Enter the Gungeon: Complete Guide

A practical guide to Enter the Gungeon from your first run to killing every Past: core mechanics, characters, floor-by-floor bosses, meta progression, every secret floor and how to reach it, and the habits that separate winning runs from dead ones.

Researched September 2026 — current as of the final content update, A Farewell to Arms (April 2019). The game is finished and stable; Enter the Gungeon 2 is announced for Steam with a release date still "to be announced". Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Quick Start

1. The dodge roll makes you invincible for most of its duration. Roll through bullets, not away from them. It also has recovery frames at the end — don't spam it.
2. Blanks clear every bullet on screen. You get two per floor. Use one the moment you're about to take a hit; hoarding blanks and dying is the most common rookie loss.
3. Flip tables for cover (interact key near a table). Flipped tables block shots until destroyed.
4. Hearts are precious; armor is better. Armor absorbs one hit and on bosses it's often the difference.
5. No-hit a boss to earn a Master Round (+1 heart container). Those are your biggest run-long upgrades.
6. Spend keys on chests, not doors, until you know the loot. Chest quality runs D (brown), C (blue), B (green), A (red), S (black). Higher is better.
7. Hegemony Credits persist between runs. Bosses drop them; spend at the Breach to unlock new guns and items into the loot pool.
8. Rescue NPCs. Trapped characters in cells unlock shops and services back at the Breach.
9. Beat the High Dragun in Chamber 5 to finish a run and get the Gun That Can Kill the Past.

Controls (keyboard and mouse)

These are the common defaults, but check Options > Controls because layouts differ between versions and presets. Controller play is fully supported.

Characters

Each main character has a Past — a personal story level you reach with the Gun That Can Kill the Past.

Chambers and Bosses

Bosses for each chamber are chosen from a pool, so you won't see all of them in one run.

Boss tips

• Bullet King: Fights from a throne and sprays rings of bullets. Stay at mid range and roll through the gaps in each ring, not away from them.
• Gatling Gull: Heavy sustained fire and rockets. Use the pillars and tables for cover, but expect it to shred them, so keep moving.
• Trigger Twins: Two bosses at once. Focus one down; the survivor gets more aggressive, so save a blank for that phase.
• Beholster: Fires from multiple eye-stalks and a big laser beam. Circle it and don't get pinned in a corner.
• Ammoconda: A snake that eats bullets and spawns enemies. Aim for the head and keep out of its body's path.
• High Dragun: A multi-phase dragon fight. Patterns get denser each phase, and it's the best place to spend your stockpiled blanks. Beating it for the first time gives you the Gun That Can Kill the Past.
• General rule: Use your best-ammo gun on bosses immediately. A fast kill beats a careful one.

Secret Floors

Special case: using the Gun That Can Kill the Past on the Gunslinger while holding the Bullet That Can Kill the Past sends you to an altered Bullet Hell and the Double Lich fight.

Killing the Pasts

1. Beat the High Dragun. The Gun That Can Kill the Past is in an ornate chest (the Cache of the Ammulich) in the Aimless Void after the Dragun dies.
2. Build the Bullet That Can Kill the Past by handing four parts to the Blacksmith in the Forge. Parts can be turned in over multiple runs — progress is saved:
   • Prime Primer — bought for 110 shells from a glass case in a Gungeon Proper (Chamber 2) shop
   • Arcane Gunpowder — Black Powder Mine (Chamber 3): cross the "empty" room with the invisible-rail minecart gauntlet (or fly over)
   • Planar Lead — Hollow (Chamber 4): cross the invisible path over the chasm in a large empty room (shoot to reveal it, or fly/grapple)
   • Obsidian Shell Casing — destroy the High Dragun's skull after the fight
3. Once built, the Blacksmith hands you a Bullet on every later run. Pick it up before entering the Aimless Void, then fire the Gun at yourself — with the Bullet you go to your character's Past; without it you are just sent back to the Breach.

Each Past is a unique story fight. Killing the Pasts of all four starting Gungeoneers (Marine, Pilot, Convict, Hunter) opens Bullet Hell.

