Choosing the right primary weapon in Gunfire Games' challenging souls-like shooter can completely alter your survival odds across the game's shifting realms. Long Guns serve as the core backbone of your offensive build, offering unique mechanics, fire modes, and weapon mods that can tear through bosses or collapse under pressure. This comprehensive breakdown evaluates the current sandbox to rank the best options available for surviving the toughest apocalyptic difficulties.
The S-Tier Apex Predators
Weapons occupying the absolute top of the hierarchy deliver unmatched versatility, devastating damage output, and excellent scaling options for endgame builds. The Blackmaw AR-47 remains a standout standard rifle due to its highly reliable fire rate, predictable recoil pattern, and open mod slot that permits extreme build customization. Similarly, the Nightweaver's signature drop, the Nightweaver long gun known as Nightfall, provides incredible burst potential when activating its built-in mod for infinite ammo and life steal.
Another phenomenal entry in this elite category is the Pulse Rifle, celebrated by veterans for its precise three-round burst and high critical hit chance. This weapon performs exceptionally well at medium ranges and allows players to easily slot in elemental or utility mods to match their specific archetype synergies. Achieving maximum efficiency with these firearms ensures that even the most chaotic boss modifiers become manageable hurdles.
The A-Tier Reliable Workhorses
The weapons found within this tier are incredibly strong choices that can easily carry a player through an entire campaign run with the right accessories. The Huntmaster M1 offers exceptional single-shot damage, making it a premier option for players who prefer a methodical, long-range marksman playstyle. While it requires precise aiming, its ability to drop standard enemies with a single well-placed weakspot hit keeps your ammunition reserves healthy during long treks.
For players who prefer sustaining continuous fire against aggressive swarms, the Chicago Typewriter provides a massive magazine size that minimizes vulnerable reloading windows. Although its initial accuracy starts wide, the tight spread achieved by holding down the trigger turns it into a devastating mid-range shredder. These options offer fantastic reliability and serve as excellent alternatives if your build requires specific status effect integrations.
The B-Tier Niche Performers
Options in this category are generally balanced but usually require hyper-specific ring setups or amulet combinations to truly match the damage output of higher-ranked firearms. Weapons like the Wrangler 1860 bring a satisfying lever-action feel and high base damage but suffer heavily from restrictive reload animations and smaller clip sizes. They can shine brightly in tailored burst-damage builds but often struggle when facing fast-moving target groups that swarm from multiple directions.
The Sparkfire Shotgun also sits comfortably here, offering built-in fire damage that naturally integrates into modern elemental damage builds. However, its effectiveness drops significantly at longer ranges, forcing users into risky close-quarters combat scenarios. Understanding these mechanical limitations helps players weigh whether the visual style and unique traits are worth altering their tactical positioning.
Optimizing Your Long Gun Setup
Rankings only tell part of the story, as the true strength of any primary firearm relies heavily on your active Archetypes and relic fragments. A weapon that sits lower on a generic list can easily become an unstoppable powerhouse when paired with the hunter's mark or the challenger's close-range damage perks. Players should continuously experiment with different mutators and mod combinations to discover what feels most fluid for their personal combat style.
