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The best weapon upgrades in Alan Wake 2

Jesse Lennox
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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.

How weapon upgrades work

A pistol magazine and weapon upgrade menu in Alan Wake 2.
Remedy Entertainment

You can upgrade your weapons whenever you like in Alan Wake 2 by visiting Saga’s Mind Place. Any weapon you have is available to upgrade there, provided you have the required amount of manuscript fragments that you collect from the hidden Luncboxes around the map. These are distinct from the Cult Stashes, so be on the lookout for them since you will need to find quite a few before you can afford even the first upgrade.

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Best weapon upgrades

More Bullets

Your starting pistol may not be the most flashy gun in Alan Wake 2, but it is always reliable and it never stops being effective. The first upgrade you should get has to be More Bullets. This will increase the pistol’s default magazine size from 12 to 18. This will obviously make it easier and safer to deal with encounters since you won’t be caught reloading as often but also helps keep your inventory clean since less space will be taken up for ammo.

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Another Headshot

For another pistol upgrade, Another Headshot is very powerful if you’re a sharpshooter. If you can score two headshots in a row, the unlucky Cultist will be stunned for a comically long time. That gives you plenty of time to either deal free damage, heal, or just run away if you’re low on resources and not prepared for a fight.

Ready for More

The best shotgun upgrade is easily Ready for More. Healing is not only a limited resource, which again takes up inventory space but also a somewhat long animation. If you’re in a tight situation and on the verge of death, there usually isn’t much you can do. Ready for More can bail you out since it will turn any kill you get with the shotgun into a bit of healing. It isn’t a huge amount, but every bit makes a difference.

Two Shots

The Crossbow may be a late-game addition to your toolset, but is absolutely worth saving some manuscript fragments to upgrade ASAP. Two Shots is borderline essential, making it so you can fire twice rather than just once before needing to reload.

Magnetic Pull

Magnetic Pull could be the best upgrade in the game. With it, after you skewer an enemy with a bolt, switching to another gun will make those bullets track to the bolt for guaranteed hits. If you’re comfortable swapping weapons on the fly, this is satisfying and efficient.

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Jesse Lennox
Jesse Lennox
Jesse Lennox loves writing, games, and complaining about not having time to write and play games. He knows the names of more…
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