Bosses in Enter the Gungeon are the tough enemies waiting at the end of floors, and beating one is how you move on deeper into the Gungeon. They fight with layered bullet patterns, summoned help, and hazards that stay on the ground after an attack ends. Some sit on the main route, while others hide behind secret floors, close out a character's Past, or roam the dungeon as minibosses.
Floor
Keep of the Lead Lord
Bullet King
- Floor
- Keep of the Lead Lord
- Encounter Type
- Floor boss
- Attack Pattern
- Drifts after the player while mixing spinning bullet volleys, radial rings, aimed shots, and attacks from his Chancellor.
- How to Beat It
- Stay at range during his spin so the waves spread out, and use the gaps instead of rolling through every ring.
- Reward or Unlock
- Standard boss clear: a random gun or item, Hegemony Credits, and one to three pickups; a hitless clear on this main chamber also gives the Master Round.
Gatling Gull
- Floor
- Keep of the Lead Lord
- Encounter Type
- Floor boss
- Attack Pattern
- Chases the player and alternates between direct bullet streams, spread fire, and shots that bounce off walls.
- How to Beat It
- Keep moving and use pillars or corners to make the Gull turn before it can line up another burst.
- Reward or Unlock
- Standard boss clear: a random gun or item, Hegemony Credits, and one to three pickups; a hitless clear on this main chamber also gives the Master Round.
Trigger Twins
- Floor
- Keep of the Lead Lord
- Encounter Type
- Floor boss
- Attack Pattern
- Smiley and Shades charge, fire volleys, hop to send bullets outward, and summon Bullet Kin; the survivor gains attacks after its partner falls.
- How to Beat It
- Keep both twins low and finish them close together to avoid a long enraged final phase; clear summoned Bullet Kin when they box you in.
- Reward or Unlock
- Standard boss clear: a random gun or item, Hegemony Credits, and one to three pickups; a hitless clear on this main chamber also gives the Master Round.
Floor
Gungeon Proper
Ammoconda
- Floor
- Gungeon Proper
- Encounter Type
- Floor boss
- Attack Pattern
- Its segments slither independently and fire rings, lines, and waves; it also raises turrets that heal and speed it up if eaten.
- How to Beat It
- Destroy the small turrets before Ammoconda can swallow them, then weave through the moving segments’ staggered shots.
- Reward or Unlock
- Standard boss clear: a random gun or item, Hegemony Credits, and one to three pickups; a hitless clear on this main chamber also gives the Master Round.
Beholster
- Floor
- Gungeon Proper
- Encounter Type
- Floor boss
- Attack Pattern
- Uses several mounted guns at once, including aimed bullets, lasers, homing missiles, and broad rings.
- How to Beat It
- Shoot homing missiles twice to destroy them, and walk through the wide gaps in its bullet rings; rolling makes precise movement harder.
- Reward or Unlock
- Standard boss clear: a random gun or item, Hegemony Credits, and one to three pickups; a hitless clear on this main chamber also gives the Master Round.
The Gorgun
- Floor
- Gungeon Proper
- Encounter Type
- Floor boss
- Attack Pattern
- Petrifies players caught facing her wave, dives through poison, and fires alternating rings and spreads from both guns.
- How to Beat It
- Turn away from the petrifying wave or roll through it; staying near a wall can make her broad sprays easier to read.
- Reward or Unlock
- Standard boss clear: a random gun or item, Hegemony Credits, and one to three pickups; a hitless clear on this main chamber also gives the Master Round.
Floor
Black Powder Mine
Cannonbalrog
- Floor
- Black Powder Mine
- Encounter Type
- Floor boss
- Attack Pattern
- Rolls across the room and releases bullet rings at walls, then teleports in darkness or fires crossing spirals from its eyes.
- How to Beat It
- During the teleport attack, stand near the middle or a corner and watch where the lines meet; weave sideways through its spirals.
