Rebel is a character that the player will usually be unlocking last in the game. She is attained by looping the game(embed later). Because of this, she has a more difficult loadout than other characters, as she is able to exchange health for allies that will damage enemies for her. While they're able to take hits for Rebel, the player will still be targeted by enemies and be in danger. For this reason she's not recommended until the player is more experienced at the game, but is still worth trying for a unique and rewarding playstyle the longer the player survives.
Once reaching loop, Rebel's ultras can revolutionize her play but requires the right build. Being able to spam allies can decimate levels and bosses, so long as the player focuses on surviving in their weakened state at the trade off for much more damage. She is not recommended early into loop play, but is strongly recommended upon reaching later loops to see her actual true potential.
Character Loadout | |
---|---|
Unlock | Loop past the Throne |
B-Skin | Beat Mom as Rebel |
Weapon | Revolver |
Active | Can Spawn Allies |
Passive | Portals Heal |
Abilities
- Active
- - At the cost of 1 HP, can summon an ally. If at least one ally is already alive, then each additional ally will cost 2 HP. Active will not work if it would set you at 0 HP/drop spirit.
- - Allies will spawn at 12 HP and circle around the player. They will slowly bleed out as their health decays, lasting about 20 seconds without being damaged. Spawning a new ally will heal all current allies to full. The player healing does not effect ally health.
- - Enemies within their line of site will be targeted with a simple stream of bullets that do 3 damage, and can keep firing so long as they are alive. These will never damage the player unless deflected by a shielder.
- - Upon death, allies will explode into a ring of 14 bullets that will harm enemies for 3 damage each. They will also drop 5 rads and have a small chance to drop ammunition/health. A portal being open will always kill allies after their spawning animation, even if there are still enemies alive.
- - Most mutations do not seem to effect Rebel's allies. The only one with a direct effect is Rabbit Paw increasing drop rate from 10% to 14%. However, Rebel allies killing enemies can still proc Impact Wrists, as well as reducing reload time for the player if they have Trigger Fingers. Bloodlust and Lucky Shot can also be proc'ed for the player. Additionally, allies can drop guns if they die if the player has Crown of Guns, which seems to stack with Heavy Heart.
- Passive
- - Rebel will always heal for half her missing health, rounded down.
- - Rebel with Crown of Luck will always start a new level at half HP. Here is the table for HP values upon leaving a level/entering a new one. (ADD CODEATH LATER)
Passive chart | ||||||||||||
Entering portal: | 1 HP | 2 HP | 3 HP | 4 HP | 5 HP | 6 HP | 7 HP | 8 HP | ||||
HP New level: | 4 HP | 5 HP | 5 HP | 6 HP | 6 HP | 7 HP | 7 HP | 8 HP | ||||
Passive with Rhino Skin | ||||||||||||
Entering portal: | 1 HP | 2 HP | 3 HP | 4 HP | 5 HP | 6 HP | 7 HP | 8 HP | 9 HP | 10 HP | 11 HP | 12 HP |
HP New level: | 6 HP | 7 HP | 7 HP | 8 HP | 8 HP | 9 HP | 9 HP | 10 HP | 10 HP | 11 HP | 11 HP | 12 HP |
- Thronebutt:
- - Allies get an upgraded gun that shoots 60% faster.
- Ultra A: Personal Guard
- - Each level Rebel receives two free allies without costing any health. Allies will now have 30 max hp instead of 12. This allows them to live about 44 seconds without being damaged versus the normal 20 seconds.
- Ultra B: Riot
- - Spawning allies will always cost 2 HP, and will always spawn 2 at the same time.
- Other Perks
- - Rebel's B-Skin is wearing a coat, and she will wear the hoodie in Frozen City specifically. This is purely cosmetic.
Preloop Guide
Rebel is a difficult character to use well in preloop. Here allies are not exactly the strongest without Ultra and they sap Rebel's health, making here a relatively high risk, low reward character early on. She does, however, regain a nice amount of lost health when an area is cleared, so the player will never enter an area below half health. This is a nice perk; a new player may consider her playing Rebel for this alone and use allies minimally or not at all.
As for mutations, the special need for Rebel is Rhino Skin and Stress Because she will be draining her own health, it is naturally reasonable to prioritize taking Rhino Skin for more. It also ensures Rebel will never begin an area with less than 6 health. Stress works great as Rebel will purposefully keep herself in a damaged state.+ If the player wishes to maximize fire rate, they can drain her health by spawning allies. Stress will kick in and maximize fire rate. Face also powers up ally weapons and so can be considered extra important. Multiple healing mutations is a great choice on Rebel, she can afford to spawn many allies, which can make bosses and areas much easier.
