Editor judgment, not a patch note
Weapon tier list
Playstack has not published a weapon ranking. The bands below are my reading of two reviews plus the rule that you bring one gun. Mastery unlock rates sit near 0% and only show how many people finished a grind, so I left them out of the ranking.
I used three questions. Can you clear early zones before you own mods? Does the gun still work when a mod bricks the build? Do published reviews single it out? That is a judgment, and a later patch can overturn it.
| Band | Guns | Why it is here | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | SMG, Assault Rifle | Game Informer stayed on the SMG after unlocking it. Kotaku called the Assault Rifle a loud death machine in the early-access review. | Editor judgment |
| B | Shotgun, Sniper Rifle | Both have mastery achievements and a clear job (close rooms, long sightlines). No review crowns either one. | Editor judgment |
| C | Pistol, Marksman | Pistol is the starter. Marksman is in the mastery set. Neither review builds an argument for them as the default. | Editor judgment |
| After credits | Revolver, Flamethrower, Entity Rifle | 1.0 endgame guns. No mastery achievement. I do not rank them against guns you can buy on run one. | 1.0 notes |
FAQ
Is the SMG the best gun?
One Game Informer reviewer mostly stopped switching after unlocking it. That is not a studio ranking, and it was written around the 1.0 review on PC.
Where is the LMG?
The LMG shipped in 1.0 with four chassis. I have no review sentence that places it, so it is not in a band yet. It is on the weapon table.