwhelming: Bite 2 is a common move, and Waterhose has limited usefulness since you need to do a lot of damage before it does anything. Nightmare Chica's primary boon is the all-hitting, powerful attack Bad Pizza, but it takes so long to cast that you're better off with something else instead.
Nightmare Foxy (Deep-Metal Mine)
- Bite 2
- Unscrew 2
- Hot Cheese 2
Solid enough. Bite 2 is good, Unscrew 2 is great for grinding, and Hot Cheese 2 is handy in virtually every battle in the game. Altogether pretty good - except that Unscrew will be useless against bosses, limiting Nightmare Foxy's usefulness when compared with other late-game animatronics whose entire repertoires are good against the final foes.
Endo 01 (Pinwheel Circus)
- Power Song
- Armor Song
- Endo Army
Buffing hooooo. Endo 01 is a decent combo of status attacks and longer term damage dealing. Power and Armor Song are both fairly good buffs, but since buffs often don't last that long against the strongest of enemies (since you
die a lot) he might not be the greatest choice, particularly since he's so similar to the superior Crying Child. Endo Army is a somewhat underwhelming offensive move, as well. Overall, the least useful of the Endos.
Endo 02 (Pinwheel Circus)
- Speed Song
- Endo Army
- Neon Wall
Like Endo 01, Endo 02 is only okay. Speed Song is perhaps the best buff late in the game, and Endo Army is an okay, but not great, attack. That said, Endo 02 is pretty much a staple character for two of the last fights in the game, as Neon Wall protects against the otherwise-apocalyptic Alarm attack. Expect Endo 02 to wind up in your party if you decide to go after the final Hard Mode boss.
Plushtrap (Pinwheel Circus)
- Toxic Bite
- Bad Pizza
- Sludge
Decent, not amazing. Toxic Bite has potential to sap health and Sludge is a good debuff, but Bad Pizza, though strong, is just too slow to be of great help in the later fights. The full-grown Springtrap is better.
Endoplush (Pinwheel Circus)
- Neon Wall
- Eye Beam
- Waterhose 2
The last of the Endos, and possibly the best. Eye Beam is a solid attack, and Waterhose 2 makes grinding enemies substantially easier than its weaker counterpart. Similar to Endo 02, though, Endoplush's greatest asset is Neon Wall, which protects against the Alarm attack. The chances of surviving the final boss on Hard Mode are preeeeetty slim without Neon Wall. Build up Endoplush whether or not you like him, 'cause you'll need the help.
Springtrap (Pinwheel Circus)
- Bite 2
- Springlocks
- Rainy Day
Could be better, could be worse. His Springlocks ability is pretty good at dishing out some fierce damage to an area, and Bite 2 is... okay. (You probably won't use it because of Springlocks.) Rainy Day is serviceable as a debuff, though given how late in the game you get Springtrap Rainy Day 2 would've been more useful. Not bad, not amazing.
RXQ (Pinwheel Funhouse)
- Haunting
- Mimic Ball
- Gift Boxes
Pure utility, but quite useful for it, at least at first. RXQ does not damage on its own, but Haunting is a great move for freezing problematic enemies, and Gift Boxes is
always useful for later battles, as it revives everyone on your team. If / when you pick up the Auto: Mimic Chip, however, RXQ loses its novelty, and the other two Gift Boxes users (Crying Child and Funtime Foxy) wind up as better choices.
Crying Child (Pinwheel Funhouse)
- Power Song
- Armor Song
- Gift Boxes
One of those rare characters who can't
possibly do any damage, Crying Child is pure support. Power Song and Armor Song are both fantastic buffs for your whole party, and Gift Boxes will revive anybody who dies. A vital support character if you couldn't care less about healing, and a solid choice for taking on late-game Hard Mode bosses.
Funtime Foxy (Pinwheel Funhouse)
- Happy Jam 2
- Cosmic Song
- Gift Boxes
Proooobably one of the best characters in the game. Funtime Foxy is a fantastic healer with Happy Jam 2, can hit reasonably hard with Cosmic Song, and is absolutely
brilliant at keeping a party alive with Gift Boxes. It's a tossup whether Foxy or Crying Child are better staple support characters for the end game, and since she can also attack, I prefer Foxy.
Nightmare Fredbear (Pinwheel Funhouse)
- Toxic Bite 2
- Bad Pizza
- Mega Bite
Decent. His attacks are strong, and all hit multiple targets - but along the same lines, they all do kind of the same thing, just at varying levels of strength. A good hitter, and cool-looking, but not all that interesting.
Nightmare (Pinwheel Funhouse)
- Toxic Bite 2
- Rainy Day 2
- Mega Bite
A slightly better version of Nightmare Fredbear. Rather than walking around with the super-slow Pad Pizza, Nightmare gets Rainy Day 2 instead. Two area attacks and a debuff is a much better combo than three area attacks.
Fredbear (Pinwheel Funhouse)
- Mega Bite
- Regen Song
- Mimic Ball
Decent, but... not amazing. Especially considering he's
the NPC of the game. Fredbear runs the gamut of attack, defence, and support, but he's not that amazing at any of them. Regen Song is nice for some of the longer battles, and Mimic Ball is always fantastic (at least until you get the Auto: Mimic Chip), but Mega Bite underwhelms compared to some other attacks. Fredbear's hardly
bad, but he's not amazing, either, particularly given how long it takes to get him in your party.
Spring Bonnie (Pinwheel Funhouse)
- Springlocks
- Happy Jam 2
- Cosmic Song
Dang, talk about OP. Springlocks is a great single-hitting attack, Happy Jam 2 is excellent for healing, and Cosmic Song is good for crowd control or just hitting a single enemy multiple times. Spring Bonnie can fit into just about any party, and his / her usefulness is stunted only by the fact that it will take so long to get him / her. (Though if you're already using Funtime Foxy, Spring Bonnie may not seem as great a character.)
The Fan
Yesssss! It had to be in here. The Fan appears automatically as a fifth, invincible, uncontrollable character once you get the forty normal animatronics. The Fan has two moves: first, it buffs your team automatically, and second, it randomly unleashes a torrent of energy blasts at the baddies, hitting everything in a straight line. The Fan has no health, can’t be killed, and is just generally awesome. If you’re struggling with the final bosses, getting The Fan will make your life a lot easier.
