Weapons are important in every Ratchet and Clank game, and Rift Apart continues that legacy with a varied and wacky arsenal. But there’s more to your guns than their cool aesthetic. Each of them can be leveled up through collecting Raritanium, and consistently upgrading your weapons is imperative for late-game survival. So, which weapons should you upgrade first?
Since Raritanium lives up to its name for being well, rare, you’ll need to pick and choose where and how to spend it. While that decision can boil down to your preferred playstyle, there are some specific weapons you should focus on early in your playthrough.
This Ratchet and Clank weapons guide will walk you through which weapons you’ll want to focus on first. In other words, the weapons that will aid you the most at the beginning and be consistent throughout the rest of your playthrough.
Blast Pistol
It shouldn’t be a surprise to see the Blast Pistol on this list. It’s the first weapon you get in the game, but don’t think that you won’t need it once you buy a second weapon. The Blast Pistol works extremely well as a rapid-fire weapon to keep pressure on enemies while providing consistent damage.
It’s also extremely easy to strafe and avoid enemy projectiles while you hold down “R2” to let your pistol go to work.
Leveling it up and spending Raritanium will earn you a weapon with the speed of a submachine gun with a three-shot spread. Its usefulness cannot really be understated; it can be helpful in practically every fight you face. It’s not the best weapon in the game, but it is arguably one of the most versatile.
Topiary Sprinkler
The Topiary Sprinkler or Toxiary Sprinkler is a passive weapon that works by throwing a turret, though rather than showering your enemies with bullets, the sprinkler sprays them with water that transforms anything into a living garden. This works to effectively trap your enemies in an earthy prison for a few seconds while you get in some devastating hits.
Passive weapons in Ratchet and Clank have always been a key element to core gunplay, but Rift Apart takes it to the next level where you’ll find it far more difficult to survive enemy encounters by not using them. More than anything, it is important that you pick at least one passive weapon to focus on, though the Topiary Sprinkler is arguably the best passive gun in the game.
It stuns multiple enemies at once, the damage you do while they’re trapped adds on to damage from the sprinkler, and once you’ve leveled it up across both experience points and Raritanium, you’ll have a reliable support weapon you can always use in every situation, especially boss battles where it can help you burn through a bosses health.
Warmonger
The Warmonger, or the Peacemaker as it’s known when fully upgraded, is your classic rocket launcher. You’ll get it later in the game than the previously mentioned weapons, but it is just as imperative to focus on it when you do get it.
The first upgrade you’ll want to acquire is the homing rockets upgrade, and once you have that, you’ve now started to build on one of the best weapons in Rift Apart.
The rockets do excessive amounts of damage, though they will at first be slow to fire. That trade-off offsets the more you spend Raritanium on it.
The Warmonger is a classic fan favorite Ratchet and Clank weapon for its simplicity and power. There isn’t much to understand other than it is a powerful weapon that you’ll want to have fully upgraded by the time you reach late-game encounters.
Lightning Rod
The Lightning Rod is another new weapon introduced in Rift Apart. It’s a mixture between the Blast Pistol and Topiary Sprinkler in terms of use. It fires like the Blast Pistol, and after piling on damage, it will eventually stun your enemies, like the Topiary Sprinkler.
It also affects multiple enemies the more you upgrade it. When you finish off an enemy with the Lightning Rod, any enemy close by will automatically be electrocuted as well.
Upgrading the range, auto-aim, and arc of the Lightning Rod will help to give you a strong weapon that can deal heavy damage on its own while giving you the opportunity to layer on further damage.
Drillpack
The Drillpack is as hilarious as it is useful. You’re not launching drills that lock on to enemies; rather you’re launching tiny drill kamikaze robots that dig into the ground and launch directly into your enemy’s face.
Upgrading the Drillpack earlier in the game lets you lock on to multiple enemies at once. The Drillpack is also likely to knock over or partially stun enemies with the force of its impact, giving you an open window for the kill.
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There you have it! Five weapons that you should absolutely focus on upgrading first when playing Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart. Of course, some of your choices may differ depending on your specific playstyle, and if that’s you then let us know in the comments which you recommend! For more Rift Apart, consider heading over to our Rift Apart guides page.
