Which handheld weapons should you choose? - an Odyssey guide
30 Oct 2022Hanchen
Because Odyssey materials are somewhat hard to gather and should not be wasted on underwhelming upgrades or mods, it is natural for starting CMDRs to focus their resources on upgrading a few handheld weapons only (preferably 3 in total: 2 primary and 1 secondary). But this raises the following questions: which weapons to choose? and which mods to put on them?The Odyssey expansion introduced 11 handheld weapons spread across 4 damage types (thermal, kinetic, explosive, plasma), but does not provide much information about them, except for the tutorial quickly reminding you that thermal/kinectic weapons are strong against shields/armour respectively, and for the pilot handbook in the Codex giving some basic information about the different weapon and damage types. Because of the high material cost of weapon upgrades and mods, it is also difficult for CMDRs who are not willing to constantly grind for materials to experiment with the different weapons by themselves. As a result, CMDRs have to rely on the experience of veterans to figure out which one(s) may be the most promising, and which one(s) should be avoided because of their underwhelming performances.
Before going in more details regarding each specific weapon, just a quick reminder of some basic concepts about handheld weapons:
- Weapons are balanced by various factors such as their damage against shields/armour, their total ammo capacity, magazine capacity (i.e. number of ammo that can be fired until needing to reload), range, projectile speed, handling and reload speed.
- Thermal weapons are strong against shields and weak against armour. The opposite is true for kinetic weapons. Plasma weapons are good against both, but have lower projectile speeds and lower ammo capacities. There is currently a single explosive weapon (Karma L-6) that deals splash damage effective against both shields and armour, but has very low ammo count, handling and reload speed.
- All 3 types of suit (Artemis, Maverick, Dominator) can carry one primary and one secondary weapons. The Dominator suit that is the dedicated combat suit can carry a second primary weapon.
- All weapons can be used in Hip Fire mode (without aiming, default mode) or Aim Down Sight (ADS) mode (basically the aiming mode). Using a weapon in ADS mode makes it significantly more accurate, but your movement speed is significantly decreased in ADS.
- Tier A: weapons that have proven to be by far the most effective in combat situations and that should be prioritised for upgrades and mods.
- Tier B: weapons that might not be the best, but are still considered quite effective and worth spending resources on.
- Tier C: weapons that can become good when fully upgraded and modded, but are considered to be less effective/more niche than the weapons of tiers A and B.
- Tier D: weapons you should definitely avoid because inefficient, even after upgrades and mods.
Tier A:
Karma L-6 (rocket launcher - primary weapon)
The only weapon with explosive damage currently in the game, the Karma L-6 is a very high damage weapon with good range that takes down either shields or armour of even the strongest NPCs in one hit when fully upgraded, and that deals splash damage on the top of that. This makes it very effective at getting multi-kills against grouped enemies in Combat Zones (CZs) in particular. But this impressive firepower comes at a very high cost: low magazine size, very low ammo capacity, very slow handling and reload speed, and carrying it will notably slow down your movement. Mods can help to alleviate these drawbacks but only to a certain extent. For this reason, I would not recommend it as your main primary weapon, but rather as a secondary primary weapon for your Dominator build. The only exception to this rule is if you intend to use a dual Karma L-6 build with extra ammo capacity on your Dominator suit. Although quite costly in engineering materials to fully upgrade and mod, this build is currently by far the best at farming NPCs in high intensity CZs (and therefore Mercenary rank) since it allows you to constantly fire rockets at your opponents.
Recommended mods:
Choosing the correct mods is quite important for the Karma L-6. Overall, I would say that the latter is a B-tier weapon without mods, A-tier when properly modded, and S-tier when fully upgraded, modded and dual wielded. Any mod making the weapon easier and faster to use is strongly recommended. Increased magazine size and stowed reloading are somewhat mandatory in my opinion, with faster handling and faster reload being the best for the two other mod slots. The Karma L-6 requires neither higher damage since it already one-shots the shields and armour of elite NPCs in high intensity CZs, nor increased accuracy because of the splash damage, so any other mod on this weapon is arguably wasting a slot.
