Far Far West looks like a goofy game about robot cowboys fighting ghosts and aliens, but it's got a lot more bite than you might expect. So before you dive in, here's what you need to know to avoid getting boned.

1) Unlocking Weapons

Starting with something the game really should tell you about immediately - you can only work towards unlocking one weapon at a time, and you have to manually select which one. If you don't, you're going to be farming the shotgun by default. And while it's nice, it ain't no minigun!

As for the weapon fragments - you can find them by defeating level bosses, completing forge events, killing loot goblins, or randomly from wishing wells. On average, each weapon will take you between 3 and 5 games to unlock. And once you do, make sure to switch your focus immediately or you're going to keep collecting fragments you don't need.

Video version of this guide (~9 minutes)

2) Unlocking Spells

Much like in the Elder Scrolls series, you get better at using spells by using spells. So if you want to unlock higher tier fire magic, you'll need to light the entire world on fire - multiple times over.

Or in other words, make sure to use your spells against enemies whenever possible, even if you don't really need to. It takes a while to level each category, so unless you have the patience of a saint, zap early and zap often.

The same thing applies to your weapons, though those are obviously easier to level since... well, a minigun doesn't exactly have a cooldown.

3) Spell Combos

While individual spells are powerful, spell combos push that power level to absolutely ridiculous heights! For example, if you throw an acid bubble at an active fire, you'll conjure a massive - and massively powerful - fire tornado! But not all combos are equally strong, and the order you use your spells can matter, so when trying a new build, make sure to test things out in the training grounds first.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Lightning Strikes + Acid Geyser is a weapon of mass destruction at a surprisingly low cooldown.
Fire Surcharge + Cactus Pistoliero will clear out all chaff enemies in record time.
Cactus Mine + Voodoo Drain will create mind control mines, which are exactly as fun as they sound.
Firebeam + Acid Geyser will summon a fire tornado, and also do a ton of AOE damage

The spell combos can get absolutely ridiculous

4) Keep Moving

While Far Far West starts off fairly chill, the higher difficulties will throw insane amounts of enemies at you - and challenging ones at that. So how do you survive? You start moving and you never stop.

Treat the game like a boomer shooter. Never stop moving, and if you can help it, never stop shooting. As long as you're light on your feet and don't corner yourself, you'll be able to avoid most incoming damage and make a complete mockery of melee enemies.

5) The Jump Dash

This leads directly into Far Far West's most fun movement tech - the jump dash. It doesn't matter which order you do it in - jump then dash, or the reverse. What matters is nailing the timing, because once you get good at chaining it jumping around like a rabbit after fifteen cups of coffee is unbelievably satisfying.

And the best part is, the more you upgrade your speed, the more ridiculous this gets. To the point where you can cross the entire map - and they are massive - in only a couple of seconds.

Add a few low gravity jokers, and you can basically fly!

6) Character Upgrades

And speaking of upgrades, what's actually worth taking? Unsurprisingly, the two I value the most are health and speed. Since you only get one life in solo mode, anything that keeps you alive and hopping around is essential. After that I like taking spell cooldown because big booms make me big happy, followed by jump height to really make the most out of the jump dash.

As for the ammo capacity, I find it to be pretty useless. Ammo is basically everywhere, and you'd have to try really hard to run out - even if you're like me and you're just holding down the trigger on the minigun.

7) Jokers

While you're doing upgrades, don't forget to buy and equip jokers - they're found in the bottom right of your character and weapon menus. This might sound like an obvious tip, but I made it to very hard difficulty without realizing you could do this for weapons, so hopefully I can save someone else from stumbling into the same open manhole.

As for which ones to take, I'd recommend using Gold Tooth as a generic filler for weapons to help you get that all-important gold. And for the character jokers - will it come as any surprise to hear that I'm all about reduced gravity and increased speed? Gotta go fast!

Moon gravity doesn't sound like much, but it's a real gamechanger

8) Take Your Time

While Far Far West looks a bit like Helldivers 2, there is no actual timer to worry about. You can take as long as you want to explore the levels, find all the secrets, and power up your character. And I would strongly recommend it - especially the first time you enter a new map.

The secrets aren't that hard to puzzle out, and they reward you with a decent chunk of resources plus some fun jokers to mess around with. More importantly, since the map itself isn't randomly generated - only the objectives are - learning where you can find extra ammo, or just a good place to fight, will give you a real edge.

9) Unlocking New Maps

Most maps have quests - either hidden or marked on your world map. You can only complete one part of each quest chain per run, so you should prioritize doing them whenever possible.

Why? Because that's how you unlock new areas. Finish the entire chain, head back to the saloon, and you'll open up a new map with its own unique quests, secrets and colorful locations to explode.

Just be warned - the quest only counts if you actually finish the mission. So if you've just done a 15-minute quest that took you across the entire map, maybe don't test how far a nuclear explosion could throw you if it were to detonate directly in your face! Not that I would have any experience with that...

You also get some fancy skins for your troubles

10) Boss Battles

When fighting bosses, mobility is once again key. Their individual attacks aren't that strong, but their large health pools make it so that any chip damage stacks up fairly quickly. So circle-strafe them like you're fighting a Doom 1 boss, and you'll avoid most of their swings.

And make sure to focus all your damage on them instead of wasting it on trash-tier enemies that will be filling the arena. Use your spells to handle those as the bosses move around way too much to reliably land high-damage spell combos.

11) Powering Up

If you're not feeling ready to take on a boss, don't forget you can always fight enemies or destroy spawners to get a few extra jokers. Is this something you need to do every time because it'll make or break your run? Of course not, but it's fun to shoot things, and the higher the difficulty the better the drops.

So if you're like me and you want to stress-test the game and see just how absurdly fast you can go, clearing out the map is a good way to do that. And while you're out there you'll probably uncover some of the collectibles you missed before, which is a nice little bonus.

If you just rush, you'll miss out on fun stuff like this!

12) GTFO

The final, and perhaps most important tip, is that you can just GTFO out of any nasty situation. The only time you're actually locked into a combat arena is during boss fights, and you have to trigger those yourself.

So if you're exploring and suddenly start getting sniped from every direction while some douchebag on a horse throws even more douchebags on horses at you - just leave. Use the jump dash or your mount to create some distance, find some ammo or health stashes, wait for your spell cooldowns - and then, once you're ready, greet the rampaging hordes with a hail of bullets.

This is also why I always run the Voodoo Drain spell. Even when you're in the middle of nowhere it can top you off and save your run, and in a game where side-quests can take 10-15 minutes to finish, that sort of thing can be a lifesaver!

Got Any Questions?

And there you have it. Twelve tips that will hopefully make your first time with Far Far West all nice and speedy. I had a ton of fun with the game, so if you have any questions about it - or the guide itself - toss them in the video's comments and I'll do my best to help you out. Cheers!