Gunfire Reborn: Complete Guide

A guide to Duoyi's FPS roguelite: how a run works, heroes and their DLCs, weapons and elements, Occult Scrolls, permanent progression, and what Season 8 "Myriad Souls" adds.

Researched September 2026 — current as of Season 8 "Myriad Souls" (second mid-season update, September 10, 2026; hotfix September 17, 2026). Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Quick Start

• Runs are short, deaths are normal. Each run goes through several Acts of procedurally generated stages. When you die you keep permanent currency for talents, and your next run starts fresh.
• Spend Soul Essence on talents between runs. The talent tree gives permanent boosts to damage, health, economy and more. It's the single biggest reason early runs get easier.
• Pick one element and build around it. Fire (Burning), Shock and Corrosion each have their own synergies. Mixing all three in one run usually makes you weaker.
• Occult Scrolls make the build. You pick them up from chests, Mystic Chests and Peddlers. Read them carefully, because many change how your weapons work.
• Two weapons, plus upgrades. You carry two guns. Upgrading a weapon raises its damage and can unlock Inscriptions. Commit to one main gun and keep upgrading it.
• Copper is your in-run money. Spend it at the Peddler on scrolls, upgrades and healing. Don't hoard it.
• Lucky Shot is the crit. Weak spots (usually heads) and Lucky Shot chance both multiply damage. Aim for heads.
• Play co-op if you can. Up to four players. Scaling is fair and different heroes combo well.
• Use your dash. Dashing through projectiles is how you survive. Several Season 8 items reward dashing.
• Seasons are optional extras. Seasons add new systems on top of the normal game (see below). You can ignore them while learning.

How a Run Works

• Acts: there are four Acts, each with its own setting, enemies and boss: Longling Tomb, Anxi Desert, Duo Fjord and Hyperborean Jolla. Each Act has several stages and ends in a boss fight.
• Stages contain combat rooms and side rooms. Side rooms can hold chests, Peddlers, Mystic Chests (trade something for a random reward), and challenge or event rooms.
• Difficulty: once you beat the game at one difficulty, higher difficulty levels unlock with tougher enemies and extra rewards. Most players climb these one step at a time.
• Rewards after a run: Soul Essence and other permanent unlocks, even when you die.

Heroes

Every hero has a primary skill, a secondary skill and a passive, and each plays very differently. The base game includes the core roster. Additional heroes come in paid DLC packs (two per pack).

Source | Heroes | Style (short version)

Base game | Crown Prince, Ao Bai, Qing Yan, Lei Luo, Tao, Qian Sui and other free heroes added over time | A mix of elemental specialists, tanks and gunslingers. Ao Bai is the classic beginner pick

Visitors of Spirit Realm (Aug 2022) | Xing Zhe, Li | Xing Zhe pulls out hairs to summon clones whose effects depend on weapon type, and uses an Essence Chain to strengthen weapons. Li commands a flaming fox and blazing meteors

Artisan and Magician (May 2023) | Zi Xiao, Nona | Zi Xiao divines astrological aspects from the quality of your Occult Scrolls. Nona fights alongside a self-crafted wooden mecha that draws fire and gives defensive support

Realm of Frost and Inkwash (Sep 2024) | Lyn, Momo | Lyn reveals enemy flaws and freezes them. Momo uses inkwash to block threats and push enemies back, and can turn into an inkwash spirit to move through crowds

Echoes From Primal Grove (Oct 2025) | Yoyo, Cang Jue | Yoyo conjures life-draining jade orbs and summons forest spirits. Cang Jue has two souls in one form, alternating raw strength and shape-shifting mystic arts

Beginner recommendations:

• Ao Bai: can dual-wield and fire two guns at once. Simple and strong.
• Crown Prince: the default starting hero; a solid all-rounder while you learn the systems.
• A tankier hero: once unlocked, pick one of the sturdier heroes (read the hero screen's skill descriptions) to learn boss patterns with more room for error.

Heroes unlock through play and in-game currency (base roster) or by owning their DLC. Each hero also has its own progression; check the hero screen for unlock conditions.

Weapons, Elements and Upgrades

Weapon types include pistols, rifles, shotguns, snipers, bows, launchers, and special magic-style weapons. Weapons draw from separate ammo pools depending on type, so running two weapons that use different ammo keeps you firing when one runs dry.

Elements

Element | Status effect | Strong against

Fire | Burning: damage over time | Enemies without shields or armor bars (health)

Shock | Shock damage and chaining | Shields

Corrosion | Corrosion damage and debuffs | Armor

Enemy health bars show whether they have shields or armor on top of health. Match your element to the bar for big damage increases.

Weapon upgrades: Level up weapons at Peddlers or with upgrade materials. Upgrading adds Inscriptions (bonus traits). Some weapons have exclusive Inscriptions tied to the weapon itself. For example, the Season 8 update in July 2026 reworked the Prism with new exclusive Inscriptions based on darts and Lucky Shot, and the August 7, 2026 patch lowered its Weapon Resources cap from 16 to 12.

Occult Scrolls

Occult Scrolls are passive items that stack into a build. Rules of thumb:

• Commit to an element or mechanic (Lucky Shot, skill damage, weapon damage, status effects).
• Economy scrolls that earn Copper are strong early in a run.
• Healing and shield scrolls are worth picking if you're dying in the second Act.
• Legendary and special scrolls can change a whole build. Read them.
• Enhanced Occult Scrolls are stronger versions of some scrolls. The September 2026 Special-slot Spiritual Link can temporarily turn a scroll into its Enhanced version.
• Spiritual Links combine several specific scrolls into a set bonus. Season 8 has added more of them.