Manticore Tormentor (plasma pistol - secondary weapon)
The Manticore Tormentor is an extremely good and popular handheld weapon overall due to its high damage, relatively high magazine size and ammo count for a plasma weapon, fast handling and reload speed. When fully upgraded to grade 5, it can two-shot pretty much any NPC (one shot for the shields, the other for the armour) which makes it one of the best weapons for most situations in the game. Its effectiveness however sharply drops in high intensity CZs, where NPCs usually need 4-6 hits (shields+armour) to be taken down. Its main other drawbacks are its relatively low projectile speed and relatively high inaccuracy in Hip Fire mode. The latter can be mitigated by using it either in ADS mode or installing the increased hip fire accuracy mod however.
Recommended mods:
Because the Tormentor is already quite strong without mods, there is a high flexibility in terms of mods that can be applied to it. Audio masking+noise suppressor can turn it into a silent weapon perfect for illegal activities that require discretion or killing scavengers in settlements without alerting the whole group. Stowed reloading, faster handling and increased magazine size can make it more convenient to use for CZs. Long range and/or headshot damage can increase its lethality even further. Stability and increased hip fire accuracy make aiming with it easier in ADS and hip fire modes respectively.
Manticore Executioner (plasma sniper rifle - primary weapon)
A weapon of choice for CMDRs who prefer long-range combat, the Manticore Executioner is what approaches the closest to a sniper rifle in Odyssey: very high range and high damage allowing you to kill your target from a safe distance, at the cost of being inefficient at close range due to a combination of low hip fire mode accuracy, low magazine size and slow reload speed. Although the damage of a bullet of a grade 5 Executioner is more than enough to drop the target's shields in one hit, it should be noted that the extra damage does not 'leak' to armour, meaning that a second shot will be required to take down the target once their shields are down. Due to the high range of this weapon, it might however be possible to one-shot far away enemies who did not turn their shields on, believing they were safe. Unfortunately, the Executioner has one major drawback that limits its effectiveness in some situations: its slow bullet speed. This makes it somewhat non-trivial to use at long range because of the long bullet traveling time which forces you to take the target's movements into account when aiming at them, which is especially relevant in CZs where enemies tend to be often running. It also somewhat suffers from the comparison to the Karma L-6 there, which is another very effective deadly weapon at long range. The Executioner nevertheless remains a lethal weapon in the hands of experienced CMDRs who can anticipate well their targets' movements, or when it comes to hitting slow moving targets such as unsuspicious scavengers in settlements, or patrolling Thargoid Revenants.
Recommended mods:
Three mods tend to be more popular for the Executioner: audio masking to be able to fire the weapon outdoors without alerting the whole settlement, scope for an easier targeting at long range, and increased magazine size to give you more attempts to hit the target before having to reload. The last mod slot is up to personal preferences, with increased range, faster reload, stowed reloading being the most popular options.
Manticore Intimidator (plasma shotgun - primary weapon)
The Manticore Intimidator is a shotgun that fires a volley of plasma pellets with each shot. Since each pellet is considered as a separate bullet, this weapon is the only one that can take down both shields and armour in one shot if all pellets hit the target. This makes the Intimidator a deadly weapon at close range, extremely potent in CZs, and able to one-shot most NPCs with the exception of those in high intensity CZs (who usually require between 1 to 3 shots). It should however be noted that its damage quickly drops when the distance to the target increases due to its low effective range and high pellet spread, making it a good weapon only if you like close range combat. Additionally, it further suffers from a low magazine and ammo capacity, that can however be mitigated by the increased magazine size weapon mod and extra ammo suit mod respectively.
Recommended mods:
For the Intimidator, 2 mods are strongly recommended: increased magazine size and scope. Being able to fire 3 shots instead of only 2 before needing to reload can often be the difference between taking down the enemy and giving them enough time to retaliate. The scope mod has shown to have the unexpected side effect of reducing the pellet spread with ADS (not in hip fire mode!), making it easier to one-shot enemies. The 2 last mod slots are more flexible. Some CMDRs have reported that the increased range and increased hip fire accuracy mods could also reduce the pellet spread, although their effectiveness/relevance is more contested than for scope. Otherwise, audio masking and noise suppressor are as usual a good choice to make the weapon silent for illegal activities or dealing with scavengers without alerting the whole group. For CZs, convenience mods like stowed reloading, faster handling or faster reloading could all be good options depending on your play style.
