Welcome survivors! Pugnala Provola starts with an interesting pair of weapons, Phiera Der Tuphello and Eight The Sparrow. Both of them are similar, since they both shoot projectiles outwards in a set pattern. Early on, they are not the strongest of weapons, so we must be careful how we proceed to form our Pugnala Vampire Survivors Build.
However, once these starting weapons are evolved into Phieraggi, we obtain a formidable Union with a cool-looking effect!
With a +1% Might gain each level, Pugnala specializes in dealing damage, and we can keep this in mind when selecting weapons and items for her build. In other words, the higher the character level we get, the more damage she will do. Additionally, she starts with +20% move speed.
This character is unlocked by finding and opening the coffin in the Mad Forest stage.
As always, remember to buy as many good Power-Ups as you can before playing with Pugnala or any other character.
Last update: September 2023
CONTENTS
A. PUGNALA Vampire Survivors BUILD: NO-MOVE Challenge
B. PUGNALA Vampire Survivors BUILD: HORIZONTAL LIBRARY
C. PUGNALA Vampire Survivors BUILD: VERTICAL GALLO
A. PUGNALA Vampire Survivors BUILD: NO-MOVE Challenge
If you are looking for a fun challenge, I fully recommend you attempt a no-move run with Pugnala! You might not complete the stage on the first try, but you should get the hang of it soon enough.
The plan here is to kill the mobs as near to our character as possible, so that we may receive the experience gems that drop from them. Therefore, we should avoid choosing long range weapons such as Lightning Ring, Cross and Runetracer, early in the stage.
Additionally, we must be able to take out bosses, and other tough monsters that come at us. In order to assist us with that, we can choose weapons with good knockback effects, such as Garlic, Magic Wand or King Bible, among others.
I tested this no-move build for Pugnala in the Mad Forest stage, Normal mode, and you can see my final results in the images below.
The following weapons are listed in the order that they were acquired:
1. Phiera Der Tuphello (starting weapon)
This weapon fires away from your character in 4 fixed directions. Nevertheless, it has several blind spots that allow enemies to come in close to us.
2. Eight The Sparrow (starting weapon)
See 1. Phiera.
3. Magic Wand
This weapon will be our early boss killer! However, level it up gradually, if you level it too quickly then the experience gems will drop out of reach.
4. Pentagram
Pentagram is essential for removing surplus experience gems from the ground. If we don’t do this, we could reach the drop cap, in which case no more gems would drop, and we would be stuck on the same level until we die.
5. Garlic
A great early weapon for eliminating regular mobs that come too close to us. When coupled with a boss killing weapon, you should be off to a great start.
In spite of its low damage, if you get Garlic early in the run, you can expect some fast levelling in a no-move build.
6. King Bible
King Bible is in this Pugnala Vampire Survivors Build for good reasons. On one hand, it does decent damage. On the other, it has a serious knockback effect when used with Bracer (+projectile speed).
Passive Items
Since we don’t plan on evolving weapons in a no-move build (although it can happen if a boss dies on top of us), we are free to select the best passive items offered.
In this sense, I selected Attractorb for farther pickup reach, along with other great passive items such as Spinach and Empty Tome, that can be seen in the screenshots above.
With practice, you will know when to start searching for Attractorb (if you don’t have it) with the Reroll power-up.
B. PUGNALA Vampire Survivors BUILD: HORIZONTAL LIBRARY
This Pugnala build is tailored to beat the Inlaid Library and other horizontal stages. Basically, we want to run weapons that attack either or both of our sides. As you know, Pugnala’s starting weapons fire towards her sides (more or less), thus making them good for this stage. Whip and its evolutions are also great for horizontal stages, as is Knife/Thousand Edge.
I played this Pugnala Build in the Inlaid Library stage, in Hyper mode, and you may see my results in the images below. The build performed well, making it to level 171 in just over 30 minutes.
I decided to pick up all the helpful stage items, such as the Rings, that were laying on the ground. As I have mentioned in other posts, this must be done AFTER we have filled our 6 passive item slots.
