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How do Rainbow Runs work in Enter the Gungeon?
When A Farewell To Arms update was released back in 2019, Enter the Gungeon received an additional game mode called the Rainbow mode or more commonly known to the Enter the Gungeon community as the Rainbow Run.
Compared to the typical Gungeon run where the player must open chests scattered around rooms on the current floor to get random items, in a Rainbow Run, an NPC named Bowler will give the player a Rainbow Chest at the start of each floor instead.
Each Rainbow Chest will drop eight random items with varying rarity and you can only choose one from the eight items. The item drop chance per rank are as follows:
- S-Rank – 12%
- A-Rank – 41%
- B-Rank – 23%
- C-Rank – 12%
- D-Rank – 12%
In a Rainbow Run, you will have no other means of collecting items other than through the Rainbow Chests that Bowler provides; all shop items and items from pedestals are removed from each floor. As mentioned above, you can get a single item from the Rainbow Chest at the start of the floor and that’s it.
Is the game easier in a Rainbow Run?
Enter the Gungeon veterans consider Rainbow Mode a more ‘casual’ game mode that does not require as much careful thought and planning compared to a normal Gungeon run. As such, Rainbow Mode is definitely the easier game mode in Enter the Gungeon.
In the normal game mode, players have to make do with whatever items or weapons they are dealt with, which in turn involves more skill and careful ammo, item, and economic management to successfully complete the run.
On the other hand, Rainbow Mode gives players a high-tier item or weapon right at the start of the Gungeon run, which helps make clearing rooms and beating bosses on each floor much easier than in normal Gungeon runs.
Is Rainbow Mode cheating?
Rainbow Mode is not cheating in Enter the Gungeon, as it is an official game mode that the devs have put in place for more casual gamers.
While Rainbow Mode is a much easier game mode than the normal Gungeon run, players still need to put in the time and effort to beat the High Dragun at least once to unlock Rainbow Mode.
The reason why some players hate on Rainbow Mode is because it unlocks weapons and Achievements that players would otherwise have a difficult time coming across in a normal Gungeon run. Purists believe that having a decent gun right at the start of every chamber takes away the grind and challenge that OG players had to endure and live through prior to the addition of the Rainbow Run.
Nevertheless, Rainbow Mode is arguably the more fun and less tedious game mode that lets players breeze through every floor in Enter the Gungeon without having to worry about building the skillset and the experience to deal with enemies and bosses effectively in-game.
How do you start the Rainbow Run?
You can unlock the Rainbow Run after beating the High Dragun at least once. After which, you must find the NPC named Bowler and rescue him from a cell in the Gungeon.
To unlock Bowler from the cell, you have to find a cell key, which usually drops from a random enemy or floor boss. With the key in hand, you can return to Bowler, free him from captivity, and talk to him. After a brief chat, Bowler will ask the player to visit him in the Breach.
With Bowler now free, talking to him in the Breach will automatically activate the Rainbow Run.
Conclusion
Before the A Farewell To Arms update dropped in 2019, OG Enter the Gungeon players had to navigate and learn the game the hard way.
Back then, there was no easy mode or normal mode to ease the game difficulty just a bit; players had to grind and learn how to survive with whatever weapons or items they were dealt in every Gungeon run and they wore their unlocked weapons and achievements like a badge of honor.
The Rainbow Run mode made it much easier for new and existing players to complete the game due to the more powerful guaranteed weapons and items at the start of every floor. While this can be seen as a move to entice more casual players into a game with a steep learning curve, loyal fans couldn’t help but feel betrayed when the devs decided to make the game “easier” in the last ever update for Enter the Gungeon.
Nevertheless, nothing is stopping older players from enjoying the game without Rainbow Run. On the other hand, newer players who just want the thrill of taking down enemies and bosses with powerful guns can enjoy the game casually through the Rainbow Run.