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Gungeoneers in Enter the Gungeon
Gungeoneers are unique playable characters in Enter the Gungeon. Each Gungeoneer comes equipped with starter guns and items that fit each Gungeoneer’s preferences and personality, giving all Gungeoneers their own unique gameplay characteristics.
There are nine Gungeoneers in Enter the Gungeon, four of which are playable right from the start (The Convict, The Hunter, The Marine, and The Pilot), while the other four can be unlocked after completing a set of objectives (The Bullet, The Robot, The Paradox, and The Gunslinger). One of the Gungeoneers is only playable in Multiplayer Co-op (The Cultist).
Each Gungeoneer will start a run equipped with a unique set of starting weapons and items in Enter the Gungeon. Most Gungeoneers typically do not have any special trait that separates them from other Gungeoneers – it is their starter gun, active item, or passive item that gives them that special characteristic that separates one Gungeoneers from the other.
All Gungeoneers are unique in their own right. One Gungeoneer can offer benefits that other Gungeoneers cannot and vice versa.
The Convict
Story
Before she was known as The Convict, Laser Lily was the head of a criminal organization. She was eventually arrested by the Hegemony forces and sentenced to life imprisonment but chose to fight in the Gungeon as punishment instead.
Starting Guns/Items
- Budget Revolver
- Sawed-Off
- Molotov
- Enraging Photo
How to Play The Convict
The Convict’s starting guns – Budget Revolver and Sawed-Off – benefit from hit-and-run gameplay. The Budget Revolver requires a bit more finesse to use as the gun only has 5 bullets per magazine. The small magazine size is offset by the gun’s quick fire rate, allowing The Convict to quickly unload bursts of 5 bullets on enemies.
On the other hand, The Convict’s Sawed-Off benefits from the Shotgun Affinity Synergy, which gives it piercing, and increased knockback and shot speed. However, the fact remains that the Sawed-Off is a close-ranged weapon that works best at short ranges, which means you need to stand close to targets to land with the weapon effectively.
Standing close to enemies is a bad idea any day in the Gungeon. At closer ranges, you are more likely to take contact and bullet damage from enemies. However, this is offset by The Convict’s Passive Item in the Enraging Photo, which gives The Convict increased damage and instantly reloads the Gungeoneer’s current weapon whenever the character takes damage.
Lastly, The Convict’s Active Item, Molotov, can be used to set a large area on fire. The resulting fire will damage all enemies in the area, as long as they aren’t immune to fire damage.
Pros
- Budget Revolver can unload a quick burst of bullets.
- Enraging Photo gives increased damage and instantly reloads your gun when taking damage
Cons
- Sawed-Off forces you to play close to enemies.
- Starter pistol deals abysmal damage
The Hunter
Story
Before the events of Enter the Gungeon, The Hunter traveled to Blacksword Manor to hunt down Dr. Wolfenclaw. Unfortunately, things didn’t go according to plan, and The Hunter was instead captured and placed in a Cryo Pod. 1,147 years later, The Hunter somehow managed to escape the Cryo Pod and is now fighting alongside the other Gungeoneers in the Gungeon.
Starting Guns/Items
- Rusty Sidearm
- Crossbow
- Dog
How to Play
Unlike the other Gungeoneers who start their runs with at least four items, The Hunter only has her Rusty Sidearm, Crossbow, and Dog to work with on the early floors of the Gungeon.
When playing using The Hunter, it is best to keep your distance from enemies and take advantage of Crossbow’s long-range and high damage. The Crossbow can make short work of most enemies on the first floor including the boss.
On the other hand, The Hunter’s other starter weapon, Rusty Sidearm, is an okay starter gun that deals decent damage. However, the gun’s 6 bullets per magazine severely limit The Hunter’s ability to take down multiple enemies in the Gungeon in a short period. Add the slow projectile speed, and you have a gun that requires too much effort for the amount of damage it deals in the Gungeon. You’re better off mastering the Crossbow and taking advantage of its high damage and long range.
