Gunfire Reborn is one of the most entertaining Indie roguelikes on the market, although it's perhaps lesser-known than some of the bigger titles that have been released in recent years. Thankfully, it seems to be gaining a bit of steam thanks to consistent updates from developers and a small-but-dedicated community of players that keep coming back for more.
More and more players are jumping on the bandwagon and trying Gunfire Reborn for the first time, only to find out that it's a lot more challenging than it appears from the outside. There are a wide array of enemies, multiple zones, challenging bosses, and a slew of amazing loot to collect along the way. The following tips can help players that are just getting started on their journey through this engaging indie release.
Choose Your Weapons Wisely
There are a lot of weapons to find in Gunfire Reborn. Because it uses a Roguelike progression, players will constantly unlock new guns, scrolls, skills, and the like, but newbies are given a wide array of weapons to use right off the bat. Those that jump into their first run may find themselves inundated with weapons and unsure what the "best guns" are.
The answer is a bit of a mystery thanks to how Gunfire Reborn's weapon system works. Because weapons roll with random modifiers, some weapons are much stronger than others on a given run. Players will want to experiment with all the weapon "types" and find which guns are the most comfortable for them.
Don't Fear Death
Although players will need to stay on their feet as they progress through the game and get ever-so-closer to defeating the boss in each stage, death isn't such a bad thing in Gunfire Reborn. In fact, it's the only way for characters to "grow." As players make their way through each level they'll be given Soul Essence, which can be expended at the end of each run to unlock new skills, abilities, and passives for their chosen character.
It's a given that players will die in Gunfire Reborn, especially during the early runs of the game. Most characters are pretty weak at the start, making boss fights incredibly difficult if players don't manage to snag a great gun or solid scrolls. Players shouldn't fear death and instead roll with the punches to keep progressing further.
Don't Use The Resurrect Feature Early On
Soul Essence is incredibly valuable in the early game. It's the only thing that can infuse characters and upgrade them into better versions of themselves. The faster that players unlock upgrades for their characters, the better they'll be when they start subsequent runs.
Because of this, players should avoid the "resurrection feature" should they find themselves on the brink of death during battle. It's not worth paying hard-earned Soul Essence so soon and it's simply better to embrace death and bank the essence instead, early on.
Use Grenades Often
At the start, new players will only have access to the Crown Prince character and should familiarize themselves with their kit. One of the Crown Prince's additional abilities is that they throw caustic grenades (which can be useful for ticking away enemy armor). These grenades will need to be refilled by collecting them from slain enemies or breakable objects littered around each zone. Many new players often overlook how good these grenades really are and won't toss them out often because they're afraid to use them all up or they're simply distracted by all of the new and exciting guns they find scattered about.
Grenades are quite easy to replenish, especially in the early stages, and players should be tossing them out during fights as often as possible. Since they don't do nearly as much damage to bosses, they're better used to clear smaller enemies and can help new players gain an edge in combat.
Learn About Each Character
The characters in Gunfire Reborn are more than just visual avatars. Each character has its own unique abilities, skills, and passives. Players should be sure to familiarize themselves with characters as they unlock them, studying their abilities and ascertaining what they do "best." Although each character isn't available at the start, players will begin to unlock them as soon as they start making somewhat decent progress through each run (characters are unlocked based on player level, with more EXP being rewarded the farther a player progresses in a run).
Each character has its own unique playstyle and some excel better with certain weapons. Lei Luo, for example, specializes in crits and does well with long-range hard-hitting weaponry, while Ao Bai is capable of dual-wielding and does well with automatic weapons.
Put Soul Essence Into The Survival Tree First
Each character comes with their own Talent tree, filled with an array of passive skills that can be unlocked using Soul Essence. There are six different paths to go down with Expedition, Battle, Skill, Survival, Weapon, and Hero. Each of these paths represents a specific facet of the character and there are quite a few nodes to unlock.
Many players will be tempted to unlock better abilities, go for higher DPS output, or raise the stats associated with finding better gear in each run. The best choice for new players, however, is to put as much Soul Essence into Survival as possible during the earliest portions of the game. To put it simply, a higher DPS output and better gear is moot if players aren't able to take more than a couple hits from enemies before going down. No matter how powerful their weaponry, players will find themselves in hectic gunfights from time to time and it's just as important to be able to take hits as it is to dish them out.
Movement Speed Is Important
Although each run starts out relatively simple, with a small handful of enemies in each room, the difficulty quickly ramps up as players progress. In fact, some of the later levels have so many enemies on screen at one time that it can be downright overwhelming. This makes Movement Speed very important, as players will need to be able to quickly dodge enemy gunfire while engaged in combat.
What many new players don't know is that weapon size and type directly correlate to a character's movement speed. Those that are carrying a heavy mini-gun or a launcher will move at a much slower pace than those that have a pistol or a kunai. Thankfully, the game forces players to always carry their starter weapon, a Foundry with unlimited ammo. Players can always switch to this weapon to gain some much-needed movement speed in difficult fights or platforming sections.
Pay Attention To Enemy Armor And Shields
At the start, players will mostly combat enemies that have a single red health bar but as they progress further they will come across foes with yellow armor bars and blue shield bars. These enemies can be a lot harder to take down but there are tips and tricks to shredding through them. The color of their bars directly correlates to what element players should use against them.
In the game's current state, health bars (red) take heavy damage from fire-based weaponry. Armor bars (yellow) can be quickly whittled away with a caustic weapon (or skills and grenades that are caustic element). Blue bars (shields) go down fastest when a player hits them with a lightning-based weapon. Carrying weapons of each type and covering all bases can mean the difference between victory and defeat.
Tailor Occult Scrolls To Each Character
This tip comes in handy much more for those that are playing with friends but it's still worthwhile in solo play for gamers who make it exceedingly far into a given run. As players make their way through each zone they'll come across a wide array of Occult Scrolls. These scrolls have unique buffs on them that can help change the tide of battle by making characters stronger but not every scroll is perfect for every hero.
New players will want to spend their time reading scrolls carefully and learning all they can about the character they're playing. It's always best to synergize by equipping heroes with scrolls that complement their abilities and playstyles. Thankfully, those that are playing cooperatively with other players can drop scrolls and weapons for one another, helping each to make a build that will carry them farther into each run.
Learn Every Weapon
There are A LOT of weapons present in Gunfire Reborn and developers are constantly adding new and interesting guns to the game (along with even more characters). These weapons all have their own unique strengths and weaknesses and certain inscriptions on a gun can turn them from "okay" into "incredibly overpowered."
At the start, players should gain as much information about these guns as possible, knowing what they do and how to use them. Although it's okay to have a favorite weapon type (and it's recommended that players use whatever weapons make them comfortable), some players end up glossing over truly powerful items because they had one bad experience with them or usually see them as weaker during each run. Players should familiarize themselves with everything Gunfire Reborn has to offer as quickly as possible being careful to read over item effects and weapon abilities.