- Reward or Unlock
- Standard boss clear: a random gun or item, Hegemony Credits, and one to three pickups; a hitless clear on this main chamber also gives the Master Round.
Mine Flayer
- Floor
- Black Powder Mine
- Encounter Type
- Floor boss
- Attack Pattern
- Fires drifting rings and rotating streams, scatters chasing mines, and hides under bells while shooting.
- How to Beat It
- Keep circling during the mine attack; when it hides as bells, destroy them one at a time or use an explosive to reveal it.
- Reward or Unlock
- Standard boss clear: a random gun or item, Hegemony Credits, and one to three pickups; a hitless clear on this main chamber also gives the Master Round.
Treadnaught
- Floor
- Black Powder Mine
- Encounter Type
- Floor boss
- Attack Pattern
- Drives in straight lines while its corner turrets fire independently; its cannon launches bullets that create smaller enemies.
- How to Beat It
- Clear spawned enemies quickly so they do not crowd the arena, then use the pillars to break the tank’s line of fire.
- Reward or Unlock
- Standard boss clear: a random gun or item, Hegemony Credits, and one to three pickups; a hitless clear on this main chamber also gives the Master Round.
Floor
Hollow
High Priest
- Floor
- Hollow
- Encounter Type
- Floor boss
- Attack Pattern
- Uses broad bullet formations, targeted shots, and summoned enemies while moving around the arena.
- How to Beat It
- Prioritize summoned enemies when they begin restricting your routes, and keep moving through the openings in the Priest’s patterns.
- Reward or Unlock
- Standard boss clear: a random gun or item, Hegemony Credits, and one to three pickups; a hitless clear on this main chamber also gives the Master Round.
Kill Pillars
- Floor
- Hollow
- Encounter Type
- Floor boss
- Attack Pattern
- Four linked statues jump as a group, sending out rings and volleys; they can also spin streams across the arena.
- How to Beat It
- Circle close to the group during its spinning volley, and roll over the rings created by its jumps.
- Reward or Unlock
- Standard boss clear: a random gun or item, Hegemony Credits, and one to three pickups; a hitless clear on this main chamber also gives the Master Round.
Wallmonger
- Floor
- Hollow
- Encounter Type
- Floor boss
- Attack Pattern
- Crawls down the full width of the room, firing side volleys and central fire that leave little safe ground.
- How to Beat It
- Keep retreating toward the Forge exit while aiming at its face; do not let it reach the bottom wall.
- Reward or Unlock
- Standard boss clear: a random gun or item, Hegemony Credits, and one to three pickups; a hitless clear on this main chamber also gives the Master Round.
Floor
Forge
High Dragun
- Floor
- Forge
- Encounter Type
- Floor boss
- Attack Pattern
- Breathes fire, fires paired guns and rockets, summons homing skulls, and throws knives that keep shooting until destroyed; its second phase fills the room with bullets and temporary safe zones.
- How to Beat It
- Stay near the back during the first phase and destroy thrown knives quickly; use an explosive to clear bullets during the heart phase.
- Reward or Unlock
- Standard boss clear plus first-kill unlocks Dragunfire and Gun Soul; repeated kills and specific conditions unlock additional gear. A hitless Forge clear gives the Master Round.
Advanced Dragun
- Floor
- Forge (third phase of High Dragun)
- Encounter Type
- Advanced boss phase
- Attack Pattern
- Breathes sweeping fire, switches between paired guns and launchers, creates eye-shaped danger zones, and attacks with skulls and streams of bullets.
- How to Beat It
- Treat it as an added phase of the Dragun fight: stay mobile, watch for lingering fire, and use the safe gaps rather than rolling into another pattern.
- Reward or Unlock
- Defeating the third phase unlocks the Advanced Slayer achievement and counts toward High Dragun kill-based unlocks.
Floor
Bullet Hell
Lich
- Floor
- Bullet Hell; also the Gunslinger’s Past
- Encounter Type
- Final boss
- Attack Pattern
- Fights through three phases with expanding rings, spirals, summoned Tombstoners, sweeping hands, and increasingly dense bullet patterns.
