Dumb Ways to Build Master Builder Mode: How to Unlock It

How to unlock Master Builder

PlaySide’s support centre is specific: every level has a Normal difficulty and a Master Builder difficulty, and all Master Builder levels unlock once you have completed all three levels on Normal. You do not unlock them one Job at a time.

A four-player launch crew saw exactly that. After Hotel Hapless the Master Builder slot on the job screen still read as locked, and it opened only after their Crane Climb run, when they read “we’ve unlocked the Master Builder difficulty” off the screen.

Master Builder is chosen in Level Select in the lobby, alongside the Infinite Revives switch, and cannot be changed once the job has started.

What changes

PlaySide describes Master Builder as the same Jobs “with more challenges, unexpected twists” and “enhanced difficulty and new challenges”. Its launch post adds that completing certifications unlocks the Master Builder modes, and its announcement calls finishing them your Master Builder Certification.

What those twists are, Job by Job, has not been documented anywhere we can check yet: no patch note, support article or clear footage lists them. We will add them per Job on the jobs page once they are.

Master Builder certifications

Sky-High Triumph is among the rarest in the game so far. The other job certifications (time trials, zero deaths and hidden challenges) are on the achievements page.

Does Infinite Revives count?

PlaySide’s support centre says switching on Infinite Revives does not disable certifications, and it does not make an exception for Master Builder. If you just want the three Master Builder certifications, a relaxed Infinite Revives run is allowed. The zero-death certifications are separate and work the other way.

Before you start

• Finish the Normal time trials first if you want them, since they only need Normal difficulty. The limits read on stream were 20, 25 and 30 minutes.
• Bring the gear that worked on Normal: tools and items lists what each item does.
• Four players make the heavy lifting easier. PlaySide describes Solo Play’s freeze as part of Solo Play in general and mentions no Master Builder exception. See Solo Play.