Gunfire Reborn: Every Hero, Ranked

Gunfire Reborn is an FPS roguelite RPG where players battle through random levels and fight bosses in single-player or with up to four players in online co-op. Including DLC, the game currently features ten playable characters. With the broad variety of the roster, it can be hard for those still new to the game to pick one to focus on, especially when playing with a group.

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What makes it so hard to pick a hero is the fact that each one is made up of several layers; their ascension perks, their stats, and their abilities. All of these aspects need to be learned to use each hero successfully, so picking the right one to sink hours into is no small feat, especially for those looking to beat the game quickly.

Updated April 28, 2024 by Harry Ted Sprinks: Despite releasing back in November 2021, Gunfire Reborn is still an extremely popular indie game, with over 80,000 reviews on Steam, of which over 90% are positive at the time of writing. The game features ten very distinct heroes that all encourage their different playstyles and each has their strengths and weaknesses. Because of this, it can be a difficult task to pick a hero to play, especially when trying to form a balanced team as part of a co-op group.

The major strengths and weaknesses of each character are highlighted here but keep in mind that to access every hero in Gunfire Reborn, players will need to purchase DLC. With the second Season of the game’s live service recently releasing, and a new DLC confirmed on the game’s 2024 road map, there’s never been a better time to jump back into this action roguelite.

10 Xing Zhe

The Buff Monkey Master

• HP: 35 – 75
• Shield: 75 – 115
• Speed: 5.5
• Unlock Requirements: Purchased from Spirit Realm DLC Shop

This Gunfire Reborn character mainly focuses on buffing his abilities (Soul Strike or Essence Chain) and weapons. Xing Zhe’s primary ability (Soul Strike) releases a projectile that creates a clone of himself, striking enemies within a 10m radius. Soul Strike’s damage depends on the currently equipped weapon (and Ascension skills). For example, having a Launcher equipped will transform every Soul Strike hit into an explosive one while using a shotgun will add an extra three projectiles.

Unfortunately, despite Xing Zhe having lots of potential as a damage dealer, his damage depends highly on the weapon used. Players that want to do well with this character will have to use Launchers, which aren’t the most effective weapons to use late-game. Xing Zhe requires a specific build to shine in normal gameplay (similar to Qing Yan), making him weaker than most characters in the game.

Tips For Co-Op

Xing Zhe works fairly well in co-op, especially when paired with more reliable, consistent damage dealers. Since players can revive each other in online co-op, the rest of the team can carry Xing Zhe until he gets hold of a solid weapon. This makes Xing Zhe much less of a risk, though it does mean that the rest of the team will have to carry him through the early game.

9 Ao Bai

The Dual-Wielding Dog

• HP: 100 – 155
• Shield: 30 – 55
• Speed: 5.2
• Unlock Requirements: Level 25

Ao Bai is one of the tankiest heroes in Gunfire Reborn, which means players can soak up a lot of damage without worrying about dying. But the problem with most tank-like characters in Gunfire Reborn is that they often suffer from low damage output, making Ao Bai a poor choice for players looking to complete the game solo. Furthermore, Ao Bai has one of the lowest Shield stats, so despite having a lot of HP, he loses it faster than most heroes.

Ao Bai does have a few skills that make up for his lack of damage. For example, his primary ability allows him to dual-wield any weapon (similar to the Gunzerker from Borderlands 2) and deal explosive damage to enemies, but this skill must be used carefully as these explosions also damage the player. Overall, Ao Bai is a useful hero to use with other players but falls short if played alone.

Tips For Co-Op

Because Ao Bai is such a competent tank, he’s a great addition to any co-op team. Ao Bai is perfect for front-lining a team, tanking damage, and dealing with weaker enemies with his powerful AOE capabilities. However, players must ensure they bring a reliable DPS to counteract Ao Bai’s typically low damage.

8 Zi Xiao

The Occult Owl

• HP: 50 – 75
• Shield: 90 – 115
• Speed: 5.7
• Unlock Requirements: Unlocked After Purchasing the Artisan and Magician DLC

Zi Xiao’s main strategy is to use luck to improve the effects of his skills and improve his weapons. This can have really powerful effects, especially when combined with his abilities “Falling Star” and “Astroforecast”, and his ascensions also help with this.

