Call of Juarez: Gunslinger: Complete Guide

Everything you need to master Techland's 2013 arcade western shooter: Concentration and Sense of Death, the three skill trees and which to take first, how to win duels (honorably), Nuggets of Truth, the Arcade and Duel modes, and an achievement plan.

Researched September 2026 — current as of the final PC release (no updates since launch; game celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2023). Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

The Setup

It's 1910 in a saloon in Abilene, Kansas. Aging bounty hunter Silas Greaves tells his life story to the patrons. You play the tales, and Silas is an unreliable narrator. When a listener doubts him, or he misremembers, the level changes around you mid-mission: enemies reappear, paths rearrange, events rewind. Along the way you meet or face real legends such as Billy the Kid, Pat Garrett, Jesse James, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and Johnny Ringo, while Silas hunts the men he blames for his brothers' deaths.

The campaign runs about 5–6 hours. It's a score-attack shooter with a story wrapped around it.

Quick Start

• It's a score game. Kills, headshots, combos and skill shots earn points, and points are XP. Aggressive, stylish play levels you faster.
• Use Concentration often. It fills from kills (faster with headshots). Activate it for slow motion with every enemy highlighted in red. It refills fast, so don't hoard it.
• Trust Sense of Death. When the meter is full and you'd take a lethal shot, time slows and you dodge left or right. Watch the meter and play boldly when it's full.
• Pick one skill tree first. Gunslinger (pistols), Ranger (rifles) or Trapper (shotguns). Specializing gets you strong unlocks sooner than spreading points.
• Collect Nuggets of Truth. Glowing collectibles that unlock historical write-ups and give XP. Search corners and side paths.
• Duels: focus first, then speed. Keep your focus reticle on the opponent and your hand near the gun. For honor (and bonus points), wait for them to draw first.
• Aim for headshots. They fill Concentration faster and score higher.
• New Game+ keeps your skills. Your second run lets you finish the other trees.

Core Mechanics

Concentration

• Charging: Kills fill the meter, and headshots fill it faster than body shots.
• Effect: Slow motion with all enemies highlighted, so you can clear a whole room in one activation.
• Upgrades: The skill trees include skills that extend or change how Concentration behaves. Read each skill's description before spending points.
• Tip: Save a charge for the moment you round a corner into a group, or for when dynamite is in the air. Ungrateful asks you to shoot a flying dynamite stick and its thrower in one Concentration.

Sense of Death

• Fills when your health drops critically low and then recovers, so surviving close calls charges it.
• When it's full and you'd take a fatal shot, time slows and you dodge left or right to survive.
• It's a second life. Knowing yours is full lets you play aggressively.

Weapons

• Dual pistols / revolvers: Fast, precise, great with the Gunslinger tree.
• Rifles: Long-range headshots. Ranger tree upgrades help with scope and damage.
• Shotguns: Brutal up close. The Trapper tree improves them (Full Blast: kill a shotgunner with a close-range blast).
• Dynamite: Thrown explosive for groups and cover-campers.
• Each tree unlocks exclusive weapons (Perseverance: unlock both exclusive weapons in one tree in Story Mode).

Skill trees

Tree | Weapon focus | Strengths | Recommended for

Gunslinger | Pistols, dual-wield | Fast kills, reload and handling upgrades, a strong Concentration mode | First playthrough and all-round play

Ranger | Rifles | Long-range precision, headshot-focused perks | Players who like to pick targets off

Trapper | Shotguns | Close-range stopping power | Aggressive players, and Hard/True West

Unlock skills with the XP from your score. Keep At It pops on your first skill, and For a Few Skills More needs every skill in Story Mode, which is only realistic across Story plus New Game+.

Duels

Duels are third-person showdowns against named outlaws.

• Focus: Keep your aiming reticle centered on the opponent to build focus (accuracy).
• Hand speed: Hover your hand close to your holster to build draw speed.
• Draw: When the opponent goes for his gun (or when you choose to draw early), draw and fire.
• Honorable win: Wait for the opponent to reach for his gun first, then draw and win. You earn more points, and it's required for Honor Intact (win every duel in the Duel challenge honorably).
• Dishonorable win: Draw early. It's easier but scores less.
• Swift Justice: Win a duel honorably in under 0.6 seconds, so keep focus and speed maxed and react instantly.
• Trick Shot: Kill a bird during a winning duel. Watch for birds crossing the frame.

Nuggets of Truth

Collectibles scattered through each chapter. Picking one up unlocks a short historical entry about the real person or event behind the tale, plus XP.

• True Story: All Nuggets of Truth in one mission.
• Unvarnished Truth: Every Nugget in the game.
• Chapter select lets you replay missions to find any you missed.

