In Rimworld, there are numerous weapons to choose from. When you have enough resources to equip all of your pawns, you might consider creating the most effective ones available. Next I will tell you which are the best weapons in Rimworld.
The best weapons in Rimworld 1.5
What is the best weapon in Rimworld depends a lot on your play style. If you’re someone who wants to focus on close range weapons, you’ll most likely want to focus on a melee build, while longer range combat is best done with ranged weapons. Regardless of any of the options, you have many options to choose from.
I have compiled this list based on weapons that are relatively cheaper to craft or find compared to their DPS (damage per second). All of these weapons are affected by modifiers and the materials you use to craft them.
List of the best ranged weapons in Rimworld
All ranged weapons in Rimworld go through the same firing cycle, which begins with aiming timing while your pawn prepares to shoot the enemy, followed by firing timing. The shooting process depends on your pawn’s ability to shoot and the basic accuracy of the weapon. This ends the recovery process, where the firing cycle restarts and your pawn can begin firing their weapon again.
These are the best weapons in Rimworld according to their profitability and Optimal DPS. This is a hypothetical scenario where each shot hits the enemy based on base damage, which differs from real combat situations influenced by range:
- Touch: 3 tokens
- Short: 12 tokens
- Medium: 25 tiles
- Length: 40 tokens
| Level | Weapon | Optimal DPS (damage per second) |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | machine gun | 36.76 |
| Yes | Assault rifle | 10.88 |
| Yes | light machine gun | 15.78 |
| Yes | loading rifle | 13.24 |
| TO | chain gun | 18.73 |
| TO | Heavy submachine gun | 12.34 |
| TO | Submachine gun | 11.02 |
| TO | Triple rocket launcher | 15.52 |
| TO | Shotgun | 8.37 |
| TO | charging lance | 6.82 |
| b | fragmentation grenades | 12 |
| b | EMP grenades | 12 |
| b | automatic pistol | 7.69 |
| b | Sniper’s rifle | 4.31 |
| c | bolt action rifle | 5.63 |
| c | Stir | 6.32 |
| c | great arch | 4.86 |
| d | shooting bow | 3.67 |
| d | Doomsday rocket launcher | 5.56 |
| d | tactical turret gun | 4.86 |
| d | nerve pincher | 3.55 |
| d | recurve bow | 4.52 |
| my | PEM launcher | 7.14 |
| my | Molotov cocktails | 2.4 |
| my | stack | 3.13 |
| my | flame arch | 2 |
| my | incendiary launcher | 1.43 |
In my opinion, the The assault rifle is the best ranged weapon in Rimworld., despite being further down the list. This is because the assault rifle can be easily obtained once you have the machining table, requiring only 60 pieces of steel and 7 components. Your pawns only need a minimum of six crafting skills to craft one of these powerful weapons.
All Ranged Weapon Quality Modifiers in Rimworld
Each weapon’s quality modifiers are based on chance. Higher–expert laborers have a higher probability of elaboration a higher quality weapon, resulting in greater damage and accuracy.
| Quality | Precision modifier | Base Damage Modifier | Armor Penetration Modifier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Awful | 0.80 | 0.90 | 0.90 |
| Poor | 0.90 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| Normal | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| Good | 1.10 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| Excellent | 1.20 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| Masterpiece | 1.35 | 1.25 | 1.25 |
| Legendary | 1.50 | 1.50 | 1.50 |
Related: All Rimworld xenotypes and xenohumans
List of the best melee weapons in Rimworld
When it comes to melee weapons, you need to consider not only the DPS (damage per second) a weapon can deal, but also the type of damage it can deal. These include sharp, blunt, burning or EMP objects. Depending on the type of enemy you are facing and your goal of killing or disabling them, you can choose.
| Level | Weapon | DPS |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | thrombus horn | 9.44 |
| Yes | Monosword | 11.45 |
| Yes | monosword person | 14.53 |
| Yes | zeus hammer person | 13.17 |
| Yes | power claw | 9.28 |
| TO | hand claw | 8.18 |
| TO | plasma sword person | 9.97 |
| TO | elbow blade | 7.78 |
| TO | Zeus Hammer | 9.41 |
| TO | knee peak | 7.57 |
| b | poison fangs | 6.65 |
| b | elephant tusk | 6.44 |
| b | long sword | 7.9 |
| b | Lance | 7.88 |
| b | poisonous claw | 6.34 |
| c | Club | 6.31 |
| c | arcotech arm | 6.28 |
| c | plasma sword | 7.39 |
| c | drill arm | 5.9 |
| c | gladiolus | 7.06 |
| c | Knife | 7.02 |
| c | Mallet | 6.95 |
| d | war hammer | 6.91 |
| d | bionic arm | 5.53 |
| d | Axe | 6.68 |
| d | ikwa | 6.7 |
| d | breach ax | 6.22 |
| my | jade knife | 5.73 |
| my | eltex staff | 4.51 |
If you are looking to enslave many pawns to build your colony, I recommend using weapons with lower damage and bludgeoning damage. This will reduce the chance of them dying upon impact, allowing you more time to transport them to their beds for your pawns to treat them quickly.
If you’re looking for pure damage at a low cost, I recommend investing in crafting lots of long swords, as they are the most affordable high damage melee weapons in the game. They can be crafted at any blacksmith shop once you have researched them.
Related: The best time for night owls in Rimworld
All Melee Weapon Material Modifiers in Rimworld
Unlike ranged weapons, melee weapons in Rimworld can be crafted from a wide variety of materials, with each material slightly increasing the base damage multiplier in addition to the craftsman’s skill.
| Material | Cooling rate factor | Damage factor (blunt) | Damage factor (acute) | Maximum HP Factor | DPS factor (blunt) | DPS factor (sharp) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | 1 | 1 | 0.75 | 0.6 | 1 | 0.75 |
| granite blocks | 1.3 | 1 | 0.65 | 1.7 | 0.77 | 0.5 |
| Jade | 1.3 | 1.5 | 1 | 0.5 | 1.15 | 0.77 |
| limestone blocks | 1.3 | 1 | 0.6 | 1.55 | 0.77 | 0.46 |
| marble blocks | 1.3 | 1 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 0.77 | 0.46 |
| plasteel | 0.8 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 2.8 | 1.13 | 1.38 |
| sandstone blocks | 1.3 | 1 | 0.5 | 1.4 | 0.77 | 0.38 |
| Silver | 1 | 1 | 0.85 | 0.7 | 1 | 0.85 |
| slate blocks | 1.3 | 1 | 0.6 | 1.3 | 0.77 | 0.46 |
| Steel | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Uranium | 1.1 | 1.5 | 1.1 | 2.5 | 1.36 | 1 |
| Wood | 1 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 0.65 | 0.9 | 0.4 |
| Bioferrite | 1 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 2 | 0.9 | 1.3 |
All Melee Weapon Quality Modifiers in Rimworld
Each weapon’s quality modifiers are based on chance. Higher–expert laborers have a higher probability of elaboration a higher quality weapon, resulting in greater damage.
| Quality | Base Damage Modifier |
|---|---|
| Awful | 0.80 |
| Poor | 0.90 |
| Normal | 1.00 |
| Good | 1.10 |
| Excellent | 1.20 |
| Masterpiece | 1.45 |
| Legendary | 1.65 |
The weapon choice you make will largely depend on the type of colony and the game you are focusing on.
Therefore, I highly recommend that you continue using weapons that suit your playstyle and enjoyment level.
For more information on Rimworld, be sure to check out 15 Essential RimWorld Mods and How to Install Them and RimWorld Pollution Explained and How to Fix It Here at Pro Gaming Guides.