Starfield Best Ship Weapons Guide: Best Lasers, Missiles, EM, More

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Cody Perez

Cody has been in the video game business as part of media and content creation for more than 10 years. During that time, he has contributed and even led some of the largest sites in the world dedicated to gaming and entertainment. He has also dabbled some in PR and was a tester for Activision in the past working on the Call of Duty series. When not playing games or writing about them, he enjoys cooking, sharpening his Japanese skills, and watching the latest anime shows.

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A huge portion of the time you play Starfield will be spent in space, exploring the galaxy and battling against space pirates and other ships. When you are in the middle of space battles, you’ll need to rely on your ship’s weapons to survive and live to see the cargo your enemies have onboard. To do that, I have come up with this Starfield best ship weapons guide to help you out.

Space combat is an intriguing part of Starfield. At first, when I played the game, I wasn’t a huge fan of it, especially since it didn’t happen that often for me to practice. But after doing the New Game+, I find myself seeking out more space battles and enjoying it a lot more now that I have a hang of it. Part of this is because I have the weapons that make it more fun. To do the same for you, here is my Starfield best ship weapons guide.

Bottom Line Up Front

Starfield has an intriguing system regarding ships and weapons. For the most part, ships either have two or three different weapons you can attach to them. Some ships have these weapons already in place, while others require you to upgrade and add those weapons there.

No matter what, you aren’t restricted to the weapons the game gives you at the start with that ship. You can upgrade and change them at any time to suit your play style and preference. Starfield’s five weapon types are ballistics, lasers, missiles, particles, and electromagnetic suppression weapons. They each fit a different purpose in the game and are worth using.

If I were to pick a single weapon that I find to be the best in the entire game at this time, it would be the Vanguard Starseeker Pulse Laser. This might be a C-class weapon, but what it does for both the shields and hull is impressive. It is one of the fastest weapons in the entire game, so it is a must for any C-class ship.

You might also like to read: Starfield Ships Guide: How to Steal Ships, Pilot C-Class Ships

Selection Criteria

There are many different weapons you can find in Starfield across the five different categories you can choose from. This is why it became a bit tough for me to narrow them down to only ten. Here are the selection criteria I used to come up with this list of the best ship weapons in Starfield:

• Power: If there is anything that a ship’s weapon should be known for, it should be its power in combat. That is why only the top-of-the-class weapons for each category are here on this list.
• Variety: There are five different categories of weaponry for ships in Starfield. I would argue there is room for each of them to work well in this game, so I tried to keep a nice mix of every weapon type here.
• Destruction Versus Disable: I am the type of person who believes you should focus on disabling a ship rather than destroying it when you have the chance. You have better rewards waiting for you this way, including the ability to steal the ship and add it to your fleet. This is why you’ll find EM weapons near the top of the list.
• Ship Class: I also tried to include some weapons across the three ship classes as well. This is mainly there since I know most players won’t be able to use certain ship classes until much later in the game, so there is something for everyone here.

Tips for Using Ship Weapons in Starfield

When it comes to using ship weapons in Starfield, it is a rather time-consuming and confusing matter. There is so much involved with the different weapon types, ship classes, and the like that it can be an ordeal just trying to understand what you should do for your ship.

Before you look at the list of the ten best ship weapons in the game, you should check out these tips I have for you to make your life much easier:

• Lasers and ballistics are the go-to main weapons for most ship users. They are relatively affordable and work well as your main source of damage.
• On the other hand, missiles and particles are going to be your heavier weapons for damage. Particles, in particular, are difficult to come by but are some of the most potent pure-damage weapons in the game.
• Lastly, EM weapons are there for disabling ships. While they may not be the strongest, they don’t need to be since they are built to stop a ship in its tracks and allow you to board it for true piracy role-playing.
• Your ship class is a vital part of using weapons. You can’t use a weapon for your ship if you aren’t the right class for it. You need the Piloting skill to up your ship class possibilities.
• Try to equip three different weapon types when you have the chance. Some ships only come with two but having three will give you the most potential, such as two damage ones and an EM one for a variety of scenarios. Or one laser, one ballistic, and another missile.
• Defeating a ship requires you first to take out their shield. From there, you can destroy the hull and the ship. Some weapon types excel at other parts over others, so be sure to mix weapons accordingly.
• You can buy most of these ship weapons from the ship technicians in the game.
• You also don’t need massive shipbuilding knowledge to be able to put these on your ship and use them.

Best Starfield Ship Weapons Ranked

Without further ado, let’s dive right in and take a look at the ten Starfield ship weapons you need for your vessels. I tried to include two weapons per category in this list from least impressive to most impressive, so there is something for everyone. Whether you have an A-class ship, a B-class intermediate ship, or even a C-class mighty ship, there is something here for you.