Modes

Mode | What it is | Notes

Story | The campaign with the narrator mechanic | Difficulties from Easy up to Hard and the hardest, True West, which strips player aids

New Game+ | Replay the story keeping your skills | Finish your skill trees

Arcade | Wave-based score attack with preset characters and loadouts | Up to 3 stars per mission. Magnificent Three, Legend Among Legends and The Tally

Duel | A sequence of back-to-back duels against the story's gunslingers | Honor Intact needs the whole challenge won honorably

Story Tips by Tale (Light Spoilers)

These tips follow the legends you'll meet, not the exact chapter order.

• Early chapters: Short tutorial tales. Learn headshots and Concentration timing. Nuggets are easy to spot here, so train your eye.
• Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett tales (1880, New Mexico Territory): The story opens here with fast gunfights. The pistol tree shines early.
• Jesse James and the outlaw gangs: Expect elevated shooters. Keep a rifle for anyone on a perch.
• Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch: Bigger shootouts with dynamite throwers. Shoot the dynamite before it lands.
• Johnny Ringo and the late game: Tougher enemies and bigger fights. Keep Sense of Death charged.
• The final chapter: The story comes back to the saloon, and you make a closing choice between revenge and letting it go. Several story achievements are hidden on Steam, so replay the last chapter via chapter select to see the other outcome.

When the narrator "corrects" himself, the level changes. Enemies may respawn and the path may change, so don't assume a cleared room stays clear.

Achievement Plan

Achievement | How

That's How It Was | Finish the story on any difficulty

Grows In The Telling | Finish on Hard

Last Man Standing | Finish on True West

Turkey Shoot | Reach a combo level of 20. Chain kills quickly using Concentration

Death From Above | Kill 5 enemies while falling through the air

Quality Time | Spend 15 minutes total in Concentration. Comes naturally

Swift Justice / Trick Shot / Honor Intact | Duel skill, described above

True Story / Unvarnished Truth | Nuggets of Truth

The Tally / Magnificent Three / Legend Among Legends | Arcade Mode completion and stars

For a Few Skills More / Perseverance | Skill tree completion

Full Blast / Ungrateful / Keep At It | Kill a shotgunner with a close-range blast; shoot a flying dynamite stick and its thrower in one Concentration; unlock your first skill

The game has 26 Steam achievements in total. Several story ones are hidden, so expect a few to pop as you progress.

Plan it as: Story on Hard, then NG+ on True West with your skills carried over, picking up missing Nuggets through chapter select. Then Arcade and the Duel challenge.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Hoarding Concentration. It refills quickly, so using it constantly raises your score.
• Drawing early in every duel. You lose points, and Honor Intact needs honorable wins.
• Spreading skill points thin on a first run.
• Ignoring dynamite throwers. They're priority targets, and shooting the stick mid-air is safer and scores.
• Treating a narrator rewrite as a glitch. The level really has changed. Re-check your surroundings.
• Skipping Nuggets, then having to replay the whole game for them.

Advanced Tips

• Combo discipline: Kills in quick succession build the multiplier. Push through rooms, don't pick at them from far away.
• Headshot fishing: Enemies peek from the same cover repeatedly. Pre-aim at head height where they'll reappear.
• Duel reads: Watch the opponent's hand, and react when it moves toward the holster, not before.
• True West: Go in with at least one finished tree from NG+. Fully upgraded weapons make the hardest difficulty far more forgiving.
• Arcade stars: Arcade classes play differently, so pick the one whose weapon matches the map's ranges.

FAQ

How long is Call of Juarez: Gunslinger? About 5–6 hours for the story. Full completion, with Arcade, Duel and all collectibles, takes a lot longer.

Do I need to play the other Call of Juarez games first? No. Gunslinger is a standalone story.

Which skill tree is best? Gunslinger for a first playthrough. Trapper for the hardest difficulty. Ranger if you prefer long-range headshots.

How do honorable duels work? Let the opponent move for his gun first, then draw. You still need high focus and hand speed to win.

Can I get every achievement in one run? No. You'll need a second run (NG+) for all the skills and the True West difficulty, plus Arcade and Duel modes.

Is there multiplayer? No. It's single-player only, and Arcade leaderboards are the competitive part.

Is it on other platforms? Yes. It launched on 22 May 2013 for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and a Nintendo Switch port followed on 10 December 2019.

Sources

• Call of Juarez: Gunslinger on Steam
• Call of Juarez: Gunslinger — Steam global achievements
• Call of Juarez: Gunslinger — Wikipedia
• Steam announcement: 10th anniversary event (May 2023)