The Ascent: Best Weapons, Ranked

Player choice regarding firepower in The Ascent is truly on another level. Not only are there five weapon categories to choose from, but there are also over thirty total guns for which to unleash the Indent's power. Deciding on a single weapon comes down to many factors, like character build, player preference, and desired effect. Some might want to focus on a single utility weapon while others may want something more all-purpose.

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Unfortunately, there just aren't enough upgrade pieces in the game to max out a bunch of different weapons by the end. Even after gathering every single treasure on every single map, there are barely enough pieces to max out two. And with limited weapon slots, that means choosing the right gun is of the utmost importance. Here are the most worthy candidates to be selected for the player's loadout in The Ascent.

Updated on September 30th, 2023 by Hodey Johns: With respect to the many gamers who, often correctly, state that the best item is the one that works best for the player, The Ascent is a different game. Some guns are upgrades across the board compared to other guns and, unfortunately, the game doesn't have a built-in Atlas for players to see when they're using an inferior weapon. As a result, they might end up fully upgrading an inferior gun and wasting valuable resources they can't get back. A chart has been added to each weapon on the list so gamers can see for themselves, statistically, why some of these firearms are superior to those that didn't make the list. Also, worthy weapons from the DLC have been appropriately added.

10 ES4 Eraser

Shotguns are a great secondary weapon when opponents get too overwhelming. Being able to switch to something that clears them out is handy for virtually every build. The ES4 Eraser is the clear-cut best shotgun, doing roughly double the damage of its competitors.

It also deals that coveted energy damage, taking down tough robotic units with ease. This shotgun is a smart, safe choice thanks to how many bases it covers and, in the right situation, makes this feel like one of the best dungeon crawlers on the PS5.

9 Magmamaker

The Magmamaker is quite impressive as a visual spectacle. The flamethrower will cover a large conal area, perfect for groups of enemies that are common when playing one of the best top-down RPGs on the PS5.

This flamethrower deals extensive damage immediately, in addition to catching enemies on fire, virtually melting anybody who gets close. Maybe the damage on both fronts was intentional, compensating for the slowness that comes with using heavy weapons. If so, the extra damage is a little bit heavy.

8 Astrosmasher

There is a love/hate relationship players have for The Ascent and nothing perfectly captures this dynamic quite like the Astrosmasher. Players hate the way heavy weapons make the Indent slow, but they can't argue with the damage.

Statistically, the damage looks low, but the weapon plays differently than the statistics imply. It shoots rockets faster and faster as the trigger is held down, so by the end, the damage is really off the chain. Action RPG players love this game and it's easy to feel spoiled by a rocket launcher with a built-in accelerator.

7 BC7 Disintegrator

Right off the bat, this is the second-highest damage dealer in the game by raw numbers (the first is coming up later). Factor in that this damage is energy and that means that mechanical units will be dropping like flies. Their cohorts won't fair much better.

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It is a minigun, meaning it is cumbersome and slow to carry around, yes, but when enemies are dying this quickly, it's hard to find many instances when needing to quickly run for cover will be necessary.

6 Besieger

The game's excessive weaponry tends to be very cumbersome for player movement. In many battles, getting slowed down by a minigun or flamethrower will result in death. That's not something great top-down RPG games on Steam can deal with; mobility is key.

The Besieger is a flat-out upgrade for the base RPG23 Launcher (which is already pretty great). The area of effect damage will clear out enemies and the Indent will still be able to move around fairly well.

5 EBR Enforcer

Machine guns are The Ascent's bread-and-butter, allowing maximum player movement and permitting them to empty clip after clip against enemy onslaughts. Most of these machine guns behave like clones, but the EBR Enforcer is refreshingly different. This is the kind of creativity expected from one of the best indie RPGs on Xbox.

Aside from the energy damage that ruins machine opponents, this gun fires in three-round homing bursts. This firing mode blends the need to aim well and the need to pump out several shots perfectly. And if that's not enough, it's got the second-highest damage in the game for all machine guns.

4 The Dealbreaker

Officially, no weapon deals more damage per second than the Dealbreaker does. Without any upgrades at all, it is the only weapon that boasts a four-digit damage per second. There are a few asterisks to add, though.

It's a minigun, so it's going to slow down movement substantially. And it fires in a shotgun-style cone, so this DPS likely factors in landing the entire cone. But it's still incredible because anything remotely close signs its own death warrant, so speedy getaways aren't necessary.

3 Newt MGL

The Newt MGL may not offer the DPS of The Dealbreaker but, as a grenade launcher, this thing isn't limited by range. Also, there is little better against clusters of enemies than a grenade which will not only deal tremendous damage but knock back the lot.

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As part of the CyberSec Pack, it may be shocking to see some old-fashioned firepower on the chart. But part of what makes this one of the best cyberpunk games is its fusion of futuristic capabilities built upon a classic foundation.

2 Overwhelmer

It feels like somebody decided that, when they were making the game, there should be one weapon that gets all of the perks. If this is true, the AR Overwhelmer was the recipient of that idea.

It's a machine gun, so it gets all the usual perks of mobility, range, and speed of firing. But in addition to this, it gets elite damage per second, fire damage, and explosive damage. So not only is the damage ludicrous, but it damages enemies in an area.

1 Recoil

The Recoil is a burst rifle, firing in short spurts. The overall damage on the gun is higher than most heavy weapons, so it's pretty easy to imagine beating the game with nothing but the Recoil. With a reload time of only 0.6 seconds, the rifle is nonstop.

It doesn't have the small area burst of the Overwhelmer but it makes up for it by adding a knockback effect to keep groups from overwhelming the shooter. In later stages when the waves of enemies seem unending, this is a lifesaver. This elite RPG is not about saving the world, it's about saving the Indent, and the Recoil will do plenty of that.

The Ascent is available now for PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.

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