To kill your past in Enter the Gungeon, you need the Bullet That Can Kill The Past, and then you shoot yourself with the Gun That Can Kill The Past. Each playable character, called a Gungeoneer, has a Past, which is a special level tied to their history, with the Paradox as the exception. The Blacksmith in the Forge builds the bullet from four parts found on different floors, and the Cultist can enter her Past without it.
| Character | Where the Past takes place | What you face | What it unlocks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marine | Primerdyne R&D | Interdimensional Horror | Military Training, Galactic Medal of Valor |
| Convict | Confession | Hegemony enforcers and Black Stache | Briefcase of Cash, Enraging Photo |
| Pilot | Hegemony space | HM Absolution | Wingman, Disarming Personality, Trusty Lockpicks |
| Hunter | Blacksword Manor | Dr. Wolfenclaw's monster | Wolf, Dog |
| Robot | Emperor's Arena | The Last Human and EMP-R0R | Robot's Left Hand, Chest Teleporter |
| Bullet | Gungeon Proper | Two Chain Gunners, then Agunim and Cannon | Chicken Flute |
| Cultist | The Breach, earlier that day | A duel with player one | Number 2 |
| Gunslinger | Bullet Hell | Two Liches at once | Gunslinger (permanent unlock), Lich's Eye Bullets |
| Paradox | No Past | — | — |
Each Past unlocks the items in its row when you clear it. The costumes and skins that follow are explained near the end.
Collecting the Four Parts of the Bullet That Can Kill The Past
Three of the four parts come from floors you explore, and the last one comes from the High Dragun.
Prime Primer in the Gungeon Proper Shop
Prime Primer is for sale in the Gungeon Proper shop, sealed in a glass case, for 110 Shells. Discounts don't lower its price, so have the full 110 Shells ready. The Grappling Hook can't pull it out of the case either.
Arcane Gunpowder in the Black Powder Mine
The Black Powder Mine has a large room that looks empty, but it holds invisible minecart rails over a chasm. Ride the minecarts and dodge-roll from one to the next to cross. You can also slow a minecart and stop it beside the next one, which makes the jump easier.
Flight items such as Wax Wings let you fly over the chasm instead. Be careful in this room, though. Falling into a pit resets the entire room and deletes any items you've dropped.
Planar Lead in the Hollow
Planar Lead sits in a room with a chasm in the Hollow, and the path to it is invisible. Shooting and reloading drops spent casings, which land on the hidden ground and mark the safe tiles. Starting guns work especially well because they eject their casings backward.
Guns that leave liquid or debris behind, such as the Fossilized Gun or Mega Douser, reveal the path too. If you'd rather skip it, a flight item like the Jetpack or Balloon Gun will carry you across. If you fall off the path, it regenerates at random, and with the Amulet of the Pit Lord, trial and error costs you nothing.
Obsidian Shell Casing from the High Dragun
Defeat the High Dragun in the Forge, then destroy its skull to reveal the casing. It's the only part the Resourceful Rat can't steal. Unlike the other three, you can earn it again after handing it in, so bring it to the Blacksmith like the rest.
Handing the Parts to the Blacksmith in the Forge
Bring each part to the Blacksmith in the Forge as you get it. Her progress is saved between runs, so you can spread the work across as many runs as you need, and each part only has to be delivered once.
- Hand over each part as you collect it.
- Keep gathering across runs until all four have been delivered.
- Once the fourth part is in, the Blacksmith builds the bullet.
Building the bullet also unlocks Alpha Bullet and Omega Bullets. Rooms that were guaranteed because of a part stop appearing once that part has been handed in, so those rooms won't keep showing up.
Getting the Bullet Again on Later Runs
Once the bullet is built, you don't need the four parts again. Talk to the Blacksmith on any later run and she will give you another bullet, with no limit on how many times you can ask. Do this before you leave through the Aimless Void, because you can't return to her once you've entered it.
The bullet can't be dropped, but the Resourceful Rat can steal it, so keep an eye out for the Rat. The Paradox is the exception here, since the Blacksmith won't give the bullet during Paradox runs.
Using the Gun That Can Kill The Past to Enter Your Past
- Talk to the Blacksmith in the Forge for the bullet before you fight the High Dragun.
- Defeat the High Dragun. Its spine stays behind as a bridge to the Aimless Void.
- Follow the bridge to the Gun That Can Kill The Past, which waits at the end. It appears whether or not you're carrying the bullet.
- Shoot yourself with the Gun while carrying the bullet, and it will take you into your Past.
The order matters because the bullet has to be with you before you enter the Aimless Void. Once you cross that line, it can't be retrieved. If you shoot yourself without it, the game still reaches the credits, but the run ends there instead of taking you into a Past.
In two-player co-op, a partner who dies during the High Dragun fight loses the bullet when revived. They can still fire the Gun at themselves to enter their Past.
Pasts That Work Differently
Most Pasts follow the same route, but a few have their own rules.
- Pilot: The Past begins in Hegemony space, where you can escape or fight. Choosing to fight rather than escape leads to the ship battle with the HM Absolution.
- Gunslinger: The Past takes place in Bullet Hell. You keep your run items and health, and defeating the first phase of both Liches finishes the Past. You don't need the bullet to reach Bullet Hell or fight the Lich.
- Cultist: She is a second-player character, used only in local co-op. She doesn't need the bullet to enter her Past, and the Blacksmith won't give her one.
- Paradox: The Paradox has no Past and no matching Past level, so there is nothing to enter.
Unlocking Alternate Costumes and Weapon Skins in Enter the Gungeon
Each Past gives two cosmetic rewards, one after the other. Killing a Past, or reaching it for the Cultist, unlocks that character's alternate costume. Then, replaying the same Past while wearing that costume unlocks an alternate skin for the character's starting weapon. Neither reward affects power.
- Marine: alternate costume, then the Marine Sidearm skin
- Convict: alternate costume, then the Budget Revolver skin
- Pilot: alternate costume, then the Rogue Special skin
- Hunter: alternate costume, then the Rusty Sidearm skin
- Robot: alternate costume, then the Robot's Right Hand skin
- Bullet: alternate costume, then the Blasphemy skin
- Cultist: alternate costume, then the Dart Gun skin
The Gunslinger has no alternate costume or skin, and the Paradox has no Past, so it has no costume path.
Gilded Hydra and Sunlight Javelin
Gilded Hydra is a gun you unlock by killing the Pasts of all four main Gungeoneers: Marine, Convict, Pilot and Hunter.
Sunlight Javelin has two routes. Reaching the Cultist's Past unlocks it, and so does defeating the High Dragun while a co-op partner is with you. You don't have to chase her Past to get it.
