Gunfire Reborn is a co-op roguelite FPS with RPG elements where you play as one of several animal-themed heroes fighting through procedurally generated levels. The game's hook is its elemental combo system — fire, lightning, corrosion, and other elements interact to create devastating chain reactions. Each run offers random weapon drops with randomized inscriptions (modifiers) and scroll buffs that stack to create overpowered builds. With 8 playable heroes, 100+ weapons, and up to 4-player co-op, Gunfire Reborn delivers short, punchy roguelite sessions with satisfying build diversity.
Starting Gunfire Reborn can feel overwhelming. This guide tells you exactly what to focus on during your first hours so you don't waste time on things that don't matter yet.
What Kind of Game Is This?
Gunfire Reborn is a roguelike game built around hero abilities and weapon inscriptions. The core loop involves mastering these systems to progress through increasingly challenging content.
What to expect: Time investment in learning mechanics, experimentation, and gradual mastery. The game rewards patience and knowledge.
Choosing Your First Build
| Build | Beginner Rating | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Crown Prince | Good (but demanding) | Apply two different elements for combo reactions, use Smoke Grenade to escape, Energy Orb for burst AoE. |
| Ao Bai | Good (but demanding) | Build up ultimate charge, activate Dual Wield, unload both weapons simultaneously for insane DPS. |
| Qing Yan | Excellent for beginners | Dash into enemy groups, absorb damage with shield, shotgun at close range, tank for the team. |
| Lei Luo | Excellent for beginners | Snipe priority targets for massive critical hits, chain lightning clears adds, stay at range. |
| Tao | Excellent for beginners | Close to melee range, deflect projectiles, rapid sword combos, lifesteal sustain. |
Our recommendation: Start with Ao Bai. The dual-wield berserker who activates his ultimate to fire two weapons simultaneously. Ao Bai's DPS ceiling is the highest in the game when dual-wielding two inscribed weapons during his Dual Wield ultimate. His grenade deals AoE damage for clearing trash mobs.
Avoid Tao as your first pick. The sword-wielding melee hero with a deflect ability.
First Session Step-by-Step
Step 1: Learn hero abilities
Each hero has a primary ability, a secondary ability, and a passive that defines their playstyle. Crown Prince fires explosive orbs and has a smoke bomb escape, Ao Bai dual-wields weapons and enters a berserker rage, Qing Yan throws grenades and has a shield dash. Hero abilities scale with specific ascension perks, making hero choice the foundation of your build.
This is the foundation. Spend your first 15-30 minutes getting comfortable with how hero abilities works before worrying about anything else.
Step 2: Head to Longling Tomb
The first act — a Chinese tomb setting with terracotta warrior enemies and stone golems. Enemies are slow but hit hard, teaching the importance of kiting and elemental damage. The act boss is a giant dragon that flies and breathes fire, requiring constant movement.
Clear the main content here before moving on. Everything teaches fundamentals you'll need later.
Step 3: Get Your First Upgrade
Look for Demonlore — it's the most accessible early upgrade. A corrosion-element weapon that fires homing projectiles. The homing means every shot hits, making corrosion application effortless. Pairs with any fire weapon for Decay combos. Inscriptions that boost projectile speed make the homing even more reliable.
Step 4: Understand weapon inscriptions
Every weapon drops with randomized inscriptions — passive bonuses like '+30% fire damage,' 'shots pierce enemies,' or 'critical hits cause explosions.' Inscription quality ranges from normal to legendary. At shrine altars, you can reroll inscriptions for a cost. A weapon with synergistic inscriptions outperforms a higher-rarity weapon with mismatched ones.
This is the system most new players overlook. Invest time here early — it pays off throughout the entire game.
Step 5: Push to Anxi Desert
The second act — a desert with sand worm enemies and scorpion archers. The open terrain encourages ranged combat, and enemies are faster than Act 1. The desert boss uses sandstorm attacks that obscure vision. This act tests ranged accuracy and positioning.
Essential Mechanics Explained
hero abilities
Each hero has a primary ability, a secondary ability, and a passive that defines their playstyle. Crown Prince fires explosive orbs and has a smoke bomb escape, Ao Bai dual-wields weapons and enters a berserker rage, Qing Yan throws grenades and has a shield dash. Hero abilities scale with specific ascension perks, making hero choice the foundation of your build.
weapon inscriptions
Every weapon drops with randomized inscriptions — passive bonuses like '+30% fire damage,' 'shots pierce enemies,' or 'critical hits cause explosions.' Inscription quality ranges from normal to legendary. At shrine altars, you can reroll inscriptions for a cost. A weapon with synergistic inscriptions outperforms a higher-rarity weapon with mismatched ones.
ascension perks
Between levels, you choose from randomized ascension perks that modify your abilities and stats. Perks stack multiplicatively — three '+20% fire damage' perks give 1.2 x 1.2 x 1.2 = 1.728x fire damage (73% increase). Building around a single element or weapon type with stacked perks is how you create game-breaking power.
co-op scaling
Enemy HP scales with player count (roughly +50% per additional player) but their damage stays the same. This makes co-op easier for staying alive but requires more total damage output. Synergistic hero combinations (one player applies corrosion, another applies fire for Decay explosions) multiply co-op effectiveness.
elemental combos
Elements interact: Fire + Corrosion = Decay (massive explosion), Lightning + Corrosion = Miasma (AoE poison cloud), Fire + Lightning = Manipulation (spread damage). Applying two different elements to the same enemy triggers the combo reaction. Building around a specific combo path (one weapon for element A, another for element B) is the strongest strategy.
