---
title: "ULTRAKILL: Beginner-to-Advanced Guide"
game: "ULTRAKILL"
game_url: "https://qna.gg/games/ultrakill"
author: "Qloud"
author_url: "https://qna.gg/players/Qloud"
topics: ["Beginners", "Weapons"]
summary: "Everything you need to go from dying in the Prelude to P-ranking levels: movement, healing, every weapon and variant, key tech like coin ricochets and parries, difficulty choices, and what Layer 8: Fraud and its…"
url: "https://qna.gg/g/ultrakill-beginner-to-advanced-guide-3cbaf254"
published: "2026-09-27T16:35:14.786Z"
updated: "2026-09-27T16:35:14.786Z"
source: "QnA.GG"
---

# ULTRAKILL: Beginner-to-Advanced Guide

Everything you need to go from dying in the Prelude to P-ranking levels: movement, healing, every weapon and variant, key tech like coin ricochets and parries, difficulty choices, and what Layer 8: Fraud and its follow-up patches changed in 2026.

*Researched September 2026 — current as of Patch 17d4 (April 25, 2026), after Layer 8: Fraud (February 25, 2026). ULTRAKILL is still in Early Access. Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.*

## Quick Start

1. **You heal by getting close and bloody.** Enemies spray blood when hit up close; standing in it restores HP. Retreating to "play safe" actually starves you of health.
2. **Never stop moving.** Dash (3 stamina charges), slide, slam and wall-jump constantly; standing still is how you die.
3. **Punch projectiles back.** The Feedbacker arm parries most projectiles and even some melee attacks - a successful parry heals you and deals big damage.
4. **Swap weapons constantly.** Style rewards variety, and most weapons have short cooldowns you can dodge by swapping.
5. **Pick Standard difficulty for the "intended" experience.** Lenient and Harmless are genuinely easier, not shameful; Violent and Brutal are for returning players.
6. **Earn P (points) to buy weapon variants** at the Terminal shop between levels. Blue variants are found in levels, green and red are purchased.
7. **Don't chase ranks on a first run.** Just finish levels; come back for S and P ranks once you know the layouts.
8. **Look around for secrets.** Every normal level has hidden Soul Orbs and many have secret exits to hidden levels.

## Movement

| Action | Default key | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Move | WASD | Very fast base speed |
| Jump | Space | Up to 3 wall jumps before touching the ground |
| Dash | Shift | Costs one of 3 stamina bars; grants brief invulnerability |
| Slide | Ctrl (ground) | Keeps momentum; jump out of a slide for distance |
| Ground slam | Ctrl (air) | Slams down fast; slam-jump for height (slam bounce) |
| Punch | F | Uses your current arm |
| Swap arm | G | Cycle Feedbacker / Knuckleblaster |
| Whiplash | R | Grapple enemies, items or hookpoints |
| Weapon variant | Press the weapon number again (or E) | Cycles variants of the current weapon |

**Core movement tricks:**

- **Slide-jump:** jump out of a slide for long horizontal distance.
- **Dash-jump:** jump while dashing to carry the dash's speed into a long, fast jump.
- **Slam bounce:** jump right after a slam lands to launch higher.
- **Wind state (Fraud Hotfix #2):** a new tech that grants greater air control, triggered by a non-damaging rocket jump, a walljump while diving, a dash extension, or dashing into an enemy step.
- **Rocket riding:** with the Rocket Launcher, shoot a rocket and jump on it; since Fraud Hotfix #2 you can also mount rockets by holding jump while pulling one with the Whiplash.

## Health and Hard Damage

- Your HP is 100 on most difficulties (200 on Harmless; on Lenient, restarting from the same checkpoint 3+ times raises it to 200). Close-range blood heals you.
- On **Standard and above**, taking damage also causes **Hard Damage** (35% of normal damage on Standard), which temporarily lowers your maximum HP. On Violent and Brutal each hit also delays its recovery. Avoid taking many hits in a row.
- Parries heal you - learn to parry the most common projectiles.

