Guides

Best Weapons in Dune Awakening for PvE and PvP

Best weapons in Dune Awakening: what to take for PvE and for PvP in every class (rifles, pistols, shotguns, machine guns, melee) and what to avoid.

2 min read Share
Contents
What to pickWhat to avoidTipsRankingMelee weaponsRiflesShotgunsSubmachine gunsPistolsRocket launchersLasgunsMachine guns

The highest damage per second doesn't make the best weapon: magazine, ammo, range and a unique's special effect (bleed, poison, burn) matter too. Here is what to carry for PvE and for PvP, with the stats of every class below.

What to pick

  • For PvE: 6Replica Pulse-sword — The best PvE sword: its hits knock back and stagger several enemies at once, and parrying restores a little stamina.
  • For PvP: 6Spike Hilt Sword — The PvP pick: blocks cost less stamina, and a successful block wounds the attacker’s hand with spikes and makes them bleed.
  • All-round pick: 6Perforator — A close-range shotgun that causes bleeding: equally strong in camps and against players.
  • For PvE: 6Regis Tripleshot Repeating Rifle — A poison tripleshot with an enlarged magazine: the main mid-range PvE weapon.
  • For PvP: 6Spitting Cobra — A poison disruptor that hurts enemies with or without a shield: the main PvP weapon.
  • For PvP: 6Regis Disruptor Pistol — A pistol whose charged shot breaks a Holtzman shield; keep it as your PvP sidearm.

What to avoid

  • Unfixed Crysknife — A story knife: very brittle, it breaks on the first block and cannot leave its owner. Its high damage number means nothing.
  • 6The Hateful Barker — Very inaccurate: the spread blows up after a short burst, and the +25% damage bonus does not make up for it.

Tips

  • You can’t pick the best weapon by damage alone: the rocket launcher hits hardest per shot, but it is an anti-vehicle weapon, not a daily driver.
  • PvP revolves around the Holtzman shield: disruptors shut it down, burrow darts drill through it, and poison, bleed and fire hurt through it.
  • For raids and ornithopters bring special weapons: the Black Market K-28 Lasgun for structures and The Ancient Way for vehicles.
  • Light darts are cheaper than heavy darts, and missiles, gel and power cost even more — keep that in mind when choosing a main weapon for long trips.

Ranking

Each group lists the best options from best to worst: what each one is for and its in-game numbers. If something isn’t listed, it isn’t worth taking.

Melee weapons

  1. 1
    6Replica Pulse-sword ★Top pick
    DPS
    269
    Damage
    152.4
    Fire rate, shots/min
    106
    Reload, s
    2
    Range, m
    10

    This Unique blade gives a small jolt of electrical energy to the palms when parrying an enemy - offering a small stamina boost. A far cry from the legendary swords of the Butlerian Jihad.

    Blueprints →
  2. 2
    6Replica Pulse-knife ★PvE
    DPS
    322
    Damage
    138.5
    Fire rate, shots/min
    140
    Reload, s
    2
    Range, m
    10

    This Unique blade gives a small jolt of electrical energy to the palms when hitting an enemy — offering a small stamina boost. A far cry from the legendary weapons of the Butlerian Jihad.

    Blueprints →
  3. 3
    6Prescient Edge ★All-round
    DPS
    322
    Damage
    138.5
    Fire rate, shots/min
    140
    Reload, s
    2
    Range, m
    10

    This Unique rapier causes bleed on an opponent with every successful parry.

    Blueprints →
  4. 4
    6Spike Hilt Sword ★PvP
    DPS
    269
    Damage
    152.4
    Fire rate, shots/min
    106
    Reload, s
    2
    Range, m
    10

    This Unique sword is fashioned from shock-absorbing materials that reduce the strain of blocks and parries. It also includes a cluster of integrated plasteel shards near the hilt that can wound the blade hand of an attacker upon a successful block.

    Blueprints →
  5. 5
    6Cauterizer ★PvP
    DPS
    322
    Damage
    138.5
    Fire rate, shots/min
    140
    Reload, s
    2
    Range, m
    10

    This Unique knife is a modified surgical tool that was developed for treating field injuries. It seals injuries as it cuts using a small cutteray to superheat the blade.

    Blueprints →
  6. 6
    6Leech’s Maw ★PvE
    DPS
    319
    Damage
    137.2
    Fire rate, shots/min
    140
    Reload, s
    2
    Range, m
    10

    Every hit from these Unique dual blades drains a target of power.

    Blueprints →
  7. 7
    5Jolt-sword ★Early game
    DPS
    194
    Damage
    110.2
    Fire rate, shots/min
    106
    Reload, s
    2
    Range, m
    10

    This Unique blade gives a small jolt of electrical energy to the palms when parrying an enemy — offering a small stamina boost. A far cry from the legendary swords of the Butlerian Jihad.

    Blueprints →

Rifles

  1. 1
    6Regis Tripleshot Repeating Rifle ★PvE
    DPS
    239
    Damage
    119.5
    Fire rate, shots/min
    120
    Magazine
    9
    Reload, s
    1.8
    Range, m
    68

    This Unique non-scoped Spitdart Rifle was developed with increased magazine capacity and fires poison-coated darts in a horizontal tripleshot pattern.

    Blueprints →
  2. 2
    6Blind Fury ★All-round
    DPS
    517
    Damage
    325.9
    Fire rate, shots/min
    95
    Magazine
    5
    Reload, s
    1.9
    Range, m
    88

    This Unique rifle sacrifices its scope for slightly faster reload, slightly faster rate of fire, and holds 5 ammo.

