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The best weapons in Metro Exodus

These are the best weapons for taking down mutants and bandits in Metro Exodus

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When it comes to finding the best weapons in Metro Exodus, you’ll quickly find that you don’t have all that many weapons at your disposal, or even enough ammunition to kill every enemy you come across. So, you’ll have to get a little creative. Understanding the basics of the game’s arsenal is extremely important as it can make fighting enemies easier and less frustrating.

The best weapons in Metro Exodus

Bulldog “2012”

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You’ll start Metro Exodus with the Kalash rifle, which is great for spraying bullets down hallways and quickly taking out mutants or humans at close-range, but you’ll find the weapon struggles to stay relevant when you start facing enemies using sniper rifles or crossbows.

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The Bulldog is capable of hitting targets accurately from a much longer distance, enabling you to save ammunition you’d be wasting on the Kalash. If you prefer, you can also equip a larger magazine as well as a reflex sight, turning it into an all-purpose weapon.

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Ashot “Duplet”

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As soon as you have the opportunity to swap out your pistol for a shotgun in Metro Exodus, you should take it – the class is crucial to your survival when you’re being swarmed by mutants or need to take down a larger target.

The Ashot’s “Duplet” configuration gives you two high-damage shotgun shells before you have to reload, and it strikes a good balance between power and maneuverability. Because conserving ammunition is so important, it’s a better option than the four-barrel variant, which will encourage you to waste your shots as targets move closer.

Valve

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There are few places in Metro Exodus where long-range sniping makes sense from a resource perspective, but a particular forest region late in the game all but demands you do. The Valve is a bolt-action and extremely powerful sniper rifle that you can use to land shots to the head or chest of enemies from long distance, and with an increased magazine attached to it, it can turn you into a one-man army. The weapon is fairly loud, so you won’t want it for stealth scenarios, but it can serve as a great backup plan in case you’re spotted sneaking around.

Helsing

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The same forest segment where the Valve is useful is also a great opportunity to try out the Helsing crossbow. An excellent stealth tool, the Helsing is capable of killing targets at a medium distance with high accuracy, particularly if you’re making use of a sight or night-vision scope.

The weapon is more than a stealth tool, however, as it can be equipped with special explosive bolts. If fired in the right locations, these bolts can kill several human targets at once, and they’re also extremely useful for taking on some of the larger threats roaming the area.

Tikhar

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The Tikhar pneumatic air rifle is the most iconic weapon in the Metro series, as its compressed air pumping system and steel ball projectiles mean you don’t ever need to locate ammunition for it. Instead, you can make your own from metal scraps you find, and as long as you keep it fully pumped, it should be your go-to choice for taking out both mutants and humans quietly.

The Tikhar naturally loses some of its pressure if you fully pump it, but this drawback can be eliminated by fitting it with an airtight device found early in the game. If you’re running low on ammunition for other guns, it can also be your last resort.

Metro Exodus weapon tips and tricks

1. Clean all of your weapons

Metro Exodus Review
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When you stop by a workbench to craft supplies and get your inventory in order, you have the option to clean your weapons for a small number of resources. What Metro Exodus doesn’t do a great job of telling you is that you don’t just do this once in order to clean them. Instead, you have to make sure every weapon is cleaned individually. This seems like a small responsibility, but guns jam almost immediately when they’re dirty, and you need to un-jam them before they’ll fire again. In combat, those few seconds can and will get you killed.

2. Swap attachments regularly

Metro Exodus Review
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The sight, magazine, or barrel you have on your rifle might be good for your current environment, but there’s a good chance they won’t be when you enter a new area. Don’t be afraid to swap out the components of your weapons to suit new environments, especially if you’re going from a sneaking section to one with full-on gunfights. Slightly increased magazine size might not seem like a huge deal, but you’ll need every bullet for some of the later scenarios in the game.

Metro Exodus even lets you radically transform weapons and move them to a different class, so if you are looking for a shotgun, you might already have the means to make one. Likewise, when you see a weapon that you don’t want on the ground but it has components highlighted in orange, those can be salvaged. You’ll get them in your inventory and you’ll get some resources to go toward crafting.

3. Always craft more ammunition

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It can be tempting to throw all of your resources into creating medical kits or air filters when you get the chance, but make sure you throw at least a small portion of it into creating more ammunition.

Always craft at least a few magazines’ worth for your rifle and at least 30 for your shotgun, as well as 40 or 50 for the Tikhar. This will ensure that, with proper aiming, you won’t run out before you reach the next safe area, which will also help you avoid having to use too many medical kits in the first place. If you still run out, search dead bodies on the ground. Even those that were there before you arrived will often have supplies.

4. Use Molotov cocktails

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It can be easy to forget that you have hand-thrown items in Metro Exodus altogether, but the most useful of them by far are the Molotov cocktails. They work like you’d expect, with a small fiery explosion that sets any nearby enemies ablaze, and they can kill all but the toughest enemies in just one hit. Not only can they make pseudo-boss fights significantly easier, but they also allow you to save your ammunition for emergencies.

Against hordes of mutants, the Molotov Cocktails stop them dead in their tracks, so it’s important to craft a few whenever you get the chance. Against larger enemies, they give just enough time to fire off a few headshots before they can react.

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Gabe Gurwin
Gabe Gurwin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
The best weapon upgrades in Alan Wake 2
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The Dark Place and Cultists in Alan Wake 2 may be dark and twisted manifestations of an evil force, but once you shed away the darkness, everything will fall into your arsenal of firearms. Neither Alan nor FBI agent Saga are exactly equipped with the firepower you'd want when wandering through the haunted woods and mind-bending Dark Place, but they can make do with what they have in clever ways. Saga specifically is skilled enough to upgrade all the weapons in her inventory to better protect herself against the supernatural threats that stalk her. Upgrades don't come cheap, and if you find all the weapons in the game, you will need to make some tough calls on how you improve them. Here are the upgrades you need to see the final chapter of Alan Wake 2's story.
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Best weapon upgrades
More Bullets
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Another Headshot
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Ready for More
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Two Shots
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The best weapons in Lords of the Fallen

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Hallowed Praise
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Bloodlust
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Hushed Saint's Halberd
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Iron Wayfarer's Hammer
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Charm of Fortune's Sight
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Bow of the Convert
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Puppet Saber
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Salamander Dagger
If you are going for a build focused on doing a lot of quick hits rather than long, heavy strikes, daggers like the Salamander Dagger are your best friend. This dagger's real advantage is that it deals fire damage, which many enemies are weak against. It scales at a B in Advance, C in Technique, and D in Motivity. It also has the Ignite ability to give it even more firepower (literally), and the guard ability of doing a fast stab before automatically retreating.
Booster Glaive
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Acidic Crystal Spear
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Two Dragons Sword
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