Best legendary weapons in Starfield, ranked

Keeping every legendary weapon you come across in Starfield seems like a no-brainer. However, one thing you quickly realize in any Bethesda game is the sheer number of items there are, especially at the start. It’s easy to get overwhelmed optimizing your inventory trying to figure out which weapons are worth keeping or how they rank up against each other while selling off the rest to lose weight. If you want to know what the best of the best are, you’ve come to the right place. So relax, sit down, and rip open a can of (not-so-fresh) CAN-uck! Pancakes as we rank the best legendary weapons in Starfield. Here are our top picks at a glance:

• Pacifier
• Elemental Bridger
• Beowulf
• Unmitigated Violence
• Keelhauler
• Eternity’s Gate

Note: To use these weapons in the most efficient way, you may want to learn how to use the quick-select menu.

6. Pacifier (Shotgun)

First up is the Pacifier. The legendary version of this shotgun has some of the best stats when it comes to shotguns in Starfield, all the while weighing less than a kilogram thanks to its titanium build. Its ruthlessly high-damage shots have some real heaviness to them that feels great while blasting at your foes. This, alongside its ruthlessness, makes this legendary weapon really come in clutch when you get swarmed with those troublesome non-human life forms on a distant planet. All in all, if you’re a fan of shottys, this is a must-get.

5. Elemental Bridger (Heavy Weapon)

This legendary heavy weapon looks like it shoots mini-cannonballs from its mouth, but that might as well be the case. It’s a hard-hitting heavy-type grenade launcher that’s accompanied by a trio of damage-intensifying effects that give it explosive power. While it’s not that accurate, the shots you do make with it are extremely satisfying. It also shoots quite slowly, so intense sweat-inducing battles are best left to the others on this list.

4. Beowulf (Rifle)

While it isn’t the fastest shooting rifle in Starfield, the Beowulf is the most well-rounded. It comes with decent damage and up to 8 mod slots, which is great for further increasing its output to your liking. The main star, however, is the effects that come with it. The Beowulf corrodes armor and randomly shoots explosive rounds. But the massive cherry on top is that as enemy health decreases, your rifle’s damage increases. Talk about kicking someone while they’re down.

3. Unmitigated Violence (Laser Rifle)

Considering how jam-packed Unmitigated Violence is with useful perks and fully equipped mods, it was sure to have a place on this list. Unmitigated Violence is an aptly named legendary laser rifle that has both a healthy amount of damage and accuracy. The sweet part is its base 125 damage doubles when attacking an enemy at full health, resulting in a whopping 250 damage from a single shot. That’s sure to take off a chunk of health.

2. Keelhauler (Pistol)

Screenshot: PC Invasion

Undoubtedly one of the best weapons in Starfield, the legendary Keelhauler packs a massive punch in a small package. Its impressive physical damage coupled with a blazingly fast rate of fire allows you to drop enemies faster than you can say “unmitigated violence.” What’s more, it also staggers and frenzies enemies, and does more damage the less armoured an NPC is. Although it’s one of the rarest in-game finds, you can receive it easily as a reward by completing the Crimson Fleet side quest “Echoes of the Past.” The best part is this quest lets you net a legendary weapon pretty early in the game. The one from the Crimson Fleet comes fully modded and feels great to wield in close-quarters combat. The only con of this weapon for me is that the type of ammo it uses isn’t quite plentiful, so you’ll need to stock up from a few vendors before putting it to use.

1. Eternity’s Gate (Particle Beam Rifle)

Eternity’s Gate is a sleek particle beam rifle that could be crowned as Starfield’s best weapon to date because of its immense damage capabilities and rounded stats. With top-of-the-line damage, range, and accuracy, this KRISS Vector-esque rifle holds some of the heaviest stats of Starfield’s legendary weapons and is valued just as much at 99,000 credits. Now before you make your way to the trader, take a second to look at its effects. It fires two projectiles on every fourth shot and does a flat 10% increase in damage to humans. This alone can be enough to earn a place in your inventory, but it also has volatile rounds that can fail — but when they don’t, they can be devastating.

Starfield is available for Xbox and PC.