Summary
No Man’s Skylaunched to major criticisms back in 2016. The developers, Hello Games, pledged to fix all of the issues and promised that all DLC for the game would be free, forever. A promise that so far, they have kept. Following dozens of updates, the game is now widely regarded as one of the best open-world spacesurvival gamesavailable.
Gameplay involves both space exploration and planet-based exploration. In some situations, exploration can lead to combat, which means that players need weapons. InNMS, there is a wide choice of ground-basedfirst-person weaponryavailable, with some being better than others. The choice of primary weapon is highly subjective, depending on a player’s preferred combat style. Therefore, this topic is ordered based on the author’s preferences.
7Terrain Manipulator
Can Be Used As A Weapon In A Pinch
The Terrain Manipulator inNo Man’s Skyis generally used tomine orefrom resource deposits and to shape the terrain. It can excavate holes, flatten the ground, restore voxels, and create voxels. That being said, it can also be used as a weapon in a pinch, depending on the circumstances.
For example, it will do damage to sentinels, and can be used to dig tunnels to hide in, or used for cover when fighting sentinels. But overall, this is the least effective primary weapon available inNMS.
6Mining Beam
A Surprisingly Effective Weapon
EveryNo Man’s Skyplayer is given the Mining Beam at the start of a playthrough. It is the general tool that is used for mining smaller rocks, flora, and fauna for resources. It is the go-to tool for everything that doesn’t require the Terrain Manipulator to gather.
Now, considering the fact that this is primarily aresource-gatheringtool, it really works very well as a weapon. Sure, there are many better options, but at the start of the game, the Mining Tool can carry a player until they unlock a more advanced primary weapon when playingNMS. It is especially useful for dealing with those pesky hazardous flora spawns.
5Neutron Cannon
Takes Practice To Use Well
Some players love the Neutron Cannon inNo Man’s Sky, and others just cannot get along with it. Holding the fire button charges the Neutron Cannon, and releasing the fire button discharges it, resulting in a ball flying toward the aim spot. The longer the weapon is charged, the more damage it does when released.
There is a downside to this weapon’s high damage, though, as it is quite slow-firing, so missing means recharging it again. Yes, it can be fired on a partial charge, meaning a faster rate of fire, but in this scenario, it does far less damage than other primary weapons.
4Blaze Javelin
Instant Damage Charge Weapon
The Blaze Javelin inNo Man’s Skyis another charged weapon. Holding down the fire button charges the weapon, and then it goes off when the fire button is released. This may sound like the previous weapon, the Neutron Cannon, and in some ways, the Blaze Javelin is similar.
However, where the Blaze Javelin differs from the Neutron Cannon is in how the damage is applied. The Neutron Cannon fires a ball of energy, which takes time to travel toward the point of aim. The Blaze Cannon discharges rapidly toward the point of aim, applying its damage almost instantly.
3Scatter Blaster
A Shotgun By Another Name
The Scatter Blaster is the best primary weapon for players who prefer their combat up close and personal. It is, in effect, a shotgun. It fires a spray of projectiles that does very high damage, but only at short range.
The real downside of the Scatter Blaster is that it has a pretty small clip size, and reloading takes a few seconds. That being said, learning when to switch to the Scatter Blaster, using it as something like a sidearm, is well worth the effort. For finishing off enemies that have approached the player withinclose-quarters combatrange, this is the go-to weapon.
2Pulse Spitter
A Fairly Rapid Firing Energy Weapon
The Pulse Spitter is an energy weapon that fires small balls at the aim point. It has a pretty decent rate of fire and does mediocre damage. In its base form, it isn’t so great, but by applying a few upgrades, the Pulse Spitter becomes a much more useful primary weapon forNMSplayers.
The downside with the Pulse Spitter is the fairly low velocity of the projectiles it fires. Players will need to lead the target and learn how much to lead at different ranges. The longer the range, the more tricky this weapon is to use.
1Boltcaster
Basic But Effective
The Boltcaster can be thought of as theNo Man’s Skytake on a submachine gun. It fires very quickly, and the projectiles move rapidly, making it very easy to lead a target. Put simply, forspray-and-praystyle players, this is the top weapon to choose inNMS.
There is no real downside to the Boltcaster, apart from the fact that its damage output is fairly low per projectile. But with a few choice upgrades, this basic weapon can be turned into a real beast that can be used in all roles.