10. EMP-200 Suppressor

• Weapon Type: EM Suppressor
• Weapon Value: 30,500 credits
• Weapon Class: A
• Fire Rate: 1.5 per second
• Hull Damage: 36 damage
• Shield Damage: 5 damage
• EM Damage: 42 damage

When it comes to the five basic weapon types in Starfield, I will always love the electromagnetic ones. These are there not to destroy ships but to disable them. And sure, you can disable ships without EM damage, but it is a challenge, and this simplifies the entire procedure for you.

This suppression weapon is by far the best for the A-class ships in this game. Considering that every player starts out only able to use this class of ship, this makes it one of the most vital weapons you should add to your ship when you get the chance.

All you need to do to add this weapon to your ship is to buy it from one of the many ship technicians in the galaxy. You can find them at any significant spaceport, city, and space station in the game, such as New Atlantis on Jemison in the Alpha Centauri System.

9. ATLATL 280A Missile Launcher

• Weapon Type: Missile Launcher
• Weapon Value: 10,355 credits
• Weapon Class: A
• Fire Rate: 1
• Hull Damage: 82 damage
• Shield Damage: 82 damage
• EM Damage: None

The other primary A-class weapon every player should have in their arsenal is the best missile launcher for this class, which happens to go toe-to-toe with some of the launchers and weapons of other classes: the ATLATL 280A Missile Launcher.

To be clear, this weapon is as slow as it gets. You first off a single missile every time you press the button, once per second. This is relatively slow, but the overall damage you deal more than makes up for that. There are similar missiles that would have to launch two or even three shots to match the overall damage this one does.

Better yet, it deals equally intense damage to both the hull and shields of the enemy ship. This means you are destroying both at equal speeds, which isn’t always the case for some weapons. Some of the weapons in Starfield only focus on one of the two at a time, requiring you to have multiple weapons. Pair this with a fast-firing weapon to counter it, and you’ll have the most powerful A-class ship possible.

8. KE-49 Cannon

• Weapon Type: Ballistics
• Weapon Value: 25,935 credits
• Weapon Class: B class
• Fire Rate: 2.5 per second
• Hull Damage: 43 damage
• Shield Damage: 13 damage
• EM Damage: None

This ballistics cannon is a great starter weapon for players who just earned their first B-class ship in Starfield. At a glance, its strength may not seem that impressive. After all, it deals some solid hull damage, but it leaves something to be desired when it comes to shields.

This is typically the case with most weapons in this game, with weapons generally favoring one damage type over the other. That said, 13 shield damage is pretty good and will help you out, so long as you have another weapon (such as a missile launcher) to help with that.

Its fire rate is solid, too, ensuring you’ll be blasting foes with the cannon quite often. I would say this is a weapon that is balanced in most aspects but doesn’t do anything too impressive in any one area.

7. Dragon 251 UV Laser

• Weapon Type: Laser
• Weapon Value: 13,400 credits
• Weapon Class: B class
• Fire Rate: 2.5 per second
• Hull Damage: 10
• Shield Damage: 34
• EM Damage: None

This is the exact opposite of the previous weapon and a prime example of how to make a well-balanced ship. If you want to focus on pure power, pair this up with the previous ballistics cannon, and you’ll be great to go. It is the exact opposite of the last one, focusing on destroying shields rather than the hull.

Its speed is relatively good, and it doesn’t weigh much, being quite light in the process. This doesn’t weigh your ship down too much and allows you to be nimble and on the fly in space. Speed is an important factor, so you want a lighter weapon like this one that can still help you to deal some solid damage.

Like the others on this list, you can buy this one from generally any ship technician. However, the difference with this one is you need to reach rank two in the Starship Design skill to unlock this as an option from vendors.

6. PBO-175 Auto Helion Beam

• Weapon Type: Particle
• Weapon Value: 29,500 credits
• Weapon Class: B class
• Fire Rate: 6
• Hull Damage: 19
• Shield Damage: 19
• EM Damage: None

This is the first of a few automatic weapons to appear on this list. Automatic weapons are typically some of the best you’ll find in the entire game. The problem with us as humans is that we have to juggle and manage so much in the game, including the engine, speed, maneuvering, and targeting.

Pair all of that with the actual weapons control, and it can become tiresome relatively fast. Worse still, knowing when to switch power and targets can make you not as efficient as you could be. This is where this Auto Helion Beam comes into play.

It is an automatic weapon, so it will naturally target enemies and start attacking them without your input necessary. This frees you up to focus on other weapons, keeping target on your foes, or even just staying alive with maneuvers. Better yet, it is pretty fast and has solid, balanced damage, so you can always deal decent force to both the hull and shields of an enemy ship.

