Deltarune Chapter 5 Guide: The Complete Recruitment Checklist

Quick Answer: Stop attacking right now. To fill up Castle Town, you must use ACTs and the Pacify spell to spare every new enemy species multiple times. Landing even a single fatal blow tags that enemy type as LOST, permanently locking them out of your hub world.

Building Your Roster

Toby Fox brought the pacifist recruitment system back for Chapter 5, turning your hub world into a lively neighborhood for your former foes. Instead of swinging a sword to grind stats, your primary goal is to de-escalate combat. You achieve this by relying heavily on your ACT menu, throwing out Pacify spells, and using standard Spare commands to end encounters peacefully.

Do not expect everyone to join up after a single fight. Almost all of the grunts roaming the map demand a little extra patience, requiring you to show them mercy across multiple encounters before they finally pack their bags for Castle Town. Keep in mind that this entire system revolves solely around standard mobs. Bosses will not move into your town no matter how nice you are to them.

The Complete Chapter 5 Recruitment Table

There are exactly eight distinct enemy species to befriend this time around. To save you the trouble of guessing when to stop hunting, here is exactly how many peaceful victories you need to score for each creature.

The Fatal Mistake: Triggering the LOST Status

Your pacifist run is incredibly fragile. A single violent victory outside of the Party Dojo will inflict the LOST status on that entire enemy species.

Once an enemy type is branded as LOST, you can never recruit them on that save file. Sparing them five times previously means absolutely nothing if you accidentally slice one in half later on. The game does throw you a bone by granting a permanent boost to your maximum HP for landing fatal blows, but you are trading a vibrant hub world for a slightly bigger health bar. If you really want to lean into the violence and explore the game’s darker consequences, you might want to read our Deltarune Chapter 5 Guide: Surviving the Weird Route instead. If you accidentally kill a grunt and still want a full town, your only option is swallowing your pride and loading an older save.

The only exception to this strict rule is the Party Dojo. That specific location acts as a designated combat sandbox. Feel free to unleash your most devastating attacks during Dojo trials because deaths inside those walls do not trigger the LOST penalty.

Tracking Your Progress Like a Pro

You do not need to pull out a notebook to keep tabs on your roster. The game actually tracks everything perfectly through the Recruits menu accessible at any standard SAVE point.

This menu is a lifesaver. It breaks down precisely who has agreed to move in and how many more fights you need to de-escalate for the holdouts. On top of that, an on-screen counter conveniently flashes after every successful spare to keep you updated on the fly.

When you crack open the menu, you get a full profile for every monster you secure. You get to see their name, level, elemental affinity, stats, and a fun little lore description. You also get a peek at their Likes and Dislikes. Chapter 5 specifically introduces a brand new “Wish” category right under their Dislikes, leaving just one blank space for future chapters to fill. When you are nearing the end of the chapter, check near the very top of the castle. If you see a special RSVP prompt confirming that “everyone is invited,” your pacifist job is officially 100 percent complete.

Hanging Out in Castle Town

Putting in all this non-lethal effort pays off beautifully when you visit Castle Town. Your newly recruited friends will actively hang out around the hub, making the entire area feel incredibly alive.

• Cafe Hangouts: Walk into the Cafe and you can physically seat your recruits at the open tables.
• Drink Chat: Once seated, you can trigger unique dialogue about their favorite beverages.
• Table Layouts: There are three distinct tables available for this, and the group sitting at the southern table will happily share the space.
• The One Exception: The Tasque Manager refuses to be seated. She already claims the top area of the Cafe as her personal territory.

Bringing everyone home adds a ton of charm to the downtime between adventures, making the pacifist route absolutely worth the extra effort.

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