Rebel is a punishing character if the player wants to use many allies. She is quite difficult and can put herself in harder situations if even one ally too many is spawned. For this reason, Rebel does not excel in the early game the way other characters do. The healing is nice if the player decides to opt out of spawning allies, but arguably there are better characters if that strategy is employed.
Loop Guide
Rebel is a character with two good ultras. Because Rebel heals all allies when a new one is spawned, it is best to pick riot if the player has a healing mutation. If the player has multiple healing mutations, which is very strong on Rebel, Riot is assuredly the better pick. Personal Guard is not weak but the ability to spawn twice as many allies is generally stronger, especially because Rebel can heal allies. The player can pick Personal Guard if they have no healing mutations, but Riot is feasible even in this situation.
Rebel continues to be a difficult and sometimes frustrating character in Loop 1 and 2, as she still has the problem of putting herself in low health situations. It is best to have some restraint when spawning allies. A good rule of thumb with Rebel is to avoid spawning allies if at half health or less. Allies take a long time to die naturally, so the player does not have to worry about spawning more to heal them all. They last quite a while. If the player can get a nice swath of allies, they can easily handle most cops without the player needing to help them. The downside is that their bullets are reflected by shielders, so the player must be cautious around any type of shielder.
Overall, Rebel has her issues in the early Loops. She is not quite ready to spawn an army of minions that can breeze through hard bosses, while still being very capable of putting herself in dangerous, low health situations. Playing aggressively can allow the player to easily clear most areas, but one minor mistake ends the run. In early loops, she goes from low reward to moderate reward. Using Rebel requires a player to understand her well and is very context sensitive: experience with Rebel is far more important than being generally good at the game.
It is with this consideration that Rebel is not strongly advised if the player wants an easier time in Loop 1 and 2. Rebel has a very distinct playstyle and can be one of the more rewarding and enjoyable Throne experiences.
Meta Guide
For deeplooping, it can be argued that Rebel should only be played with a healing mutation, and many will prefer to eschew one damage for double healing. Riot is generally stronger, as a horde of allies is what negates the difficulty of most bosses. Rhino and Stress are obviously required to make this build successful. Bandits, Mom, Crystal, and T2(with a caveat) can be obliterated with an army of allies. With that in mind, the player wants as many allies as possible.
In L6 and beyond, Rebel can reliably spawn countless allies in every area. She is officially a high tier character at this point. The general procedure for clearing boss areas is to spawn as many allies as possible, push to regain as much health as possible, and spawn more. Ideally, Rebel is in a safe position when spawning more allies. She can get hit by a random stray projectile and lose spirit if the player is too aggressive. The player will want to treat palace as a special case. Rebel should only spawn allies if strictly above 8 health to maximize safety. Dogs do 6 damage, meaning if the player spawns an ally at 8 health and a dog jumps them, they will lose spirit or die.
The player can also choose to not spawn allies in the easier, non-boss areas and play Rebel like any other normal character. She does not need help in non-boss areas, and this can be seen as maximizing safety. The most difficult area if going double healing is palace. The player must pay extra attention to their health, and it is very easy to mistakenly put oneself under or at 6.
Mom
The most enjoyable fight in the game as Rebel. If the player is often killed by mom with other characters, playing
Rebel is a sweet dose of revenge. Rebel should spam as many allies as possible and when the level is cleared the
allies can do all the work. Try to push mom into a corner for maximum obliteration. The player should periodically
swing their shovel in case mom is able to shoot toxic gas in the middle of her darkest hour.
Bandits
Rebel can spawn bandits as normal and amass a horde of allies while clearing the level. This can be a bit tricky
and sometimes ends up with too few allies to tank the bandits. If done properly, Rebel can aggressively turn the
tables and push the bandits with her shield of allies. They will generally do enough damage along with Rebel's
Ushovel swings to kill the bandits. If attempting this strategy, just be extra cautious. Rebel can clean up
bandits as well as any other character, so if unable to spawn enough allies, just clear normally.
T2
If using double healing, a great strat for T2 is to spawn as many allies as possible, clear the freaks and
continue to spawn allies aggressively. As T2 does its initial ball barrage, collect as much health and continue to
spawn allies. The allies will deal a massive amount of damage to Throne, killing it exceptionally quickly. This
strat does not work as well with single healing, if at all, and T2 must be fought normally. If executing this
strat, one clean spc shot is good enough to kill T2 before she can do any problematic laser spam, even with single
damage.
Rebel is a truly magnificent experience in high loops. She almost gets stronger the farther she gets, as her ability to spawn allies scales up with Loops. It is unfortunate that she is tougher early on. If the player chooses to stick with Rebel and make it to Loop 6, they are in for one of the most unique experiences Nuclear Throne has to offer. She is High Tier, high skill, and extremely fun.