Tier B:
TK Aphelion (thermal rifle - primary weapon)
If you are frustrated by the low bullet speed and low ammo capacity of the plasma weapons and do not mind switching between thermal and kinectic, then the TK Aphelion is probably a weapon for you. Like the other thermal weapons, it deals hitscan (i.e. immediate) damage, and is very effective against shields and underwhelming against armour as expected, although it is said that installing the increased headshot damage mod can help to deal decent damage once the target's shields are down as long as you aim precisely. Compared to the other thermal weapons, the TK Aphelion has a impressively high effective range (actually approaching the one of the Manticore Executioner: 70m against 100m) and a good stability, at the cost of a slower handling speed. It is also allegedly said to be the best weapon for PVP on-foot combat, due to its decent damage for a thermal weapon, and how much easier it is to hit a constantly moving target with a hitscan weapon than a projectile-based one.
Recommended mods:
Faster handling and stowed reloading are always good mods to have on weapons meant to be often switched. Regarding the last mod slots, some CMDRs are suggesting increased headshot damage to make it more effective against armour (although still having either a kinetic or plasma weapon as a backup might be advised), increased range to turn the Aphelion in some kind of thermal sniper rifle, or scope to make aiming in ADS at high ranges easier.
Karma AR-50 (kinetic assault rifle - primary weapon)
The Karma AR-50 is a decent kinetic weapon that features the highest range out of the 3 kinetic ones, a respectable magazine size and ammo capacity and a decent stability at the cost of a slower handling speed. Although it is reported that it is the best of the 3 kinetic weapons at dealing damage against shields, it is still strongly recommended to pair with with a thermal weapon for shield stripping.
Recommended mods:
For a weapon meant to often be switched (e.g. with a thermal weapon), you should consider faster handling and stowed reloading. Otherwise, other CMDRs have reported having satisfying performances with increased range to capitalise on the Karma AR-50 range, stability to make aiming more accurate, scope to make it easier to aim a long distances, increased magazine size to further guarantee being able to take down a target before needing to reload, or increased headshot damage to make it easier to kill enemies once their shields are down.
Karma P-15 (kinetic pistol - secondary weapon)
The Karma P-15 is the weapon considered to be the most effective at dealing damage against armour. It has a surprisingly high base damage (the highest of all kinetic weapons) and a very good rate of fire (although this means using this weapon leads to a lot of clicking). This is balanced by a lot of recoil, a lower effective range range than the Karma AR-50 and some very poor performance against shields. Overall, a very decent weapon against armour if you intend to use a thermal primary weapon with a non-Dominator suit.
Recommended mods:
As usual, stowed reloading and faster handling are good to have on weapons meant to be often switched. Stability is indicated to limit the weapon recoil too. Other mods experimented with by other CMDRs include increased range, increased headshot damage and noise suppressor to deal with unshielded targets inside settlement buildings in a discrete way.
TK Zenith (thermal pistol - secondary weapon)
The TK Zenith is a burst thermal weapon that fires 3 lasers with each shot, making it the most effective of the 3 thermal weapons at stripping down shields. While being easier to handle than the TK Aphelion and still having a very respectable range, it tends to suffer from bad recoil issues and a lower magazine size. The recoil in particular makes precise aiming difficult, meaning that unlike for the Aphelion increased headshot damage is probably not worth it. These flaws can however be mitigated by mods, making the TK Zenith a very decent thermal weapon, especially if you intend to use a kinetic primary weapon with a non-Dominator suit.
Recommended mods:
Magazine size and stability are indicated to address the main flaws of the weapon (i.e. low magazine size and bad recoil). Otherwise, stowed reloading and faster handling are always nice to have on weapons meant to be often switched.
