Mortuus Elements Guide: Gun Upgrades and Run Planning

How Many Elements Are in Mortuus?

Mortuus elements add another layer to a survival game that already asks you to make tough choices between rounds. The game features five elements, alongside weapon upgrades, purchasable perks, and an upgrade draft. Approach Mortuus elements as part of your overall run planning, and keep your weapon, ammunition, and escape routes in mind whenever you choose your next upgrade.

Mortuus is a round-based zombie FPS for one to four players. You survive a wave, spend your points, and prepare for the next attack. The twist is the procedurally generated map: doors, perk machines, and the mystery box change locations between runs.

That makes adaptation central to progression. A familiar weapon does not guarantee a familiar route to the next purchase, and a promising upgrade does not remove the need to explore.

Feature	What Mortuus includes
Elements	Five elements
Weapons	More than 30 guns
Weapon improvement	Repeatable Gun Ascension purchases
Round rewards	A choice of one upgrade after every round
Additional progression	Purchasable perks from machines
Player count	Solo play or online co-op for up to four players

The combat also has visible consequences. Zombies can lose limbs, powerful shots can pass through bodies, and enemies can burn up or shatter depending on how they die. Keep those visual effects separate from your spending decisions: choose upgrades for the changes they offer, and judge your weapon by how effectively it handles the next wave.

For the October 2026 demo, focus on learning the relationship between survival, exploration, and upgrades. That foundation gives every later choice more context.

Fit Elements Into Gun Ascension, Perks, and Round Upgrades

Mortuus elements sit alongside several distinct upgrade systems. Learn how each system works before committing your points to a particular direction.

Image: Steam / Hamuno

Gun Ascension lets you take a weapon to an altar and choose how it becomes stronger. You can repeat that process as many times as you can afford. It gives you an ongoing way to invest in a gun you want to keep using.

The upgrade draft happens after every round. You select one upgrade from the offered choices, shaping your run as you survive.

Perks come from machines scattered throughout the map. Finding those machines is part of exploration, rather than a route you can memorize across every match.

Upgrade system	How you access it	What you choose or purchase
Gun Ascension	Bring your gun to the altar	Choose how the weapon gets stronger
Upgrade draft	Finish a round	Select one offered upgrade
Perk machines	Find machines around the map	Purchase perks
Wall weapons	Find a weapon on a wall	Purchase that weapon
Mystery box	Find and use the box	Obtain a weapon through its random selection

Give each upgrade a purpose

Before choosing, identify the problem you need to solve. Are you struggling to finish the wave with your current weapon? Are you running short on ammunition? Have you spent heavily while leaving useful areas unopened?

Use those questions to evaluate the choices in front of you. Avoid selecting an upgrade simply because it sounds more dramatic than another option.

When considering Mortuus elements, keep the same discipline. Read the choice in front of you and connect it to your current equipment. Build around benefits you can actually use during that run.

Reassess before another Ascension purchase

Repeatable upgrades make continued investment possible, but every purchase uses points that could go elsewhere. Before returning to the altar, check your ammunition and consider whether opening another route would help you reach more equipment.

Keep investing when the weapon remains useful to your plan. Reconsider when your immediate problem is access, ammunition, or a dangerous map layout.

Plan Your Spending Around the Changing Map

Keep your Mortuus elements plan grounded in the weapon, ammunition, and routes available during the current run. Doors, weapons, perks, and Gun Ascension all compete for attention as you move through the map.

Image: Steam / Hamuno

Every run rearranges rooms, corridors, courtyards, and dead ends. The power switch also needs to be found. Explore with those objectives in mind instead of expecting the next useful machine to appear along a remembered route.

Opening the map requires buying doors and clearing debris. Those purchases create access to more of the level, making exploration part of your upgrade planning.

Map feature	Associated action
Closed doors	Spend points to open them
Debris	Clear it to open the map
Power switch	Locate it during exploration
Wall weapon locations	Purchase the displayed gun
Perk machines	Buy available perks
Gun Ascension altar	Upgrade a weapon and choose its improvement

Check what a purchase helps you reach

Before spending on another weapon improvement, look at the routes currently available. Identify closed doors, unexplored spaces, and equipment you have already located.

Keep a mental route between your current fighting area and the purchases you expect to revisit. Since the layout changes each run, rebuild that route every match.

Avoid carrying assumptions from the previous map. A corridor that led toward useful equipment last time can become a different part of the level on the next attempt.

