Best weapons in Starfield – Tier list

Starfield has a lot of weapons and all of them are awesome. While the debate over what the best Starfield weapons are will likely rage for centuries, here is what we think the best weapons are in Starfield.

Note: If you want a quick way to get the best early weapons, armor, and ship, you need to read our guide that covers a specific side quest.

What is the best weapon in Starfield?

While there are a lot of great weapons in Starfield, the best weapons generally have Calibrated, Modified, or Refined in their name. You can have skills that make specific weapons objectively better than others for your build, and you can have your personal preference as to what the best weapons are, but any weapon that has Calibrated, Modified, or Refined in their titles are going to be better than the stock weapon.

Every weapon has rarity in Starfield, and generally the higher the rarity, the better the weapon. Weapons with a higher rarity have perks attached to them that make them more effective. While you’ll continue to find higher-stat weapons as you level up, the highest-rarity weapons should be used up until they get outranked.

Lastly, the best weapons in Starfield are heavily influenced by the Combat skills you invest in. While I recommend you invest in the best starter skills, shotguns are gonna be best if you unlocked Shotgun Certification, Energy weapons are gonna be best if you unlocked Lasers, and on and on.

Best weapons in Starfield, tier list

With those little rules out of the way, let’s dive right into what we think the best weapons in Starfield are.

1. Shotguns
2. Pistols
3. Rifles
4. SMGs
5. Machine Guns
6. Grenade Launchers
7. Melee Weapons

Best Shotguns in Starfield

Screenshot: PC Invasion

I think Shotguns are extremely powerful in Starfield, and the best ones are Pacifier and Big Bang. Pacifier is my favorite Shotgun because it deals tons of damage, has more than two shots in the magazine, and has fairly good range. It’s reliable and powerful. Big Bang is a great Shotgun because it deals Physical and Energy damage.

Best Pistols in Starfield

Screenshot: PC Invasion

Pistols in Starfield are reliable, easy to find ammo for, and get the job done. The best Pistols in Starfield are Eon and Deadeye. If you want a revolver, go with Deadeye. If you want a sturdy go-to Pistol, Eon’s the best.

Best Rifles in Starfield

Screenshot: PC Invasion

I love Rifles in Starfield as they deal high damage from a long distance. I love sniping in video games, and my favorite Starfield rifles are Magpulse and Beowulf. MAgpulse is a great single-shot Rifle that is best for medium range. Beowulf is a Rifle best used for sniping. High damage, high accuracy, high range.

Best SMGs in Starfield

Screenshot: PC Invasion

I personally love SMGs but they aren’t amazing in every circumstance because they don’t have the best range. That said, Grendel is an amazing SMG if you can land your shots. Grendel has a super high rate of fire which means you’ll deal damage fast and run out of bullets fast. If you aren’t close or confident in landing your shots, SMGs can be hard to use.

Best Machine Guns in Starfield

Screenshot: PC Invasion

Though they are listed as Machine Guns in Starfield, the automatic weapons that rock in Starfield are Maelstrom, Peacekeeper, and, surprisingly, Cutter. Maelstrom is a great Machine Gun. It does what you’d expect. Peacekeeper is the next level up as it’s bigger and punchier, but harder to control. Cutter has infinite ammo and is used for more than just mining rocks.

Best Grenade Launchers in Starfield

Screenshot: PC Invasion

There aren’t as many Grenade Launchers in Starfield and, although they deal high damage, it’s easy for enemies to dodge them. The best Grenade Launcher in Starfield is Bridger. This weapon deals super high damage but it has a low fire rate. It’s great to pull out and shoot one shot at big groups of enemies, and that’s it.

Best Melee Weapons in Starfield

Screenshot: PC Invasion

While you can make a competent Melee build in Starfield, I think Melee Weapons are the least-best weapons in the game. That said, the best Melee Weapon is the Barrow Knife. It doesn’t have much range, but it deals a lot of damage and it’s fast.

If you want to find the best weapons in Starfield, you should learn how to pick locks. You can buy good weapons and find them on killed enemies, but there are a lot of great weapons hidden behind locks.