However, due to the fact that Xiao relies heavily on “Occult Scrolls”, he is extremely weak early on, especially without ascensions. This makes the early game harder when using Xiao, making him a relatively difficult character, especially for beginners.

Tips For Co-Op

Similarly to Xing Zhe, Xiao is a brilliant pick for cooperative runs in Gunfire Reborn. This is because Xiao is a slow-scaling character that, as mentioned, relies heavily on finding Occult Scrolls. If players build around protecting and carrying Xiao, they can easily carry the team into the late game.

7 Lei Lou

The Thunder Tiger

• HP: 50 – 75
• Shield: 60 – 85
• Speed: 6
• Unlock Requirements: Level 55

Fatal Current and Chain Lightning are two powerful AOE abilities Lei Lou has that can wreak havoc on hordes of enemies, making them the ideal room clearer. Fatal Current also boosts Lei Lou’s Movement Speed and Shield Recovery Rate, both of which are essential in some levels of Gunfire Reborn. Lei Lou’s secondary ability, Chain Lighting, not only affects several enemies at once but also boosts the damage of their shots.

However, Lei Lou has very low Health and Shield pools, making them a relatively unforgiving character to play, especially in single-player, and while some Occult Scrolls can mitigate that downside, they can only boost it so much. Overall, Lei Lou is a powerful glass cannon who’s too squishy to use at higher levels but excels in the early stages of a run.

Tips For Co-Op

Because of Lei Lou’s aforementioned low Health and Shield stats, they can be taken down fairly quickly. However, in online co-op, this glass cannon is much more powerful, as players can always revive them if they go down. Furthermore, Lei Lou is great in the early game, making them perfect for teams with slow-scaling heroes.

6 Qian Sui

The Brawler

• HP: 60 – 85
• Shield: 90 – 135
• Speed: 5.2
• Unlock Requirements: 600 Soul Essence

Players who like getting up close to enemies will enjoy using Qian Sui, as he’s arguably the best close-quarters hero in Gunfire Reborn. His secondary ability, Striking Punch, punches enemies with a powerful force that can push or knock them back. On top of that, his primary ability also allows Qian Sui to create a barrier that makes him immune to damage for a short time. This ability also boosts his Movement Speed and enables him to hurtle enemies.

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However, players need to remain in front of enemies to make full use of Qian Sui’s ability. A significant downside of his primary ability is that it reduces the player’s field of vision, exposing them to being attacked from the sides or behind. These two reasons prevent Qian Sui from being a truly powerful hero, though he remains useful as a support character in co-op.

Tips For Co-Op

As mentioned above, one of Qian Sui’s most significant weaknesses is the reduction of his FOV when using his primary ability. However, this downside is mostly alleviated when playing in online co-op, especially when playing with players who communicate effectively. This is due to the fact that players can easily cover Qian Sui’s blind spots as he uses his primary ability, making him much more powerful as part of a team.

5 Crown Prince

The Alchemist

• HP: 65 – 90
• Shield: 65 – 110
• Speed: 5.0
• Unlock Requirements: None

Crown Prince was the first playable hero released for Gunfire Reborn and continues to be a top pick for players. The Crown Prince is the ideal hero for using Elemental Weapons since he applies Decay on them and allows them to shoot two different elements. Furthermore, his Smoke Grenade and Energy Orb skills can clear several enemies simultaneously in a large radius.

Unfortunately, the main issue with using Crown Prince is that he has one of the lowest Movement Speed stats, making it harder for players to avoid enemy damage. Players can boost their Movement Speed by allocating points to their Ascension Tree (a prominent feature in most rogue-lite RPGs), but if built to focus on his elemental buffs, like Wildfire and Elemental Rage, Crown Prince can become an extremely powerful hero.

Tips For Co-Op

The Crown Prince is a great pick for beginners to Gunfire Reborn, but he also has his uses in an experienced team. For teams lacking in area-of-effect and crowd-control abilities, the Crown Prince is a great choice.

4 Qing Yan

The Ninja Bird

• HP: 70 – 115
• Armor: 70 – 115
• Speed: 5.5
• Unlock Requirements: Level 40

Qing Yan is the only playable hero in Gunfire Reborn who doesn’t have a Shield; instead, they have Armor, which doesn’t recharge but can be recovered by using Qing Yan’s primary ability, Leap, which also provides players with a good movement option and source of damage. Players can also upgrade Leap to reduce its cool down, allowing Qing Yan to recover his Armor faster.