Tier C:
TK Eclipse (thermal SMG - primary weapon)
The TK Eclipse is the thermal weapon with the highest magazine and ammo capacity at the cost of the lowest range (and lowest damage, although it is very close to the one of the TK Aphelion). It is not a bad weapon in itself, but simply considered worse than the 2 other thermal alternatives. It is in particular worse than the TK Zenith at stripping down shields at close range, and does not have the long range capabilities of the TK Aphelion. The only niche it fulfills is to be better than the Aphelion at close range due to its better handling and higher magazine size.
Recommended mods:
Again, since you will probably not use this weapon against armour, stowed reloading and faster handling are recommended. Stability is said to help with more accurate aiming on this weapon. The last mod slot is somewhat up to personal preference and playstyle.
Karma C-44 (kinetic SMG - primary weapon)
The Karma C-44 is the kinetic weapon with the highest magazine and ammo capacity at the expense of having the lowest damage. In a similar way as for the TK Eclipse, the Karma C-44 is considered to be outshined by either the Karma C-50 for long range engagement and the Karma P-15 for close range combat, although fully upgrading and modding it will turn it in a very decent weapon. Again, the only niche it fulfills is being better than the C-50 at close range due to its better handling and higher magazine size.
Recommended mods:
The Karma C-44 damage against shields is very weak, so you will want to pair it with a thermal weapon. For this reason, faster handling and stowed reloading could be helpful. Stability is also said to help with more accurate aiming for this weapon too. Because of the somewhat low experimentation going on with this weapon, I could not really find any mod recommendations from other CMDRs, so the last mod is somewhat up to personal preference and playstyle.
Tier D:
Manticore Oppressor (plasma assault rifle - primary weapon)
The ugly Duckling of the Manticore family, the Manticore Oppressor is widely regarded as the worst handheld weapon by a far margin due to a combination of very low damage, low bullet speed and poor accuracy. Unfortunately, only the latter can be somewhat mitigated by mods, leaving this weapon with two critical flaws that cripple it. It is definitely recommended not to invest resources in upgrading or modding this weapon until the devs hopefully buff it.
Recommended mods:
Increased hip fire accuracy and stability might help with the Oppressor accuracy in hip fire and ADS modes respectively. Increased headshot damage might slightly help with the damage, but even with mod, the damage will remain subpar.
Conclusion:
| Weapon | Damage shields | Damage armour | Effective range | Bullet speed | Bullet spread | Ammo count | Magazine size | Reload speed | Handling | Recoil |
| Karma L-6 | very high | very high | 300m | slow | none | 8 | 2 | very slow | very slow | small |
| Manticore Tormentor | very high | very high | 15m | slow | none | 72 | 6 | medium | fast | medium |
| Manticore Executioner | very high | very high | 100m | slow | none | 30 | 3 | slow | slow | medium |
| Manticore Intimidator | very high | very high | 7m | slow | high | 24 | 2 | medium | medium | small |
| TK Aphelion | high | low | 70m | hitscan | none | 150 | 25 | medium | medium | medium |
| Karma AR-50 | low | high | 50m | fast | low | 200 | 40 | medium | medium | medium |
| Karma P-15 | very low | very high | 25m | fast | low | 120 | 24 | fast | medium | very high |
| TK Zenith | very high | very low | 35m | hitscan | low | 90 | 18 | fast | fast | very high |
| TK Eclipse | high | very low | 25m | hitscan | medium | 280 | 40 | fast | fast | medium |
| Karma C-44 | very low | high | 25m | fast | medium | 360 | 60 | medium | fast | medium |
| Manticore Oppressor | low | low | 35m | slow | high | 300 | 50 | medium | medium | medium |
I hope this compilation of feedback from other CMDRs will be helpful to guide you in making a decision. Also remember that like for ships, the best weapon to use is the one that you prefer and fit the most your playstyle, and that all weapons - maybe with the exception of the Manticore Oppressor - can be used relatively efficiently in all situations when fully upgraded and modded.
Fly safe!
o7
CMDR Hanchen
Edit as of 16.04.2023: based on more experimentation with some weapons, Executioner moved to Tier B (down from Tier A), and Karma L-6 to Tier A (up from Tier B).
Edit as of 20.10.2023: moved back Executioner to Tier A (up from Tier B) due to it being one of the best weapons to deal with Thargoid Revenants.