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Best Starfield weapons and guns

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Oct
02
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What are the best Starfield weapons? Space is pretty cool, but it’s also pretty dangerous. While you can use your ship’s turrets in interstellar combat to (hopefully) avoid being turned into space debris, you need the best weapons on your person when coming face-to-face with a towering alien beast.

You’re going to need a vast arsenal of sci-fi weapons and Starfield guns to survive your journey through the stars, coming up against enemies like the Starfield Crimson Fleet pirates and various Starfield creatures. Here are the best Starfield weapons so you can be as powerful as possible.

New Starfield DLC weapons

With the arrival of the Shattered Space DLC comes a new selection of weapons for you to add to your arsenal. Here is every new weapon in Starfield Shattered Space:

Weapon Class Ammo Type
Va’Ruun Schimaz Melee N/A
Va’Ruun Quickstrike Laser Pistol 1.5KV LZR Cartridges
Va’Ruun Longfang Laser Rifle 3KV LZR Cartridges
Va’Ruun Starlash Laser Rifle 3KV LZR Cartridges
Va’Ruun Penumbra Heavy 20mm Particle Rocket
Va’Ruun Starstorm Heavy Heavy Particle Fuse

As with the base game, there will be variants to these weapons that you’ll be able to pick up as you play through the Starfield DLC.

The best Starfield weapons

Here are the best Starfield guns:

  • Va’Ruun Inflictor
  • Advanced Regulator
  • Deadeye
  • Fiscal Quarter
  • Microgun
  • Lawgiver
  • Shotty
  • Tanto

Naturally, the best Starfield weapons are those rare and legendary variants, but there is an element of RNG to picking them up.

Va’Ruun Inflictor

The Va’Ruun Inflictor is possibly the absolute best Starfield gun. This particle beam rifle deals the second most damage at 38 physical damage and 113 energy damage, with only the Magsniper beating it. That said, the Va’Ruun Inflictor has superior fire rate and mag size, and despite its lower range, it’s much easier to use in a wider range of situations. It does come with some hefty downsides, though, as you will need plenty of Heavy Fuze ammo to fire it.

Advanced Regulator

The Regulator might not strike you as a top-tier handgun, but if you manage to pick up the Advanced Regulator at higher levels, don’t let its association with the base gun deter you. The advanced weapon has the same base stats as the Regulator: an average mag capacity of eight, a solid accuracy at 71%, and a fire rate of 18. However, level it up, and the advanced regulator gets a massive boost to damage, dealing 100 physical damage on a successful hit.

Deadeye

Those who want a pistol that sucker punches enemies with the sheer savagery of Mike Tyson would do well to pick up the Deadeye. Thankfully, snagging this badass gun is as simple as joining the Freestar Rangers, and its base stats are comparably decent compared to other guns you get at the same point in the game.

The Fiscal Quarter, one of the best Starfield guns, as it appears in your inventory in-game.

Fiscal Quarter

This variant of the Maelstrom Rifle, which is already a fairly decent choice in the early game, is the reward you get from finishing one of the main quest missions you get from Walter Stroud, in which you must visit Neon. It comes with armor-piercing rounds and several pre-equipped upgrades that affect its base stats. It also uses the fairly common 6.5mm ammo, making it one of the more accessible unique weapons we’ve seen out there in the cosmos.

The Microgun is the Starfield guns equivalent of a minigun. The player is wearing a spacesuit as they rev up the gun's rotating barrel.

Microgun

The Microgun is pretty much what you expect if you’ve ever wielded what would usually be known in-game as a Minigun. This powerful machine behemoth has an incredible fire rate of 350, almost matching its mag capacity of 320. The Microgun’s accuracy might be less than 50%, but it doesn’t matter when that many 7.77mm bullets fly around.

One of the best Starfield weapons, the Lawgiver, in the in-game inventory screen.

Lawgiver

Sniper rifles have a certain allure for some people, and this is one of the better ones. It’s especially good if you want to exploit your Stealth skill to get extra sneak damage while using this gun. While the Lawgiver is somewhat limited against bulkier enemies, you can always pop on weapon mod to two for very few resources. We recommend you give it a decent scope and use whitehot rounds and a long barrel.

Shotty

Any of the Starfield shotguns will serve you well in close-range combat, but our personal favorite is the Shotty. This shotgun has a relatively high fire rate and mag size compared to other shotguns, which perfectly outweigh its lower damage and accuracy stats. With a massive eight mod slots to boot, you can stuff it with some of the weapon mods to buff its damage, and you’ve got one of the best guns in the game.

The Tanto melee weapon, one of the best Starfield weapons available.

Tanto

The Tanto is, without a doubt, the best melee weapon in Starfield. This blade does a massive 40 physical damage, and while this is less than the Wakizashi, we’ve balanced this out with its weight and cost. At just nine points of damage less than the Wakizashi, the Tanto is nearly half the price and less than half its mass, so it’s easy to add to your inventory.

The basic Rattler, one of the Starfield ballistic weapons, appears in a list of item available to purchase from a vendor.

