Best Enter the Gungeon Characters, Ranked

In the lore of Enter the Gungeon, many people from all walks of life seek out the Gungeon from across the galaxy because they have a past that needs killing. The legend of the Gun that can Kill the Past brings forth folks who are just desperate enough to hurl themselves into an infinitely-reloading wave of bullets, and they each bring something different to the table. Here are the best Enter the Gungeon characters, ranked.

Best Enter the Gungeon Characters, Ranked

Enter the Gungeon features nine playable characters, five of which are available at the start of the game. The remaining three characters must be unlocked by completing particular challenges on Gungeon runs. The characters, by our reckoning of worst to best, are as follows:

• The Paradox
• The Convict
• The Hunter
• The Cultist
• The Robot
• The Marine
• The Pilot
• The Bullet
• The Gunslinger

The Paradox

The Paradox is, well, complete chaos. It starts with completely random weapons and items in its inventory, which gives it the potential to be incredible, as well as the potential to be completely useless. Considering the fact that you have to spend 5 Hegemony Credits for a spin with the Paradox, you’re basically just gambling on the potential success of a run, and there’s already enough RNG to deal with in this game.

The Convict

The Convict’s Budget Revolver is a pretty good standard sidearm, and it is nice to have an extra gun to start with, even if it’s one as lousy as the Sawed-Off Shotgun. That said, her abilities are rather underwhelming. The Molotov is a very situational weapon, and the Enraging Photo requires you to take a hit to use, which is not worth it.

The Hunter

The Hunter is a good beginner character, as her Crossbow can take out most weak enemies in one hit, saving ammo on your better guns. While her dog’s usefulness is variable from run to run, when he does find something, it can be a lifesaver. Plus, you can pet him. That’s enough to keep the Hunter out of the bottom of this list on its own.

The Cultist

The Cultist is only playable when you’re playing Enter the Gungeon in co-op, which is annoying because his abilities are actually pretty good. His Heart Cookie can be used to revive his partner once, while his Number 2 headband (love the Afro Samurai reference) boosts his strength when the first player is dead. Of course, short of getting a friend to help you, the only way to use the Cultist is to start a co-op game and get one character killed, which is rather cumbersome.

Related: How to Find Secret Rooms in Enter the Gungeon

The Robot

The Robot is all about playing the long game. He can’t use regular health, only armor, which is frustrating, but if you can keep your armor on, his other abilities, such as his passive strength boost from picking up Junk and his electrified bullets, can turn him into quite the powerhouse. He’s definitely a character that requires some practice and forethought to use.

The Marine

The Marine is generally the best all-around Gungeoneer. He doesn’t have any particularly wacky gimmicks to him, just a good pistol, a free piece of armor, a free ammo drop, and his stat-boosting Military Training. The Marine’s a good character for those who want to rely more on their Gungeoneering fundamentals than kooky abilities.

The Pilot

The Pilot employs a little bit of what I like to call controlled chaos. His shop discount and lockpicking ability rely on RNG to a certain extent, but unlike the likes of the Paradox, the Pilot’s RNG shenanigans are much more within the player’s control. Plus he gets an extra slot of inventory space, which is just all-around useful.

The Bullet

Strangely enough, one of the best Enter the Gungeon characters doesn’t start with a gun. The Bullet’s sword, Blasphemy, is an absolute terror at close range thanks to its high-damage and bullet-destroying reload, and with the boosted invincibility frames from his special dodge, he can bounce around the battlefield with less danger to himself. You just need to get used to being in close quarters all the time.

The Gunslinger

Considering the effort required to unlock the Gunslinger, he darn well better be the best character in the game. His starting gun, the Slinger, isn’t anything special, but his Lich’s Eyes Bullets automatically apply all potential synergies to all guns he picks up. While this doesn’t necessarily make all guns better, it does make most of them better. The Credit cost to play him kind of stinks, but unlike the Paradox, you know what you’re getting from the Gunslinger.