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To unlock Tao’s true potential, players will have to make sure they choose the right Ascension skills and weapons.

On top of that, his secondary ability delivers a powerful melee attack within long range. However, players will need to play aggressively if they want to use Qing Yan at his full potential, so it’s best to use them only after learning the basics of the game since playing aggressively can often lead to taking more damage if players are inexperienced.

Tips For Co-Op

Because Qing Yan is such an agile character, they’re perfect in online co-op for assassinating enemy snipers. This ability to leap across the arena and take out high-threat enemies makes Qing Yan a consistently useful teammate in online co-op.

3 Nona

The Engineer

• HP: 80 – 135
• Shield: 30 – 55
• Speed: 5.5
• Unlock Requirements: Unlocked After Purchasing the Artisan and Magician DLC

Nona is an extremely powerful hero, especially in single-player, as they have a companion that can help greatly in combat. Nona’s play style mostly revolves around coordinating with their companion, Iron Wing (also acting as their primary ability), who can take on two forms: a melee tank that can help to draw enemies away, or a ranged missile turret that can provide covering fire and suppress larger groups. Nona also has weapon Ascensions that focus on pistols and critical hits.

Despite Nona’s potential power, players must micromanage Iron Wing properly to be successful. Failing to coordinate correctly will often result in Nona being left vulnerable and typically dying quickly due to their low shields. This makes Nona more difficult to play for new players, as Iron Wing can end up as more of a burden than a help, but once players have mastered how to play Nona, they can be one of the most powerful heroes in the game.

Tips For Co-Op

Although Nona is a higher-priority pick for players running through the game in single-player, she’s still a great part of any Gunfire Reborn team. It could even be argued that, like many Gunfire Reborn heroes, Nona becomes more powerful in online co-op. This is because the vulnerability she would suffer from when failing to micromanage her Iron Wing is negated when part of a team, as her teammates can cover her and allow her to get out of situations she’d otherwise be doomed in.

2 Tao

The Sword Master

• HP: 50 – 75
• Shield: 80 – 105
• Speed: 5.2
• Unlock Requirements: 400 Soul Essence

What makes Tao such a top-tier hero in Gunfire Reborn is her Talent, “Superior Magazine”, which increases magazine capacity and decreases reload speed. Furthermore, every time Tao defeats an enemy, she gains movement speed and her “Resilient Shield” Talent lowers her Shield Recovery Rate. This improves her survivability.

Tao’s primary ability summons several blades around her that automatically attack nearby enemies (similar to Glintstone Phalanx from Elden Ring). When this primary ability is exploited, it allows her to clear entire maps without having to shoot a bullet. The only downside of using Tao is that she’s not so powerful without her Talents, but even before maxing out the Talent tree, Tao remains one of the best heroes in Gunfire Reborn.

Tips For Co-Op

With superior movement speed, high survivability, and a consistent way to deal damage through her Talent, Superior Magazine, Tao is a powerful hero who can carry any team in Gunfire Reborn. However, unless playing with a team of experienced players, players should typically avoid playing as Tao in online co-op until they’ve exhausted her Talent tree.

1 Li

The Flaming Fox

• HP: 50 – 75
• Shield: 50 – 95
• Speed: 5.2
• Unlock Requirements: Unlocked After Purchasing Spirit Realm DLC

Li has two abilities (“Spiritual Flame” and “Blazing Meteor”) that make her an extremely powerful hero; “Spiritual Flame” is a channeling ability that deals fire damage and inflicts the Burn status effect, scaling with the amount of Spiritual Flame Energy players have.

“Blazing Meteor” works similarly to Crown Prince’s Energy Orb skill, allowing Li to summon several meteors that target enemies within a certain radius, but Blazing Meteor is arguably stronger than Energy Orb as it also staggers enemies. The only downside of Li is that she has low HP and Shield stats, making her a glass cannon, similar to Lei Lou.

Tips For Co-Op

Arguably the most powerful hero in Gunfire Reborn, Li typically has a massive impact as part of any team composition. Her powerful abilities are great at dealing damage and controlling crowds, and her nature as a glass cannon is somewhat nullified in online co-op, as her teammates can always cover her and revive her if she goes down. When playing with an experienced team, Li is arguably even stronger than she is in single-player.

Gunfire Reborn

Released

November 18, 2021

Developer(s)

Duoyi Games