ULTRAKILL is a retro-styled FPS inspired by Quake, Devil May Cry, and classic arcade shooters. Set in the layers of Hell, you play as a machine fueled by blood, meaning aggressive play literally heals you. The style ranking system (D through ULTRAKILL) rewards varied combat, weapon swapping, and creative kills. Every weapon has multiple variants with distinct alt-fires, and the coin-flipping mechanic lets you redirect shots for trick kills. Currently in Early Access through Act 2, it's already considered one of the best boomer shooters ever made.
Starting ULTRAKILL 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?
ULTRAKILL is a fps game built around style ranking system and blood healing. 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 Role
| Role | Beginner Rating | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Shotgun Main | Good (but demanding) | Grapple in with Whiplash, Core Eject into swap-cancel loops, punch for extra blood. |
| Railcannon Specialist | Excellent for beginners | Open with railcannon on the biggest threat, coin-redirect for precision, swap to other weapons during cooldown. |
| Coin Trickshotter | Excellent for beginners | Toss coins constantly, chain shots through them for auto-aim headshots, maximize style rank. |
| Nailgun Shredder | Situational | Tag enemies with magnets, shred with nails, detonate overheat nails with shotgun blasts for explosions. |
| Rocket Surfer | Situational | Stay airborne with rocket jumps, rain down Firestarter rockets for area denial, shotgun for close encounters. |
Our recommendation: Start with Railcannon Specialist. Uses Malicious and Electric railcannon variants to delete priority targets instantly. Railcannon shots bounced off coins deal double damage. Requires good target prioritization since railcannons have long cooldowns.
Avoid Rocket Surfer as your first pick. Incorporates rocket launcher movement tech into combat.
First Session Step-by-Step
Step 1: Learn style ranking system
Every kill and action adds to your style meter from D to ULTRAKILL rank. Varied attacks score higher — using the same weapon repeatedly tanks your multiplier. Fresh Weapon bonuses trigger when swapping to unused weapons. Higher style ranks increase point gains and are required for P-ranking levels.
This is the foundation. Spend your first 15-30 minutes getting comfortable with how style ranking system works before worrying about anything else.
Step 2: Head to Limbo
The first layer of Hell serving as the game's tutorial and early levels. Introduces basic enemies like Filth and Strays. The Cerberus boss at the end tests your dodging fundamentals. Clean, geometric environments with clear sightlines.
Clear the main content here before moving on. Everything teaches fundamentals you'll need later.
Step 3: Get Your First Upgrade
Look for Core Eject Shotgun — it's the most accessible early upgrade. Fires normally, then alt-fire ejects the heated core as a bouncing explosive. The core deals 5x shotgun damage on direct hit. Swap-canceling after the first shot lets you fire again immediately, producing absurd DPS. The highest skill-ceiling weapon.
Step 4: Understand blood healing
As a machine powered by blood, you heal by being splashed with enemy blood. Killing enemies at close range, punching them, or standing in blood pools restores health. This creates the core loop: aggression heals you, passivity kills you. Hard damage (gray health) can only be healed through blood.
This is the system most new players overlook. Invest time here early — it pays off throughout the entire game.
Step 5: Push to Lust
Second layer introducing water mechanics that affect nailgun behavior and electrical hazards. The Minos Prime secret boss is one of the hardest fights in the game. Egyptian-themed architecture with tighter corridors.
Essential Mechanics Explained
style ranking system
Every kill and action adds to your style meter from D to ULTRAKILL rank. Varied attacks score higher — using the same weapon repeatedly tanks your multiplier. Fresh Weapon bonuses trigger when swapping to unused weapons. Higher style ranks increase point gains and are required for P-ranking levels.
blood healing
As a machine powered by blood, you heal by being splashed with enemy blood. Killing enemies at close range, punching them, or standing in blood pools restores health. This creates the core loop: aggression heals you, passivity kills you. Hard damage (gray health) can only be healed through blood.
coin flipping
The Marksman Revolver's alt-fire tosses a coin. Any projectile that hits the coin auto-redirects to the nearest enemy's weak point. Shooting a coin with a railcannon or another revolver shot creates devastating trick shots. Coins can chain into other coins for multi-redirect kills.
weapon swapping combos
Switching weapons mid-combat is essential for maintaining style rank and maximizing DPS. Core Eject Shotgun into swap-cancel lets you fire again immediately. Nailgun overheated magnets into shotgun blasts combo for massive damage. The weapon wheel has no swap cooldown.
movement tech
Bunny hopping, slam jumps (ground pound for height), dash chaining, and whiplash grappling form the movement system. Slam jumping off enemy heads gives massive height. Rocket surfing (shooting a rocket at your feet mid-air) provides emergency mobility.
