Combining elements of roguelite, RPG, and FPS games alongside a gorgeous art scheme, Gunfire Reborn has something for most players, and hence has been garnering a lot of attention. With more focus on its roguelite loop-styled gameplay and less on the lore, players can hop in for hours of fun.
Gunfire Reborn takes elements from games such as Hades, Borderlands, and Overwatch Players are put on a colorful map where they fight hoards of enemies using a vast array of weapons. The main characters are called heroes. Each hero has unique abilities and playing styles, and it is up to the players to determine which one suits their playing style the most. While some heroes can be acquired through talent levels alone, others require Soul Essence and/or DLC. Here's how to unlock every hero in Gunfire Reborn.
1 Crown Prince
Crown Prince is the default starting hero in Gunfire Reborn. Despite being a starter, Crown Prince is a strong character that players can stick with for a long time, due to his versatility, powerful abilities, and relative ease of use.
Crown Prince's strongest aspect is his elemental damage. He can apply Decay to any weapon he has, meaning elemental weapons deal damage of two elements at once. Additionally, Crown Prince comes with Smoke Grenades, and Energy Shocks, inflicting Decay and Freeze respectively. These effects further solidify him as the ultimate elemental hero, making him effective at tackling overwhelming groups of enemies.
Crown Prince's only downfall is his slow speed. Players boost this it through their Ascension, which is the upgrade system seen in Gunfire Reborn, akin to systems in other roguelites.
2 Ao Bai
Unlocking Ao Bai is is simple: all players have to do is reach a talent level of 25. With health ranging from 100-155 and the ability to dual-wield any weapon, Ao Bai is an excellent tanky support character. Besides this, he focuses on explosive damage.
Ao Bai increases the damage and AOE of explosive weapons. He comes with explosive grenades, adding a powerful offensive side to his nature as a supporting character. His high health bar alongside means he can soak up a good amount of damage before falling. On the flip side, Ao Bai comes with a weak shield, making him more susceptible to losing health.
3 Qing Yan
To unlock Qing Yan, all players have to do is reach a talent level of 40. Qing Yan is focused on closed-quarters combat. Unlike other heroes, Qing Yan does not have a shield but rather has armor. Armor differs from shields when it comes to regeneration. Where shields have to be manually regenerated, armor can be regenerated only using Qing Yan's leap ability, which does a quick dash and hits enemies.
Qing Yan's nature means players have to stay close and use his melee ability a lot. This makes close-quarters weapons such as shotguns the ideal choice for this hero.
4 Lei Lou
Players unlock Lei Lou upon reaching talent level 55. Lei Lou is made for handling weapons that shoot from afar and have high critical damage chances, such as shotguns. One of his talents offers many buffs to his weapon, such as significantly increased damage on the next shot. Another shoots a bolt of lightning from his hand.
The drawback here is that Lei Lou has a small health bar. However, he also comes with the quickest base speed in the game and the fastest shield recovery. All these things, when combined, make Lei Lou a great team player that can quickly change between sniping spots and hunting from afar.
5 Tao
Tao is arguably the greatest offensive hero in Gunfire Reborn. She can be purchased with 400 Soul Essence. Her powerful talents boost offense in a variety of ways, such as increasing the damage of her abilities, increasing magazine size, boosting speed, and more.
Tao's primary ability, Swords Out, shoots a barrage of tiny swords that inflict a high amount of damage to the surrounding area. This ability is regenerated by consuming ammo, meaning a high rate of fire weapon is encouraged. While Tao suffers from a small shield and low health, she is very strong hero for both solo players and those with a group.
6 Qian Sui
Players can unlock Qian Sui with 600 Soul Essence. Like Tao, Qian Sui is also a close-quarters hero. His primary ability, Tidal Aspis, makes Qian Sui immune to damage but forces him to use only their secondary ability, Striking Punch, which is a powerful attack capable of knocking enemies back.
With Tidal Aspis, Striking Punch's damage and Qian Sui's speed are boosted, making him an offensive powerhouse. During Tidal Aspis, Qian Sui's peripheral vision is blurred, so players will have to watch out for possible attacks from the sides and back. Qian Sui also has the strongest shield with a quick recovery time, making him a tanky hero capable of taking a few hits.
7 Xing Zhe
Players can unlock Xing Zhe by purchasing the Visitors of Spirit Realm DLC. There is not much to Xing Zhe beyond his abilities, Soul Strike and Essence Chain. Soul Strike throws a projectile around which a clone of Xing Zhe appears and causes damage to enemies within a certain radius. Essence Chain buffs the equipped weapon and extends to Soul Strike.
While these sound like powerful abilities (and they certainly can be), they have limited use and their efficacy highly depends on the kind of weapon use, restricting versatility. Xing Zhe's low shield and health don't help much either.
8 Li
Li specializes in all things fire, and is considered to be among the game's strongest heroes. Players can unlock Li by purchasing the Visitors of Spirit Realm DLC.
Li has bonus damage on fire-based weapons, and can cause devastating fusion effects when combined with shock and decay-based weapons. Her primary ability, Spiritual Flame, throws a fireball into the ground that causes AOE damage. Charging it up also boosts weapon damage. Her secondary ability, Blazing Meteor, throws a Blazing Meteor down into the ground, causing significant fire damage. While Li has a relatively small health bar, the sheer devastation her abilities can cause makes up for it.
9 Zi Xiao
Zi Xiao is one of two new heroes introduced with the Artisan and Magician DLC that was released in June 2023. All players have to do to unlock this hero is to purchase the DLC.
Zi Xiao's main focus is on luck manipulation. Through this, he can strengthen or alter his weapons capabilities, such as adding instant reload or increasing the power of their abilities. Zi Xiao's two abilities are Falling Star and Astroforecast. Falling Star locks onto enemies and unleashes a barrage of stars that cause damage. Astroforecast summons cards that track enemies and cause damage. While Zi Xiao can be very powerful, his poor health and reliance on ascensions and occult scrolls mean players will have to spend hours before they become a very strong hero.
10 Nona
Lke Zi Xiao, Nona can be unlocked upon purchasing the Artisan and Magician DLC. If used correctly, Nona can be an exceptionally powerful hero. Her primary ability is Iron Wing, a companion that works alongside Nona. The player's coordination with Iron Wing will determine how effective Nona can be.
Iron Wing has two modes, Strike and Fire. In Strike mode, Iron Wing serves as a powerful melee ally. In Fire mode, it acts as a turret that fires strong missiles. Nona's secondary ability is Hardwood Missile, which equips a missile launcher. Upgrading this upgrades Iron Wing's missiles too. Nona's only downfall is the low health of her Shield, but this is countered by its quick regeneration.