Whether you’re a brave adventurer, or a lowly space rat, you’ll want a pistol at your side and a rifle on your back. But that’s only the beginning of the kinds of weapons that the settled systems have to offer. There are high-tech desert eagles, Colt 1911s, old sawn-offs, and a railgun that can fell a terrormorph. If you can dream it, you can surely buy it, but the question is then, what’s the best artillery to keep in your arsenal? After all, you don’t want the crimson fleet to get the drop on you, do you?
The Best Weapons in Starfield are:
- Best Handgun – The Prime
- Best Rifle – Revenant
- Best Shotgun – Experiment A-7
- Best Melee – The Last Priest
- Best Sniper – The Last Breath
- Best Heavy Weapon – Shattered Shock
- Best Particle Beam Rifle – Eternity’s Gate
- Best Laser Rifle – Unmitigated Violence
Best Pistol in Starfield– The Prime
Though the Keelhauler and Deadeye are both powerful and stylish, their bullets hit softer, and are far harder to get. The Prime on the other hand, is a as-tough-as-nails revolver that hits like a true handcannon, and you can buy it over at the Akila City gun store. It’s pricey for sure, but its elemental effect will change your mind. Every shot has the chance to ignite, poison, corrode, or irradiate your enemy. That means when you’re unloading on some ship filled with space scum, you can watch red, green, and orange fireworks while they’re running for their lives.
Weapon Mods
- Laser Sight
- Recon scope
- MuzzleBrake
- Penetrator Rounds
- High Velocity
Best Rifle in Starfield – Revenant
The Magshear reigns supreme over the Starfield’s other rifles. It’s quick, it’s deadly, and it rarely needs to reload. The Revenant is a legendary Magshear that you earn through working for the Crimson Fleet, and it comes with a few upgrades. First it’s light, the killer pirates have spared no expense, which is nice. But what’s really nice is its laceration feature. Through whatever military magic, the bullets come out like sharpened knives and cause your enemies to bleed. So while they’re getting blasted, they’re bleeding out too, it’s no wonder why the Crimson Fleet love it so much.
Weapon Mods
- Short Barrel
- Muzzle Brake
- High Velocity
Best Shotgun in Starfield – Experiment A-7
This unique auto-shotgun is made for killing aliens, and that’s just what it’ll do. It does an extra 30% damage on top of its 119 base damage to make it a real showstopper. Terrormorphs and trilobites beware. It also comes with some nice mods– flechette rounds, reflex sight, tactical stock– to round out this beautiful boomstick. So if you want to try this Experiment for yourself, investigate that distress signal you hear from the Nishina Research Station during the Entangled story mission.
Weapon Mods
- Reflex Sight
- Tactical Stock
- Flechette Rounds
Best Melee in Starfield – The Last Priest
What’s worse than getting slashed with a Va’ruun Painblade? One that sets you on fire too. In fact, The Last Priest also puts you at risk of acid burns and radiation damage too, so it’s a ture terror on the battlefield. To get this horrific handaxe you must finish the quest “Infinity’s End”, which requires choosing The Hunter’s side in the main story. If that sounds unsavoury to you, just know that you can still trick The Hunter into believing that you’ve killed The Keeper. That way, your conscience is clear, and you have the sweet slicer. But however you obtain it, The Last Preist is surely a weapon worth adding to your warchest.
Weapon Mods
- None
Best Sniper in Starfield – The Last Breath
Whether you’re clearing out cultist encampments or doing some big game hunting, you need a sniper. Hard Targets are very nice ones. They have good zoom, are deadly precise, and they have enough stopping power to fell an Ashta rhino. The Last Breath is a special Hard Target variant that lets you hold your breath for longer, and boasts in-built penetrator rounds. It’ll punch through a Starborn’s armour like a starship in space. It’s the best sniper rifle in the game, but there are two catches: you can only buy it in New Game+, and it’s the price of a starship.
Weapon Mods
- Oxygenated
- Fluted Barrel
- Long Scope
- Muzzle Break
- Penetrator Rounds
Best Heavy Weapon in Starfield – Shattered Shock
What’s nicer than a noob tube? One that can penetrate armour. The Shattered Shock has a lovely six-round magazine, a tactical stock for comfort, and it even has a little scope to watch the fireworks. Its extended mag edges out the Ashta Tamer as the Bridger’s best variant, and it’s not a tough find. UC Vanguard fans will find it during their trip through Londinion for the mission Hostile Intelligence, and after that it’ll never leave your side.
Weapon Mods
- Long Barrel
- Short Scope
- Tactical Stock
Best Particle Beam Rifle in Starfield – Eternity’s Gate
Ultra valuable, ultra powerful, Eternity’s Gate is a Legendary gun that can’t be left off this list. You do have to defeat a Starborn to get it, but for a gun like this, it’s hard not to. It’s a specialised Va’ruun Inflictor that scales with your level, and sells for the price of a spaceship– a nice one too. It also boasts extra projectiles, specialised ammo, and it does extra damage to people. Just kill The Emissary at the Buried Temple, during the Revelation main story quest, and it’ll be yours.
Weapon Mods
- Long Barrel
- Recon Laser Sight
- Short Scope
- Tactical Magazine
Best Laser Rifle in Starfield – Unmitigated Violence
With a name like Unmitigated Violence, you know it’s going to be good. The Starborn known as The Hunter prowls the galaxies with this hefty rifle by his side– and it’s one of the best guns in the game. It deals double damage on first blood, causes Frenzy, and causes radiation damage. It also deals an electric 125 energy damage per hit. You can get this sick puppy by siding against The Hunter during the “Revelation” mains story quest.
Weapon Mods
- Amplifier
- Large Battery
- Long Barrel
- Recon Laser Sight
- Reflex Sight
- Stealth Lasers
Parting Words
There is a lot of very nice hardware on offer across the settled systems– like Sir Livingstone’s Pistol, which is a unique Colt 1911, and great gift from your dad– and there are far more legendary weapons than there are spots on this list. Sometimes your favourite firearm will be a random drop from a low-level loser. That’s the beauty of Starfield’s open world, there’s a lot to find, and a lot to loot.