Common Beginner Mistakes
1. Playing passively and trying to dodge at range — ULTRAKILL heals through blood, meaning staying back slowly kills you while aggression sustains you
2. Never using coins because they seem gimmicky — coin shots are the highest-damage single-target attacks and are essential for P-ranks
3. Ignoring the punch/parry mechanic — the Feedbacker arm parries projectiles, breaks blue health bars, and splashes extra blood for healing
4. Sticking to one weapon the entire level — the style system actively punishes weapon repetition and rewards constant swapping
5. Not exploring for secrets — ULTRAKILL levels are packed with hidden areas containing weapon variants, challenge rooms, and lore
First 5 Hours Checklist
- Understand style ranking system and blood healing
- Choose Railcannon Specialist as starting role
- Clear Limbo main content
- Acquire Core Eject Shotgun or equivalent upgrade
- Reach Lust
- Core Eject swap-cancel: fire the shotgun, immediately switch weapons and switch back, fire again. This bypasses the pump animation and doubles your fire rate.
- Punching enemies with the Feedbacker (default arm) parries most projectiles back at the sender. Parried Mindflayer beams one-shot them.
Tips for New Players
- Core Eject swap-cancel: fire the shotgun, immediately switch weapons and switch back, fire again. This bypasses the pump animation and doubles your fire rate.
- Punching enemies with the Feedbacker (default arm) parries most projectiles back at the sender. Parried Mindflayer beams one-shot them.
- Toss a coin, then shoot it with the Malicious Railcannon — the redirected beam deals 2x damage and auto-targets the nearest enemy's weak point.
- Slam (crouch in mid-air) then jump immediately on landing for a slam jump that gives 3x normal jump height. Essential for reaching secrets.
- The Whiplash grapple has zero cooldown. Use it to pull yourself toward enemies constantly — staying in the air makes you harder to hit.
- Overheat nailgun alt-fire heats the nails. Heated nails stick to enemies and can be detonated by any explosive or shotgun blast for bonus damage.
- Fresh Weapon bonus gives +50% style points. Cycle through all weapons in a fight rather than sticking to your favorite for maximum style rank.
- Coins stay in the air for 4 seconds. Toss 4 coins, then shoot the chain — each coin redirects to a different enemy for multi-kills.
- Ground slamming onto enemy heads deals 200 damage and bounces you upward. Chain head-slams in crowds for style points and blood healing.
- P-ranking a level requires S style rank, no deaths, under time limit, and finding all secrets. Focus on one requirement per attempt rather than all at once.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is ULTRAKILL finished?
It's in Early Access with Acts 1 and 2 complete (Layers 1-6 plus the Prelude). Act 3 is in development. The available content already offers 30+ levels with P-rank challenges, secret bosses, and a Cybergrind endless mode.
How hard is ULTRAKILL?
The base difficulty (Violent) is challenging but fair. It's designed to be learned through repetition — deaths are instant restarts with no loading. Brutal and ULTRAKILL difficulties exist for masochists. Harmless and Lenient modes make it accessible to all.
What is Cybergrind?
An endless wave-based survival mode with online leaderboards. Enemies scale in difficulty each wave. It's the primary endgame content for testing builds and competing for scores. Custom maps can be imported.
Can I remap the weapon wheel?
Yes, every weapon slot and variant can be bound to individual keys. Most competitive players bind each weapon to a specific key (1-4) and each variant to a modifier key for instant access without the wheel.
What to Read Next
- ULTRAKILL Builds — Optimize your role once you've learned the basics
- ULTRAKILL Walkthrough — Full progression path
- ULTRAKILL Tips — Advanced strategies for when you're ready