5. ATLATL 280B Missile Launcher

• Weapon Type: Missile Launcher
• Weapon Value: 21,660 credits
• Weapon Class: B class
• Fire Rate: 3
• Hull Damage: 141
• Shield Damage: 141
• EM Damage: None

This is where your missile launcher starts to take it to the next level. If you need a rocket launcher to destroy enemy ships in Starfield for your B-class ship, this is the one. It deals overwhelming damage that is unheard of outside of the C-class. 141 to both hull and shields will decimate most ships quite fast.

Considering there are some pirate ships with only around 500 hull HP and shields, you could destroy many of them in about five seconds flat at best. It also has some solid speed for a missile launcher, meaning you could take out some ships before they even know what hit them.

The one thing to note about this particular missile launcher is it does come at a steep cost. Not only will it cost you a bunch of credits, but you need to have Starship Design rank three for this skill before you are even able to purchase this ship upgrade from a technician.

4. PBO-300 Auto Alpha Turret

• Weapon Type: Ballistics
• Weapon Value: 19,600 credits
• Weapon Class: C-class
• Fire Rate: 4 per second
• Hull Damage: 22 damage
• Shield Damage: 22 damage
• EM Damage: None

As mentioned before, automatic weapons are your best friend in Starfield. In this case, this is the best automatic ballistics weapon you’ll find in the game. It is pretty fast and deals some solid equal damage across shields and the hull. Since it is automatic, you don’t even have to worry about it.

You can focus on your missile launcher or control the ship while your auto turret does the job for you. It isn’t the most expensive, either, and it has some solid range to take out foes from even pretty far away. This is a worthy component for any C-class ship.

3. ATLATL 280C Missile Launcher

• Weapon Type: Missile Launcher
• Weapon Value: 47,500 credits
• Weapon Class: C-class
• Fire Rate: 1 per second
• Hull Damage: 264 damage
• Shield Damage: 264 damage
• EM Damage: None

The most powerful missile launcher you can find in all of Starfield is here. There is no weapon in existence that will give you this much pure damage with every single shot from your ship. It is nearly double its counterparts and no other missile launcher even comes close to its power.

This is balanced out by its rather slow speed, which is a bit less than some of the other missile launchers in existence, hence its placement. That said, who cares when you can decimate the full shields and hull of nearly any ship in the game in a matter of about six to ten missiles in total?

And that is before considering any other weapons you might have on this ship. This is a must for any C-class ship in the game, so long as you have Starship Design rank three or higher.

2. Marauder 115N Rapid Railgun

• Weapon Type: Ballistics
• Weapon Value: 18,100 credits
• Weapon Class: C-class
• Fire Rate: 4 per second
• Hull Damage: 33 damage
• Shield Damage: 10 damage
• EM Damage: None

For a weapon called the Rapid Railgun, you might be surprised by the overall fire rate of this weapon. It might not be the fastest in its category, but it doesn’t have to. Don’t let its fire rate fool you, as this is one of the smoothest weapons you’ll find in the C-class. You should add to your arsenal between this and the auto turret for the ballistics weapon.

It deals solid damage to the shields but impressive damage for its class to the hull, which pairs nicely with its speed. Pair this with a shield-focused weapon, and you are golden. It is lightweight as well, keeping your ship on the move.

1. Vanguard Starseeker Pulse Laser

• Weapon Type: Laser
• Weapon Value: 38,200 credits
• Weapon Class: C-class
• Fire Rate: 6 per second
• Hull Damage: 8 damage
• Shield Damage: 21 damage
• EM Damage: None

When it comes to the mix of speed and power, there is no weapon as good as this one. Though it focuses mainly on the shields, it has some decent hull damage as well. Considering how many rounds it fires off in a single second, you’ll deal upwards of 48 damage per second to the hull, unlike other ships.

Pair this with a missile launcher or an automatic ballistics weapon, and you have the best possible C-class ship build you could make for combat. Unfortunately, this weapon does have a requirement for it. You need to join the UC Vanguard during the Crimson Fleet storyline to have access to it so don’t miss out on this wonderful must-have weapon for C-class pilots in Starfield.

FAQs

Find Out Everything Else You Need to Know about Starfield Ships

Dealing with ships in Starfield is one of the most fun and frustrating parts of this massive Bethesda space RPG. There is so much depth and excitement in building out your ship however you want it, customizing it with the best weapons on this list, and then going out to dominate the galaxy.

With the best weapons on this list, you can set yourself up to pretty much be able to take out any ship within your level range. In fact, you can even take out ships that are a fair bit higher in level than you with some strategy, even on normal difficulty, if you have these weapons.

But weapons are only one massive part of the ship system in Starfield. There is still the idea of ship classes, how to steal ships, get more ships, sell your current ships, and more. This can be quite overwhelming for even players who spend a lot of time in the game, so be sure to find out more about everything you need to know about ships in Starfield to set yourself up for success.

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