Unlock

In the game, the term unlock means to make available for all PvP-only characters and heroes on a game account to use. Skills, upgrade components, runes, and heroes can be unlocked. This gives PvP-only characters a greater flexibility, as they have access to anything any character on the account has unlocked.

Anything can be unlocked by using Balthazar faction at a Priest of Balthazar, provided the account has the required campaign. It is also possible to unlock anything through PvE play by:
 * Learning skills through skill quests, skill trainers, hero skill trainers or using a Signet of Capture.
 * Identifying items with upgrade components or runes.
 * Obtaining a hero.

Unlocking does not benefit roleplaying (PvE) characters who must learn their skills, and obtain all items and heroes individually, regardless of what has been unlocked (there are a couple of exceptions to this, see below). PvE-only skills cannot be unlocked.

Benefits of skill unlocks for roleplaying characters
While unlocks chiefly benefit PvP-only characters, there are some benefits of unlocking skills for roleplaying characters:
 * Unlocked non-elite skills are available from all skill trainers of the appropriate campaign, allowing you to buy the non-elite skill earlier than if relying on each skill trainer's default set.
 * Roleplaying characters can learn any unlocked non-elite or elite skill by using a skill tome.
 * Unlocked skills are available for heroes, so having a skill unlocked will allow the character to use it on their heroes in PvE.

Unlocking heroes
If an account has access to Nightfall or Eye of the North, heroes can be unlocked for a fee of 3,000 or 6,000 faction, depending on the hero. Koss, Dunkoro and Acolyte Jin can be unlocked for free if you own Nightfall. Heroes were previously used in the PvP game-mode called Hero Battles (which was removed in the October 22nd, 2009 update), but heroes currently have no use in PvP.

Unlocking items
1 Some weapon upgrades and inscriptions have two levels of strength, the first one being the weakest and the second being the strongest. They have to be unlocked twice to get the strongest level.

Some items in the list are not considered core and will not be available to accounts without the Factions and Nightfall campaigns.