Weapon shops, their locations are crucial if you’re in the middle of nowhere with a rusty stick, with skimmers on every corner, and Holy Nation Paladins wishing to kill or enslave you - naturally, in those circumstances, you have to find a decent weapon in order to defend yourself… maybe attack from time to time, but mostly it’s about the defense. That’s what I’ll talk about today, the best weapon shops in Kenshi, how to get to them and what sort of weaponry they’re selling. Let’s get to it then:

10. Empire Ranger Shop

Somewhere in Heft, it’s a small city so no worries.

Empire Ranger Shop is a shop that sells crossbow and crossbow bolts. It’s an essential shop for players who prefer fighting from a distance, or for those who wish to acquire blueprints and create a cool squad that consists of ranged assassins. You can also shoot guards in the knees!

How to get there:

Getting to Heft is not easy, if your athletics are low, you are risking getting killed by Skimmers or enslaved, that’s why I suggest traveling at night and avoiding visible fire camps.

Why the shop is great:

- There’s a small chance of getting the Eagle’s cross, one of the best crossbows in Kenshi.

- Cheap weaponry

- You can buy all sorts of bolts

9. Holy Weapon Shop

Odd name for a city…

The good thing is that this weapon contains a long list of cleavers, the bad thing is that if you go to that place as anyone besides a human, you’re gonna get enslaved or killed. It’s Holy Nation territory, boy, what ya thinkin’?

You won’t be able to purchase stuff from the vendor as an Hiver, Skeleton, Shek, etc., thus play as a human and buy whatever you need to buy. 

How to get there:

Bad Teeth is pretty close to the Border Zone, requires 5 minutes of running north from The Hub. Like I said previously, DO NOT GO THERE AS A NON-HUMAN RACE!

Why this shop is awesome:

- The inhabitants of that city are friendly. UNLESS YOU’RE A HIVER, SKELETON, OR A SHEK!

- Paladin’s Cross is a pretty powerful cleaver, and your chances of getting it there are the highest.

- A small chance of getting the Moon Cleaver, good against butchering humans!

8. Small Empire Weapon Shop

That’s Stoat. The guards set me up for having Hashish and arrested me. Yay!

You can find there mostly sabers and katanas, they vary in quality, but don’t expect to get anything above the MK.I. grade. If you started playing in The Great Desert, that’s the only weapon shop in the northern parts of the UC territory, thus you must pay it a visit unless you want to be Skimmer food!

How to get there:

Again, similar to Heft, Skimmers, and bandits are everywhere, travel at night if you’re low on stats and decent weaponry. Also, don’t get bullied by the gate guards!

Why this shop is awesome:

- If you’ve started playing in The Great Desert, Stoat is pretty close to getting to!

- Higher chances of getting good-quality gear.

- You can buy jittes and clubs in there, aka weapons that will just knock out your enemies and not kill them!

7. Empire Weapon Shop

Kinda close to Heft!

Heng is a nice city, you can find yourself there a slightly bigger weapons shop in which you can buy jittes, longswords, katanas, polearms, and sometimes heavy weapons. You can also expect to buy better quality weapons than just some rusted junk, that you won’t even kill a goat with!

How to get there:

It’s on the map, bud.

Why this shop is awesome:

- A hellton of katanas and sometimes Planks.

- Not too far from Heft

- Easy to get to!

6. Mongrel Weapon Shop

Oh boy…

Experienced players know that Mongrel is a miserable hellhole, mostly because of Fogmen hunting those who have the balls to wander into the fog. Getting to the Mongrel is worth it though, the weapons shop there has decent weaponry, such as the Falling Sun, Moon Cleaver and other useful equipment.

How to get there:

I suggest traveling at night, you might find patrols of Fogmen, they are not really hard to kill, but they just keep coming and they don’t stop coming, fed to the rules and I hit the gr- but yeah, don’t get cannibalized by them and hope that pathfinding in this game doesn’t screw you over!

Why this shop is awesome:

- Cleavers. Plenty of cleavers.

- For some reason, when you’re surrounded by Fogmen, this is the only place that will make you feel comfortable.

- You can also find a mercenary club from time to time, but I don’t know why you’d need to keep a Fogman alive!