Common Beginner Mistakes
1. Carrying two weapons of the same element — you can't trigger elemental combos with matching elements
Always carry weapons with two different elements for combo potential.
2. Ignoring goblets to rush through levels — goblets provide permanent run buffs that compound
Skipping them to save 30 seconds means missing power that saves minutes on bosses.
3. Not rerolling weapon inscriptions — players who use whatever inscriptions drop randomly miss out on synergistic builds
Spend gold at shrines to reroll until inscriptions match your build.
4. Playing solo and ignoring co-op — while solo is viable, co-op is significantly easier and more fun
Enemy HP scaling doesn't compensate for coordinated elemental combos between players.
5. Spreading ascension perks across multiple elements — pick one element and stack every perk that boosts it
Three '+20% fire damage' perks multiplicatively compound to 73% bonus, far better than one of each element.
First 5 Hours Checklist
- Understand hero abilities and weapon inscriptions
- Choose Ao Bai as starting build
- Clear Longling Tomb main content
- Acquire Demonlore or equivalent upgrade
- Reach Anxi Desert
- Elemental combos (Fire + Corrosion = Decay explosion, Lightning + Corrosion = Miasma cloud) multiply your damage by 3-5x. Always carry two weapons with different elements and alternate between them.
- Goblets (permanent buff items found in levels) stack infinitely — never skip a goblet room. Even seemingly weak goblets compound over a full run into significant power increases.
Tips for New Players
- Elemental combos (Fire + Corrosion = Decay explosion, Lightning + Corrosion = Miasma cloud) multiply your damage by 3-5x. Always carry two weapons with different elements and alternate between them.
- Goblets (permanent buff items found in levels) stack infinitely — never skip a goblet room. Even seemingly weak goblets compound over a full run into significant power increases.
- Reroll weapon inscriptions at shrine altars when you find a weapon with good base stats but bad inscriptions. A mediocre weapon with perfect inscriptions outperforms a legendary with mismatched ones.
- Co-op scales enemy HP but the elemental combo damage doesn't scale — meaning combo-focused teams deal relatively more damage in co-op than solo. Coordinate one fire player and one corrosion player.
- Scroll combinations can break the game — 'Fire damage heals you' + 'Take fire damage to boost attack' creates a self-sustaining loop. Read scroll descriptions carefully and look for synergistic combos.
- Ao Bai's Dual Wield ultimate doubles your DPS for its duration. Save it for boss fights and elite enemies rather than wasting it on trash mobs that die to normal attacks.
- Crown Prince's Smoke Grenade has a short cooldown — use it aggressively for repositioning, not just as an escape. Throwing it into a group of enemies lets you reposition to a better angle.
- Difficulty levels (Normal, Elite, Nightmare, Reincarnation) each add modifiers that change gameplay. Start on Normal to learn mechanics, then push to Elite once you can clear Normal consistently.
- Weapon ammo types matter — some weapons use shared ammo pools. Carrying two weapons that use the same ammo type means you'll run dry fast. Mix ammo types when possible.
- Boss weak points glow — hitting weak points deals critical damage regardless of weapon stats. Focus fire on weak points during damage windows for maximum DPS.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Gunfire Reborn like Risk of Rain 2?
Similar concept (roguelite FPS with scaling difficulty and stacking buffs) but Gunfire Reborn adds RPG hero abilities, elemental combos, and weapon inscription systems. It's also more structured with distinct acts and bosses rather than Risk of Rain 2's open-ended looping.
Can you play Gunfire Reborn solo?
Yes. All content is completable solo, and some builds (particularly Crown Prince elemental combo builds) are extremely strong in solo. However, the game is designed for up to 4-player co-op, and boss fights are significantly easier with teammates covering different elements.
How many heroes are in Gunfire Reborn?
Eight heroes total, with the base game including Crown Prince, Ao Bai, Qing Yan, and Lei Luo. DLC heroes include Tao (melee), Li (summoner), and others. Each hero plays fundamentally differently with unique abilities and ascension perk trees.
What is the best weapon in Gunfire Reborn?
There's no single best weapon — it depends on your hero, build, and inscriptions. Crimson Firescale is consistently strong for fire builds, Argus dominates as a sniper, and Demonlore is the most reliable corrosion applicator. The best weapon is whichever has the best inscriptions for your current build.
What to Read Next
- Gunfire Reborn Builds — Optimize your build once you've learned the basics
- Gunfire Reborn Walkthrough — Full progression path
- Gunfire Reborn Tips — Advanced strategies for when you're ready