    Blueprints →
  3. 3
    6Dunewatcher ★PvP
    DPS
    450
    Damage
    346.1
    Fire rate, shots/min
    78
    Magazine
    2
    Reload, s
    2
    Range, m
    75

    Fremen warriors modified these Unique rifles and used them in their relentless guerilla campaign against the Harkonnen.

    Blueprints →
  4. 4
    6Experimental Lightning Gun ★Break shields
    DPS
    156
    Damage
    48.4
    Fire rate, shots/min
    194
    Reload, s
    1.7
    Range, m
    50

    This Unique rifle, a byproduct of those experiments, uses electrical power rather than standard ammunition. The EMP blasts disrupt shields.

    Blueprints →

Shotguns

  1. 1
    6Perforator ★All-round
    DPS
    67
    Damage
    44.9
    Fire rate, shots/min
    90
    Magazine
    48
    Reload, s
    2.4
    Range, m
    8

    Thin spikes in the barrel mean that the darts fired from this Unique scattergun will break into multiple shrapnel pieces on impact, causing a bleeding effect on enemies. Another example of Sardaukar weaponry built to intimidate and oppress.

    Blueprints →
  2. 2
    6Shellburster ★PvE
    DPS
    95
    Damage
    74.4
    Fire rate, shots/min
    77
    Magazine
    36
    Reload, s
    1.6
    Range, m
    8

    This Unique scattergun was used during the Battle of Arrakeen. When Harkonnen troops charged the front gates of the palace, they were dismayed to find the shields still functional, despite being assured otherwise.

    Blueprints →
  3. 3
    6Ambition ★PvP
    DPS
    186
    Damage
    154.5
    Fire rate, shots/min
    72
    Magazine
    4
    Reload, s
    3
    Range, m
    68

    A {Unique} shotgun with an ambitious design that holds two slugs in each barrel to limit the downsides of these types of weapons.

    Blueprints →

Submachine guns

  1. 1
    6Spitting Cobra ★PvP
    DPS
    616
    Damage
    61.6
    Fire rate, shots/min
    600
    Magazine
    36
    Reload, s
    1.5
    Range, m
    10

    This Unique, assassin-modified disruptor causes poison buildup with every hit.

    Blueprints →
  2. 2
    6A Dart for Every Man ★Break shields
    DPS
    428
    Damage
    42.8
    Fire rate, shots/min
    600
    Magazine
    48
    Reload, s
    1.5
    Range, m
    10

    This Unique disruptor has a small inscription beneath the barrel, beside the makers mark. ' No matter how often the schematics are modified, this inscription is always fabricated on the weapon.

    Blueprints →

Pistols

  1. 1
    6Seethe ★PvE
    DPS
    561
    Damage
    404.1
    Fire rate, shots/min
    83
    Magazine
    3
    Reload, s
    2.8
    Range, m
    65

    This Unique pistol comes with increased accuracy and bonus damage for headshots, but with a low capacity clip.

    Blueprints →
  2. 2
    6Regis Disruptor Pistol ★Break shields
    DPS
    484
    Damage
    450.4
    Fire rate, shots/min
    65
    Magazine
    4
    Reload, s
    1.8
    Range, m
    30

    This Unique heavy pistol borrows technology from the fast-firing disruptor submachine gun, while adding a charging mechanism to fire shield-destabilizing darts.

    Blueprints →
  3. 3
    6Hell-Fury Pistol ★All-round
    DPS
    437
    Damage
    371.1
    Fire rate, shots/min
    71
    Magazine
    6
    Reload, s
    1.8
    Range, m
    63

    This Unique snub-nosed heavy pistol causes burn buildup on a hit.

    Blueprints →

Rocket launchers

  1. 1
    6The Ancient Way ★Against ornithopters
    DPS
    575
    Damage
    919.3
    Fire rate, shots/min
    38
    Magazine
    1
    Reload, s
    3.5
    Range, m
    150

    Since then, these Unique missile launchers have become widely sought after by Fremen and Imperial troops alike.

    Blueprints →

Lasguns

  1. 1
    6Black Market K-28 Lasgun ★Raiding bases and vehicles
    DPS
    847
    Damage
    84.7
    Fire rate, shots/min
    600
    Reload, s
    5
    Range, m
    80

    Unfortunately, this Unique lasgun is not one of them. It's just a regular lasgun with the serial numbers filed off.

    Blueprints →

Machine guns

  1. 1
    6Plasma Cannon ★Group fights
    DPS
    597
    Damage
    113.4
    Fire rate, shots/min
    316
    Reload, s
    3.5
    Range, m
    57

    Originally designed to fire a steady stream of blue orbs at hellish foes, this Unique plasma gun tears imps to shreds and rips Arch-viles and Cacodemons apart. Oh...

    Blueprints →

Damage per second is the damage of one shot or hit multiplied by the fire rate. Reloading isn't counted here, so for a long fight watch the magazine too.

★ marks a unique item. Unique blueprints often turn up in the Deep Desert — see what's where this week on the Deep Desert this week page.

The calculator will work out how many resources a craft needs.

What is the best weapon in Dune Awakening?

There is no single best weapon. For PvE carry the Replica Pulse-sword, the Regis Tripleshot Repeating Rifle and the Perforator; for PvP the Spike Hilt Sword, Spitting Cobra and the Regis Disruptor Pistol to break shields, plus the K-28 Lasgun and The Ancient Way for raids and ornithopters.