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Getting Started with Far Far West

By ScotUpdated

Tactical Quick Answer

Far Far West is a 1-4 player co-op extraction shooter from developer Evil Raptor and publisher Fireshine Games where you play a robot cowboy on a futuristic frontier. Every run follows the same loop: explore and scavenge with no timer, kill the bounty boss, then call extraction and reach the ship. You start with the Quad Cylinder, the Revolver, and an Ammo Pack, and finishing the tutorial grants five level-1 spells.

Far Far West is a 1-4 player co-op extraction shooter developed by Evil Raptor and published by Fireshine Games, in Early Access on Steam since April 2026. You play as a robot cowboy dropped into a futuristic frontier crawling with bounties, monsters, and loot. Your job is to complete objectives, collect resources, and extract alive.

Your first few drops will be rough. That is expected.

What Happens When You Die​

Community consensus is that character progression such as Hero XP survives a failed run while un-extracted mission currency does not, which matches how the game feels in practice.

Be aware, though, that the precise keep-and-lose breakdown is genuinely undocumented. The game does not spell it out, the community wiki has no page on it, and the tidy bulleted lists you will find on various guide sites trace back to AI-generated content, not testing. Treat un-extracted Gold and Souls as lost when you die, and do not bet a run on any more specific promise than that.

The Core Loop​

Every mission follows the same cycle. You launch from the Town, drop into one of the game's maps, and start working.

  1. Explore and scavenge. Mine gold veins, complete side objectives, locate secrets, and collect Joker cards. There is no timer during this phase. Take your time and complete everything before engaging the bounty.
  2. Kill the bounty boss. Once you pull boss aggro, the fight begins and escalating enemy waves start spawning.
  3. Extract. After the boss dies you call in extraction and reach the ship.
tip

There is zero incentive to rush the exploration phase. Mine every gold vein, finish every side quest, and hunt every secret before you trigger the boss fight, because that is the point of no return for relaxed looting.

Your First Loadout​

You start with the Quad Cylinder, the Revolver, and an Ammo Pack. The Leveredge is not a starter: it is an unlock costing 6 fragments plus 300 Gold.

You are not spell-less either. Completing the tutorial grants five level-1 spells: Fireball, Strikes, Thrower, Drain, and Mino. That is a real toolkit from your first proper drop, so experiment with all five before deciding what to build around.

As you earn Weapon Fragments from completing objectives, you unlock new weapons permanently at the Gunsmith, a separate building in the Town. Gold alone is not enough: main weapons need 6 fragments tracked in-mission plus 300 Gold (down from 500 in the May 2026 update), while utilities need 3 fragments. For a full breakdown of every weapon and spell school, read our Combat and Weapons guide.

The Gold Mining Trick​

This one detail meaningfully raises your income on every run.

When you find a gold vein, you can mine it manually with the pickaxe or blow it up. The game penalizes the shortcut heavily: mining by hand yields roughly 36 Gold on Easy against about 20 from an explosive, a penalty of around 55%.

Always use the pickaxe. The few extra seconds per node compound into hundreds of Gold by extraction time. Gold also carries a difficulty multiplier, scaling from 1x on Easy up to 1.5x on Nightmare, so the same nodes pay more on harder runs.

The Town​

Between missions you return to the Town. The Saloon is its focal point, but it is one building among several and not the hub itself. You will also use the Gunsmith for weapons, Dr. Spark-Twist's Lab, the Spell Hut, and the Shooting Range.

The economy runs on three resources:

  • Gold: Earned during missions. Spent on mid-mission NPC purchases and weapon unlocks at the Gunsmith.
  • Souls: Earned during missions. Spent on permanent upgrades and Joker cards from the Gamba Machine.
  • Weapon Fragments: Earned by tracking a specific weapon and completing objectives. Main weapons need 6 fragments, utilities need 3.

You do not find incrementally better guns in the field. Every weapon is a permanent unlock. The in-mission economy revolves around Gold for buying from the Wandering Trader and Joker cards for buffing your loadout. For a deep breakdown of the Joker system, read our Joker Cards guide.

New Player Traps​

Destroying Gold Nodes​

Already covered above, but it is worth repeating: do not use weapons or spells on gold veins. Mine them manually. New players who do not know this mechanic consistently report feeling "Gold starved" when the real problem is their harvesting method.

Ignoring Side Objectives Before the Boss​

Many players rush straight to the bounty target. This triggers escalating enemy waves and moves the run into its endgame. Clear the map first, fight the boss second.

Assuming the Leveredge Is Your Starter​

The Leveredge is a 6-fragment, 300 Gold unlock, not your starting weapon, and expecting it in your opening loadout leads new players to think something has gone wrong. Your actual primary is the Quad Cylinder.

Frequently Asked Questions​

What do you lose when you die in Far Far West?

Un-extracted Gold and Souls. Character progression such as Hero XP is widely reported to survive, but the precise breakdown is undocumented by the game and the wiki, so treat any detailed keep-and-lose list with caution.

What weapons do you start with in Far Far West?

The Quad Cylinder, the Revolver, and an Ammo Pack. The Leveredge is an unlock costing 6 fragments and 300 Gold, not a starter. Completing the tutorial also grants five level-1 spells: Fireball, Strikes, Thrower, Drain, and Mino.

Should you mine gold nodes or shoot them?

Mine them with the pickaxe. Manual mining yields around 36 Gold on Easy against roughly 20 from blowing a vein up, a penalty near 55%. Gold also scales with difficulty, from 1x on Easy to 1.5x on Nightmare.

When does extraction begin in Far Far West?

You call it in after the bounty boss dies. There is no timer during exploration, so mine every gold vein, finish every side quest, and hunt every secret before you pull boss aggro.

How much does a weapon unlock cost in Far Far West?

Main weapons need 6 Weapon Fragments plus 300 Gold at the Gunsmith, down from 500 Gold in the May 2026 update. Utility items need 3 fragments. Weapons are never field drops.

  • Combat and Weapons. The 5 magic schools, weapon stats, and bunnyhopping movement tech.
  • Extraction and Loot. How the Joker-based loot system works and the extraction defense phase.
  • Co-op vs Solo. How difficulty scales and strategies for each squad size.
  • Joker Cards. The 94-card perk system that defines your build each run.
  • Elemental Combos. Cross-school spell reactions and how to trigger them.
  • Boss Encounters. Mechanics and phase breakdowns for every Cryptic boss.
  • Secrets and Challenges. Hidden missions, collectibles, and the in-game challenge system.
  • Tips and Tricks. Short mechanics the guides cover in passing, from gold yields to spell XP.