Pixel Gun 3D Guide

The following page is a user-created tutorial and not an official page. The content might not follow editing guidelines.

DISCLAIMER: Neither Bobrosseatskids nor COOLXReX4 are expert "Sigma Walter White Cocomelon" gamers, but Bobrosseatskids is a long-time player (OG, or "original") who has his limited useful knowledge, and COOLXReX4 is a newer player who can provide valued insight and info in the early game parts of this guide. This functions as a tutorial too, but is NOT necessarily comprehensive.

“	Get to level 65 as soon as you can!	”
—Mint Gaming, 2022

Welcome to Pixel Gun 3D! This first-person shooter you are about to, or are currently playing, is about getting the best weapons and improving your skills to dominate matches. Be aware that it is also a "grind"-based game, or requires a high proportion of time spent in matches. You may be wondering on the following matters: what is the best loadout? How do I level up and when should I upgrade my weapons? What is the most effective tactic in battle? This article will serve as an essay of general guidelines to answer most new players' questions.

As a preface, keep in mind that this article stresses on saving Currencies, such as Gems. This is because the upgrade system—contrary to the name—requires such valuables, and it downgrades your weapons' damage as you level up, and it only allows you to upgrade them to your own level, creating a vicious cycle until you reach the maximum Level: 65. However, it is good to invest once in a while, especially Coins, a currency that is very stable in obtainability. And, some weapons that cost Currencies are powerful enough to make it on the lists below. There are exceptions to this guideline, such as Modules, as you will see below. For the most part, only Armory weapons will be listed below, since limited, repeating events like the Lottery and Trader's Van randomize their obtainable weapons.

Without any more waffle, let's get into this!

Progression

Currency guide based on levels (simple)

Lv. 10-30: Hoard everything you can and use guns you get from the Lottery/free guns, as they are usually good (, , Pass Tickets, Coupons, and anything you can get from ads is what you should be getting whenever possible)

Lv. 30-50: Keep on only using Lottery weapons/free guns and only spend currency on necessary things like Trader's Van weapons that are very good or set Lottery guns that are good.

Lv. 50-65: From 50 to 64 keep saving and refrain from upgrade anything with gems until level 65; at level 65, spend all your saved-up currency on strong weapons (list can be found below on the page)

Leveling up

The best way to level up depends on what you currently have. If you have XP Boosters (200% is the most intuitive), you can generally play Classic Mode matches and gain the most XP that way, especially since Boosters do not increase XP gained in Minigames. Otherwise, farming said ones that grant XP is your next best option. The following ones give Experience:

• Block Crash
• Coop Survival
• Deadly Games
• Glider Rush
• Monster Hunting
• Parkour Challenge (Requires great practice)
• Racing
• Red Light
• Sniper Tournament

When trying to level up, play on maps that you and your weapons are most suited for to maximize your chances of winning and gaining extra XP. Generally, the best mode to play is Deathmatch, as you do not have to worry about teammates and having Bots, nor rely on matchmaking; even then, defeats, unlike Team Fight and similar modes, can still grant you 15 XP if your placement in a match is 4th or above. You could also join unpopular maps (those with small player numbers) and fight Bots for easy wins, however these may require some time to find, and actual players can still defeat you.

Early-game (COOL et. al.)

Early-game is usually considered the range between Lv. 10 to 30 (from Lv. 1–9, simply save up your Currencies and grind XP and Keys, these levels also act as a tutorial so you can get a feel for the game while saving Gems, Coupons, etc.). The following list is a summary of what is the most effective way to level up in this stage:

Currency

It is recommended you focus your on Rare and Epic weapons to quickly fill in for the starter weapons, but please note that the Lottery should be your main source of guns at this level. The aforementioned weapons are of lower Grade; they may be less powerful than Legendary guns and above, but are cheaper to buy and upgrade. However, there are a few notable exceptions when leveling up (see below). Note that are the easiest currency to obtain, so its often not a mistake to upgrade your loadout with them, especially since upgrading is cheapest in this Level range.

Generally, however, you do not want to spend any Gems, Coupons, etc. They are harder to obtain than Coins, and are needed to buy the more powerful and limited weapons in the Trader's Van and Gallery, respectively, and limited events to buy Lottery Chests and other Currencies with appear in the Store as well. In addition, since weapons are only upgraded to your current level, keep these currencies at the moment. However, you should still upgrade your weapons periodically, as they will become more underpowered as you level up. Weapons of higher grade will need to have this done less often, and you should strive to obtain one that you like.

There are a few exceptions to this, such as the relatively cheap yet powerful sniper, the Prototype.

Weapons

There are six categories in the game: Primary, Backup, Melee, Special, Sniper, and Heavy. When choosing weapons, consider what best fits your playstyle, or what method of playing the game you perform best in. See the articles for each of these weapons for further decision-making and information, and remember that these are not the only good options as skill and device speed are big factors in pg3d. Also note that you do not have to spend any Currency if you opt to use Lottery weapons, and this option is generally the best one.

