Atomic Heart is a challenging game that gives you a bunch of weapons and lets you fight enemy robots. But your time can be harder than it needs to be if you don’t know which weapons are the best. Especially during the early game, when you’re just figuring things out.

Selecting weapons is only complicated by the game’s inventory limit. So you can’t just lug around all your weapons like Doom or Wolfenstein. Until you get the upgrades (which are expensive!) you’ll have to be strategic.

Lucky for you, I have a list of the best 5 weapons you should use during the early game. Most of these weapons are handed to you throughout the Main Quest. And even then you might have to choose in your inventory. But with this guide, you’ll know what does what and can make the decisions right for you.

5. Swede

Swede Stats:

• Damage - 3
• Attack Speed - 4
• Range - 5
• Charge Damage - 4
• Charge Speed - 4

You’ll probably forget about Swede by the time you play the next game. But that doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with this one. It’s the first weapon you get, and it does its job well.

As far as melee weapons go, Swede sits right at the middle. It does an okay amount of damage, isn’t too fast or slow. And it hits the right range. It’s kind of all-purpose, at least until you get your hands on the better stuff.

It’s an ax, so obviously it’s used for hacking away. It’s very effective during the early game where you’ll be trying to conserve as much ammo as you can. It won’t do anything special, but it will keep you going until you get something better. And if you upgrade it, your journey will be easier.

You don’t have to find Swede, more like it finds you. P-3 pulls it out of the ground after the title screen. So you literally start the game with this.

4. Dominator

Dominator Stats:

• Damage - 3
• Rate of Fire - 8
• Recoil Control - 2
• Decreased Spread - 7
• Ammunition Type - Energy

With a name like ‘Dominator’, we’d all be disappointed if it doesn’t hit hard. Fortunately for us, it’s a powerful energy weapon that is very useful in the game.

This isn’t the most powerful energy weapon, but it’s definitely formidable. It deals less damage than Electro and Railgun, but the rate of fire more than makes up for it. There are times when you just need something fast.

You’ll find the most use out of this when you’re surrounded by enemies. It can quickly take out the weaker ones and leave you with some breathing room. If you have the right upgrades, it can also deal significant damage to stronger robots.

To get the blueprint for this weapon, you have to finish a quest called ‘SDC-2 Volan Cheatsheet.’ Yeah, I know the name is a mouthful. It’s where you meet Granny Zina for the second time.

3. Pashtet

Pashtet Stats:

• Damage - 5
• Attack Speed - 8
• Range - 5
• Charge Damage - 6
• Charge Speed - 7

This weapon here is basically a machete with teeth. What’s not to love, am I right? Besides the aesthetics, it also has some hefty stats which you can see up there. And it’s my personal favorite melee weapon from the game.

One look at the stats and you can see that it has the highest attack speed, which makes it very useful when fighting fast enemies. On top of that, the range and damage are actually pretty good too. When you think about that, you actually become a killing machine on the field.

And on top of that, Pashtet fills up your energy meter quite fast. Even without upgrading the weapon or your Energy Management tree, your meter will always be full. So it’s very useful whether you’re fighting robots or mutants.

Finding this is a little trickier. This one won’t be handed to you by anyone, you’ll have to find the blueprint out in the world. While the locations are randomized, some places have a better chance of having them than others. Check out the Algae Workshop Breakroom in the Vavilov Complex.

2. KS-23

KS-23 Stats:

• Damage - 7
• Rate of Fire - 1
• Ergonomics - 6
• Recoil Control - 6
• Decreased Spread - 5
• Magazine Capacity - 3

You can’t have a first-person shooter game without a shotgun. One simply does not do that! Atomic Heart doesn’t disappoint as it gives us this powerful guy. And it sure packs a punch.

Shotgun is the type of weapon which shoots powerful rounds but spreads a fair bit. This makes them very effective in close range combat, which is what a lot of Atomic Heart’s combat will be. At least, the regular fights.

The slower rate of fire is a problem, but you can get the right upgrades to reduce that. You can also reduce reload time, and then this thing becomes even more deadlier than before. Since most Mutants can be easily taken out by a melee weapon, I recommend using this for the more powerful enemies.

This one’s handed to you by a quest, so don’t worry about missing it. Once you enter the Vavilov Complex, you will find it when you open the first door. The player will automatically pick it up.

1. Electro

Electro Stats:

• Damage - 4
• Rate of Fire - 2
• Recoil Control - 10
• Decreased Spread - 6
• Charge Damage - 1
• Ammunition Type - Energy

Electro might not look like anything more than a toy guy. But this right here is one of the most powerful weapons in the game. Seriously, I’m not making this up. Definitely the most powerful energy weapon you’ll find.

The weapon has a high damage output even without any upgrades. Because it’s an energy weapon, it doesn’t need any ammo. Your energy bar regenerated by itself. This makes it the perfect weapon to take down smaller flying enemies.

On top of all of that, getting the Energy Vampire upgrade is a game-changer. With that, you can actually steal energy from your enemies and use it against them. Or even health from organic enemies! It’s an offer you can’t refuse.

You will find this weapon during one of the Main Quests inside the Vavilov Complex. During the quest ‘In Hot Pursuit’, you NORA will give you the blueprint when you’re picking up a Moon Canister. Don’t worry, it’s impossible to miss.

You may also be interested in:

• [Guide] Atomic Heart All Enemy Types Ranked And How To Defeat Them

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• [Top 10] Atomic Heart Best Weapon Upgrades And How To Get Them