Keep your spending flexible

Choose purchases in response to the current run. If you need access to more rooms, consider the doors and debris blocking exploration. If you already have a weapon you want to develop, look for the altar and weigh its cost against your other needs.

Use the round break to review your situation. You are already making an upgrade choice after each wave, so take that moment to check the rest of your plan.

A coherent build includes more than a sequence of appealing upgrades. It also needs a weapon you can keep firing and a map you can move through.

Keep Your Weapon Supplied and Respect Enemy Movement

Mortuus elements belong in the same conversation as ammunition management. Keep ammo access in your plan whenever you decide to retain and upgrade a weapon.

Image: Steam / Hamuno

For a wall weapon, you can buy ammunition at the matching wall location. Other ammunition options include a power-up that grants maximum ammo and an upgrade card that returns bullets after a round.

Remember where you bought your wall gun. That location remains relevant when you need to replenish it, so include it in your route planning.

Before making another altar purchase:

• Check how much ammunition your current weapon has.
• Remember the matching wall location if you are using a wall gun.
• Consider ammunition-related choices when they appear in the round draft.
• Reassess whether your next purchase addresses your immediate survival problem.

Watch the horde beyond your sights

Zombies do more than follow behind you. Some chase directly, some attempt to cut you off, and others go around. Later encounters add special enemies with different movement patterns.

Enemy or behavior	What happens during combat
Pursuing zombies	Chase your position
Intercepting zombies	Move to cut you off
Flanking zombies	Take a route around you
Lope	Moves using its arms
Skitter	Travels across the ceiling
Charging special enemy	Pushes through the horde to grab you

Check the route ahead before committing to a long burst of fire. Look beyond the closest target, especially when moving through corridors or toward a doorway.

Watch overhead when Skitters enter the fight. Their ceiling movement makes a ground-level scan incomplete.

Use dismemberment deliberately

Shooting a zombie’s legs can leave it crawling. Powerful weapons can also send shots through bodies.

Use those mechanics when choosing where to aim. Consider leg shots when you want to change an approaching zombie’s movement, and look for aligned targets when carrying a weapon capable of punching through them.

Keep checking your surroundings while doing so. A crawling enemy changes the immediate encounter, but other zombies can still approach from different directions.

Build a Repeatable Routine for Every Run

A Mortuus elements build becomes easier to manage when your decisions follow a consistent routine. The map changes, but the questions you ask can stay useful.

Establish your weapon and routes

Start by learning the space you have. Find the available exits, identify blocked routes, and note any equipment within reach.

Choose your weapon purchases with future spending in mind. Wall guns and the mystery box offer different ways to acquire weapons, while the altar provides a separate way to improve a gun afterward.

Avoid assuming that acquiring another weapon automatically solves the problem you are facing. Check whether you need ammunition, an upgrade, or access to more of the map.

Review your build after each round

Use the upgrade draft as a regular checkpoint. Compare the available choices against your current equipment and the pressure you faced in the previous wave.

Ask yourself:

• Which part of the last round forced me to retreat?
• Did my weapon remain useful throughout the wave?
• Do I need to revisit a wall weapon for ammunition?
• Which unopened route should I investigate next?
• How does the offered upgrade fit what I already have?

Choose the upgrade that addresses your current situation. Keep Mortuus elements within that wider assessment instead of letting a single part of the build dictate every decision.

Coordinate purchases in co-op

Mortuus supports online co-op for up to four players. Tell teammates when you find the power switch, a perk machine, the mystery box, or the Gun Ascension altar.

Discuss the next route before everyone starts spending. Share the locations you expect to revisit, particularly wall weapons needed for ammunition.

Use the free Mortuus demo on Steam to learn this routine solo or with friends. The demo launched on October 14, 2026; the full game is listed as coming soon.

FAQ

How many Mortuus elements are there?

Mortuus features five elements. Its broader progression systems include Gun Ascension, purchasable perks, and a draft that lets you select one upgrade after every round.

Can you upgrade a weapon more than once?

Yes. Bring your gun to the Gun Ascension altar and choose how it becomes stronger. You can repeat the process as many times as you can afford.

How do you get more ammunition in Mortuus?

You can purchase ammunition for a wall weapon at its matching wall location. A maximum-ammo power-up and an upgrade card that returns bullets after a round also provide ammunition options.

Does the map change between runs?

Yes. Mortuus generates a new layout for each run, rearranging rooms, corridors, courtyards, and dead ends. Doors, perk machines, and the mystery box also change locations, so explore each map before committing to a route.