Lara can amass a mini-arsenal of weapons during her grand adventure in Shadow of the Tomb Raider, all of which come with their pros and cons, and can also be upgraded at campsites to make them even more effective in battle. Rather than just sticking with a single gun for an entire playthrough, it can be a good idea to get into the habit of switching between weapons on the fly. This is especially important because the game features a wide variety of enemies who will all react differently to different weapon types.

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However, though there isn't any single weapon that is downright useless, a few are far superior to others, not only in their base stats but also through their unique upgrade trees. Here's a breakdown of what makes them so effective, along with details on how they can be acquired.

1 Atlatl Bow

Best Feature: High Damage

• How To Acquire: Purchased For 5800 Gold From The Paititi Merchant

The Atlatl Bow can be a very tricky weapon to get the hang of, but in the right hands, it can clear out enemy bases like nobody's business. On the one hand, this bow possesses so much damage, it can essentially one-shot anyone it makes contact with, even when aiming at the body, but the only drawback is the sluggish rate of fire. Still, since the game encourages players to stick to the shadows as much as possible, having a slow rate of fire doesn't affect stealth encounters all that much.

As a bonus, this bow also has little to no dropoff, meaning arrows can be fired from miles away and still deal as much damage as they normally would. The Atlatl Bow might not be great for those who want to run through the game as fast as possible, but it's perfect for players who enjoy taking the stealthier approach.

2 Viper Bite Bow

Best Feature: Poison Arrows

• How To Acquire: Unlocked In New Game + After Unlocking All Serpent Path Abilities

The Viper Bite is another bow that has a few small drawbacks, but it's also capable of dealing with enemies in no time at all thanks to its damage capabilities. Because each of the Viper Bite Bow's arrows will inflict poison on the enemies it makes contact with, it can make dealing with groups much easier, as Lara can simply shoot one enemy and forget about them while they squirm around in pain.

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The range might not be the best, but this just means Lara will need to get up close and personal when using it, and since it can down enemies so easily, this allows for plenty of finishers too. With or without upgrades, the Viper Bite is still a lethal weapon that can prove useful in many of the game's more close-quartered scenarios. It may only be unlockable in the New Game + mode, but it's still a welcome reward that can be a lot of fun to try out in a subsequent playthrough.

3 Wasp 11

Best Feature: High Rate Of Fire

• How To Acquire: Purchased For 5900 Gold From San Juan Merchant

The Wasp 11 is a submachine gun that can spit out a staggering amount of bullets in barely any time at all thanks to its high rate of fire and reload speed. Even though it's designed to be a close-quarter weapon, the decent accuracy still makes it a force to be reckoned with at range too, so long as players can work around the range drop-off for its bullets.

It's very much the pray-and-spray weapon of the game, which can be handy for some of the smaller and more narrow areas where a lot of enemies bunch up. When pairing the Wasp 11 with a few molotovs or grenades, it can make Lara more or less unstoppable at close range, especially when a few attachments are also thrown into the mix.

4 Heart Of The Eagle

Best Feature: Upgrade Tree Flexibility

• How To Acquire: Gifted After Finishing The Ancient Studies Quest In Ancient City

There are a total of 8 bows players will be able to get their hands on during Lara's journey, but in terms of overall reliability and effectiveness, the Heart of the Eagle is often considered to be the best of the bunch. This big and bulky longbow is pretty powerful and also comes with decent handling, but because of the variety of upgrade options that can be unlocked, it means players can customize it any way they would like to suit a preferred playstyle.

Even though it can feel a little slow on the draw, the sheer amount of damage the Heart of the Eagle can deal to both armored and unarmored enemies makes it well worth seeking out. There's also the fact that this bow doesn't need to be purchased for a high sum at the merchant. Simply run through and complete the "Ancient Studies Quest," which can be found in the Hidden City, and it will appear for Lara to pick up.

5 River Hawk

Best Feature: High Damage

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It can be easy to completely miss out on the River Hawk entirely since it can only be found in a side mission, but players should take the time to pick it up as, despite its size, it's one of the most powerful guns in the entire game. The River Hawk boasts an incredibly high damage stat, which makes it a one-hit kill to unarmored enemies with upgrades attached. Needless to say, it can annihilate regular soldiers, but this handy sidearm can also be a real lifesaver for when a jaguar or cougar decides to get the jump on Lara, providing a last-resort backup to get her out of danger.

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By far the biggest downside to the River Hawk is the lackluster accuracy, but this can admittedly be made to be much more bearable after spending a few resources to sharpen it up a little bit. Even though it's easy to miss a few shots now and again, there's always the guarantee that the bullets that do land are going to pack a punch.

6 Vicar Mark II

Best Feature: Good All-Round Stats

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When it comes to dealing with enemies from medium range, no gun in the game can do it better than the Vicar Mark 2, a small yet deadly assault rifle that offers some incredibly powerful upgrades to choose from. Despite the gun starting with a fairly high damage stat, this can be upgraded up to two times to make it even more lethal, and more than capable of taking down even the toughest of Trinity soldiers and Kukulkan warriors.

There are also three available upgrades for the weapon's accuracy and reload speed, making it easy to control and capable of dishing out so much damage with a single magazine. The gun may seem a little lackluster when Lara first retrieves it early on in the game, but it can become one of the best weapons in the whole game after it's been tinkered with and customized.

7 Taev 16

Best Feature: High Damage

• How To Acquire: Purchased For 5700 Gold From The San Juan Merchant

The Taev 16 is an absolute powerhouse that can reliably deal with any enemy type in the game, including bosses. It might have the kick of a mule, but the damage output of the Taev 16 more than makes up for this, and when compared to the other shotguns, it easily has the best accuracy of them all. The reload speed also shouldn't discourage players from equipping this weapon as it holds more than enough shells to deal with entire camps of enemies in one go, especially when the damage is dialed up.

At first glance, the Taev 16 can seem a little pricey, but it's worth every penny considering how versatile it is, so it's certainly not a bad idea to save up and buy it as soon as it becomes available. The wild recoil might take a little getting used to, but if players can look past this, they'll have an incredible weapon on their hands that can keep Lara safe no matter what dangerous situation she finds herself in.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider

Platform(s)

PS4 , Xbox One , PC

Released

September 14, 2018

Developer(s)

Eidos Montreal

Genre(s)

Adventure