Choosing a weapon

I don't keep a "best weapon" tier list. Weapons are good at something, and the data here can tell you about damage, handling and ammunition, not about win rates. These are my recommendations by task, not measured results.

What to weigh

• How often you can hit. Slow, hard-hitting weapons reward reliable hits and good cover. Fast repeaters spend ammunition, so reserve and resupply matter more.
• How vulnerable the reload leaves you, and whether your secondary covers that gap.
• Ammunition you can actually resupply. Special Long is its own pool; see loadouts and resupply.
• Handling inside buildings versus across open ground.
• Traits the weapon needs to reach its listed cycle. Fanning, Levering and Fast Fingers only apply to compatible variants.

By task

• Close compound defense: shotguns reward positioning and placing pellets or slugs well. The Romero 77 family is the classic example.
• Medium-range pressure: a repeater with a good reserve. Check the shots-to-kill table at the distances you expect.
• Long sightlines: high-velocity or scoped rifles. Look at drop range and muzzle velocity, and remember drop range isn't lethal range.
• Saving money: cheaper weapons and quiet tools, with custom ammo only where it changes the outcome.
• Quiet solo routes: silenced weapons with Subsonic ammo where available, plus quiet tools such as Throwing Knives.
• Fast boss kills and keeping loot pull in opposite directions; see bosses.

Use the weapon comparison to put candidates side by side, and the ammunition finder to see which weapons load a particular round.