All Starfield ballistic weapons

Starfield ballistic weapons are your standard physical damage-dealing guns and explosives. Ballistic guns take standard bullets, though which type varies from gun to gun, as this list contains shotguns, handguns, and even heavy weapons. Here are all of the base Starfield ballistic weapons we’ve found:

Weapon Class Base damage
Ecliptic Handgun 35 Physical
EON Handgun 10 Physical
Kraken Handgun 3 Physical
Magshot Handgun 53 Physical
Rattler Handgun 10 Physical
Razorback Handgun 51 Physical
Regulator Handgun 35 Physical
Sidestar Handgun 12 Physical
Urban Eagle Handgun 39 Physical
XM-2311 Handgun Unknown
Auto-Rivet Heavy 100 Physical
Ashta Tamer Heavy Unknown
Bridger Heavy 127 Physical
Magstorm Heavy 9 Physical
Microgun Heavy 9 Physical
Negotiator Heavy Unknown
AA-99 Rifle 18 Physical
Beowulf Rifle 36 Physical
Buzzcut Rifle 3 Physical
Drum Beat Rifle 8 Physical
Fiscal Quarter Rifle 9 Physical
Grendel Rifle 3 Physical
Hard Target Rifle 116 Physical
Kodama Rifle 13 Physical
Lawgiver Rifle 31 Physical
Maelstrom Rifle 4 Physical
Magpulse Rifle 71 Physical
Magshear Rifle 10 Physical
Magsniper Rifle 223 Physical
Old Earth AR Rifle 15 Physical
Old Earth Hunting Rifle Rifle 30 Physical
Peacekeeper Rifle Unknown
Tombstone Rifle 19 Physical
Boom Boom Shotgun 50 Physical
Breach Shotgun 99 Physical
Coachman Shotgun 52 Physical
Experiment A-7 Shotgun Unknown
Old Earth Shotgun Shotgun 73 Physical
Pacifier Shotgun 59 Physical
Shotty Shotgun 50 Physical
Frag Grenade Explosive 101 Physical
Frag Mine Explosive 101 Physical
Shrapnel Grenade Explosive 51 Physical

The Furious Calibrated Solstice, one of the best Starfield Energy weapons, appears in a list of items to purchase from a vendor.

All Starfield energy weapons

You should be fairly familiar with Starfield energy weapons since the first gun you’re handed is the Cutter. This heavy energy weapon doesn’t deal the most damage but comes in handy in a pinch. Upgrade to any of these other energy weapons when you get a chance, as they don’t require ammo – they just require powering.

Weapon Class Base damage
Ember Handgun
Solstice Handgun 10 Energy
Arc Wielder Heavy 17 Energy
Cutter Heavy 4 Energy
Equinox Rifle 13 Energy
Eternity’s Gate Rifle
Orion Rifle 27 Energy
Cryo Mine Explosive 1 Physical/35 Energy
Inferno Mine Explosive 1 Physical/35 Energy
Tesla Pylon Explosive 1 Physical/25 Energy

The Starfield Particle Beam shotgun, the Big Bang, appears as an item to buy from a vendor list.

All Starfield particle beam weapons

Particle beam weapons are an upgrade on those above as they deal both physical and energy damage at the same time, meaning you can use them to counter resistance to one or the other. These special weapons take particle fuses as ammo, which can be purchased from Arboron in Starfield Neon City, in the Ryujin Industries building. Here are all of the Starfield particle beam weapons we know of so far:

Weapon Class Ammo Base damage
Novalight Handgun Light fuse 8 Physical/25 Energy
Varuun Starshard Handgun Light fuse 26 Physical/80 Energy
Varuun Inflictor Rifle Heavy fuse 38 Physical/113 Energy
Big Bang Shotgun Heavy fuse 38 Physical/113 Energy

All Starfield electromagnetic weapons

The Novablast Disruptor, the only EM weapon we’ve found so far, also takes heavy particle fuses, like some of the particle beam weapons above. Again, these can be purchased from Neon city if you manage to get your hands on one of these powerful guns.

Weapon Class Damage
Novablast Disruptor Rifle 100 EM

A Starfield Melee weapon, the Titanium Barrow Knife, appears in the players inventory.

All Starfield melee weapons

We all know a simple melee weapon can some if handy from time to time, and it doesn’t hurt to have a knife or blade ready to go at a moment’s notice. There is a range of melee weapons to choose from in Starfield, here are all of those we’ve found:

Weapon Class Base damage
Barrow Knife Melee 22 Physical
Combat Knife Melee 16 Physical
Osmium Dagger Melee 28 Physical
Rescue Axe Melee 17 Physical
Ripshank Melee 12 Physical
Tanto Melee 40 Physical
UC Naval Cutlass Melee 20 Physical
Varuun Painblade Melee 62 Physical
Wakizashi Melee 49 Physical

Can you modify Starfield weapons?

You can heavily customize Starfield guns at any workbench – you can read more about that on our dedicated Starfield weapon mods page. We’ve seen the option to change magazine size, rounds, grips, barrels, and more. Certain Starfield research projects appear to unlock additional options, and Starfield skills also play a part in the process.

Modifying a weapon appears to change the name of it as well. You’ll even find modified versions of base weapons being used by enemies. You can loot these and modify them further.

Can you change the damage type of Starfield weapons?

While you cannot modify your Starfield guns to alter their damage type from physical damage to laser damage and back, for example, you can change the type of ammo a gun uses, like switching the Drum Beat rifle over to explosive rounds.

That’s everything we know about the best Starfield weapons and guns. With over 1,000 unique Starfield planets to explore, there might be even more guns and mods hidden around that even we haven’t found yet. To help you explore that vastness, take one of the 20-odd Starfield companions to join you on your adventures through space.

Still looking for more? While a good Starfield wiki can be a handy source of information, our new Starfield Database goes further, offering you daily news, searchable databanks, and even interactive tools.