- How to Beat It
- Keep a clear route around the arena and avoid spending rolls on patterns with wide walking gaps; prepare to reposition when each phase changes rooms.
- Reward or Unlock
- A first defeat unlocks Gungeon Blueprint and Riddle of Lead; Bullet Hell does not award a Master Round. The Gunslinger’s Past version is a two-Lich fight.
Floor
Secret floors and rooms
Blockner
- Floor
- Halls of Knowledge secret room, then Black Powder Mine; later a roaming miniboss
- Encounter Type
- Boss and miniboss
- Attack Pattern
- The living Blockner fights beside two Gun Nuts with rapid shots, a spread, and shield-shaped volleys; his ghost rematch adds stationary shield bullets.
- How to Beat It
- During the Mine fight, manage the two Gun Nuts as well as Blockner; when the ghost returns, watch for its five shield bullets before moving across the room.
- Reward or Unlock
- The living fight can drop the Mine’s Master Round if cleared without damage before the regular boss does; returning to Ser Manuel after the rematch unlocks Betrayer’s Shield and Badge. The ghost drops pickups and may drop a chest.
Door Lord
- Floor
- Rare replacement boss on Gungeon Proper, Black Powder Mine, or Hollow
- Encounter Type
- Secret boss
- Attack Pattern
- A door mimic alternates bullet rings, spreads, a tracking laser that leaves fire, and teleporting ring attacks.
- How to Beat It
- Keep an eye on the laser’s direction and leave its burning trail; use the gaps in the bullet rings rather than dodging blindly.
- Reward or Unlock
- It gives a normal main-floor boss reward and can grant that floor’s Master Round when defeated without damage.
Blobulord
- Floor
- Oubliette
- Encounter Type
- Secret-floor boss
- Attack Pattern
- Fires outward rings, waves, and bouncing face-shaped bullets, then splits into bullets while it is untargetable.
- How to Beat It
- Wait out the split attack and follow where the bouncing bullets converge; attack again when Blobulord returns.
- Reward or Unlock
- First defeat unlocks Super Space Turtle. As a secret-floor boss, it does not award a Master Round.
Old King
- Floor
- Abbey of the True Gun
- Encounter Type
- Secret-floor boss
- Attack Pattern
- Follows the player with complex bullet rings, spirals, spreads, homing skulls, and a flask that leaves an X of fire.
- How to Beat It
- Keep moving around the room and save a dodge roll for the dense overlapping patterns; avoid crossing the spreading fire.
- Reward or Unlock
- First defeat unlocks Bloodied Scarf; after A Farewell to Arms, the fight also rewards a locked Synergy Chest. It does not award a Master Round.
Resourceful Rat
- Floor
- Resourceful Rat’s Lair
- Encounter Type
- Secret-floor boss
- Attack Pattern
- Has three fights: a bullet-pattern duel, a mech with destructible shoulder weapons, then a Punch-Out-style boxing round.
- How to Beat It
- Destroy the mech’s shoulder weapons to remove some attacks, then watch for the Rat flashing yellow to find Punch-Out parry windows.
- Reward or Unlock
- Items and guns are earned during the boxing phase; successful hits can also win up to six Rat Keys for the special chests after the fight.
Agunim
- Floor
- R&G Dept.; also the Bullet’s Past
- Encounter Type
- Secret-floor boss and Past boss
- Attack Pattern
- The R&G fight begins with a helicopter gunship, while the Past version uses magical bullet attacks before the fight continues to Cannon.
- How to Beat It
- In the R&G fight, stay on the central platform so the surrounding drops do not end the run; in the Past, use the safe gaps between aimed volleys.
- Reward or Unlock
- Defeating Agunim in the R&G Dept. opens the route to Cannon; defeating him in the Bullet’s Past advances that Past. The R&G clear has standard boss rewards.
