A wide selection of guns is expected in any shooter, third- or first-person, but Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart stands apart from most traditional shooters for a few reasons. The first is that no two guns in a Ratchet game are the same. You’ll never come across “just another” pistol, SMG, or shotgun in this game. Instead, every gun has a distinct personality, style, use, and function in combat. Second, and this is the most important, is that you always have access to every gun you acquire. While that is extremely refreshing after coming from so many games where you can only hold two guns, it can also overwhelm you with choices.
Once you have them all, you’ll be swapping between 20 options of guns in any combat encounter. With each being so distinct, it may be hard to figure out which ones are the best. There are no losers in this arsenal, but some are going to be much better for most situations you find yourself in. Since you’ll need to spend your hard-earned bolts to purchase most of these, here are the best weapons in Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart you should be saving up for.
Further reading
Glove of Doom
The Glove of Doom will be a familiar tool for veterans of the Ratchet and Clank series, and in Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, it is just as powerful as you remember. This gauntlet launches a shot that pops into a mass of tiny robot minions called Agents of Doom. This is one of your crowd-control options, as summoning this feisty horde means robots will rush down and start dealing damage to any enemy they can reach — they can’t reach any airborne foes — before eventually exploding.
Launching a volley or multiple volleys of these Agents of Doom is a great way to deal passive damage without having to actively focus on every enemy in the fight. Or, during bosses, they’re great for chipping away at health even while you’re busy dodging.
Mr. Fungi
If you want your crowd-control option to come with a bit more personality, look no further than Mr. Fungi. This assist weapon will spawn a levitating mushroom that shoots at enemies with their fingers. The damage output isn’t terribly high, but he has range, is great for thinning out crowds of weak enemies, and serves as a great distraction so that not every enemy is focused just on you. He’s Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart‘s version of the Mr. Zurkon gun from previous titles and is still just as entertaining.
Keep in mind that Mr. Fungi will tend to stick to the spot where you summon him, so dropping him down and getting some distance is the best tactic. Also, you can only shoot out one at a time, unlike the Glove of Doom, which can be fired multiple times. The final upgrade does somewhat get around this limitation, however, by creating a Ms. Fungal to join Mr. Fungai, doubling the damage.
Topiary Sprinkler
If you prefer to get your hands dirty instead of relying on assists, but you still need something to make crowds of enemies more manageable, whip out the Topiary Sprinkler. Toss out this sprinkler in a crowd to transform any enemy it hits into a giant hedge version of themselves, leaving them completely vulnerable to damage. This gun won’t directly damage your targets — you’ll need to swap to another gun to actually lay down some punishment — but it’s perfect for locking them in place.
Like Mr. Fungai, you can only have one active sprinkler at a time, so place it wisely. If you try and throw a second, the first will despawn. When maxed out, the Topiary Sprinkler will actually start to deal some damage over time to enemies turned into hedges, so it is a worthwhile investment.
Enforcer
For when things get up close and personal, whip out the Enforcer. This is basically a double-barreled shotgun and functions pretty much like you would expect one to. It deals high damage, but only if you’re right up in your enemy’s grill. The rate of fire is good, and the spread means it can wipe away swarms of smaller attackers in a flash. Plus, using the features of the DualSense controller, you can control whether you fire a single barrel or two based on how far you pull the trigger.
Warmonger
Speaking of high damage, the Warmonger is back and still your solution to any problems in need of blowing up. This rocket launcher, again for the unfamiliar, does exactly what it says on the label: Launches rockets. Obviously, that makes it a powerhouse of a gun, but not one you should be afraid of using often. This is a solid gun for basically any situation in the game, especially for some bosses. The only real downside is that the travel time of the rockets is a bit slow, so you’ll need to lead your shots, but as long as your target is in the blast zone, you shouldn’t have much issue.
Upgrading the Warmonger can give it homing capabilities, which essentially removes that one flaw. That said, you still need to at least point the rocket in the right direction for it to lock on and track down your target.
Lightning Rod
As satisfying as unloading a machine gun can be, Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart mixes things up by replacing your standard automatic weapon with a gun that shoots lightning. With the Lightning Rod, you can just hold down the trigger, swing the arcing beam of lightning between enemies, and watch them jitter and fry. Not only is it satisfying to shoot and the damage is good, but the lightning itself can stun anything it hits. If there’s a cluster of enemies, you can zap them all in a second as the lightning jumps from one to the next.
Negatron Collider
An alternative beam weapon is the Negatron Collider. Instead of acting like the Lightning Rod, though, this gun is more of a railgun type, shooting a piercing blast that can wipe out rows of enemies in a single shot. This is one of the strongest single-shot guns in the game, but it comes with two drawbacks to balance it out. First, it has a low ammo count. The second issue is the charging time you need to account for before the blast fires off. This is as close as you can get to a superweapon without actually using one.
Headhunter
There always needs to be an option for snipers. The Headhunter fills this role perfectly and is one of the few weapons that require a bit more accuracy than most of your tools. Thankfully, to make things easier when trying to line up a headshot on very mobile enemies, aiming down the scope gives you a small window where time slows down so you can nail your target. As a sniper, this is a great damage dealer, but it has a slow rate of fire at first. Naturally, save this for long-range engagements, and don’t bother wasting valuable shots on small or weaker enemies.
RYNO 8
Yes, the RYNO is back in Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, this time under the moniker of RYNO 8. Standing for Rip Ya a New One, the RYNO is an endgame weapon that can only be unlocked by collecting all 10 spybots hidden in the game, but boy is it worth it. While past versions of the RYNO have been similar to machine guns, spewing out room-clearing amounts of projectiles in seconds, the RYNO 8 is rift-focused. When fired, a rift will rip open above your target, and some object, you never know what, will fall through and slam down.
We won’t spoil it here, but the final upgraded version will pull in objects that you’ll want to see. Still, even as a superweapon, it isn’t an instant-win gun. The fire rate is slow, and you can only hold five shots, at least unless you’re playing with unlimited ammo on.
