[Top 5] RUST Best Late Game Weapons (And How To Get Them)

Updated:

15 Feb 2023

5.Bolt Action Rifle

The Bolt Action Rifle is a late game weapon which rewards high accuracy with high damage. As a drawback it suffers from a low rate of fire and manual reload. Manual reload is where every bullet has to be inserted into the rifle one at a time. If there are no bullets loaded you can expect a reload time of 5 seconds. The Bolt Action Rifle can shoot 4 types of ammunition; 5.56 Rifle Ammo, Explosive 5.56 Rifle Ammo, HV 5.56 Rifle Ammo and Incendiary 5.56 Rifle Ammo.

Weapon Stats

The Bolt Action Rifle is the second most powerful rifle in the whole game. It has high accuracy especially when paired with a Laser Sight, which is a highly recommended attachment no matter the situation. The weapon has high damage of at least 80 and a headshot multiplier of 2x. A fully metal kit player will survive a headshot from full health, however they will be low enough to be able to finish them with a secondary weapon.

This is a great weapon to have when roaming around or defending your base from raids. It offers huge visibility if paired with a Scope and allows you to snipe targets from far. The high damage makes this weapon an amazing first-hitter as it will weaken the target enough for you to finish them off with another weapon.

The Bolt Action Rifle excels in long range situations like the Oil Rig monument or in raids. If you are playing in a group of people, it can be really helpful to have a player scouting with a sniper for incoming players.

How to get the Bolt Action Rifle

Loot:

You can find the Bolt Action Rifle in loot crates. You will have the highest chance of getting one from Locked Crates. These are located on small and large Oil Rig and Cargo Ship.

Craft:

You need to research the Bolt Action Rifle. You can go through the Tier 3 tech tree and research it for a total of 3000 Scrap. Or you can research it at a research table for 500 Scrap.
You can only craft the Bolt Action Rifle next to a Tier 3 workbench.
You will need; 20 HQM, 1 Rifle Body, 3 Metal Pipes and 1 Metal Spring.

4.Assault Rifle (AK-47)

The Assault Rifle, or more commonly known as the ‘AK’ in the Rust community, is a powerful and fully automatic weapon. It is the preferred weapon for chads because of its accuracy when you learn how to control it. Just like the Bolt Action Rifle, and most of the weapons on this list, the four ammo types are; 5.56 Rifle Ammo, Explosive 5.56 Rifle Ammo, HV 5.56 Rifle Ammo and Incendiary 5.56 Rifle Ammo.

Weapon Stats

You can notice from the graphics above that the AK has very high DPS (Damage Per Seconds). This is due to the high base damage for every bullet type which averages around 50, and the high RPM (Rounds Per Minute) which is 450. You now might be able to see why this weapon is the chosen weapon for chads. If you can tame this beast’s recoil you can melt people very quickly. If that was not enough the AK also has a 2x headshot multiplier, which is insane for a weapon that already has such goldy stats. The drawback is its cost to craft, which involves 50 HQM (High Quality Metal). This could be quite expensive, and makes the AK very valuable.

The AK is undoubtedly one of the best weapons in the game, and it can become even better when used with the following attachments. The Holosight and the Weapon Lasersight will improve the accuracy of the weapon. The recoil will become easier to control and the Aim Cone will be reduced by a total of 40%. While using the Laser Sight, the actual red dot must be seen in order to get the benefits of the attachment. Additionally, you can add an Extended Magazine to boost your ammo capacity by 25%. Finally, you can use the Flashlight attachment which will replace the Laser Sight if you are somewhere dark. You can also use the Silencer to massively reduce the sound of the gun when firing, but it will reduce damage and velocity by 25%.

The AK is really an all rounder and excels in most situations. The high damage and RPM make it suitable for close, mid and long range combat.

How to get the Assault Rifle (AK)

Loot:

You can find the Assault Rifle when looting Locked Crates. This is your best chance as the rate is 23% and it comes with 100% durability. The locked crate can be found on Oil Rigs and Cargo Ships.

Craft:

You must first research the AK. You can do this by either going down the Tier 3 tech tree and researching it for a total of 2500 Scrap. Or you can research it at a Research Table for 500 Scrap.
The crafting recipe is 50 HQM, 200 Wood, 1 Rifle Body and 4 Metal Springs and can only be crafted when next to a Tier 3 workbench.

3.Rocket Launcher

The Rocket Launcher is a weapon in Rust that has other uses other than killing players. However, it is worth mentioning as it can be used in PvP and it is quite powerful. The Rocket Launcher has 3 types of ammunition; Rocket, HV Rocket and Incendiary Rocket.

Weapon Stats

When used in PvP, the Rocket Launcher could be quite devastating. It can do massive damage in a short time and catch a lot of players off-guard. Because of the high damage, shooting a Rocket, or more commonly a HV Rocket at players will instantly kill them depending on the range. It is more common to use the HV Rocket because of its higher damage and much higher velocity. More damage and is quicker than the normal Rocket essentially.