If you like long-ranged gameplay, consider buying Primaries and Snipers that perform best at such ranges. Highly recommended options include the Marksman and Combat Rifle for Primary, and the Brutal Headhunter (PG3D) and Future Sniper Rifle for Sniper. Unfortunately, most Backups at this stage are not worth the currency, nor are Specials, but it's best to use the ones you gain from Lotteries (see below). Your Melee can just be the Battle Shovel for movement, as it has the optimal Mobility of 85; you can change this to Dark Force Saber too but it's not recommended as it costs a lot of coins. Melees in this range are relatively weak to the ones obtainable Mid-game. Heavies such as the Combat Slinger or Ghost Lantern are good early game.

If you like short-ranged gameplay, Primaries with the Attribute are your best choice, especially the Assault Shotgun and "Predator". These have a fast fire rate for shotguns, yet high damage up close. Heavies and Melees also perform well at this range, due to their short-range orientations, its good to note however that on open maps, automatics are better such as the Swat Rifle or the Marksman.

Upgrades

For the most part, upgrade your weapons piecemeal or not at all, as most enemies are weak, health and armor-wise, at this stage of the game. Use the highest level gun you have for each category.

Your armor is not a big priority either as enemies are weak, once again, and weapons play a bigger role in your performance in-game. Moreover, around Lvl 30 and later you will notice that many players can quickly kill, if not one-shot eliminate you even with good armor. The same case applies with Gadgets.

Mid-game (COOL, Bobross et. al.)

Mid-game is the range between that of Early- and Late-game, from Lv. 30 to 50. You may still be using weapons from Early-game, especially Shotguns, because enemies are still quite weak.

Currency

Weapons unlocked will no longer be Rare and Epic, but Legendary and Mythical, which heavily constrains your expenditure of and . Moreover, it's a rule of thumb to save your currencies or invest them in the high-priority weapons listed below.

Buying Trader's Van weapons and the Battle Pass becomes even more important here, as you may start running out of Armory weapons. Continue to do so, especially if its an extremely powerful weapon, since they do not return for a while.

Weapons

Remember that you can use Lottery weapons instead of the ones below.

For long-range gameplay, you can use the Prototype. But, once you reach Lv. 45, it is extremely recommended to buy the Anti-Champion Rifle. Even though it costs 450, it can be bought in the Armory, and is one of the best weapons in the game, sporting insane damage. (Accurate as of Update 23.7.0.).

While this is low-priority, other weapons include the Secret Forces Rifle, Thunderer, and Exterminator, but do note that they require investing 'lots' of . You may want to only consider these weapons if the current Lottery lacks good weapons for these weapons' respective categories, or have extreme trouble using the latter.

For short-range gameplay, the Predator is still a feasible option. It is highly recommended to get the Prehistoric Shotgun (Lv. 42); it is the highest-damaging Shotgun in the Armory. Do note that it has a very poor capacity and low fire-rate. The Circus Cannon (Lv. 40) is a great Heavy to use in conjunction with other close-range weapons, due to its extremely high damage and Area Damage. The Combat Yo-Yo and Jet Tenderizer are relatively powerful Melee weapons.

Upgrades

You will notice that upgrading becomes increasingly expensive as you level up; spending on Legendary ones rises to around the hundreds here, for instance. Consider this before upgrading; it could perhaps, in fact, be better to replace your lower-level weapons with the ones listed above, or rely on the Lottery.

Late-game (Bobross et. al.)

The Late-game is considered as the range between Lv. 50 to Lv. 65, and, as this takes a long time, you should know almost all of the game features and be able to play the Three Category Spam style (see "Metagame" below).

Weapons

One subtle detail about the Armory many PG3D progression guides forget is one of the most important: there are no weapons unlocked from Lv. 54 onwards anymore (with an exception below). This, compounded with the the low number and exorbitant price of weapons buyable from late Mid-game and this stage, means that this list will largely consist of weapons that max Level players use.

All ranges

Due to these topics encompassing every level or being broad enough, they are included here and are acceptable guidelines for all level ranges.

Gadgets

While Gadgets may not seem important until later-on, several can help you win games and level up more efficiently. These include the Jetpack, Nuclear Grenade, Singular Grenade, etc. Luckily, the Jetpack and many other utility Gadgets do not deteriorate as you level up. Consider buying such Gadgets to add versatility to your loadout.

Armor

Your armor is not a big priority either as enemies are weak, once again, and weapons play a bigger role in your performance in-game. Moreover, around Lv. 30 and later, you will notice that many players can quickly kill, if not one-shot eliminate you even with good armor. However, that does not mean to refrain from upgrading or getting Armors at all; you will want to get Clan ones, or during events, Mythical Armor, as they often provide more defense and extra effects in comparison to Default Armor. Plus, they will be upgraded to your level.