Lastly, The Hunter’s passive item, Dog, allows her to spawn a trusty companion that has a 5% chance of digging up pickups upon clearing a room. The Dog will also bark at Mimics, which can help you avoid unnecessary Mimic encounters around the Gungeon.
Pros
- Crossbow deals above-average damage and have high accuracy.
Cons
- Rusty Sidearm is borderline a liability.
- The chance to get a pickup with the Dog is too small to be useful.
The Marine
Story
The Marine has one of the darkest pasts of any Gungeoneer in Enter the Gungeon. When an experiment accidentally spawned an alien monster at the Primerdyne R&D station, The Marine chose to abandon the scientists and his comrades and flee in an escape pod, saving himself and leaving all the men in the Primerdyne R&D station to die.
Starting Guns/Items
- Marine Sidearm
- Supply Drop
- Military Training
- Piece of Armor
How to Play
The Marine is a straightforward point-and-shoot Gungeoneer that relies on his very accurate Marine Sidearm. Combined with Military Training, The Marine gets 20% faster reload times, 17% reduced weapon spread, and 16.7% reduced charged times (for charged guns).
The Marine also starts with an active item called Supply Drop, which provides a crate full of ammo at your current position. The Marine also gets a piece of armor right from the start of his Gungeon run.
The Marine does not bring anything special to the table, but players can rely on his accurate starter gun, accurate Crossbow, and powerful items to make it through the first few floors of the Gungeon unscathed.
Pros
- No-frills, point-and-shoot Gungeoneer that lets you focus on aiming.
- Any gun The Marine picks up benefits from Military Training.
- Instant ammo drop.
- Accurate starter pistol.
- Instant 1 armor at the start of the run.
Cons
- None
The Pilot
Story
While collecting parts from a destroyed spacecraft with his partner, Z, The Pilot and his partner would eventually be caught by the HM Absolution and ordered to power down all systems except for life support. The Pilot refused to surrender and opted to jump away using his Jump Drive, leaving his partner to be captured.
Starting Guns/Items
- Rogue Special
- Trusty Lockpicks
- Disarming Personality
- Hidden Compartment
How to Play
The Pilot is easily one of the weakest Gungeoneers at the start of the game, as he only carries one starter weapon in Rogue Special – a low-damage pistol with low range, low accuracy, and high reload times.
With that in mind, do your best to keep a safe distance between you and your enemies on the early floors of the Gungeon. Wait until you acquire a more decent gun in the latter floors before you start playing aggressively.
The good news is that you won’t have to wait long to get a decent gun with The Pilot as he can easily make up for his abysmal starter weapon with his ability to amass tons of items and guns through Trusty Lockpicks.
Trusty Lockpicks gives The Pilot the ability to open chests and other objects that typically require a key. Through Trusty Lockpicks, The Pilot can access some valuable chests sooner than any other Gungeoneer can in the game.
The Trusty Lockpicks are not the only way The Pilot can amass weapons quickly in Enter the Gungeon, as his passive item, Disarming Personality, gives him a 15% discount at shops around the Gungeon.
Lastly, The Pilot gets an extra active item slot and a 10% increased maximum ammo for all his weapons through Hidden Compartment.
Pros
- Highest loot potential of any Gungeoneer thanks to Trusty Lockpicks and Disarming Personality.
- Additional active item slot (Hidden Compartment)
Cons
- Too RNG dependent
- Abysmal starter pistol
The Cultist
Story
The Cultist only came to the Gungeon to run away from their home so their sibling takes the blame for the spilled grape juice on their couch. However, The Cultist was treated poorly by other NPCs in the Gungeon, forcing it to want to become player one to gain their respect.
Starting Guns/Items
- Dart Gun
- Friendship Cookie
- Number 2
How to Play
The Cultist is only playable in 2-player co-op mode in Enter the Gungeon. The character starts with Dart Gun, Friendship Cookie, and Number 2.
Dart Gun is a decent starter gun that deals decent damage and has okay reload times. Like most starter guns in Enter the Gungeon, Dart Gun has infinite ammo but has a small overall magazine size.
