At a Glance
Backfire is a Named SMG that took over the close-range slot once players figured out the burst-CHC mechanic was actually consistent in long fights. With a base damage of 22,000 per bullet, a 950 RPM fire rate, a 50-round magazine, and a 1.8-second reload, this gun is built for chained kills against grouped reds and unprotected yellows. The 1.5x headshot multiplier is standard for the SMG class, but the talent more than makes up for it with on-demand crit chance after a kill.
- Who this is for. Players who run close to mid-range pressure builds and want a primary that scales with kills, not just hit count. The talent rewards aggressive movement, not turret-style sustain.
- Magazine matters. 50 rounds at 950 RPM means you have a 3-second window of constant fire per mag. That is plenty for a kill chain if you are landing crits.
- Acquisition. Targeted Loot in Capitol Hill on weekly rotation, plus DZ named caches. Common drop, easy to roll a clean version.
- Best fit: Strikers Battlegear, Hunter's Fury 4pc, Coyote's Mask holster, or any chest with In Sync rolled.
Full Stats
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Base Damage | 22,000 |
| RPM | 950 |
| Magazine | 50 |
| Reload | 1.8s |
| Optimal Range | 25m |
| Headshot Multiplier | 1.5 |
Intrinsic Attributes
The intrinsic roll on Backfire favors weapon damage and CHC, with a secondary bias toward critical hit damage on most rolls. Targeted Loot rolls average 13-15% on the second attribute, which stacks cleanly with mods and brand bonuses.
Built-in Mods
Backfire ships with a holographic optic and an extended magazine slot already filled. The default underbarrel is biased toward stability, which matters because the 950 RPM kicks the reticle hard when you hold the trigger past the first 10 rounds.
Weapon Talent: Burst Critical Hit Chance
"Burst CHC for Kill Chains" — On kill, gain 25% Critical Hit Chance for 5 seconds. Stacks up to 4 times. Each stack extends the duration by 2 seconds.
The mechanic is designed for kill chains. First kill gives you 25% CHC for 5 seconds, which is enough time to chain into a second kill before the buff drops. Second kill stacks to 50% CHC and adds 2 seconds, third stack hits 75% and adds another 2, fourth stack maxes at 100% CHC for an effective 11-second burst window.
In practice this means Backfire scales hard with the size of the engagement. The first kill is your hardest because the talent gives nothing — you fire on baseline crit, drop a red, and then the rest of the room becomes a CHC playground. Once you are at 4 stacks, every bullet is a guaranteed crit, which combined with a Strikers stack and a Coyote's Mask holster turns the SMG into a face-melting machine.
Practical numbers from a verified Strikers + Coyote setup at max stacks:
- Body shot, no stacks: ~22,000 per bullet
- Body crit, 4 stacks (100% CHC): ~62,000 per bullet
- Headshot crit, 4 stacks: ~93,000 per bullet
- Sustained DPS at full stacks: ~1.2M
- Burst DPS in a kill chain: ~1.5M
The talent is forgiving. You do not need headshot kills to trigger it, just any kill at all, which means Backfire benefits from the kind of body-shot spam that other talents punish. That is why it has become a staple in directive content where you do not always have time to aim.
Top Builds
Backfire × Strikers Battlegear
The default and arguably the strongest Backfire build. Strikers stacks total weapon damage on every hit, Backfire feeds the kills that maintain Strikers stacks, and the on-kill CHC turns every reload-to-kill cycle into a crit window. Coyote's Mask in the holster gives you a swap-procced CHC boost that overlaps with the talent for a brief 100%+ window.
Backfire × Hunter's Fury 4pc
The aggressive-shotgun-style alternative. Hunter's Fury rewards close-range kills with weapon damage stacks, Backfire's 25m optimal sits exactly where the brand wants you to fight, and the on-kill CHC plus Hunter's Fury stack makes you a melt-or-die proposition in tight rooms. This is the Conflict PvP variant and the directive-run favorite.
Backfire × In Sync × Memento
For solo Heroic, an In Sync chest with a Memento backpack is a strong setup. In Sync flips weapon and skill damage on alternating crits, and with Backfire's 100% CHC at full stacks every shot is alternating between weapon and skill bonus. Memento adds the trophy stacks for sustained ramp.
PvE vs PvP
In PvE, Backfire is a top-tier add-clear and yellow finisher inside 25m. The talent's on-kill CHC pairs perfectly with the kind of grouped-red engagements you see in Heroic missions, and the 50-round mag is plenty for two or three kills before reload. Where it falls off is bosses and big single targets, because the kill-chain talent does nothing in a fight where you are not generating kills.
The 25m optimal range is short, which means Backfire is your primary or your swap, never your long-range option. Pair it with a Mantis or an MMR for the long sightlines and let Backfire eat the close-range room.
In PvP, Backfire is one of the strongest CQC primaries in the game. The 950 RPM time-to-kill on a torso target is around 0.4 seconds at max stacks, which is faster than most shotguns and competitive with the meta SMGs. The drawback is the talent ramp — if you are first into a fight without a kill stacked, you are firing at base CHC and a god-roll Vector or Tactico will outpace you.
Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons | | — | — | | 100% CHC at max stacks turns every shot into a crit | Talent does nothing in single-target boss fights | | 50-round mag covers 3 seconds of constant fire | First kill always at baseline CHC | | 1.8s reload is fast for an SMG | 1.5x HS multiplier is class-standard, no upside | | Targeted Loot makes farming a clean roll easy | 25m optimal range limits long-sightline use | | Pairs with every aggressive close-range brand | Recoil climbs hard past 10-round bursts |
Comparison
Versus Chatterbox, Backfire trades the on-reload talent for an on-kill CHC stack that ramps higher. Chatterbox is more forgiving for sustained pressure, Backfire scales harder once you start landing kills. Versus a god-roll Vector with In Sync, Backfire wins on kill-chain ceiling but loses on consistent baseline DPS.
Versus Lady Death, Backfire is shorter range but harder hitting once stacks are built. Lady Death is the safer pick for a player who wants high baseline DPS without the ramp dependency.
FAQ
Is Backfire still good after TU22? Yes. The talent was tuned slightly in TU21.5 (stack duration extension reduced from 3 seconds to 2) but the gun remains a top-tier SMG choice. Targeted Loot is on rotation roughly every 3 weeks.
Does the talent require headshot kills? No, any kill triggers a stack. This is one of the reasons Backfire is so forgiving compared to MMR-based talents.
What is the ideal stack count? 3 stacks (75% CHC) is the practical ceiling because the duration extends each kill, and getting to 4 requires a sustained engagement. In Heroic missions, 3 is what you live at most of the time.
Backfire or Chatterbox? Backfire for kill-chain rooms and PvP burst. Chatterbox for sustained directive pressure where you want a flat 100% CHC and a faster RPM. Different tools.
Can the stacks fall off mid-fight? Yes if you stop killing for the duration window. In a 4-stack 11-second burst, you have plenty of time to find another target, but a single missed reload window can drop you back to 0.
Closing
Backfire is the SMG you reach for when the room is full of reds and you want every bullet to crit by the third kill. It rewards aggression, scales with engagement size, and pairs cleanly with every close-range brand the meta has ever cared about. If you have not rolled a clean version yet, the next Capitol Hill rotation is the time to farm it.
Last reviewed: 2026-04-25 · TU22.1 · Verified vs in-game