5. Ronin Weapon Shop

Ignore the green circle!

World’s End is a multiracial city, discretely hidden in the mountains on the Holy Nation territory. You might ask yourself, how did they manage to survive for so long? Well, they’ve put some religious statues in front of the gate and that kept things even between the Holy Nation and the Tech Hunters. Risky, but if it works….

How to get there: 

If you’re a human, it’s easy, if not, then I suggest going through The Great Desert, then through the cannibal territories, and then going up the mountains to the World’s End. Good luck!

Why this shop is awesome:

- You could find the Falling Sun, probably the best heavy weapon in the game

- You could also find a Nodachi in there, another rare weapon, basically a Katana with better reach!

- Inhabitants of the World’s End successfully bamboozled the Holy Nation!

4. Shek Weapon Shop(Squin)

The land of the Shek ladies.

You can find there mostly heavy weapons and some cleavers, it’s perfect if you’re looking for a hard playthrough and wanna start off by using Planks, Falling Suns, Fragment Axes, etc. Sheks will check you for the copy of The Holy Flame(a book) and drugs, if you’re caught having either, you’re gonna get your ass beat and thrown in jail, so be careful!

How to get there:

- If you’ve picked the “Wanderer”, then it requires no explanation, if you’ve picked any other playthrough, just travel to the center of the map - that’s where the Border Zone is, getting it is pretty dangerous, so again - travel at nights and avoid fire camps.

Why this shop is awesome:

- Potential Mk.I/II/III grade weapons

- Large quantity and types of heavy weapons

- This shop guarantees heavy weapons and Shek ladies.

3. Shark Smithy

Swamps ARE a land of sharks… not the ones that you’re thinking of though.

A unique weapons shop in the center of the swamps. Expect river raptors, bandits from different factions, ninjas, and the worst of all… swamp turtles. They all suck and will want to kill you, thus make sure to have decent gear and armor before venturing out there!

How to get there:

It’s in the center of the Swamps, southeast of the Border Zone. The terrain there frequently consists of lakes and uneven terrain, that’s why getting to the weapons shop might prove to be difficult. Travel at night, get friendly with factions there and you might have an easier time traveling in there. Good luck!

Why this shop is awesome:

- Unique weapons

- Only weapons shop in The Swamps

- Feels cozy after wandering for hours in the marshes…

2. Catun Scrapmasters

Somewhere in the south…

Catun is a city that can be found north of the Fishman Island. It’s not a very popular city and I’ve only been there a few times, but one distinct thing about that place is its weapon shop. I found there one of my favorite swords in there - the Foreign Sabre. A decent reach, a nice +8 defense buff, and a small -4 attack debuff. You might find it there, although the chance for that saber to appear there is pretty slim!

How to get there:

It requires a long journey to the south of the map. If you go too much to the east, you might encounter the Southern Hive(they’re really unfriendly) or even worse, the Fishman Island(now they are REALLY unfriendly). It’s slightly below Mourn, and Mourn is slightly below Strange Town. You’ll get there, I believe in ya!

Why this shop is awesome:

- Foreign Saber, nuff said!

- Small chance of finding rare weapons

- I believe it’s the only weapons shop that you’ll see in that region

1. Scraphouse

Acid rain, robots, unfriendly skeletons. What more can you ask for?

Scraphouse is hands-down the best shop in the whole game. You can buy t Edge Type 1/2 weaponry there, which is almost the best quality in the whole game. The costs for these weapons there are… high. Sometimes you might need up to 50,000 cats to purchase your sword of dreams. Also, the zone is dangerous as hell to anyone who is not an Hiver or a Skeleton. Acid rains will melt your face off, robots will 1-shot you and it’s always dark in there. Yikes!

How to get there:

Deadlands is a horrible zone. Get anti-acid gear before going there and watch out for the workshop skeletons+mechanic spiders. DO NOT swim in the lakes, they’re acidic. You might have to go around the lakes to the Black Desert City and then on the bridge to the Scraphouse. It is totally worth it!

Why this shop is awesome:

- High-quality swords(Edge type 1 and 2)

- You can find rare blueprints for weapons

- You can find there more than just weapons(ancient science books, AI books, etc)

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