To help out with co-op gameplay, The Cultist starts with an active item that allows it to resurrect player one with full health called Friendship Cookie. The item is co-op exclusive and can only be used once per run.
Lastly, Number 2 provides +2 movement speed and 41% increased damage while their co-op partner is dead.
Overall, The Cultist is a de facto support character to whoever is playing the main Gungeoneer. The Cultist’s Friendship Cookie is the only item in the game that can fully revive a Gungeoneer with full heart, while Number 2 gives you additional movement speed and 41% increased damage to help you clear the room of enemies so you can revive your partner.
Pros
- Ability to revive partner.
- Powerful buffs when player 1 is down.
Cons
- Playable only in co-op mode.
The Bullet
Story
Sometime in the past, The Bullet retrieved a melee weapon called Blasphemy from a dying Elder Bullet. With Blasphemy on hand, The Bullet fought through the Gungeon and faced a number of enemies, eventually, summoning the real Blasphemy along the way.
Starting Guns/Items
- Blasphemy
- Live Ammo
How to Play
The Bullet is one of the most unorthodox characters in the game. Unlike other Gungeoneers that rely on gun-like weapons that shoot projectiles, The Bullet starts out with a powerful melee weapon called Blasphemy.
Blasphemy deals decent melee damage and also possesses the ability to destroy enemy bullets when reloading the weapon. To support The Bullet’s inclination to fight at close range, he also possesses the Live Ammo passive item that gives him immunity to contact damage and provides an alternate attack when dodge rolling while increasing dodge roll damage by 4x.
When playing as The Bullet, it is best to take advantage of Blasphemy and fight close range. There’s little to no drawback to fighting next to enemies, as Live Ammo gives you contact damage immunity anyway. Taking advantage of Blasphemy’s ability to destroy bullets on reload can help you deal with incoming enemy bullets.
Pros
- Powerful starter item in Blasphemy.
- Immunity to contact damage through Live Ammo.
- Ability to destroy incoming bullets.
Cons
- None
The Robot
Story
The Robot used to be part of the killbot army designed to go against human resistance. However, for some reason, The Robot defied his master’s orders when tasked to kill the leader of the human resistance.
Starting Guns/Items
- Robot’s Right Hand
- Coolant Leak
- Battery Bullets
How to Play
Like The Bullet, The Robot offers a neat gimmick that most of the starter Gungeoneers do not have – The Robot does not use hearts as HP. Instead, The Robot starts with 3 hearts worth of HP or 6 armor.
Having armor as HP comes with its advantages and disadvantages. Whenever The Robot is hit and loses armor, a free Blank effect automatically activates, clearing the room of bullets and pushing back enemies in the room. The same Blank effect can be used to open paths to Secret Rooms as well.
Another advantage of having armor for HP is that most Jammed enemies that deal more than one heart of damage will only take away one piece of armor in The Robot.
That said, The Robot’s armor pieces are more difficult to replenish in the Gungeon because pieces of armor are generally more scarce compared to hearts.
The Robot’s pièce de résistance is its ability to convert Junk into permanent bonus damage. Every piece of Junk will give The Robot a 5% damage increase, which can greatly improve the effectiveness of The Robot’s starter gun, Robot’s Right Hand.
Meanwhile, Battery Bullets give The Robot bonus accuracy and immunity to electrified water, while Coolant Leak gives The Robot a Molotov-like utility that can also be used to put out fires around the Gungeon.
Overall, The Robot is best used by more experienced players who can preserve The Robot’s valuable pieces of armor while collecting Junk to increase The Robot’s power level as the run progresses.
Pros
- Possesses the highest raw damage potential of any Gungeoneer.
- Immunity to high-damage Jammed enemy attack.
- Immunity to electrified water.
- Accurate starter gun
Cons
- Armor pickups are hard to come by.
The Paradox
Story
The Paradox is a mysterious creature that does not have a past.
