We’ve also written a brief description of each weapon, giving you an idea of which guns are best for the early- and late-game. On this page:
Deathloop weapon rarity explained Melee weapon: Machete Grenades: Strelak Sapper Charge Small-caliber guns LIMP-10 MG-1 Pepper Mill Tribunàl Constancy Automatic (Gold weapon) Strelak Verso (Gold weapon) Large-caliber guns Fourpounder Rapiér Sepulchra Breteira (Gold weapon) Shotguns Strelak 50-50 Vopat Trencher Heritage Gun (Gold weapon) Other guns PT-6 Spiker Transtar Trencher (PlayStation 5 exclusive gun)
Deathloop weapon rarity explained
The more basic types of gun in Deathloop can be picked up from various locations around Blackreef, usually either looted from Eternalist mooks or maybe even just found lying around if you’re lucky. These weapons will have either a grey, green, blue, or purple background — this indicates how rare (and therefore good) the specific gun you’re holding is. Visionaries sometimes carry a basic gun too, and it’s usually of a high rarity, so be sure to loot them thoroughly. Trinkets (Deathloop’s version of weapon mods) can be picked up in much the same way as the weapons themselves, and applied to any weapon with an appropriate slot available. The ability to equip multiple Trinkets and potentially access a Perk is what defines the comparative quality of guns in Deathloop. The comparative rarity of ordinary weapons and their associated benefits are as follows:
Grey weapons: No Trinket slots. Green weapons: One Trinket slot. Blue weapons: Two Trinket slots. Purple weapons: Three Trinket slots plus a Perk.
However, there’s also the matter of Gold weapons. Unlike the other rarity types, these are literally rare: they’re unique models, available from one place and one place only in the whole game, and you usually have to complete a side-quest (known in Deathloop as an Arsenal Lead) to acquire them. Gold weapons all come with three Trinket slots, a Perk, and a unique design feature that makes them highly desirable as the game’s best weapons.
Melee weapon: Machete
When you first begin Deathloop, Colt is completely unarmed, and the first weapon he comes across is the machete. You’ll be prompted to pick this up as part of the tutorial and it will then be in your base at the beginning of every new loop, so don’t worry too much about keeping track of this one. The machete is your friend if you’re aiming to play Deathloop stealthily, since it allows you to perform silent yet extremely lethal takedowns on unaware enemies. It’s also the only weapon in the game that doesn’t require ammo, so even if you’re committed to going in loud (or find you’ve alerted everyone around you by accident), you’ll probably find yourself glad to have it for back-up at some time or another.
Grenades: Strelak Sapper Charge
Before we get stuck into a list of Deathloop’s various guns, it’s worth taking a quick moment to talk about grenades. Grenades can play a key part in your Deathloop arsenal: collected like any ammo, they have their own dedicated slot in your inventory and so don’t require quite as much consideration as choosing guns for your loadout; but they’re handy and ready-to-use, as well as being surprisingly versatile. There’s only one type of grenade pick-up, but there are three different modes for them that you can toggle between: the vanilla grenade setting does instant and potentially lethal damage, while tripwire and proximity mines allow you to set traps of variable deadliness for enemies. From what we’ve seen so far you don’t have the option to infuse grenades so that your supply persists between loops. However, a few are included in Colt’s default loadout at the beginning of every loop, so you’ll never be entirely without.
Small-caliber guns
Many of the weapons that take small-caliber ammo in Deathloop can be dual-wielded, allowing you to deal double the damage and feel cool doing it. This category also covers other rapid-firing weapons like machine guns, and generally contains some of the most versatile and useful weapons in the game.
LIMP-10
The LIMP-10 is a one-handed SMG that you can dual-wield if you so wish. It’s one of Deathloop’s most basic weapons, allowing for a decent rate of fire but with a lot of recoil on the downside. A LIMP-10 is included as part of Cole’s default loadout at the beginning of every loop, though if you’ve infused something better you’re free to switch it out for another gun you prefer.
MG-1 Pepper Mill
The MG-1 Pepper Mill is a heavy two-handed machine gun. It’s one of the few guns in Deathloop that’s equally useful in close-quarters and from a distance, making it a solid choice, particularly in the early game. Take its slow reload speed and substantial recoil into consideration when packing your loadouts, though, and consider securing something a little more elegant when you get the chance. Though the Pepper Mill is an ordinary weapon that can be picked up almost anywhere in the game, you can guarantee obtaining a high-rarity one by following the “Heckin’ Good Plan” Arsenal Lead to Karl’s Bay in the afternoon.
Tribunàl
The Tribunàl is Deathloop’s basic semi-automatic pistol model, perfect for dual-wielding as you pew-pew about the place pretending you’re Lara Croft. In all seriousness, one or two of these make for a solid early-game choice of weapon, good and reliable for close-quarters combat until you can pick yourself up something shinier.
