The best weapon guide for every Rimworld enthusiast!

New to Rimworld? Having trouble keeping your pawns alive? Sick of dying to raiders and mechanoids with marginally better weaponry? Optimize your colony protection by checking out this helpful guide on how to get the best weapons for your squishy, vulnerable pawns.

10. Pump Shotgun

Just some short-range hunting. 

Ah, the ever-reliable pump shotgun. This weapon is great for early game, especially for pawns that don’t have that many levels in the shooting skill. Although the range is shorter than most guns, it makes up for this by being significantly accurate, powerful, and deadly.

What's so good about this early game weapon?:

• Overall accuracy is excellent, it outperforms most early game guns. 
• Against an unarmored human, it can kill in three hits or less. 
• Considerably good shot-per-damage ratio.

Pump Shotgun specifics: https://rimworldwiki.com/wiki/Pump_shotgun

This gun can be easily obtained. You can:

• Loot it off dead raiders who attack your colony.
• Obtain it by bartering with some trade caravans. 
• Make it yourself at the machining table. Although this is quite the hassle for early game, it isn’t recommended. 

9. Assault Rifle

Miles really doesn’t like animals, does he?

Moving on to some rifles, the Assault Rifle is the golden standard for automatic weapons in Rimworld. A jack-of-all-trades kind of gun, this weapon has moderate damage, range, and accuracy, perfect for any kind of pawn you may have. It can be used for any situation in any capacity whatsoever!

Why should you choose the Assault Rifle?:

• Incredibly versatile weapon for any kind of pawn. 
• Shooting skill-friendly. 
• Respectable burst, accuracy, and range. 

Assault Rifle details: https://rimworldwiki.com/wiki/Assault_rifle

How to get a weapon like this?:

• It’s available for purchase from outlander factions or orbital combat traders. 
• Can be plundered from raiders foolish enough to attack you. 
• Craftable at the machining table, after completing the “precision rifling” research tab.  

8. Minigun

Someone call PETA. 

The Minigun is a six-barrel rotary machine gun with a high rate of fire capable of devastating multiple targets at once. Its damage output is the highest out of all conventional long-range firearms in the game. It has low accuracy, however, so this gun is best used in select situations. 

Go wild with the terrifying Minigun!:

• A whopping 25-shot burst of bullets to release upon your enemies.
• Amazing potential for crowd control situations. 
• Best suited for your trigger-happy pawns with high shooting skill. 
• Will definitely mow down attackers in a corridor-type killbox.

Minigun information: https://rimworldwiki.com/wiki/Minigun

How to get a weapon like this?:

• It can be obtained from raiders, specifically the Heavy Mercenary raider. 
• You can purchase them from outlander settlements, orbital combat suppliers, or trade caravans. 
• It can be created at the machining table but look out for its heavy research requirements. 

7. Doomsday Rocket Launcher

This weapon is named like that for a reason. 

This weapon is no joke. Functioning basically a single-use nuke, the Doomsday Rocket Launcher absolutely destroys anything unfortunate enough to be the target of this. As one of the most damaging weapons in Rimworld, this beast of a firearm has a significantly large blast radius that will leave your enemies dead, on fire or both. 

This is basically just a small nuke:

• Great for immediately decimating crowds of enemies in one go. 
• The enemies it doesn’t directly hit will likely be on fire. 
• This will kill nearly anything you use it on.

Doomsday Rocket Launcher explained: https://rimworldwiki.com/wiki/Doomsday_rocket_launcher

How am I supposed to get something this crazy?:

• This weapon CAN NOT be crafted.
• Rarely shows up on orbital combat suppliers or faction trades.
• Can be obtained as a possible quest reward.
• Kill those raiders before they use it on you!

6. Charge Lance

An ultra spacer-tech weapon used to hunt a common tortoise.

A heavy, futuristic, single-shot, long-range weapon capable of killing something in one go. This gun is strong enough to shoot off entire limbs, or even a head if your pawn is skilled enough. The Charge Lance is a weapon those blasted mechanoids use, it’s about time we use their own firearms against them!

A powerful, sci-fi, sniper rifle:

• Capable of one-shotting enemies if it hits a vital organ. 
• Insanely long range. 
• The highest amount of damage per shot of all non-explosive firearms.
• Great against heavily armored opponents (including mechanoids). 

Charge Lance details: https://rimworldwiki.com/wiki/Charge_lance

How to acquire something this awesome?:

• This weapon can be crafted at the fabrication bench after substantial research. 
• Can be occasionally purchased from outlanders or orbital space traders.
• Sometimes it shows up as a possible quest reward.
• It can be stolen from Janissaries, Cataphracts, and Stellic Defenders of the Empire if you are daring enough to steal from them. 

5. Plasmasword

Just your everyday salaryman with a molten space katana.