Floor
Character Pasts
Black Stache
- Floor
- Convict’s Past
- Encounter Type
- Past boss
- Attack Pattern
- Throws fire-setting Molotovs and explosive spreads, spins to fire in all directions, and calls Hegemony Soldiers into the fight.
- How to Beat It
- Keep clear of the burning circles and remove the soldiers when they start boxing you in.
- Reward or Unlock
- Defeating Black Stache completes the Convict’s Past; no separate item drop is listed for the Past encounter.
Dr. Wolf's Monster
- Floor
- Hunter’s Past
- Encounter Type
- Past boss
- Attack Pattern
- Fires aimed sprays, swings a bullet sword, and sends lightning-shaped and eagle-shaped bullet formations across the room.
- How to Beat It
- Keep a wide route around the sword swing and watch the edges for formations before they cross the arena.
- Reward or Unlock
- Defeating the monster completes the Hunter’s Past; no separate item drop is listed for the Past encounter.
HS Absolution
- Floor
- Pilot’s Past
- Encounter Type
- Past boss
- Attack Pattern
- The battleship launches smaller ships and fires large lasers that narrow the safe area, plus aimed and patterned volleys.
- How to Beat It
- Stay near the center when the cannons charge, and destroy smaller ships before their attacks fill the screen.
- Reward or Unlock
- Defeating HS Absolution completes the Pilot’s Past; no separate item drop is listed for the Past encounter.
Interdimensional Horror
- Floor
- Marine’s Past (Primerdyne R&D)
- Encounter Type
- Past boss
- Attack Pattern
- Teleports while firing overlapping rings and wavy bullet lines; it also summons advancing enemies and leaves fast-damaging poison patches.
- How to Beat It
- Avoid the poison patches first, then use the gaps between the expanding ring and the volley behind it.
- Reward or Unlock
- Defeating the Horror completes the Marine’s Past; no separate item drop is listed for the Past encounter.
Cannon
- Floor
- Bullet’s Past
- Encounter Type
- Past boss
- Attack Pattern
- Fires orbiting bullets that expand and turn into bats, sends bat-shaped shots across the room, and breaks floor panels with ground pounds.
- How to Beat It
- Attack after Cannon floats to a new spot, when it pauses; roll into the expanding ring and back out before it contracts.
- Reward or Unlock
- Defeating Cannon completes the Bullet’s Past; no separate item drop is listed for the Past encounter.
The Last Human
- Floor
- Robot’s Past
- Encounter Type
- Past boss
- Attack Pattern
- Fires spirals, poison, random volleys, and grenades, while summoned shotgun humans predict the player’s movement.
- How to Beat It
- Remove the summoned shotgun enemies promptly and keep moving before their predicted blasts overlap with the poison.
- Reward or Unlock
- Defeating The Last Human completes the Robot’s Past; no separate item drop is listed for the Past encounter.
Floor
Tutorial and roaming minibosses
Ser Manuel
- Floor
- Halls of Knowledge tutorial
- Encounter Type
- Tutorial boss
- Attack Pattern
- Uses basic bullet spreads and teaches the player to dodge, use blanks, and fight; the encounter is a short duel.
- How to Beat It
- Follow the tutorial’s dodge and blank lessons, and use the practice fight to learn how to move between shots.
- Reward or Unlock
- Completing the tutorial unlocks the Pea Shooter; defeating Ser Manuel awards 10 Hegemony Credits, or 20 for a flawless win.
Fuselier
- Floor
- Gungeon Proper, Black Powder Mine, Hollow, or Forge
- Encounter Type
- Roaming miniboss
- Attack Pattern
- Moves in figure-eights, fires alternating rings and spreads, sends chasing wind-up Bullet Kin, and lays persistent fire lines.
- How to Beat It
- Keep circling to avoid the chase and use dodge rolls to cross the lasting fire lines when they block your path.
- Reward or Unlock
- Defeating Fuselier unlocks the fifth Infuriating Note; its death also drops several pickups.