Constancy Automatic (Gold weapon)
This custom two-handed SMG contains two clips, meaning that you can fire the Constancy Automatic and reload without pausing. It’s an absolute beast for chewing through your ammo before you know what’s happened, but otherwise a solid choice for later-game loadouts. Unusually, you get this Gold weapon from a Visionary Lead rather than an Arsenal Lead, because the key thing is to kill and loot Ramblin’ Frank Spicer. Frank is one of only two Visionaries on Blackreef not equipped with a slab, but he does have this one-off weapon for you to nab instead. Follow “The Ballad of Ramblin’ Frank” Lead to Fristad Rock in the morning to take out Frank and grab his gun.
Strelak Verso (Gold weapon)
The Strelak Verso is two weapons in one: you can either dual-wield the handguns in pistol form, or niftily clip them together to make a two-handed three-burst machine gun. The only real downside is that you can’t wield just one half of the pistols to leave another hand free for your slab abilities — but it’s hard to argue with how cool and versatile this weapon is, especially if you’re more inclined to play gunfighter than magic-user. To get hold of the Strelak Verso, you need to go to The Complex at noon and complete the “In This Together” Arsenal Lead.
Large-caliber guns
Guns that take large-caliber ammo in Deathloop tend to be bulky two-handed sniper rifles, though there’s a chunky hand cannon revolver in the mix too.
Fourpounder
The Fourpounder is Deathloop’s hand cannon revolver — and yes, you can dual wield it, but only if you’re the sort of player who likes to have terrific fun while going in very, very loud. Luckily even one Fourpounder packs a helluva punch, so with two in hand and plenty of ammo you’re well-positioned to sort out anyone who objects to your bombastic method.
Rapiér
Despite the misleading name, the Rapiér is not in fact another melee weapon. It’s the game’s basic sniper rifle, useful for picking off targets from a distance but less helpful up-close thanks to the agonisingly slow reload it requires after every shot.
Sepulchra Breteira (Gold weapon)
The Sepulchra Breteira is another sniper rifle, not entirely dissimilar to the Rapiér but with a scope for added accuracy over greater distances. It suffers from the same one-shot-reload limitations as the more basic model, but if you want a sniper rifle in your loadout it’s well worth taking the time to obtain this one when you get the chance. To obtain the Sepulchra Breteira you must complete the “Keep On Giving” Arsenal Lead in Updaam in the afternoon.
Shotguns
Shotguns in Deathloop are pretty self-explanatory as a weapon category. They take the shells ammo type and are particularly useful in close combat. Naturally there’s no dual-wielding any of these hefty guns, though.
Strelak 50-50
The Strelak 50-50 is a semi-automatic shotgun that will be your best friend the first few times you get up-close with the Visionaries and/or Julianna, as it’s quick-firing and extremely deadly at close range. It is somewhat hindered by its reload speed, however, and you’ll want to either bolster it with Trinkets or just upgrade to the Heritage Gun when you get the chance.
Vopat Trencher
The Vopat Trencher is Deathloop’s basic pump-action shotgun. It’s good in a pinch if you pick it up before you have anything better in your loadout, but with its slow rate of fire and reload speed to match, if you’re a shotgun fan you’ll want to aim for one of the other two models on offer.
Heritage Gun (Gold weapon)
The Heritage Gun is both shotgun and rifle, and you can switch between modes to make it one of the best guns in the game for both up-close and long-range combat. Unfortunately, it’s also quite possibly the hardest gun in the game to get hold of, requiring you to complete the tricky “Super Shifty” Arsenal Lead before you can claim it as your prize.
Other guns
For miscellaneous gun types and weapons that PC players sadly don’t have access to, read on below!
PT-6 Spiker
The PT-6 Spiker is a nail gun that turns up early and often in Deathloop, and is a boon to stealth players, since it’s the quietest gun in the game and capable of one-shotting an enemy if you land a headshot. It’s less useful in an outright firefight, so if you’re packing this one in your loadout you’ll definitely want another gun to switch to. It takes the unique nails ammo type.
Transtar Trencher (PlayStation 5 exclusive gun)
The Transtar Trencher’s name is a nod to Prey, the excellent if sadly-overlooked 2017 FPS by Deathloop developer Arkane. However, we won’t be going into more details in this guide to the PC version of the game, since the Transtar Trencher is only available in the Deathloop Deluxe Edition for the PS5. Sorry folks, trust me I’m at least as disappointed as you are. That’s all for now on Deathloop weapons! If you’re looking for more Deathloop, we’ve got you covered with our review of the game, as well as our recommendations for the best system specs to run the game on PC, and a list of every answer you need to know to beat The Yervha trivia machine.
