It may seem like an odd exercise to try and rank cards in Neon White. Rarely are there occasions when players get to choose a loadout. And each card, in its own right, can be useful and necessary. Even "bad" cards can be "better" if the situation demands it.
But speedrunners and veterans of Neon White will often seek out their favorite weapons. Some of them are capable of beating the Ace times by five-plus seconds. If nothing else, this is a great measure of enthusiasm players have when they see the card pop into the lower-right part of the screen.
9 Fists
The worst weapon in the game is one that, thankfully, many players won't even discover. The Katana comes with thirty charges on it and, when it runs out, players are left with their fists. Any gamers that enjoy amazing FPS titles on Game Pass might want to see Neon White in the collection, but not due to this sad attack mechanism.
There is a way to lose besides taking damage, falling off a cliff, or getting stuck. After punching ten times with the fists, Neon White instantly perishes. The attack itself is slow and, predictably, does not do much damage. It's probably best to just restart the level instead of resorting to hand-to-hand combat.
8 Katana
It's possible that Neon White could eventually be considered one of the best first-person shooter games of all time. As far as the best first-person slasher games? The protagonist might proclaim the sword is his favorite weapon, but it's hard to see why.
There is no secondary move allowed that would discard the katana, already putting it at a disadvantage over other weapons. The attack is fast, granted, but the range is so tiny. The damage itself is pathetic, even the worst gun has equal or better numbers.
7 Stomp
Among traditional weapons, Stomp gets the lowest ranking for both its primary and secondary attacks. Like most classic video game SMGs, the bullet fire is erratic and unpredictable. That's fine for close-range enemies, but not useful for those elite cross-map shots.
The discard ability is useful for select missions when getting to the bottom of the map quickly is necessary. But getting to the bottom of the map can be done with any weapon. Sometimes, the maps give players Stomp in the hopes that they will accidentally use it and come crashing down.
6 Elevate
A classic handgun with a handy double-jump built-in. Not bad! This is why the Elevate falls in the middle of the pack when it comes to weapon choices. Trying to use this gun primarily will make the game harder than Doom Eternal, though it's more of a niche weapon.
The range and power are very good, even if the fire rate isn't anything to write home about. The main use for these will be the secondary jump when a secret or shortcut is not in reach through conventional means. It's a slow, shorter movement than the weapons above it provide, but not negligible.
5 Purify
The Purify is an automatic weapon that has the accuracy of a rifle. If this list were about primary attacks only, this could easily be the number one option. During the first boss fight, having a few of these ends the fight much quicker.
The secondary discard isn't bad, but not up to the standard of the primary attack. The sticky grenade can clear out groups of enemies or act as something of a secondary jump. The timing is tough to master, but the mobility is good for a handful of shortcuts for gamers that do sync up well with this gun.
4 Godspeed
If anything keeps the Godspeed from the upper echelons of the rankings, it's the small clip size. Nobody can complain about the range or damage, acting as a sniper rifle would perform on many maps. From afar, players can take out targets so they can avoid huge segments of the course.
When discarded, the character performs a massive dash horizontally. The only weapons ranked better than the Godspeed are capable of multi-directional travel. Even so, when stacked, the amount of air that White can cover is astounding.
3 Fireball
Hardcore gamers have mapped out the spread on the Fireball shotgun, consistently able to know exactly where to aim to kill multiple opponents with the primary fire. A full cluster kills any enemy besides the boss with a single blast.
If that's not exciting enough, how about a dash in any direction? This is like having the power of Stomp and Godspeed combined with the added element of personal control. There are few weapons better than the Fireball on maps that require shot times with a lot of ground to cover and enemies to take out.
2 Book Of Life
It's no surprise that the final weapon received is also in contention for the best. It lacks a discard ability, but that hardly acts as a deterrent when the primary fire latches onto an enemy, killing it instantly, propels White forward, and can be used at a nearly limitless distance.
The final boss fight features this weapon heavily. More enemies act as an incentive to the Book Of Life card, which can allow the player limitless freedom without any cooldown time at all. After a few maps using it, it's tough to go back to previous missions.
1 Dominion
The top spot goes to the Dominion rocket launcher. It combines so many of the powers of weapons lower on this list. An instant death, area-of-effect primary fire? Got it. A discard that lets White fly to any point in range? Got it. After getting the Dominion, the majority of White's time can easily be spent airborne.
Firing against surfaces gives the player a solid vertical leap, allowing White to get to the top of tall buildings for the price of a few rockets. Wondering how to get to that gift on top of a skyscraper or get around a large obstacle? The Dominion is often the answer.
Neon White is available now on PC and Nintendo Switch.