Imagine that you’re holding a sword right now and then imagine that it’s on fire. This is that weapon. But seriously the Plasmasword is a weapon not to be trifled with; in the right conditions, it can almost always lead to victory. And those conditions are setting someone on fire so they stop fighting you. 

Firesword? Flamesword? No. Plasmasword!:

• Decently powerful melee weapon. 
• Frequently sets opponents on fire which is an instant 1v1 win! 
• You get to look really rad!

Plasmasword details: https://rimworldwiki.com/wiki/Plasmasword

How do I obtain this spicy weapon?:

• Unfortunately, this weapon is NOT craftable.
• You can buy this from combat suppliers, war merchants, or at Empire settlements.
• A frequent quest reward when late game. 
• Can be, once again, stolen from the Empire, but be prepared to deal with the consequences. 

4. Zeushammer

Are you worthy to wield the hammer of a thunder god?

Zeushammers are crazy strong. These massive weapons dish out destruction through blunt damage, which suits it really well against armored enemies, potentially outmatching the Monosword in DPS. Additionally, they have this nifty little effect that causes a small EMP, disabling mechanoids and turrets with ease. 

In the name of the thunder god! Bow before me!:

• Moderate to high damage output. 
• Deals blunt-type damage, making it effective against armored enemies. 
• EMP effect shuts down those pesky mechanoids. 
• You are Thor and Zeus in one. 

Zeushammer information: https://rimworldwiki.com/wiki/Zeushammer

How can I have this priceless treasure?:

• This weapon can be bought from any kind of combat supplier or war merchant. Orbital traders also sell them occasionally. 
• Every once in a while, a quest will pop up with this weapon as its reward. 
• Rarely shows up equipped by the Empire’s forces. As always, beware.

3. Charge Rifle

OH GOD MILES YOU’VE DONE IT NOW.

Basically a laser gun, the Charge Rifle is a late game, multi-shot firearm that fires three consecutive shots per burst. It has one of the highest damage outputs per shot in the game, only second to the Minigun. However, as a rifle, it possesses more accuracy making it more reliable. 

Pew! Pew! Pew! Benefits of the space gun:

• Very high damage output!
• Effective armor penetration (comparable to sniper rifles). 
• One of the only craftable late-game weapons!

Charge Rifle information: https://rimworldwiki.com/wiki/Charge_rifle

How to acquire the pew pew?:

• This weapon is available for purchase from outlander factions and orbital combat suppliers.
• It can be created at a fabrication bench once the pulse-charged munitions research has been completed.
• Raiders NEVER carry Charge Rifles.  

2. Monosword 

Use the force Luk-uh I mean Jake. 

This weapon is a lightsaber. While it doesn’t have any added effect like setting people on fire like the Plasmasword, it has one of the highest armor penetration values of any weapon in the game meaning you can impale people or cut their arms off! Not to mention how this ultra-level weapon has one of the high damage percentages overall making it effective against any opponent. This lightweight, crystal-metallic longsword is a force to be reckoned with!

Pros of the badass Monosword:

• Short cooldown, high damage, dead enemies. 
• Disproportionately effective armor penetration. 
• Melee pawns will almost always win a fight using this. 
• You are a Jedi. 

Monosword specifics: https://rimworldwiki.com/wiki/Monosword

How am I meant to procure something so deadly?:

• This weapon can be bought from any kind of combat supplier or war merchant. 
• Sometimes given as a quest reward. More frequently if you are in the  late game stage. 
• Can be forcefully taken from soldiers of the Empire. Good luck doing that though.   

1. Uranium Slug Turret

The best defense can still be just a good defense. 

While all the other weapons are powerful and deadly, nothing beats a good old-fashioned, ultra-dense, uranium shell, armor-piercing, endgame turret. Boasting a long range of 45.9 tiles, this automated defense is insanely accurate and will destroy everything it comes across. Make no mistake, this is the best weapon to have in your colony and will save you from all kinds of enemies. 

What else could you need but a Uranium Slug Turret?:

• Its armor penetration is so high it negates everything. 
• Has the potential to kill anything in one shot.
• The perfect automated firepower you need to thwart any kind of raid. 
• Have enough of these and you win. 

Uranium Slug Turret details: https://rimworldwiki.com/wiki/Uranium_slug_turret

• How am I supposed to get this thing that’ll make me basically win?:
• Unlocked after the right amount of research.  
• You need steel, plasteel, uranium, and components to build this, plus a whole lot more to maintain it. 
• Don’t let raiders attack this because it will definitely explode.    

Anyone who’s ever played Rimworld already knows that all these weapons are largely dependent on the circumstances that surround the scenario. Just remember that each weapon has its own strengths and weaknesses and can make or break you depending on how well you can utilize them.

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