Gennady Builds: Weapons, Artifacts, and Synergies

Gennady builds are combat setups assembled by selecting starter weapons in the house fridge and stacking synergistic artifacts, upgrades, and Frienemies. Players spend larva at merchants like Sho and Zina to adapt each run.

How Do Weapon Choices Define Your Starting Build?

Starter weapons are base combat tools selected directly from the interactive refrigerator before entering a run. According to developer updates shared by Feed 64 on the Steam store page, each weapon alters basic combat pacing and offers distinct boost paths that form unique playstyles.

Fists support players who rely on close-range melee strikes and rapid body dashes. The blaster creates safety through projectile distance, keeping chthonic creatures at bay across corridor platforms. Concentrate from an old squirrel introduces an atypical offensive style, trading conventional striking patterns for specialized combat enhancements.

Beyond temporary equipment and transferable artifacts, players will be able to improve Gennady’s abilities and weapons.

— Gennady Brings Brutal Hand-Drawn Roguelike Action to Nintendo ...

Which Merchants Provide Upgrades and Artifacts?

Shops are mid-run rest chambers where Gennady exchanges collected living larva for equipment and power boosts. Destructible bio-blocks and fallen hostiles drop larva, which serves as the primary currency stored directly in Gennady's underwear. Larger larva units provide greater monetary value when collected during room clearance.

Two distinct vendors appear during standard exploration:

• Sho offers miscellaneous antiquities, strange items, and utility passives in exchange for a modest fee of collected larva.
• Zina serves iced coffee alongside a curated selection of character upgrades tailored to strengthen your active run.

Run setups can also incorporate Frienemies, a specialized mechanic configured at the start of an attempt. Frienemies grant an impactful positive modifier paired with an equally demanding drawback, shifting run balance and testing build adaptability under strict constraints.

How Do Artifacts and Comrades Enhance Combat?

Artifacts are passive and active items that introduce tailored combat behaviors during a run. In the 2025 results development recap, the studio detailed special artifact types known as comrades. Comrades produce independent damage types, assisting the player in eliminating hostile creatures while offering defensive utility to bypass lethal environmental traps.

Build preservation across runs centers around the Alley of the Dead:

"The Alley of the Dead was reworked as well — now featuring a special container system that guarantees artifact preservation after death" — the developer's Steam announcement

By shooting off collected artifacts into these containers, players circumvent standard permadeath penalties and carry critical gear into subsequent attempts. Entering rage mode complements these artifact loadouts by triggering brief invulnerability, heightened movement speed, and amplified offensive output whenever enemies are eliminated quickly.

How Does the Luck System Impact Run Progression?

The luck mechanic is an underlying attribute that influences random item spawns and artifact interactions. As documented by Feed 64 on the official Feed 64 website, luck modifies room incentives and directly changes how certain high-tier passives trigger during combat.

Supply chests spawn randomly at the entrance of chambers, distinguished by visual effects to assist detection. These containers supply defensive health restoration, protective shields, bonus larva currency, or ammunition for the Alley of the Dead. For players seeking higher risks, challenge rooms situated immediately after the first merchant test survival limits over fixed time limits, awarding top-tier artifact drops upon completion.