Shadow Magician
- Floor
- Random room in the Gungeon, commonly floors 2–5
- Encounter Type
- Roaming miniboss
- Attack Pattern
- Twirls while invulnerable, then fires zigzag bolts or curving rings and may summon enemies from the current floor.
- How to Beat It
- Wait for the twirl to end before spending shots, and clear summoned enemies when they start closing the open lanes.
- Reward or Unlock
- First defeat unlocks Bottle; the fifth defeat unlocks Cursed Bullets. It drops pickups and may leave a map or chest.
How Boss Fights Work in Enter the Gungeon
Most bosses don't just stand still and trade shots with you. They fire bullet rings, wide spreads, and aimed bursts, and many move through several phases that bring in new attacks partway through the fight. Some call in help like summoned Bullet Kin, and others leave danger behind, such as fire lines, poison patches, or a wave that turns you to stone.
Most of the work comes down to finding space. Look for the gaps between bullet rings instead of rolling through every one, and save your dodge roll for the dense patterns that leave you no other option. Keep moving so the boss can't line up its shots, use pillars and corners to make it turn, and clear summoned enemies quickly before they box you in.
Bosses also limit how much damage they take in a short time, so a high-damage gun can't end a fight in seconds. The cap is measured over a three-second window and rises on deeper floors. A Farewell to Arms raised these caps, co-op raises them by 70 percent, and Boss Rush removes them entirely.
Main Floor Bosses and Where You Meet Them
Each main floor ends with a boss, and beating it opens the way to the next floor. The main route runs through Keep of the Lead Lord, Gungeon Proper, Black Powder Mine, Hollow, and the Forge, so these fights can't be skipped. They also pay out the regular boss rewards, and a clean win on one of these floors can add more.
The Forge's High Dragun fight goes into a third phase, Advanced Dragun, which is part of the same battle. Bullet Hell is the last floor, and its boss, Lich, is the final fight. It cycles through three phases of expanding rings, spirals, and denser bullet patterns.
Enter the Gungeon Boss Rewards Explained
Defeating a boss drops a random gun or item, several Hegemony Credits, and one to three pickups such as hearts, ammo, or keys. If you haven't picked up a gun yet on the current floor, the boss always drops one. Otherwise, the reward leans toward guns when you need them: the fewer guns you're carrying, the more likely you'll get one, and a well-stocked run usually gets an item instead.
A boss you beat without taking a hit is worth more. It drops doubled Hegemony Credits, and if it's a main floor boss, it also drops a Master Round, the item that proves you cleared the fight without damage. Bullet Hell's final boss doesn't give one, and hidden floor bosses follow their own rules.
Secret Bosses and Hidden Floors
Hidden floors sit between the main floors, and each one has its own boss. They're side trips rather than the main route, and each has its own way in.
The Oubliette comes first, and you reach it from Keep of the Lead Lord. There, you put out the fireplace with a water barrel, use the hidden switch inside, and open the trapdoor with two keys (or Trusty Lockpicks or a Drill). Its boss is Blobulord.
The Abbey of the True Gun needs the Old Crest, which you must carry from the Oubliette through the rest of that floor and all of Gungeon Proper without taking a hit before you place it on the altar. Its boss, Old King, uses harder versions of Bullet King's patterns.
Resourceful Rat's Lair is the most involved route. You need the Gnawed Key, which doesn't show up in shops until you've finished building the Bullet That Can Kill the Past. Its boss, Resourceful Rat, runs through a bullet duel, a mech, and a boxing round.
The R&G Dept. is the costliest to enter, since you sell a Master Round and two items to the Sell Creep in Hollow to open its entrance. Its boss is Agunim, and there's no elevator out afterward, so you jump off the rooftop arena to reach the Forge.
Most secret floor bosses don't give Master Rounds, but two fights are exceptions. Door Lord is a rare boss that can take the place of a main-floor boss on Gungeon Proper, Black Powder Mine, or Hollow, disguising itself as a door, and it can give that floor's Master Round if you beat it without damage. Blockner, a knight who fights beside two Gun Nuts, can also drop the Mine's Master Round if you clear his fight without damage before the Mine's regular boss does.