The following evolutions are listed in the order that they were acquired.
1. Phieraggi (Phiera Der Tuphello + Eight The Sparrow + Tiragisú)
Although not the strongest in this Pugnala Vampire Survivors Build, this evolution is much better than the starting weapons!
2. Thousand Edge (Knife + Bracer)
The best early weapon evolution for dealing with bosses is also great at punching an escape hole in a wall of enemies. For this reason, Thousand Edge has become a staple in most of my builds.
3. Vandalier (Peachone + Ebony Wings)
Vandalier not only usually deals a lot of damage, but also does not require a passive item to evolve. On the other hand, your character might be weak until you are able to evolve it.
4. Fuwalafuwaloo (Bloody Tear + Vento Sacro) where Bloody Tear = Whip + Hollow Heart
This evolution (and also Bloody Tear) actually heals you when it deals a critical hit. It’s a very important part of this horizontal Pugnala build, due to its sideways attacks.
5. Unholy Vespers (King Bible + Spellbinder)
Unholy Vespers was the main damage dealer in the late phases of this stage. A great offensive as well as defensive evolution!
6. Infinite Corridor (Clock Lancet + Silver Ring + Gold Ring)
I love to run Infinite Corridor in my builds because its required passive items are usually lying on the stage floor. Just make sure your character has good move speed and/or that you play in Hyper mode for quicker map travelling.
Passive Items
When our character levels up, we must be careful not to choose items that are already lying on the stage map floor. For example, if you want to run Empty Tome in the Library stage, wait until your 6 passive item slots are full and then go pick it up from the ground.
Doing so enabled me to end the stage with 11 passive items in total, instead of just 6.
C. PUGNALA Vampire Survivors BUILD: VERTICAL GALLO
This Pugnala build is designed to complete the Gallo Tower and other vertical stages with ease. Basically, we want to run weapons that attack above and/or below us, such as Song of Mana and La Robba.
I played this Pugnala Build in the Gallo Tower stage, in Hyper mode, and you may see my results in the images below.
1. La Robba
I rarely run this weapon in my builds, but it performed well in this vertical oriented stage. I decided to buy it from the stage Merchant.
What’s cooler than attacking with oversized pianos and other furniture?
2. Phieraggi (Phiera Der Tuphello + Eight The Sparrow + Tiragisú)
The default evolution for Pugnala.
3. Thousand Edge (Knife + Bracer)
You avoid many problems with bosses if you run this weapon evolution! Just be careful when aiming it at a boss, you might get distracted and die from another one. This actually happened to me in this run, where the Giant Enemy Crab boss got to me when I was trying to aim at The Drowner!
4. Vandalier (Peachone + Ebony Wings)
There might be better options than Vandalier in this Pugnala Vampire Survivors Build, due to its poor DPS results.
5. Mannajja (Song of Mana + Skull O’Maniac)
Song of Mana is a no-brainer for a vertical stage like Gallo Tower.
6. Unholy Vespers (King Bible + Spellbinder)
Unholy Vespers did surprisingly low DPS in this run. Probably because the larger AOE evolutions were hitting the mobs first.
7. La Borra (Santa Water + Attractorb) bonus weapon from Candybox
I formed this evolution late in the stage, after which it put out great DPS numbers.
Passive Items
After picking up Spellbinder, Bracer and other helpful items lying on the ground of Gallo Tower, I ended the run with 10 passive items.
Final Thoughts
Although not the most powerful Vampire Survivors character out there, Pugnala has decent movement speed and a nice incremental passive effect.
Her main downside in my opinion is that her weapon’s evolution item, Tiragisú, doesn’t seem to be that great. However, these Pugnala Vampire Survivors builds were still pretty easy to play.
Pugnala looks like she could do well in any stage, as long as she stays alive long enough to create Phieraggi! She is a good overall character and seems like a good candidate for Endless mode, due to her uncapped passive bonus.
I hope you enjoyed this content!