## Style and Ranks

- The **Style meter** fills with varied, creative kills (headshots, parries, multikills, ricochets, weapon swapping).
- **Style points (P)** from levels are your currency for weapon variants in the shop.
- **Level ranks** are graded on Time, Kills and Style. A **P-rank** requires the top rank in all categories with no restarts - the game's big completion goal.
- **Challenges:** each level has an optional challenge (e.g., don't use a certain weapon) for completion.

## Weapons

ULTRAKILL has five weapon slots with three variants each (blue, green, red), plus secret alternate forms found through exploration. Prices are from the Terminal shop.

| Slot | Weapon | Variants | Highlights |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Revolver | Piercer, Marksman, Sharpshooter | Marksman throws coins you can shoot for auto-targeting ricochets; Sharpshooter's charge ricochets off walls; Piercer's charge beam goes through enemies |
| 2 | Shotgun | Core Eject, Pump Charge, Sawed-On | Core Eject launches a grenade core; Pump Charge overpumps into an explosion; Sawed-On uses a chainsaw |
| 3 | Nailgun | Attractor, Overheat, Jumpstart | Attractor fires magnets that pull nails; Overheat uses a heat sink; nail/saw alternate forms exist |
| 4 | Railcannon | Electric, Screwdriver, Malicious | Electric pierces and chains; Screwdriver drills an enemy; Malicious fires an explosive beam |
| 5 | Rocket Launcher | Freezeframe, S.R.S. Cannon, Firestarter | Freezeframe freezes rockets in the air; S.R.S. fires a cannonball; Firestarter sprays gasoline |

**Shop prices (per wiki):** revolver variants 7,500-25,000 P, shotguns 12,500-25,000 P, nailguns 25,000-35,000 P, rocket launchers 75,000 P each, railcannons 100,000 P each. A custom color scheme costs 1,000,000 P.

### Arms

| Arm | Where you get it | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Feedbacker | Default | Fast punch, parries projectiles, punches coins and Core Eject grenades |
| Knuckleblaster | 1-4: Clair de Lune | Heavy punch with a shockwave that knocks enemies and projectiles away |
| Whiplash | 4-4: Clair de Soleil | Grappling hook: pull light enemies to you, pull yourself to heavy ones |

## Key Tech to Learn

1. **Coin ricochet (Marksman):** throw a coin, shoot it. The bullet auto-targets an enemy's weak point with bonus damage. Chaining coins multiplies damage. Railcannon shots and Piercer charges can be bounced too.
2. **Parry:** punch a projectile just before it hits you. Parrying heals you and sends the projectile back hard.
3. **Shotgun parry:** fire the shotgun at point-blank and punch immediately - it deals massive damage.
4. **Core Eject punching:** fire a core, then punch it toward enemies to make it fly straight and explode on contact.
5. **Quick-swap:** swap weapons between shots to skip reload animations.
6. **Nailgun + Electric Railcannon:** conduct electricity through nails and magnets for crowd damage (and since patch 17d4, conduction works reliably with Max Gore Per Room set to 0).
7. **Whiplash tricks:** pull Stray/Schism projectiles or heavy enemies to create openings.

## Structure and Progress (as of Patch 17d4)

| Act | Layers |
|---|---|
| Prelude: Overture - The Mouth of Hell | 0-1 to 0-5 + secret 0-S |
| Act I: Infinite Hyperdeath | Layer 1 Limbo, Layer 2 Lust, Layer 3 Gluttony |
| Act II: Imperfect Hatred | Layer 4 Greed, Layer 5 Wrath, Layer 6 Heresy |
| Act III: Godfist Suicide | Layer 7 Violence, Layer 8 Fraud (Feb 2026), Layer 9 Treachery (unreleased) |

Per the ULTRAKILL wiki, the game currently has 33 main levels, 6 secret levels, 2 Encore levels and 2 Prime Sanctums (P-1 and P-2) out of a planned 55 levels total. A third Prime Sanctum, more Encores, Layer 9 and the ULTRAKILL MUST DIE difficulty are still to come.

### Extras

- **The Cyber Grind:** endless wave arena with a leaderboard. Patch 17d made Deathcatcher cage requirements more lenient and reserved 10% of each wave's points for common enemies.
- **Sandbox:** spawn enemies and objects with the Spawner arm to practice tech.
- **Prime Sanctums:** unlock by meeting rank/secret requirements in the right layer; they are the hardest bosses in the game.
- **Fishing** and many small secrets hidden in levels.