Character Past Bosses
Each character's Past ends with a boss fight, and beating that boss completes the Past. The Convict's Past ends with Black Stache, the Hunter's with Dr. Wolf's Monster, the Pilot's with HS Absolution, the Marine's with Interdimensional Horror, and the Robot's with The Last Human. The Bullet's Past runs through Agunim before ending with Cannon, and the Gunslinger's Past closes with a double Lich fight.
Past fights generally advance the Past instead of dropping a separate item. Most Pasts also strip your guns and items when you enter, though blanks and armor carry over, and the Pilot's Past is the exception that keeps your items. That means most of these fights come with a thinner loadout than the main floors, so plan around the blanks and armor you have.
Tutorial and Roaming Minibosses
Ser Manuel is the tutorial boss in the Halls of Knowledge. His short duel teaches you to dodge, use blanks, and fight, and beating him pays out 10 Hegemony Credits, or 20 if you win without taking a hit.
Fuselier and Shadow Magician roam, so they aren't tied to the end of a floor and can show up in ordinary rooms. Fuselier is a floating bomb that moves in figure-eights, fires rings and spreads, and sends wind-up Bullet Kin to chase you while leaving lasting fire lines behind. It can appear on Gungeon Proper, Black Powder Mine, Hollow, or the Forge.
Shadow Magician turns invulnerable while it twirls, so wait for the twirl to end before you spend shots. Once it stops, it fires zigzag bolts or curving rings and may summon enemies from the floor you're on. It shows up in a random room, most often on the second to fifth floors, and Blockner's ghost can also turn up later as a roaming miniboss.
Boss Unlocks That Matter Most
Defeating some bosses for the first time unlocks new items and achievements, which is why certain fights are worth seeking out. High Dragun matters most. Its first kill unlocks Dragunfire and Gun Soul, repeated kills and specific conditions unlock more gear, and defeating its third phase, Advanced Dragun, earns the Advanced Slayer achievement and counts toward those kill-based unlocks.
Lich is the other big one, since it's the final fight. Its first defeat unlocks Gungeon Blueprint and Riddle of Lead.
The rest unlock smaller things. Blobulord unlocks Super Space Turtle on its first defeat, and Old King unlocks Bloodied Scarf. Finishing the tutorial unlocks the Pea Shooter, and returning to Ser Manuel after the ghost rematch unlocks Betrayer's Shield and Badge. Shadow Magician's first defeat unlocks Bottle and its fifth unlocks Cursed Bullets, while Fuselier's defeat unlocks the fifth Infuriating Note, a clue for the maze in Resourceful Rat's Lair.
FAQ
How do I unlock Advanced Dragun?
One route to Advanced Dragun starts in the Rat's Lair reward room. Feed the snake there four guns or items, and it follows you until the Dragun fight, where it defects and triggers Advanced Dragun. That route also leads to the Holey Grail, and the snake refuses Busted Television, Sponge, and Trusty Lockpicks, so don't count on those. Throwing a Weird Egg into fire is the other way to earn the Advanced Slayer achievement.
Does every boss drop a gun?
Not every time, since the guaranteed gun depends on whether you've picked one up on that floor. Throwing an empty gun and picking it back up works around that rule, but dropping and picking up a gun with the Drop Gun button doesn't. The first boss in Boss Rush follows the same rule.
How much does the Gnawed Key cost?
The first purchase costs 1000 Shells in a Gungeon Proper shop, and you can pay it off in installments across several runs. Once it's paid in full, it costs 115 Shells on every later run. Discount items never lower its price.
How do you beat Resourceful Rat?
In the mech stage, destroy its shoulder weapons, which removes some of its attacks. In the boxing round, the Rat flashing yellow marks its parry windows, so watch for it. Successful hits in that round can also win up to six Rat Keys, which open the special chests in the reward room.
