Finding the best weapons in The Outer Wilds 2 will help you overcome the gangs of space monsters, greedy corpos, and Protectorate fanatics that you'll face in your journey across Arcadia. There are plenty of strong unique weapons you can grab early in the game, whether you want a sneaky knife that gets stronger with every stealth kill, or a sniper rifle that lets you plant explosive bolts on unaware enemies before detonating them.
I've included the seven strongest unique weapons you can get in the game's first region, Paradise Island, along with info on how to grab each. These range from pistols, to long arms, to melee weapons, so there should be something that'll fit every build.
Kaur's Korroder (Bio-Mass Pistol)
- Infection: Goo fired from this pistol bounces off surfaces. Each shot also has a chance to apply a contagious corrosive condition. Chance for contagion to spread increases with science skill.
This Bio-Mass Pistol is a great early grab, especially if you're levelling your science skill. As said above, it applies a contagious corrosive effect that can spread between enemies, making it good for groups.
You can either get this by helping Officer Kaur instead of Milverstreet in Fairfield, or you can pickpocket her key and open her chest in the military camp buildings on the west side of town. This also gets you the Designator Triple Barrel Shotgun, which is well worth having, too.
Zyraniator (Machine-Pistol)
- Zyranium Infused: Fires depleted Zyranium rounds that cause targets to take progressively more damage from this weapon. Can also fire longer in tactical time dilation. Automechs will take no damage and instead will become Overcharged, gaining speed and power.
My personal favourite weapon for murdering organics, the Zyraniator is a machine-pistol, meaning it uses the most basic compact rounds as ammo, but it gets a lot more value out of them damage-wise due to its effect. As you shoot enemies, they'll get a little status above their health bar, which causes them to take more damage from the gun, making it a better value proposition versus any Light Pistol you might find or mod.
You can buy this gun from the requisition bot at Hazel's Automated Wares and Repairs at the Euphoria Coast Automech Repair Centre. You'll find this on the east side of Paradise Island, if you head east from Fairfield. You actually have to go here as part of Officer Kaur's quest if you're doing that one. Sadly, the Zyraniator is useless against Automechs (it actually makes them stronger), but that's why it's worth using a second electric gun alongside it, such as…
Emergency Stop (Repeating Rifle)
- Big Red Button: +5% critical hit chance. Critical hits from this weapon stun Automechs. Has a 120-second cooldown which decreases with your hack skill.
This electric Repeating Rifle is my go-to weapon against Automechs, and you'll be fighting a lot of those on Paradise Island. The crit-based stun does have a long cooldown, but it's enough to stop a Protectorate Dragoon in place so you can destroy it before it charges and blasts you to death. It's also a decent precision weapon against regular humans and monsters, considering it gets that crit chance bonus either way.
You can get this weapon by completing the Saga of the Malfunctioning Mechanicals quest from Vigilant Hogarth in Westport, the town on the east coast of Paradise Island. It's pretty straightforward, especially if you've already been to the Euphoria Coast Automech Center, but essentially you just have to find some Automech Parts there and then bring them back.
Murder's Best Friend (Sentry Blade)
- Killing Spree: Coats with blood after each stealth kill, granting +20% damage and crouched movement speed until discovered. (Max three stacks - At max, footsteps become completely silent).
This is a must-grab weapon if you're doing a stealth build. 60% increased damage and crouched movement speed is absolutely cracked, not to mention that your movement becomes entirely silent at max stacks. When you add the sneak attack bonus you already get, this is a real nasty weapon.
You will, however, have to beat the Raptidon Matriarch boss in the Rapitdon Den in the far north of Paradise Island, which, similar to the Skeleton Crabble, is a bit of a challenge. The good news is you'll have to fight it anyway if you want to complete Inez's companion quest and get her the best arm graft possible. Once defeated, you can find the High Security Lockbox with this inside, off to the side of the arena by the body lit by the lamp. It'll also cost you a whopping seven Advanced Decryption Keys to unlock.
Auto-Hacker 5000 (Shock Machine Gun)
- Scramble: Chance on hit to scramble Automechs to fight for you. Scramble chance increases with hack skill and the target's electrocution stacks.
Another bot-based weapon, the Auto-Hacker 5000 is a Shock Machine Gun with a chance to make Automechs switch sides—pretty strong if you have a high hack skill to buff the chances.
You can find the lockbox containing this inside the Vox Relay itself, where you have to go during the main quest. Head right when you enter the main building and continue until you reach the contraband storage area (this is where you find the uninitialized keycard to gain access to the main chamber). The box is just in the caged section on the left, though you will need seven decryption keys to open it.
Chainspark Cannon (Shock Machine Gun)
- Chain Lightning: Fires huge blasts of electricity that chains through enemies.
This gun is essentially a better version of the Shock Machine-Guns you'll find around Paradise Island. The key difference with this one is that it chains to enemies, making it super effective against groups and multiple Automechs.
This one is easy to get—you just have to beat the Brigadier Montelli boss at the Vox Relay and loot his corpse, which is something you'll have to do anyway.
Remote Detonator (Sniper Rifle)
- Beacons: Fires subtle explosive beacons that stick on impact. Reloading detonates beacons (damage scales with explosives skill)
This sniper rifle is so much fun to use, and pretty much the only proper sniper rifle you can find early on Paradise Island. This gun fires explosive bolts, but the best bit is that enemies don't aggro or realise they've been hit, until you reload, which causes any bolts fired to blow up. It does a decent chunk of damage, which will be even higher if you're levelling your explosives skill.
Alas, this is another lockbox weapon, but it's easy to reach. You can find it in the big house in the northwest of Westport, outside the city itself, above the Crabble-filled area. It's on a desk in a room on the second floor, accessible via the stairs at the side of the building. Westport in the big town on the (weirdly) east coast of Paradise Island. You'll also need eight decryption keys to unlock it.
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