Starting Guns/Items
- Random Starter Gun (Except Slinger)
- Random Starter Gun
- Random Passive Item
How to Play
The Paradox starts its Gungeon run equipped with two random guns and a random passive item. However, The Paradox will not be able to wield a gun from a Gungeoneer that has not been unlocked yet.
That said, The Paradox will play similarly to whatever random item it gets from the other Gungeoneers. If Paradox starts out with The Hunter’s Crossbow, you will most likely have to play the run like you would with The Hunter. The same goes for instances where The Paradox gets the other Gungeoneers’ starter items.
The Paradox is a mixed bag in Enter the Gungeon. You’ll never know what starter guns and starter passive items you’ll get when playing as The Paradox, making it one of the most interesting Gungeoneers for players looking for a challenging and varied Gungeon run.
Pros
- Has the potential to be the best Gungeoneer
Cons
- Has the potential to be the worst Gungeoneer
The Gunslinger
Story
To all those familiar with his feats, The Gunslinger is considered one of the most legendary marksmen of his time, best known for his unorthodox reloading technique where he throws his empty gun at enemies and draws a fresh new gun from his magic belt. The Gunslinger is also a very respectable wizard who often imbued his firearms with magic.
The Gunslinger’s obsession with guns and magic led to the creation of a fortress where he and several gunsmiths would continue to push forward and develop several guns throughout the years.
Eventually, a great calamity known as The Great Bullet struck, transforming the fortress into the Gungeon and the Gunslinger into The Lich.
Starting Guns/Items
- Slinger
- Lich’s Eye Bullets
How to Play
The Gunslinger is potentially the most powerful Gungeoneer in the game. The Gunslinger starts out with a gun called Slinger which is one stronger starter gun in the game. Among the other Gungeoneers’ starter guns, the Slinger has the fastest fire rate and possesses zero bullet spread, making it a very accurate gun.
Nevertheless, The Gunslinger’s passive item, Lich’s Eye Bullets is arguably the most powerful passive item in the game, able to extract and use any gun’s Synergies upon pickup.
Unlike other Gungeoneers that start out their runs with powerful buffs, The Gunslinger relies on his trusty starter gun to make quick work of most enemies in the early floors of the Gungeon. Upon picking up his first few guns, The Gunslinger will get an instant power spike thanks to Lich’s Eye Bullets which automatically activates any gun’s Synergies.
Pros
- Powerful and accurate starter pistol
- Ability to activate any gun/item Synergy upon pickup.
Cons
- Difficult to unlock.
What is the best character in Gungeon?
The best character will always come down to preference. However, many players consider The Bullet as the best character in Enter the Gungeon.
Ironically, a character that possesses a melee starter weapon as opposed to a traditional gun is one of the best characters in the game, and it’s really not that difficult to see why.
The Bullet possesses one of the best guns/weapons in the game in Blasphemy. Blasphemy can put out a respectably high amount of DPS thanks to its high damage and equally fast swing speed (fire rate). Blasphemy can also be used to destroy incoming bullets, which can be very useful on any floor of the Gungeon.
There’s little to no downside to Blasphemy as well, since The Bullet also has Live Ammo which protects it from contact damage.
What’s the Best Starter Gungeoneer?
The Marine is arguably the best starter Gungoneer in Enter the Gungeon.
Marine Sidearm is pretty weak damage-wise but all starter guns are around the same ballpark when it comes to damage anyway. Where the Marine Sidearm makes up for its low damage with its comparatively larger Magazine Size (10) and fairly accurate fire thanks to The Marine’s passive item in Military Training.
Lastly, The Marine starts out with one piece of armor, which can help you tank more damage when you’re in a pinch. Supply Drop also provides a quick source of ammo if you ever run out prematurely in the Gungeon.
Conclusion
Enter the Gungeon’s generous roster of Gungeoneers gives players a healthy variety of characters and gameplay, which can help make every Gungeon run a fresh new experience every time.
Each Gungeoneer will have its advantages and disadvantages and it is up to you to decide which characteristics you prefer to live with from the nine playable Gungeoneers in the game.