The Outer Worlds Unique Melee Weapons Tier List

The Outer Worlds has an impressive variety of weapons, including many melee options. The game also features unique-grade weapons, akin to what other genres refer to as "legendary" gear. The base game already offers plenty of melee weapons to choose from, yet The Outer Worlds’ two expansions double down on unique weapon offerings. Since The Outer Worlds’ expansions have added plenty of unique weapons, there’s a good mix of weapons to collect for their rarity as well as must-haves for melee characters.

What makes most of the unique melee weapons worthwhile is their special effect, which can't be replicated with basic weapon mods. Unique gear in The Outer Worlds can't be modded with attachments, so the best unique gear comprises items that are both pre-modded and have a special effect. There are still strong unique weapons that don't have special effects, but the worst unique weapons have no mods or special effects at all.

S-Tier

A Party Member attacking in The Outer Worlds

The best melee weapons in The Outer Worlds’ unique weapons offer the deadliest combinations of damage types and weapon effects. Since unique weapons can have additional hidden quirks, the weapons in this tier are definitely worth putting to use for their passive effects alone. Even though not all of the weapons in this tier come with both mod slots filled out, they are still the best options for dealing straight damage, applying status effects, or both.

Acqua Regia

15% increased swing speed
Damage type: Corrosion
Weapon effect: Burn
Hits occasionally weaken targets

Blad on Stik

Weapon effect: Bleed
Critical hits deal extra damage

Latinus

Damage type: Shock
Weapon effect: Bleed
Sneak attacks deal increased damage

Piledriver

Weapon effect: Knockout
Attacks pierce enemies

Shock and Awe

15% increased attack speed
20% increased power attack damage
Weapon effect: Stun
Damage type: Shock

Soft Speaker

Attack noise reduced by 90%
Intimidate Skill +10
Weapon effect: Knockdown

Thunderclap

Weapon effect: Knockdown
Killing an enemy causes Concussions to nearby targets

Wall of Swords

25% increased weapon durability
Damage type: N-Ray
Weapon effect: Bleed
Attacking multiple enemies grants temporary armor

A-Tier

Not all of these unique melee weapons have special effects, but the ones that don’t make up for that with high damage and status effect applications. The special effects on some of these weapons can be plenty useful, even though they can be outclassed by a select few. For the weapons that don’t have special effects, they still pack strong punches with combinations of elemental effects, like Shock or N-Ray elemental damage mixed with Bleed, Burn, or Stun on 2-handed hitters.

Hall of Famer Tossball Stick

25% increased weapon durability
Weapon effect: Stagger
Repeated attacks push targets backward

Sublight Plasma Knife

Damage type: Plasma
Weapon effect: Burn
Sneak attacks deal increased damage

Supper Time

Damage Type: Corrosion
Weapon effect: Bleed

Tanaka's Peacekeeper

10% critical hit chance
20% increased power attack damage
Damage Type: Shock
Weapon Effect: Bleed

The Candy Cane

Damage type: N-ray
Weapon effect: Burn

The Hammer of Olympus

Damage type: Shock
Weapon effect: Stun

B-Tier

The B-Tier of unique melee weapons are still reliable options for dishing out damage, though sometimes normal melee weapons can be modified to produce better results. These weapons still have some merit as unique gear, but they generally rely on having a melee character build in The Outer Worlds to shine. The few weapons in this tier that have unique effects can mostly be replicated by other, better unique melee weapons.

Aerial Assault

15% increased swing speed
Damage type: Corrosion
Weapon effect: Bleed
Mid-air attacks cause knockback

Brontide

Weapon effect: Bleed
Killing an enemy causes Knockdown to nearby targets

Signed Tossball Stick

15% increased attack speed
Damage type: Plasma
Weapon effect: Stagger

Silencer

15% increased attack speed
Weapon effect: Bleed
Attacks are nearly silent

C-Tier

A good way to think of the C-Tier unique melee weapons is as stepping stones in the meantime of tracking down some of the better melee weapons. It’s generally more practical to utilize the best ranged weapons in The Outer Worlds instead of melee weapons of this grade. These weapons are still distinguishable as unique gear, but they can be outperformed by a wide variety of other options.

The one redeeming quality of the weapons in this tier is that, while the player may want to replace them asap, they could be granted to companions to still benefit from the better parts of their unique traits. A majority of the companions can be instructed to use specific types of weaponry in The Outer Worlds, so giving them unique gear to utilize is a good way to passively get an upper edge and make the most of their existing character traits. Although, the same applies to the better half of the unique weapons as much as these C-Tier underdogs.

Adelaide's Gardening Shears

Weapon effect: Bleed
Critical hits cause bleeding

Captain Robin's Spine

Weapon effect: Bleed

Clive's Cleaver

Weapon effect: Bleed
Increased hit chance

Grimm's Tossball Blocker

15% increased attack speed
20% increased power attack damage
Weapon effect: Stagger

Grinder

20% increased power attack damage
Weapon effect: Knockdown

Ionized Paper Knife

15% increased attack speed
Damage type: Plasma
Weapon effect: Burn

Landing Pad Cutter

Damage type: Plasma
Weapon effect: Bleed

Maxwell

Weapon effect: Knockdown

Rapti-prod

Damage type: Shock
Deals increased damage against Raptidon enemies

Shock-Stick

15% increased attack speed
20% increased power attack damage
Weapon effect: Stun
Damage type: Shock

D-Tier

The majority of the D-Tier unique melee weapons are what's known in The Outer Worlds as improvised weapons, signifying that these are novelty items that aren’t fully intended for use in combat. The sparse amount of improvised weapons in the game makes them collectible items, though even the pieces that are unique gear are underwhelming. These items can prove to be effective props for roleplaying in The Outer Worlds, otherwise intentionally bringing improvised weapons into combat is high risk with no reward.

A Spade