Economy and Meta Progression

Curse raises the chance of Jammed (stronger, red) enemies; at high curse the Lord of the Jammed hunts you. Coolness is the positive counterpart, granted by certain items; it improves your odds of getting rewards when you clear rooms. Stealing from shops or using certain items adds curse.

Run Strategy

• Clear every room on early floors: shells, keys and chests add up. Later, prioritize chests and shops.
• Look for secret rooms. Blanks and explosions reveal cracked walls. Rooms with a single dead-end wall on the map often hide one.
• Buy keys and armor before gimmicky items in early shops.
• Save strong guns for bosses. Your starter pistol has infinite ammo; use it on trash rooms.
• Synergies — many gun/item pairs have hidden synergies (the gun gets a blue arrow icon). Check the Ammonomicon.
• Red and black chests hold the best loot. If a chest is a Mimic (it has a slight tongue/teeth tell and twitches), shoot it before opening.
• Shrines — offer effects with trade-offs (health for power, curse for stats). Read them carefully.

Game Modes

• Rainbow Mode (A Farewell to Arms) — a community-inspired challenge mode that radically changes how loot is handed out. Try it once you know the item pool.
• Boss Rush — back-to-back bosses.
• Challenge Mode — random modifiers in each room.
• Turbo Mode — faster game speed.
• Co-op — local co-op with the Cultist (and Steam Remote Play Together for online).

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Holding blanks. You get new ones each floor; use them.
• Rolling too much. Each roll has an end-lag. Walk to dodge simple patterns and roll through dense ones.
• Ignoring tables. Flipping tables is free defense.
• Opening every chest with your last key. Save a key for a potential A/S chest.
• Standing still to shoot. Keep strafing.
• Stealing from shops recklessly. Getting caught angers the shopkeeper and closes the shop.
• Skipping NPC rescues. They unlock permanent services at the Breach (e.g. Ox and Cadence).

Advanced Tips

• Flawless boss kills give Master Rounds; if you get hit early, switch to your best guns to end the fight fast instead of playing careful.
• Elevator shortcuts: the Tinker at the Breach can build shortcuts to later chambers for credits and requirements; runs starting deeper have less loot but save time.
• Use the Ammonomicon to check unknown items' effects and synergies mid-run.
• Blank in boss phase transitions to erase the whole pattern.
• Clearing a room with a blank can reveal nearby secret walls.
• Break statues and pots for small shell drops.

FAQ

Is Enter the Gungeon still being updated? No new content since A Farewell to Arms (2019). Dodge Roll's studio is working on Enter the Gungeon 2, listed on Steam with a release date "to be announced" as of September 2026.

How do I unlock the Robot and the Bullet? Both are unlocked by completing specific in-game tasks; check the Ammonomicon or the wiki for exact steps.

How many bosses are there? Multiple per chamber (pooled), plus secret-floor bosses, the Pasts, the Lich and variants.

What does the Gun That Can Kill the Past do? It sends your character to their Past. With the Bullet in hand, you can kill the Past and unlock their ending.

How do I reach the Abbey of the True Gun? Take the Old Crest from the Oubliette to the altar in Chamber 2 without getting hit.

What's the Resourceful Rat maze solution? The six Infuriating Notes in your Ammonomicon each end with a cheese icon pointing a direction — follow them in order. The route differs for every installation of the game, so don't copy someone else's; a wrong turn dumps you at an elevator exit instead of the boss.

Sources

• Enter the Gungeon on Steam
• Enter the Gungeon 2 on Steam
• Enter the Gungeon Wiki (wiki.gg) — Chambers
• Enter the Gungeon Wiki — Oubliette
• Enter the Gungeon Wiki — Abbey of the True Gun
• Enter the Gungeon Wiki — Resourceful Rat's Lair
• Enter the Gungeon Wiki — R&G Dept.
• Enter the Gungeon Wiki — Bullet Hell
• Enter the Gungeon Wiki — Bullet That Can Kill The Past
• Enter the Gungeon Wiki — Gun That Can Kill The Past