High damage, high surprise should be the motto of the Rocket Launcher. It is impossible to defend against, especially if a player is using HV Rockets. That being said, roaming around with a Rocket Launcher is not such a good idea and should only be used in raiding scenarios as explained below.

The Rocket Launcher excels in situations where you are raiding, or being raided because of the small confined spaces. You can shoot a HV Rocket as soon as you destroy the last door when raiding a base for example. This is sure to catch anyone inside defending off-guard and kill them, or at least do massive damage. When you are being raided you can use the Rocket Launcher defensively. For example, when the raiders are about to destroy your door, you can fire a HV Rocket at the ground and kill anyone who is about to jump in.

How to get the Rocket Launcher

Loot:

You can find the Rocket Launcher in the following loot boxes; Treasure Box, Locked Crate, Elite Tier Crate, Underwater Lab Yellow Crate, Military Crate and many others. The highest drop rate is 2%, and that is from the Locked Crate, which is a very low drop chance.

Craft:

The Rocket Launcher must be researched. You can traverse the Tier 2 research tree and unlock it for a total of 2300 Scrap. Or you can research it at a Research Table for 500 Scrap.
Once researched, bring these items to a Tier 2 workbench; 40 HQM and 4 Metal Pipes.

2.L96 Rifle

The L96 Rifle is the best sniper rifle in the game. It does the same damage as the Bolt Action Rifle, but has slightly lower DPS due to the decrease in firing speed. The L96 Rifle shoots further and bullets travel at twice the speed (roughly) when compared to the Bolt Action Rifle. It is able to shoot four types of ammunition, and these are; 5.56 Rifle Ammo, Explosive 5.56 Rifle Ammo, HV 5.56 Rifle Ammo and Incendiary 5.56 Rifle Ammo.

Weapon Stats

The L96 Rifle cannot be crafted and it is very hard to acquire. Because of this, the weapon is extremely valuable. To some, this may be a weakness, others an advantage. Some people could see it as a disadvantage because they will rather use the Bolt Action Rifle since it’s much more accessible. Others may see it as an advantage because a strong weapon like the L96 should not be easily accessible and should be treasured when acquired.

What makes the L96 a great weapon, is the range, accuracy and bullet speed which are all higher when compared to the Bolt Action Rifle. It is the king of long range battles. Unlike the Bolt Action Rifle, bullets are reloaded via a magazine like most weapons in the game. This means that you won’t have to manually reload each bullet when the gun is dry, which was a weakness for the Bolt Action Rifle.

This weapon excels in both defensive and offensive situations. It can be a great weapon when being raided, as you can use it to snipe enemy players from your roof. It can also be used quite well in offensive raids. One of your teammates could be ready with a L96 Rifle in the shooting floor of your raid base ready to snipe down any defending players that try anything funny.

How to get the L96 Rifle

Loot:

You can only get the L96 Rifle from loot crates. Some of the most common drops are; APC Crate at 9%, Locked Crate at 4% and Helicopter Crate at 1%.

1.M249

Finally, we have reached the peak of PvP, the M249. The most powerful weapon in the game, no doubt. It comes with a 100 bullet magazine, which is the highest in the game. Higher damage than the Assault Rifle (AK), and easier to control recoil wise. It is able to shoot four types of ammunition, and these are; 5.56 Rifle Ammo, Explosive 5.56 Rifle Ammo, HV 5.56 Rifle Ammo and Incendiary 5.56 Rifle Ammo.

Weapon Stats

Most chads, and maybe noobs will agree that the M249 is the best weapon in the game. It is a super upgrade from the Assault Rifle. More bullets, more damage, more fire rate, more mayhem. However, the M249 has to have a weakness, and that is; it is very hard to acquire one. It cannot be crafted and can only drop from ONLY 2 loot crates, with very low chances as well.

The M249 is a great weapon. Why? Well let's take a look at its damage. It has an average DPS of 335 with 5.56 Rifle Ammo, which is the highest DPS for any automatic weapon in the game. Even if you do not hit your headshots, your enemies should be dead in less than a second. But in case you miss, don’t you worry as you have a whole 100 bullets at your disposal. It is worth mentioning that you cannot equip an Extended Mag on the M249, the devs knew what they were doing. Apart from the damage, magazine size and RPM, the M249 still has the increased accuracy. The M249 is so accurate that all you have to do is pull the weapon down to control the recoil. Slap a Laser Sight and Holosight to boost accuracy even further.

In terms of situations, we are talking all of them. There isn’t one situation where the M249 will not succeed. Mid range, long range, short range, raids, contested Monuments etc. Additionally, players love to slap a Silencer on the M249, load some 5.56 Explosive Rifle Ammo and do some cheap raiding with minimal noise.

How to get the M249

Loot:

The only way to get the M249 from loot crates. There are only 2 loot crates that drop the M249, here they are and their drop chance; Helicopter Crate at 10% and APC Crate at 8%.