With the approaching release of Obsidian's The Outer Worlds: Spacer's Choice Edition, many new players will be embarking on their interplanetary adventures for the first time. Though the brochures and posters advertise many of these planetary habitations as utopian places to settle, many are littered with dangerous obstacles and enemies
With that in mind, it is always safest to be armed. Players returning to the series will be well aware of this, and may be in search of some of the game's more powerful weapons in order to tackle larger foes lurking throughout The Outer Worlds. For players who prefer ranged options, these choices are the best.
10 Dead-Eye Assault Rifle
The Dead-Eye Assault Rifle is a scoped, long-range rifle capable of dealing decent amounts of damage from a safe distance. The advantage of this weapon is its sniper-like scope with roughly a x6 zoom.
While the weapon itself does not deal a huge amount of damage, it can take away large amounts of enemy health before they have time to respond. Typically, this weapon can be found on the bodies of dead marauders on the planet Monarch.
9 Assault Rifle Ultra
The premium version of the Assault Rifle, this machine gun can deal heavy damage at a high rate-of-fire, and is particularly useful when faced, as is often the case in The Outer Worlds, with multiple enemies at once.
Effective against virtually all targets, this rifle makes for a good jack-of-all-trades and is a useful asset for players to have in their inventory. Typically, this weapon will be found on the bodies of dead marauders when the player has reached a medium level.
8 The Ultimatum
This unique weapon is a powerful pistol awarded to players by Orson Shaw in Roseway upon the completion of the quest "Vulcan's Hammer." Orson constructs the weapon, but can be convinced to hand it over to the player, since it is technically a forbidden technology.
The pistol deals good damage and consumes energy rather than ammunition, meaning that any enemies who are particularly susceptible to energy damage will be affected even more.
7 Irion's Flintlock
Another unique handgun is the powerful Irion's Flintlock. Dealing 259 DPS as a standard without any upgrades, this is significantly more effective than most other handguns in the game. The gun also has a stagger ability, which occasionally causes opponents to fall.
Firing two rounds at a time, Irion's Flintlock will also dead additional damage to any weak spots on an enemy, making it especially useful in boss fights or targets with lots of health. The gun is acquired from Captain Irion, during the quest Solution Vital, on the planet Scylla.
6 Thunder Assault Rifle
This unique long-ranged rifle is a variation of the standard assault rifle, but with additional shock damage and a stagger ability. Able to produce up to 1300 Damage Per Second due to its high rate of fire, it also has significantly better accuracy than the standard rifles.
The gun can be found in the C3 Barracks in the Monarch Wilderness. Upon completion of the quest "Mandibles Of Doom," players are free to take the rifle without having to worry about the repercussions of stealing it.
5 Purpleberry Launcher
This unique grenade launcher uses enemy ammunition and deals around 200DPS unmodified. With a 25% higher rate of fire than other launchers, and a bounce effect on shots fire rather than exploding immediately, this weapon is ideal when swarmed by groups of low-level opponents.
Found inside the Bottling Plant in Cascadia on Monarch, players will have to ascend a ladder and get through a locked door in order to access it. Firing balls of N-Rays, this Rizzo's production is unlike any other weapon in the cosmos.
4 Shrink Ray
Designed by the infamous Dr. Phineas Welles, the Shrink Ray is an energy-based weapon that fires and condenses an atomic beam at enemies, causing penalties to enemy armor and defenses as well as dealing out up to 220 Damage Per Second. Shrunk targets will also have a penalty to their damage output, making them significantly weaker than their usual combative state for a short duration after use.
When used in conjunction with other powerful weapons, the Shrink Ray can be an effective combat tool against almost any opponent. The gun can be found in Phineas' Lab.
3 Salvager's Helper
Salvager's Helper is a brutal unique pistol dealing up to 480 DPS with corrosive damage. With a Mag-2-Melt magazine, the gun consumes light ammunition, which is in high abundance throughout most of the game. A bleed effect will also ensure additional damage is done for a lasting duration, making this one of the most destructive shot-for-shot weapons in the game.
The only drawback of this pistol is its long reload times, due to a complicated reloading mechanism. It can be purchased from Gladys in the Rest-N-Go area of the Groundbreaker space colony.
2 Phin's Phorce
Another concoction from the erratic mind of Phineas Welles, this destructive modified Spacer's Choice Rifle fires in bursts of energy rounds. With a base damage of 53 (x3) and +25% Critical Damage with 20% Critical Chance, this weapon is handy for taking down larger targets who tend to soak up lots of ammo, but will be equally effective at taking out marauders.
The rifle can be found on Phineas' desk in his office during the quest "Kept Secret But Not Forgotten."
1 The Good Word
The Good Word is a heavy machine gun with a high rate of fire and an extended magazine capacity. Able to fire roughly 723 rounds per minute, at a rate of 960DPS, this weapon can stand up to the largest of beasts with ease — provided players have brought enough ammo to the fight.
A stagger ability and 130% critical damage will convert a mere space adventurer into a walking tank, and is particularly useful for wiping out swathes of enemies at close range. The Good Word can be obtained by helping Graham Bryant during the quest "Canid's Candle."
The Outer Worlds: Spacer's Choice Edition releases March 7 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.