Modules

Modules are the only thing you must be spending on at any given Level. Unlike weapons and armor, modules do not deteriorate by leveling up, and they impart a great advantage to damage, survivability, versatility of weapons, etc. There are three types of weapon modules that increase damage: Kinetic, Energy, and Magic. There are also armor modules that decrease damage for the same respective elements.

Obtainment

The best way to obtain weapons is via the Lottery, especially in Late-game. This is free, as Keys to open the Chest can be obtained by simply winning matches. You can also watch advertisements to open the Novice Chest for easy weapons.

All the weapons above can be purchased in the Armory or Gallery at the time this was written. Focus on the cheaper Rare and Epic ones.

New armor can be obtained from Clans Crafting, Events, Cosmetic Chests, etc.

Metagame

There is a significant meta, or optimal way to play in matches; also, it is one of the most infamous in mobile FPS history, due to it involving polarizing strategies and loadouts. The meta is also heavily determined and disputed by the community, and this will take an objective, guide-based perspective. You should not worry about how you are playing early-game, since it only happens around max Level.

Do note that you can only reliably use the meta at that point, due to it involving a selective list of expensive, rare, and Mythical weapons. But, you can start practicing the popularly-favored playstyles below with weaker weapons. The metagame playstyles and loadouts are often mistaken as being the only ways to perform well; do not be afraid to play according to preference and use other weapons, nor refrain from mixing up or building upon these strategies. The list will include both early- and late-game weapons for the sake of both audiences.

Three Category Spam

Main article: Three Category Spam

Three Category Spam is a very common tactic used by many players, skilled or not. It is essentially just the act of shooting a weapon, then switching to another weapon, shooting, and repeat. It is typically done with three categories, (Sniper, Special, Backup) but may often be up to four or five with proper practice and skill. To make Three Category Spam less powerful, there were a series of attributes added to weapons that made weapons give a delay when switching. These are called Delay Mechanics. They include Fixed, Input and Output Delay. A weapon may have no delay, only input, only output, both or only fixed delay.

Input Delay - The weapon will give a delay when firing and switching to the next weapon if the previous weapon was still in its ending lag after firing.

Output Delay - The weapon can receive a delay from input delay weapons upon being switched to it, and if the other condition above is satisified.

Fixed Delay - The weapon will always have a preset delay when switching, regardless of outside factors. These weapons are generally not recommended for this tactic, unless the delay is very short (e.g. Pixel-Cola Refresher). Fixed Delay does not mean a weapon also has input nor output delay.

For example, the Harsh Punisher has Input Delay, while the Thunderer has both Input and Output Delay. When Harsh Punisher is fired first and switched to thunderer, there will be a delay because Harsh Punisher's Input Delay is given to Thunderer, which has Output Delay. However, if Thunderer is fired first and switched to Harsh Punisher, there will be no delay because Harsh Punisher cannot receive delays, due to its lack of an Output Delay. No delay weapons are what its name implies; There will be no delay when switched to it, therefore they can be incredibly versatile in a 3cat loadout.

Loadouts for Three Category Spam vary widely, but it usually consists of the following:

• A shotgun/automatic Primary to finish off enemies
• A medium-high damage Backup for switching
• A high-mobility Melee, preferably those with 85+, or one with the "Pulling towards target" attribute
• A no-delay Special for switching
• A high-damage Sniper
• A heavy-hitting, or rocket jump Heavy weapon

While this is not a required formula for Three Category Spam loadouts, it is the most commonly used and the most popular. It can always be customized to one's liking, so long it does not create delay when done. For a list of recommended weapons for Three Category Spam, see here.

Spam

Also known as One Category Spam (1CatSpam), it involves depending on one weapon, often extremely overpowered (OP), to play a match. It is also controversial, for it is also opposed as unfair.

To do this, use high-damaging Primaries, Snipers, and Heavies, such as the Secret Forces Rifle, Anti-Champion Rifle, and Invincible Lion. Gadgets, such as the Jetpack, are highly supplementary to this playstyle and are commonly used to enhance spamming.

Casual

Community consensus often concurs that any playstyle that is not 3CatSpam is defined as Casual. It is popularly characterized as using automatic weapons and other old strategies, and misinterpreted as an unreliable way to play, performance and gameplay-wise. While this idea seems to be changing due to 1CatSpam, 3CatSpam and this are currently considered to be the only major playstyles in the game. However, you can use many weapons efficiently without spamming.

For example, you can use weapons, such as the Neutron Pulsator, Irradiated SMG, Splinter, and Combat Yo-Yo, without relying on quick-switching effectively. The former two have high damage and useful attributes, such as X-ray Vision and Weakening, respectively. The latter two have high-damage; the Sniper is a fast-firing, high-capacity one, and the Melee is especially effective at close-range.