Best weapons in Abiotic Factor, ranked

Every weapon is viable in Abiotic Factor, but what you choose to carry with you every time you bravely venture out from your base is down to your preference and the enemies you’re about to place.

Like most survival games, there aren’t weapons in Abiotic Factor that are overtly terrible or more powerful than others. Your choice of weapons comes down to personal preference and how quickly you want to kill the threat standing in front of you. Some weapons are more consistent, and others have better handling. Whether you prefer sharp or blunt damage, there’s something to rely on for your scientific adventure.

Here is our ranking of the best weapons in Abiotic Factor.

Abiotic Factor: Best weapons, ranked

Much like Pokémon, Abiotic Factor‘s enemies have weaknesses and resistances. Each weapon has a set DPS stat. A weapon’s strength is determined by the type of enemy you’re trying to kill. While it’s best to have sharp and blunt weapons on hand to adapt to various survival situations (be it to break crates for resources or to defeat humans, otherworldly creatures, and robots), sharp is more consistent as most enemy types have a greater resistance to blunt damage.

There’s no reason to rely on one weapon in particular. Instead, you should have multiple weapons of different types assigned to your hotbar to swap weapons depending on the threat ahead of you. Adopt a strategy where you focus on the enemy’s head to deal crit damage, then follow this with sharp damage dealt through weapons that stab (e.g., spear). Your loadout will develop as you progress through the sectors, where exploration offers new weapons to find and experiment with. It’s best to use a mixture of melee, ranged weapons, and grenades to complete your loadout.

The slowness from a single swing of a heavy weapon and the need to grind for relevant skill points make light weapons an obvious go-to. Surprisingly, automatic weapons aren’t necessary nor worth your time and investment.

Here is our ranking of the best Abiotic Factor weapons.

10) Sword

While it’s more basic than other Abiotic Factor weapons, the Sword kills low-tiered enemies quickly, while being able to destroy corpses without sparing any charge or ammunition. It’s a helpful weapon to have on you to deal with lower-tiered enemies while holding onto its high durability, making it highly effective as you won’t need to repair it often. While there are better weapons, the Sword is best paired with a Shield, making you an impenetrable force.

9) Thermal Mallet

If you don’t want to level up your Strength stat, you can use a weapon like the Thermal Mallet. This Blunt weapon is just as viable as a two-handed weapon but without the need to grind for levels. Similar to other melee weapons, the mallet is best used in stealthier settings, where the goal is to ambush enemies by hitting them on the head. This won’t work for enemies with higher health pools, however. Instead, the Thermal Mallet is excellent for its charged attacks that swing down on enemies’ heads. Because it isn’t a two-handed weapon, there’s no slow animation. This protects you from animation lock. This mallet is a great weapon to use in isolated fights or against low-tiered enemy hordes.

8) Antique Shotgun

The Antique Shotgun deals close-range damage that has a knockback effect. It is an excellent weapon to use through the Hydroplant before switching to the Deatomizer. The Antique Shotgun is a double-barrel shotgun with a relatively slow reload speed. Make sure you’re constantly moving when reloading and aiming to tighten the wide spread of each pellet onto the chest and head of your target. It’s a powerful weapon that offers adaptability in a fight.

7) Crowbar 2.0

• Type: Heavy Sharp Melee
• How to unlock:

The Crowbar is a decent pick at the start of your journey through Abiotic Factor‘s sectors, but its crafted version is superior. You can use this as a typical blunt weapon that handles boxes and deals crit damage to enemies by targetting their head, killing most enemy types with one hit. While this is a two-handed weapon (requiring high Strength stat to wield), the Crowbar 2.0 is highly effective as a stealth weapon that also helps break through boxes, giving it two helpful uses.

6) Electro-Thrower

• Type: Science Ranged
• How to unlock:

A go-to to tackle mechanical enemies, the Electro-Thrower is a craftable weapon. While using this weapon doesn’t earn Accuracy Points, the Electro-Thrower is a persistent menace to enemies as it deals stun damage, locking most enemy types into place. When handling an isolated fight, the Electro-Thrower guarantees the enemy cannot fight back. Its usefulness primarily stems from its charge, meaning you don’t need to carry ammo to use and replenish the Electro-Thrower. But, you will need a Charging Station to keep this weapon functional.

5) Laser Katana

While the Laser Katana deals minimal damage to Exor enemies, it’s highly effective against enemies without resistance to lightning. If you’re not a fan of slow, heavy attacks, then the Laser Katana is a great pick to stealthily attack and ambush enemies with its long range. So long as enemies are standing near one another, the katana can hurt multiple enemies at once. Its fast swinging action and long-range make it a lethal weapon against most enemies. Just remember to keep moving when you use this blade to make yourself a harder target to hit.

4) Carbon Pickaxe

Best used for stealth attacks, the Carbon Pickaxe is an absolute necessity if you’re rocking heavy weapons. Rather than creating distance and picking off enemies either with AoE damage (e.g., Tesla Coil) or ranged weapons, the Pickaxe is a close-quarters weapon that deals heavy blunt damage to its target. Strategy is best here, using stealth to get behind enemies to hit them on the head or waiting for your moment to strike behind cover. Hitting headshots is a top priority to take advantage of this heavy weapon. The Carbon Pickaxe is an excellent pick against alien enemy types.

3) Grinder

The Grinder may be a slower-paced weapon, but it sure packs a punch. Capable of dealing damage to all enemy types, the Grinder behaves much like Dead Space‘s Plasma Cutter. Disks are launched at enemies from range, but you must prioritize accuracy to achieve the highest damage. This weapon is easily replenished through collecting disks you previously launched. Its downside comes from its slower firing rate and reload speed, alongside having a high TTK against higher-pool enemies (Security Robot, Exor, and Breachers).

2) Lightning Spear

• Type: Sharp Melee
• How to unlock:

The Lightning Spear is highly effective at bypassing enemy shields, making it a useful weapon to handle multiple targets. Acting as both a ranged and melee weapon, the Lightning Spear can deal high headshot damage or have its electrical charge ricochet off surfaces, bouncing onto nearby targets. You don’t need to use the spear to target enemies one by one. Instead, aim it at the ground as you funnel enemy hordes towards you. However, one clean headshot can annihilate most enemies, making it a versatile melee weapon.

1) Deatomizer

• Type: Science Ranged
• How to unlock:

While many firearms have significantly higher damage than most melee weapons, it is within the highly consistent Deatomizer that you can easily kill whatever threat you’re faced up against. It is the perfect ranged weapon to use as it controls space while keeping yourself out of harm’s way. You can level up your Accuracy Level faster with the Deatomizer, so long as you’re continuously aiming at the target. The Deatomizer is capable of killing tankier enemies with its charge. You can then swap to close-range weapons to take out smaller targets. Its one downside comes from its minimal effect against Symphonists.

Conclusion

While all weapons are viable, make sure you’re carrying a Charging Station with you in case you have charge-based weapons. Carrying this means you don’t have to continuously return to base to recharge your weapons. Close- and long-range weapons are highly effective throughout Abiotic Factor, but don’t forget to carry grenades. Complete your loadout with Slushie Bombs, Electron Grenades, or Mugnades, depending on the sector/ world you’re exploring. Finally, don’t neglect the Vacuum. This item is incredibly effective at dealing with Pests, destroying crates, and collecting resources in one fluid motion.