Season 8: "Myriad Souls"

Seasons add layers of new systems. Season 8 centers on Soul Pendants and Soul Jades.

Mid-season update 1 (July 30, 2026):

• Two new Soul Pendants and a batch of new Soul Jade effects.
• Three weapons reworked (including the dart-based Prism).
• New routes in some stages and Occult Scroll changes.

Mid-season update 2 (September 10, 2026):

• New Soul Pendants: the Ichthyosaurus Soul Pendant (chaotic elemental punishment) and the Serpent Soul Pendant (summons a phantom Abyssal Serpent that attacks alongside your gunfire with water).
• New Soul Jades.
• A custom mark feature for Soul Pendant marks on the battlefield.
• New routes in Stage 1 and Stage 2 of Act 4.
• New Spiritual Links, with effects such as:
• Each dash gives +20% Weapon and Skill DMG and +10% movement speed for 4 seconds.
• Refresh a Peddler up to 3 times for 300 Copper each.
• A 20% chance for a bonus reward when choosing the Mystic Chest option.
• Periodic Skill DMG bonus based on Lucky Shot.
• A Special slot that temporarily enhances the Occult Scroll you put in it.
• One refresh of Spiritual Blessings at each Spiritual Remnant.

The developers say more mid-season updates and Season 9 are in the works. September 10 and 17 also brought bug-fix patches.

Permanent Progression

• Talents: spend Soul Essence on a long talent tree between runs. Early on, focus on damage, survivability and economy (more Copper, better Peddler prices).
• Hero growth: each hero has its own progress track and upgrades.
• Collection / Journal: unlock more weapons and scrolls by finding them, which also widens what can drop in later runs.

Talent priority for new players:

• Base damage and crit/Lucky Shot damage
• Max health and shields
• More Copper and cheaper purchases
• Revives and extra recovery
• Quality-of-life talents (extra ammo, faster reload)

Build Archetypes

Archetype | Core idea | Good fits

Lucky Shot sniper | High-damage precise weapons plus Lucky Shot scrolls | Headshot-heavy players

Skill spam | Scrolls that cut skill cooldown and boost skill damage | Heroes with strong primary skills

Elemental status | Stack Burning, Shock or Corrosion scrolls with fitting weapons | Any hero; easy to understand

Summons / companions | Clones, mecha, spirits | Xing Zhe, Nona, Yoyo

Dash-based (Season 8) | Dash buffs from new Spiritual Links | High-mobility players

Co-op Tips

• Mix roles: one tank or crowd-controller, one high-damage hero, one support-style hero.
• Revive quickly. Downed teammates can be revived, but on higher difficulties waiting is fatal.
• Share Peddler purchases by talking. It's easy for two players to fight over the same scroll.
• Split up elements: one Shock player for shields, one Corrosion player for armor.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Grabbing every scroll. Some scrolls clash, and a few have drawbacks. Build a plan.
• Spreading upgrades across two guns. One strong gun beats two average ones.
• Ignoring shields and armor bars. Shooting a shielded enemy with Corrosion is slow.
• Standing still. Most bosses punish players who don't strafe and dash.
• Hoarding Copper. Spend it on upgrades and healing before the boss.
• Skipping talents. Early talents make a massive difference.

Advanced Tips

• Weapon Resources: some weapons build up resources to fire special attacks. Learn how each one charges (the Prism, for example, only gains resources from hits before a bounce since August 2026).
• Refresh Peddlers: with the Season 8 Spiritual Link that allows refreshes, Peddlers become a reliable way to find the scroll you need.
• Mystic Chests: the trade is sometimes worth it. Season 8 adds a chance for bonus rewards.
• Enhanced scrolls: the Special slot Spiritual Link temporarily upgrades an Occult Scroll you place in it (it doesn't work on non-discardable scrolls or scrolls with discard effects).
• Act 4 routes: the new routes in Act 4 Stage 1 and 2 give more options for rooms and rewards.
• Voice changer and custom marks: new features in the September 2026 update.

FAQ

How many heroes are there? The base roster plus eight DLC heroes (two per DLC pack, four packs). Check the in-game hero list for the full current roster.

Do I need the DLC? No. The base game is complete. Each DLC adds two heroes, and some packs add new weapons too (Artisan and Magician, for example, added four).

What's the newest DLC? Echoes From Primal Grove (October 22, 2025), with Yoyo and Cang Jue.

What's the current season? Season 8 "Myriad Souls". The second mid-season update arrived on September 10, 2026. Season 9 is in development.

Is there cross-platform play? The game is on PC, mobile, Xbox and PlayStation, and a Switch version has been announced. Check the official site for current crossplay status before planning a mixed-platform group.

Who is the best hero for beginners? Ao Bai is the usual recommendation: dual-wielding is simple and hits hard. Crown Prince, the starter, is also fine for learning.

Is there a Gunfire Reborn x Barony bundle? Yes, launched September 10, 2026, with an extra 10% off.

Sources

• Gunfire Reborn on Steam
• Update Notes 9/10: Second Mid-Season Update of Season 8 (Steam)
• Tavern Chat #021 (Steam, 2026-09-04)
• Update Notes 8/7 (Steam, Prism change)
• Season 8 Mid-Season Update Part I (Steam, 2026-07-30)
• Echoes From Primal Grove DLC (Steam)
• Realm of Frost and Inkwash DLC (Steam)
• Artisan and Magician DLC (Steam)
• Visitors of Spirit Realm DLC (Steam)
• Gunfire Reborn on Wikipedia