The Sinking City 2 Best Weapons

Why the ranking is about ammunition

Every weapon in The Sinking City 2 kills things. What separates them is how many rounds it takes and how often the world hands you those rounds. Ammunition drops tend to favour what you have been using, so committing to two weapons keeps both fed while spreading across six leaves you with a bag full of calibres you cannot use.

That is the whole ranking, and it is why our tier list below reads differently from a raw damage chart. Damage per shot matters less than shots per encounter.

The ranking

1. Field Surgeon (shotgun) — the best answer to the game's most common threat profile: something that has closed the distance in a small room. Staggers, and forgiving of imperfect aim in the dark.
2. Equalizer Mk. II (handgun) — cheapest to feed, precise, and the weapon that rewards Frogwares' own advice about shooting weak points during focused aim.
3. Bucking Bronco (revolver) — the highest per-shot damage available, gated behind the Premium-only Holloway Manor.
4. The Minuteman (SMG) — the group answer, at a real ammunition cost.
5. Black Reef Longshot (rifle) — outstanding when a corridor lines enemies up, awkward otherwise.
6. Linguist's Folly (grenade launcher) — spectacular and unaffordable. Save it for a fight you cannot otherwise win.

What to answer each enemy with

Enemy-by-enemy detail is on enemies and weak points.

Parts matter more than the gun

Because weapon parts are conditional — triggering on back shots, weak points, sustained fire, movement and so on — the right part can move a mid-tier gun above a better one for your playstyle. A shotgun built around multi-enemy blasts and a rifle built around weak-point damage are two different characters.

Put your best parts on the two guns you actually carry. Spreading them is the most common mistake we see in launch-week discussion.

The Chthonic Arsenal three

Shale Mary, The Breakwater and Tektite Tommy fill the same three roles as the handgun, shotgun and SMG. If you have them, they are a legitimate early boost — particularly the shotgun, in a game that front-loads its difficulty before you have any talents.

They do not replace the main six, and they are not upgrades to them. More here.

A two-gun rule of thumb

Carry one weapon that solves distance and one that solves proximity. Everything else is a luxury you are paying for in inventory space and in ammunition drops you cannot use.

For most runs that is the Equalizer Mk. II and the Field Surgeon, swapping the handgun for the Bucking Bronco once Holloway Manor is done. If you prefer volume to precision, The Minuteman replaces the handgun instead — but expect to spend more time hunting supplies, because sustained fire is the most expensive way to solve any problem in this game.

If nothing feels strong enough

• You may be under-talented. Talents open at the third safe room and change combat significantly — which to take first.
• You may be fighting too much. Avoiding encounters is the studio's own suggestion, not a cheat.
• Difficulty is switchable. Any time, from the pause menu, with no trophy penalty — how the modes differ.