GTFO: Complete Survival Guide

A practical guide to GTFO's co-op hardcore descent: stealth on sleepers, roles and loadouts, tools, terminal commands, alarms and scans, enemy handling, and how to work through all eight rundowns.

Researched September 2026 — current as of the "Final Edition" (Rundown 8.0 Duality, released December 8, 2023, was the final content rundown; the latest patch was a small Unity security fix on October 17, 2025). The game is complete and 10 Chambers is working on Den of Wolves. Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

The Game's Current State

GTFO is finished: no new rundowns are coming. All currently playable content is eight rundowns with 83 expeditions in total (per the GTFO wiki), tiered A (easiest) to E (hardest):

Rundown | Name | Expeditions

ALT://Rundown 1.0 | Deviation | 6

ALT://Rundown 2.0 | Infection | 10

ALT://Rundown 3.0 | The Vessel | 7

ALT://Rundown 4.0 | Contact | 12

ALT://Rundown 5.0 | Rebirth | 13

ALT://Rundown 6.0 | Destination | 13

Rundown 7.0 | Rise | 10

Rundown 8.0 | Duality | 12

The original Early Access rundowns were retired and replaced by the ALT versions. Clearing expeditions unlocks deeper tiers within each rundown. Bots can fill empty slots, but the game is built for four humans on voice chat.

Quick Start

• Play with a full squad on voice. GTFO punishes solo players and silent teams. Bots are a fallback.
• Sleepers wake from noise, light, and proximity. Crouch-walk near them, keep your flashlight off them when they pulse, and time your moves to their breathing.
• Melee is your main stealth tool. A charged melee hit to the back of the head (occiput) one-shots a Striker.
• Never open doors carelessly. Some doors trigger alarms, others hide rooms full of enemies. Read the door's panel first.
• Use terminals. LIST, QUERY, and PING find objectives and resources.
• Resources are finite. Ammo, medical supplies, and tool refills are scattered through the level — share them intentionally.
• Set up before alarms. Place sentries, mines, and C-foam doors before triggering a scan.
• Start with A-tier expeditions in earlier ALT rundowns before attempting higher tiers.

Roles and Loadouts

Each prisoner brings a main weapon, a special weapon, a tool, and a melee weapon. Coordinate so the team covers every job.

Role | Typical tool | Weapon focus | Job

Scout / tracker | Bio Tracker | Precision main + revolver or sniper special | Tags enemies, plans stealth routes, calls targets

Holder / defender | C-Foam Launcher | Automatic main + shotgun special | Foams doors, holds chokes during alarms

Sentry player | Burst, HEL Auto, Shotgun, or Sniper Sentry | Balanced | Covers a lane or door during scans

Mines | Mine Deployer | Balanced | Pre-traps chokepoints and alarm routes

Weapon pool

Everything below is on the GTFO wiki's weapon list. Main weapons use the plentiful main ammo pool; special weapons use the scarcer special pool, so save them for big targets and emergencies.

Slot | Category | Weapons

Main | Pistols | Shelling S49, Burst Pistol, HEL Revolver, Machine Pistol, HEL Autopistol

Main | Rifles | Bullpup Rifle, DMR, Double Tap Rifle, Assault Rifle, Burst Rifle, Rifle

Main | SMGs, PDWs, carbines | SMG, PDW, Heavy SMG, Carbine

Main | Shotguns | Sawed-off Shotgun, HEL Shotgun, Slug Shotgun

Special | Rifles | Heavy Assault Rifle, Short Rifle, Precision Rifle, HEL Rifle

Special | Shotguns | Shotgun, Combat Shotgun, Scattergun, Choke Mod Shotgun

Special | Machine guns | Machine Gun V, Machine Gun XII, Burst Cannon

Special | Other | Revolver, HEL Gun, High Cal Pistol, Sniper

Loadout rules of thumb:

• At least one precision special (Sniper, High Cal Pistol, Revolver or Precision Rifle) in the team for scouts and big sleepers you can't melee.
• At least one crowd special (a machine gun or shotgun) for alarms and blood doors.
• Mix main weapon types so the whole team doesn't run dry on the same targets. A fast-firing main (SMG, PDW, Assault Rifle) pairs well with a slow, heavy special.
• Everyone refills from the same ammo packs, so a team of four machine guns empties the level's supply fast.

Melee weapons: Sledgehammer (reliable heavy hits), Knife (fast, quiet), Bat (fast charge), and Spear (long reach). Choose one whose charge time you're comfortable with.

Tools:

• Bio Tracker — scans for enemies through walls and tags them. The single most useful tool for stealth planning.
• C-Foam Launcher — reinforces doors and slows or freezes enemies; foam doors before alarms.
• Mine Deployer — places tripmines that kill waves in narrow corridors.
• Sentries — automated turrets with different fire patterns; place them facing the direction enemies will come from.

Stealth: Sleepers and Scouts

• Sleepers pulse (glow and breathe). During a pulse they are sensitive; freeze when they glow and move between pulses.
• Crouch-walk near them. Running, jumping, and landing make noise.
• Coordinated kills: for multiple sleepers, assign targets and count down so everyone hits at the same time. Giants need several synchronized charged hits.
• Scouts wave tendrils around them. If a tendril touches you, the scout screams and wakes the room. Kill them from range with coordinated precision shots or charged melee when their tendrils retract.
• Glow sticks don't alert enemies — use them to mark paths and light rooms.
• Fog hides enemies and can drain health in some expeditions; use fog repellers.

