Starfield Weapons

Whether it’s pirates, Va’Ruun zealots, or Terramorphs 10 levels higher than you, Starfield gives you plenty of reasons to make sure you’re always packing heat. Weapons are varied, with numerous ammo types and relatively little overlap. There are Skills that affect specific weapon types, allowing players to spec into their favorite firearms, or into melee.

Weapon TypeElectromagnetic RifleHeavyLaser PistolLaser RifleMeleeParticle Beam PistolParticle Beam RifleParticle Beam ShotgunPistolRifleShotgun

Dmg TypeElectromagneticEnergyPhysical

Ammo.27 Caliber.43 MI.43 MI Array.43 Ultramag.45 Caliber.50 Caliber Caseless.50 MI.50 MI Array1.5kV LZR Cartridge11mm11mm Caseless11mm XPL12.5mm ST Rivet12g Shotgun Shell15x25 CLL Shell15x25 CLL Shotgun Shell3kV LZR Cartridge40mm XPL6.5mm6.5mm CT6.5mm MI6.5mm MI Array7.5mm Whitehot7.62mm7.62x39mm7.77mm7.77mm Caseless9x39mmCaseless ShellCaseless Shotgun ShellHeavy Particle FuseLight Particle Fuse

AA-99
Rifle

Ace Sidearm
Pistol

Acid Rain
Rifle

Ambassador
Pistol

Arc Welder
Heavy

Ashta Tamer
Heavy

Auto-Rivet
Heavy

Avatar
Rifle

Barrow Knife
Melee

Beowulf
Rifle

Big Bang
Particle Beam Pistol

Boom Boom
Shotgun

Breach
Shotgun

Bridger
Heavy

Brute Force
Shotgun

Coachman
Shotgun

Combat Knife
Melee

Cutter
Heavy

Davis Wilson’s Rifle
Rifle

Deadeye
Pistol

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Weapon Types

There are 7 weapon types in Starfield:

• Melee Weapons – As you might expect, these are only effective in melee range.
• Pistols – The basic sidearm of the Settled Systems, pistols are a common weapon type that tends to have a smaller range and magazine size.
• Rifles – If you want a weapon to be a jack of all trades, you’ll want a rifle. They typically deal solid damage and have a good range, making them very versatile.
• Shotguns – In close quarters, it’s difficult to beat the raw damage output of a shotgun. They have poor to terrible range, but are undoubtedly the best choice for clearing out indoor areas.
• Heavy – Heavy guns are, well, heavy. Think miniguns, arc welders, and the cutter you start the game with. Their defining feature is a huge magazine with an impressive rate of fire, making them an excellent option for clearing out enemies if you can afford all of the ammo they take.
• Snipers – Snipers excel at dealing damage from afar, being the best option for stealth builds. Expect them to have impressive range and a low rate of fire.
• Explosives – Consisting of grenades and landmines, explosives can be useful for area control or dealing damage to bunched up enemies. They aren’t very effective alone, but they can be useful to supplement other weapon types.

Damage Types

There are 4 damage types in Starfield:

• Ballistic – These weapons are the most common in the Settled Systems and they deal physical damage.
• Laser – Laser weapons deal energy damage and they take batteries for ammunition.
• EM – Electromagnetic weapons specialize in dealing damage to robots, but they are also useful for knocking humans out.
• Particle Beam – The rarest damage category in Starfield are Particle Beam weapons, combining physical and energy damage.

Weapon Skills

There are many skills that affect weapons, which we can divide into two categories: Type-specific, and General.

Click on a skill to see ranks and stats

Type-specific Skills

These skills only impact one kind of weapon.

• Dueling – Improves melee weapons
• Demolitions – Improves explosives
• Heavy Weapons Certification – Heavy weapons do more damage
• Incapacitation – EM weapons do more damage
• Lasers – Laser weapons do more damage
• Particle Beams – Particle beam weapons do more damage
• Pistol Certification – Pistols do more damage
• Rifle Certification – Rifles do more damage
• Shotgun Certification – Shotguns do more damage

General Skills

These skills impact multiple weapon types, or all weapons.

• Armor Penetration – Attacks ignore armor
• Ballistics – Ballistic Weapons (weapons that shoot bullets) do more damage
• Marskmanship – Improves crit chance with non-automatic ranged weapons
• Rapid Reloading – Improves reload speeds
• Sharpshooting – Increases headshot damage for ranged weapons
• Sniper Certification – Improves scoped weapons
• Targeting – Improves hip fire (shooting without aiming)