Best Atomic Heart weapons for early and late game

The best Atomic Heart weapons you need are the Zvezdochka saw blade melee weapon, Electro pistol, and Kalash rifle, each one serving a different function in combat. Because enemies in Atomic Heart have particular vulnerabilities and resistances, which you can see using the Atomic Heart scanner, you'll need to use a variety of weapons anyway, but we reckon these three are pretty essential to have ready due to their power and versatility. Ammunition is also an important consideration when choosing weapons due to it's scarcity - the Fat Boy might be unmatched for raw power, but the necessary rockets are rare and it's not going to be a bit overkill against rank-and-file enemies. We'll explain the best Atomic Heart weapons below, as well as how you can get them and which upgrades you should get.

The best weapons and guns in Atomic Heart

The best weapons in Atomic Heart, from our experience so far, are the following:

• Best melee weapon: Zvezdochka
• Best energy weapon: Electro
• Best ammo weapon: Kalash

What we looked for here is a combination of raw power, versatility, ammo availability and ultimately situational applicability. A good gun is always a good gun, not something you keep in your back pocket for certain kinds of bosses or special occasions, and considering the importance of inventory space, it's rarely a good idea to lug around a bunch of weapons you're not going to use, even if you have some of the Atomic Heart best powers to make up the slack. 

Admittedly there's a little bit of build-making in Atomic Heart that can lean into specific weapons being better than others, but generally speaking, these guns and melee options will fit most builds thanks to their versatility.

Zvezdochka

• Weapon type: Melee
• Pros: High damage, upgrades well
• Cons: Expensive to build, slow swinging
• Blueprint Location: Random overworld chests
• Upgrade priorities: Uppercut and Saw upgrades

The Zvezdochka melee weapon seen in most of the advertising material is a high-power melee weapon that, while costly to build and somewhat slow, does massive damage on each swing, so timing it right can allow you to simply take a robot's head off.

There's some contention about where it's found - many have said they've located it in the red log cabin next to the Volan Tower in the opening village when you first leave Vavilov, but others haven't. From what we can see, it appears to be a random drop from large chests in the overworld, so the best thing you can do is to keep searching.

Electro

• Weapon type: Energy
• Pros: Suit-powered, precise, energy efficient
• Cons: Not massively damaging per shot, so-so range
• Blueprint Location: Given to you by the NORA upgrade station as part of the plot in Vavilov Complex
• Upgrade priorities: Damage and energy efficiency 

The Electro is a little side pistol that's as dependable as it gets, and is introduced in the game's mandatory tutorial for suit-powered weapons - aka, never running out of ammo, only needing time to recharge. It's precise, quick and while it's got less firepower than something like the Dominator, it's also not going to drain your batteries in an instant. Work towards building up its damage and it'll be a great addition to your arsenal. 

Kalash

• Weapon type: Ammo
• Pros: Jack-of-all-trades assault rifle
• Cons: Recoil, ammo consumption
• Blueprint Location: Random overworld chests
• Upgrade priorities: Control and accuracy

The Kalash is a standard assault rifle that works in practically any situation, a middle-ground AR that can punch holes in targets up to a solid distance, and works on both minor bots and big bosses. The downsides are that it can chew up ammo if you're not careful, and that the barrel tends to jerk around a little on prolonged bursts of fire - so that should be your first priority in the upgrade station. 

Like the Zvezdochka, blueprints for this gun seem to be everywhere and nowhere, found in random containers once you reach a certain point in the game - the VDNH door lock in Atomic Heart might be able to help you out. It's not ideal, but once you do get the blueprints, head to a NORA upgrade fridge ASAP and manufacture yourself this staple of P-3's armory.