Combat and Weapons

Far Far West plays more like a classic arena shooter than a cover-based tactical game. Standing still is a death sentence. The enemy tracking algorithms punish static positions, and on Hard difficulty and above, you will die in seconds if you stop moving. Think Doom with six-shooters and magic, not Rainbow Six.

Your combat toolkit has two halves: firearms and arcane spells drawn from five distinct magic schools. Mastering both, and learning how they interact with each other, is the difference between extracting rich and dying broke.

Weapon Classes

You carry a primary weapon and a secondary sidearm into every drop. Weapons are permanent unlocks earned through Weapon Fragments, not random loot drops. You select your loadout at the Saloon before each mission.

Weapon	Type	Notable Stats	Best For
Leveredge	Rifle (Starter Primary)	Balanced damage, medium range	Your default workhorse for the first hours
Revolver	Sidearm (Starter Secondary)	High damage per shot, slow reload	Precision hits at close to medium range
Dual Revolvers	Sidearm	11 base damage (buffed from 9 in Update 1)	Highest close-range DPS option
Shotgun	Primary	82m effective range, tight spread	Close-range burst damage against armored targets
Bow	Primary	31 arrows (buffed from 20 in Update 1)	Area-of-effect explosive damage
Quad Cylinder	Rifle	9 base damage, 216 ammo reserve	Sustained fire with improved accuracy (Patch 0.1.1.3)
Minigun	Heavy	High sustained DPS	Shredding bosses (accuracy nerfed 30% at range in Patch 0.1.1.10)
Boomerang	Special	Zero ammo consumption, returns to player	Solo play and ammo conservation

tip

The Boomerang requires zero ammunition and returns to you after each throw. Solo players should strongly consider this weapon to avoid running dry during long boss fights.

Weapon Progression

Every weapon has its own XP track. You level weapons by dealing damage and killing enemies with them. Higher-level weapons unlock additional perks and modifiers.

One critical detail: the Bow generates XP based on explosive damage and the number of enemies hit in a single blast. Before Patch 0.1.1.3, Bow explosions generated zero XP, making leveling it a nightmare. After the patch, the fix works but you still need to maximize your yields. Herd enemies into tight clusters before detonating for optimal XP gain.

The Five Magic Schools

There is no "Kinetic" or "Frost" magic in Far Far West. The spell system is strictly organized into five schools, each with a distinct tactical identity.

School	Identity	Example Spells	Role
Fire	Localized burst damage	Fireball, Firebeam	Direct damage and area denial
Acid	Environmental control	Bubble, Rain, Geyser	Creating hazard zones and combo primers
Elec	Chaining damage and mobility	Strikes, Boing, Swap, Thunderstrike	Lightning chains, movement abilities, i-frames
Cactus	Autonomous turrets	Various deployables	Passive zone control and sustained damage
Voodoo	Team sustain and corruption	Contagion, healing abilities	Healing allies, debuffing enemies

Key Spells to Know

• Boing (Elec): Your primary movement spell. Launches you vertically or horizontally. Does not grant invulnerability, but it repositions you fast.
• Swap (Elec): Provides genuine invulnerability frames during its animation. This is your panic button against boss attacks.
• Strikes (Elec): Chains lightning between multiple targets. The real AoE clearing tool (not to be confused with "Arc," which is actually an Impulse Grenade, not a spell).
• Contagion (Voodoo): Has an 80-second cooldown but yields 96 XP per cast, making it one of the most efficient spells for leveling.

Spell XP

Spell schools level independently. The XP formula is floor(cooldown x 1.2 x xpMultiplier). High-cooldown spells like Contagion give significantly more XP per cast than low-cooldown spells like Geyser.

The first cast of any spell in a mission grants a flat one-time +200 XP bonus. Cast at least one spell from every equipped school the moment you spawn into the map to harvest this free XP.

Cross-School Combos

The true depth of combat comes from stacking two different spell effects on the same surface or enemy to trigger a volatile secondary reaction. This mechanic is not explained anywhere in the game.

Combo	Ingredients	Result
Fire Tornado	Firebeam (Fire) + Bubble (Acid)	A roaming fire tornado that autonomously seeks hostile targets
Thunderstorm	Strikes (Elec) + Rain (Acid)	Localized lightning storm that chains to all enemies in the acid zone
Healing Candles	Any Voodoo spell + Acid pool	Transmutes the acid surface into a healing field for allies

These combos are essential for surviving Nightmare difficulty. For a complete combo index, read our Elemental Combos guide.

Bunnyhopping

Survivability on Very Hard and Nightmare difficulty relies almost entirely on a movement technique the community calls "bunnyhopping." The game does not teach this.

The sequence:

1. Dash (Shift)
2. Jump (Spacebar) immediately
3. The instant your boots touch the ground, chain another Dash + Jump

This preserves and amplifies your horizontal momentum, letting you outpace enemy tracking algorithms. Combining Boing (Elec) with Thunderstrike massively increases your aerial velocity, turning you into a nearly untouchable target.

warning

Static firefights are a death sentence on Hard and above. Bunnyhopping is not an optional exploit. It is a mandatory survival skill for endgame content.

Surviving Boss Fights

Boss attack patterns and phase transitions stay identical regardless of player count. Only the health pool scales with squad size and difficulty tier.

Every boss has a distinct telegraph before a major attack. Watch animations, not health bars. When the boss winds up, stop shooting and dodge. Prioritize survival over damage.

Manage the spawned adds. On higher difficulties, bosses summon increasingly dangerous enemies. The Cryptic Necromancer spawns 10 HP Ghosts on Easy and Normal, 20 HP Grunts on Hard, and 30 HP Revolver units on Very Hard and Nightmare. Clearing adds is just as important as hitting the boss. For full boss breakdowns, read our Boss Encounters guide.