Doors, Alarms, and Scans

• Security doors can require keycards, power cells for generators, or bulkhead keys found elsewhere.
• Alarm doors start a bioscan sequence and spawn waves. Everyone should know the scan circle locations and where enemies will come from before starting.
• Team scans (big circles) require all players inside; smaller scans need one player.
• Error alarms spawn waves until they're turned off at a specific terminal or not at all — push forward rather than fighting forever.
• Blood doors open into a room with enemies already waiting on the other side. Set up before opening.

Alarm checklist:

• Foam every door you won't use.
• Place sentries covering the main entrance.
• Mine the choke corridor.
• Top up ammo and health before opening.
• Assign who stands in each scan circle.

Terminals

Command | What it does

LIST | Shows items and resources in the level; filter by zone or item type (for example LIST ZONE_[number] or LIST AMMOPACK)

QUERY | Gives location and status for a specific named item

PING | Makes a named item in your current zone emit a sound so you can find it

LOGS / READ | Lists and reads logs on that terminal (lore and sometimes codes)

INFO | Terminal ID, zone, and log count

REACTOR_STARTUP / REACTOR_SHUTDOWN | Reactor objectives; requires entering verification codes during waves

UPLINK_CONNECT / UPLINK_VERIFY | Uplink objectives; enter IP addresses and verify codes

HELP / COMMANDS | Command list

Tip: type-ahead is fast — practise typing terminal commands under pressure.

Enemies and How to Handle Them

Enemy | Threat | How to handle

Striker | Basic melee sleeper | Charged melee to the back of the head

Shooter | Ranged projectile sleeper | Kill before waking the room; hide behind corners

Giant (Striker) | Large melee | Synchronized charged hits from multiple players

Big Shooter | Large ranged | Coordinated strikes or heavy special weapon fire

Hybrid | Mixed ranged/melee | Treat like a Giant

Scout | Wakes the room if touched | Precision kill from range

Charger | Rushes you | High-damage fire, block corridors

Shadow | Invisible until close | Bio Tracker tagging, area fire

Flyer | Airborne ranged | Precision shots, avoid open rooms

Snatcher | Grabs a player | Team focus fire

Mother / Big Mother | Spawns babies | Kill the mother fast; clear babies with shotguns

Tank | Heavy armor | Sustained fire from the whole team

Immortal | Regenerating boss-type threat | Use the expedition's intended tactic; often best avoided

Kraken / Mega Mother | Late boss threats | Full team, full resources

Nightmare variants, Zoomer Scout | Rundown 8.0 variants | Harder versions; plan more carefully

Stationary hazards include Spitters (avoid or kill from range) and Cocoons.

Objectives and Sectors

Expeditions have a main objective (fetch items, reactor startup/shutdown, uplinks, retrieve a data cube or a HSU, etc.) and, from Rundown 4 onward, optional sectors that add extra objectives and harder areas. Clearing every sector in one run is called Prisoner Efficiency.

Boosters

Boosters are single-run bonuses (for example faster melee, more damage, more tool ammo). They come from artifacts collected during expeditions, with tiers such as Muted, Bold, and Aggressive. Equip boosters before a hard expedition; they are consumed on use.

Progression Tips by Rundown

• Start with ALT R1 (Deviation) A-tier. It teaches the fundamentals without too much pressure.
• Move to R2-R3 A and B tiers for infection mechanics and harder alarms.
• R4-R6 introduce more complex objectives and sectors.
• R7 (Rise) and R8 (Duality) are the final and hardest rundowns; bring a practiced squad.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Running near sleepers. One loud step can wake the room.
• Opening doors without checking. Always read door panels.
• Wasting ammo on sleepers you could melee.
• Starting alarms without setup. Foam, mines, and sentries first.
• Splitting up. Separated players die alone.
• Forgetting infection. Use disinfection stations and packs.
• Ignoring terminals. They find key items and resources faster than wandering.
• Taking all the resources. Share ammo and health by role.

Advanced Tips

• Scout kills: two players aim at the scout's head; count down together.
• Use sentries as bait: enemies target sentries, giving you time to reload.
• Chain C-foam: multiple foam layers on a door buy critical seconds.
• Mine choke points behind foam doors.
• Use LIST filters to find items instantly; plan routes around them.
• During reactor waves, assign one player to the terminal and the rest to defend.
• Error alarms: keep moving to the objective; waves don't stop.
• Speedrun thinking: the community's speedrunners play fast because they plan every door; take notes after each wipe.

FAQ

Is GTFO still getting updates? No new rundowns. Rundown 8.0 Duality (December 2023) was the final chapter. Only small maintenance patches appear (for example October 17, 2025).

Can I play solo? Bots can fill empty slots (the store page pitches them for when you're short one or two players), but GTFO is built for four people on voice chat.

How many expeditions are there? 83 across eight rundowns (six ALT rundowns plus R7 and R8).

Which rundown should I start with? ALT://Rundown 1.0 Deviation, A-tier.

What are boosters? Single-run perks earned from artifacts.

What's Den of Wolves? 10 Chambers' next co-op heist FPS; no release date announced as of September 2026.

Sources

• GTFO official site
• Rundown — GTFO Wiki (wiki.gg)
• Enemies — GTFO Wiki (wiki.gg)
• Terminal — GTFO Wiki (wiki.gg)
• Weapons — GTFO Wiki (wiki.gg)
• GTFO Steam store page
• GTFO Steam news (patch notes October 17, 2025)