Weapons and Upgrades

You'll have a number of weapons and armor to collect throughout the game. Some of these items you'll find during the story, while other will need to be located by exploring rooms and using nodes to unlock doors. After gaining the schematics for a piece of gear, take it to a store in order to purchase a copy. You can further upgrade most of these items at any Bench station.

Plasma Cutter

• 22 Nodes
• 4 Damage, 5 Capacity, 2 Reload, 1 Speed, 1 Special

Your basic weapon. With upgrades it is very versatile with a great balance of damage and speed. Make sure to always keep it on you for any sort of situation. The alternate fire changes the line between a horizontal and vertical direction. In most cases, keeping it in horizontal is much more beneficial. The special node will allow the Plasma Cutter to ignite enemies for some extra damage over time.

Line Gun

• 28 Nodes
• 4 Damage, 4 Capacity, 2 Reload, 2 Width, 6 Alt Fire, 1 Duration

Similar to the Plasma Cutter, however the Line Gun can only shoot with a large horizontal line. It covers a larger range and does more damage than the Plasma Gun, but has a smaller clip and longer reload speeds. It's still worth taking this as a secondary weapon for crowds or when your Plasma Cutter is low on ammo.

Javelin Gun

• 26 Nodes
• 4 Alt Fire, 2 Speed, 4 Damage, 5 Capacity, 1 Special, 2 Reload

The Javelin Gun fires a projectile that penetrates one foe and sends a shock wave shortly afterwards. Most of the time this gun isn't very practical against the hordes of Necromorphs. However, it can be used on on-on-one fights against bosses.

Pulse Rifle

• 24 Nodes
• 4 Damage, 5 Capacity, 2 Reload, 4 Alt Fire

The Pulse Rifle fires a barrage of low damage shots, similar to an assault rifle or machinegun. While it fires rapidly, the damage output is still too low to make it a necessary part of your arsenal.

Ripper

• 26 Nodes
• 4 Damage, 4 Capacity, 2 Reload, 2 Duration, 4 Alt Fire

The Ripper fires a saw blade a short distance that will hover in front of you for a few seconds. Its damage is very high and can make short work of foes, however it requires getting in very close. This is among the best weapons and should be used in any place where the Plasma Cutter won't get the job done fast enough. Be warned though, in some boss fights and environmental shots, the Ripper will have too short of a distance to hit the target.

Flamethrower

• 28 Nodes
• 2 Damage, 5 Capacity, 3 Reload, 2 Duration, 4 Alt Fire

The Flamethrower does fairly good damage and can cause enemies to recoil in pain, giving some extra time to make your next move or retreat. Overall the damage is lower than the Ripper, so it's still not a good choice for your limited weapon slots.

Force Gun

• 27 Nodes
• 5 Damage, 5 Capacity, 2 Reload, 2 Speed, 4 Alt Fire

This is a powerful but slow weapon. Its blasts are great for big single enemies or boss battles, but is too unwieldy for normal encounters.

Seeker Rifle

• 28 Nodes
• 4 Damage, 3 Reload, 3 Capacity, 4 Alt Fire

The Seeker Rifle has a zooming feature that will allow you to pin-point far off targets. However, because you'll be in close quarters most of the time, the rifle won't see that high of a use during the story.

Contact Beam

• 28 Nodes
• 4 Reload, 3 Capacity, 2 Charge, 1 Special, 4 Alt Fire

This weapon lets out a huge burst of damage, making it a must have for a tough boss fight. It has the added bonus of adding status after upgrading its special node slot.

Detonator

• 19 Nodes
• 3 Reload, 4 Capacity, 4 Damage, 1 Special

The Detonator shoots grenades and mines. It's a great weapon for setting up traps to take down fast enemies such as stalkers. Keeping it upgraded is good for a situational alternate weapon.

Rig

• 18 Nodes
• 4 Hit Points, 2 Damage, 3 Air

The Rig can be upgraded to provide more health, air, and do increased melee damage. The obvious choice is boosting your Hit Points as soon as possible. The air upgrade is rather pointless for most of the game. It's not until Chapter 14 where an increased air supply will release some tension.

Stasis Module

• 13 Nodes
• 4 Duration, 2 Energy, 2 Charge

Upgrades to the Stasis Module can increase its duration and the amount of stored shots. Being able to stock up four charges will help immensely later in the game.

Armor

• Engineering Suit: 10 inventory, 5% armor
• Security Suit: 15 inventory, 10% armor, 5% Pulse Rifle damage
• Vintage Suit: 20 inventory, 15% armor, 10% Store discount
• Advanced Suit: 25 inventory, 20% armor, 50% Stasis recharge time
• Riot Security Suit: 25 inventory, 25% armor, 10% Contact Beam damage
• Elite Engineering Suit: 25 inventory, 25% armor, 15% health restore by med packs

You'll pick up various suits of armor during the storyline. Each new suit retains the armor and inventory slot value, allowing you to switch to earlier models. Suits cannot be upgraded with nodes. The Vintage Suit is great for gaining and saving money, while the Advanced Suit is the best option for combat. After completing the game once you can pick up the Riot Security Suit and Elite Engineering Suit during a new game+.