## Difficulty

| Difficulty | Key changes |
|---|---|
| Harmless | Enemies 50% slower, 200 HP, no Hard Damage |
| Lenient | Enemies 25% slower, no Hard Damage |
| Standard | The baseline; Hard Damage enabled |
| Violent | Enemies 25% faster; each hit adds a second to Hard Damage's regen cooldown |
| Brutal | Enemies 50% faster, most enemies with 50% more health |
| ULTRAKILL MUST DIE | Unreleased |

## Enemy Priorities

- **Kill ranged support enemies first** (Stray, Schism, Mindflayer, Virtues). They make any arena overwhelming.
- **Idols** protect other enemies with a blessing - kill the Idol first.
- **Heavy enemies** (Cerberus, Hideous Mass, Swordsmachine) can be handled with parries and big damage like shotgun parries and rockets.
- **Newer enemies** you'll see referenced in 2026 patch notes include Deathcatchers, Providences and Mirror Reapers. Kill Deathcatchers quickly (they can puppet other enemies), and note that since patch 17d4 Providences share a separate cooldown so they take turns attacking rather than swamping you alongside Virtues.

## Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. **Backing away from enemies.** You lose your only real healing source.
2. **Saving stamina "for later".** Dash to dodge, not only to travel.
3. **Using one weapon.** Low style, slow kills, poor ranks.
4. **Ignoring the Feedbacker.** Parry practice pays back more than any purchase.
5. **Buying only one weapon line.** Pick up a variety of variants early - the Marksman revolver is a strong first buy.
6. **Playing Brutal first.** It's designed as an extra challenge for players who've finished the game.

## Advanced Tips

- **Coin + Railcannon:** hit a coin with a railcannon shot for enormous damage; this combo is key for bosses.
- **Slam storage and slide tech** carry speedrunning; the April 2026 patches made the "duckboost" and "SSJ" techs more consistent and restored "Dash Extension".
- **Rocket Launcher's Freezeframe:** freeze rockets in the air to stack them, then release.
- **Weapon swapping mid-combo** keeps the Style meter high and damage constant.
- **P-rank routing:** watch speedruns, learn the kill order per arena, and move straight between rooms.
- **Reduce HUD motion** (added in Fraud Hotfix #2) if the weapon sway distracts you.
- **Level time leaderboards** now default to your own time and are scrollable - handy for tracking PBs.

## FAQ

**Is ULTRAKILL finished?**
No. It's in Early Access with Layer 9 (Treachery), the final Prime Sanctum, more Encores and ULTRAKILL MUST DIE still to come.

**What changed with Layer 8: Fraud?**
It released on February 25, 2026 with four new levels (8-1 Hurtbreak Wonderland, 8-2 Through the Mirror, 8-3 Disintegration Loop, 8-4 Final Flight), plus new enemies and arenas. The wiki still counts 6 released secret levels, so 8-S is listed but not yet playable. Hotfixes through April 2026 (latest 17d4) added Wind state tech, rocket-riding improvements and many fixes.

**Is it too hard for new players?**
Harmless and Lenient are designed for players who want the story and action without the punishing difficulty. Start there if you're struggling.

**What should I buy first in the shop?**
The Marksman revolver (coins) is widely recommended because it teaches ricochet tech. Then pick a shotgun and rocket variant that suits your style.

**How do I get P-ranks?**
Finish the level with top ranks in time, kills and style with no restarts. Learn the layout first.

**Can I use mods?**
Yes, the community has mods, but the game's own Sandbox and the Cyber Grind already cover most practice needs.

## Sources

- [ULTRAKILL on Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1229490/)
- [Steam news: LAYER 8: FRAUD, Fraud Hotfix #1/#2, Patches 17d-17d4](https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1229490)
- [ULTRAKILL Wiki - Levels](https://ultrakill.wiki.gg/wiki/Levels)
- [ULTRAKILL Wiki - Weapons](https://ultrakill.wiki.gg/wiki/Weapons)
- [ULTRAKILL Wiki - Difficulty](https://ultrakill.wiki.gg/wiki/Difficulty)