Those who would call The Anacrusis “Left 4 Dead but in space” would be somewhat correct. Or at least the comparison would be pretty fair. As such, Anacrusis brings some new sci-fi weapons to the arsenal that will blow those parasitic aliens away.
Here is our Anacrusis All Weapons Explained guide that will help you learn everything about which weapons are the best in the game, what you should look out for, and what these weapons do.
The Anacrusis All Weapons – Ranked From Best to Worst
Here are all the weapons you can use in Anacrusis, what they do, and which is more effective than the other. We’ve listed it from the best to worst weapons to pick from. We have also listed the best perks to choose from to make the most out of these weapons.
It should be noted that Anacrusis is still in its Early Access. As such, expect that new weapons will eventually be added into the game. At this time, on Season 1 we only have six weapons to choose from not including the grenades. Three of these weapons can be found on safehouses in the starcruiser, Isolode, and the other three can only be found by scavenging them during a run.
Plasma Rifle
The Plasma Rifle is Anacrusis’ equivalent of your standard assault rifle. It’s a balanced weapon that gives you a good rate-of-fire, firepower, and handling. You’ll get the benefits of the aforementioned guns before it but without the drawbacks. It’s the go-to weapon of everyone’s choice.
The Plasma Rifle doesn’t have quite as many rounds in its magazine as the SMB. It doesn’t have the pure stopping power of the Blaster. And it certainly doesn’t have the infinite ammunition of the Pistol. But it balances all that by having a great rate-of-fire, decent ammunition, and being able to reliably take out most aliens.
- 24-round “assault rifle”
- 240 rounds in total
- Jack of all trades, well balanced weapon
- Can be selected from saferooms
While the Plasma Rifle already stands at the top, there are still perks that make this weapon even better than it already is. Here are the best perks you can choose for it and what they can do:
- Auto Charge – just in case you need that one extra shot before recharging the Plasma Rifle. Every few seconds will move one round from your reserves to your gun.
- Charge Extender – both your Primary and Pistol will have 50% more charge between reloads.
- Penetrating Plasma – ever killed two birds with one stone? Why not five aliens with a single plasma round? Plasma shots from this rifle will go through enemies.
- Weapon Handling – switch weapons faster and move at full speed while aiming down sights.
Blaster
Just from appearance alone, you know this is a shotgun. The blaster is its sci-fi equivalent. It’s great for clearing out enemies who get a little bit too close for comfort. Though considering that it doesn’t have that much rounds, you’ll frequently have to look for ammo refill stations after tough encounters.
The Blaster can be meant for those who would prefer power over speed. It doesn’t have the rate-of-fire good enough to mow down hordes of alien grunts. However, it can reliably put an enemy down for good with its high spread. The Blaster can reliably take down Brutes with a few well placed shots. Make sure to give this gun to the guy who likes getting up close and personal.
- 8-round “shotgun”
- 96 rounds in total
- Low rate-of-fire, high firepower
- Can be selected from saferooms
To make the shotgun even more devastating at short encounter, here are some of the best perks to choose for it and what they do:
- Reserve Extender – due to the limited ammunition of the Blaster, this will give you twice the ammo reserves to mow down the horde.
- Blaster Amplifier – spreads the shots from your blaster even further making you really threatening at short ranges.
Laser Rifle
Your other choice of special weaponry. The Laser Rifle is on the opposite side of the spectrum from the Arc Rifle. Unlike the latter, that focuses on crowd control the Laser Rifle is best used for eliminating strong enemies quickly. It’s a weapon, as the name suggests, fires a continuous laser beam at enemies that deals severe damage.
The Laser Rifle isn’t really meant for clearing out crowds. Especially considering its limited ammunition that, like the Arc Rifle, can’t be refilled at ammo refill stations. Considering that the Laser Rifle is a pretty rare find, don’t just use it whenever you please. You have to pick your targets carefully as you may not run into this gun for a long while.
- 45-rounds
- Continuous, concentrated damage
- Special weapon type
- Has to be looted outside of saferooms
You should go for the Special Charge Extender perk for the Laser Rifle. As this Special Weapon already has a limited ammo capacity. This will extend the use of this gun.
SMB
Standing for what’s probably “sub machine blaster” you can easily acknowledge that the SMB was meant to be the submachinegun sci-fi equivalent. And it functions just about as well as you’d expect it to.
With 500 rounds, you’ll be spraying blast after blast against typical alien grunts. It’s 50 rounds in the magazine means that you can effectively clear out any nearby horde before needing to reload. Its high rate-of-fire makes it a reliable gun for crowd control. However, despite its speed and ammunition size, it lacks the firepower to deal with more powerful enemies. The SMB isn’t quite as strong as your other choices but can be a decent pick.
- A 50-round submachine weapon
- 500 rounds in total
- High rate-of-fire
- Can be selected from saferooms
You can make the SMB even better with certain perks. Here are some of the best perks for the SMB and what they do:
- Weapon Stabilizer – the SMB isn’t the most stable of weapons as light submachine weapons rarely are. This perk will help you get more precision.
- SMB Tracking Rounds – shots from the SMB will automatically track nearby targets. Don’t worry about wasting any ammo.
Arc Rifle
The Arc Rifle is a great crowd control weapon as it shocks anything and anyone in front of you at wide box. The drawback is that it only has a measly 45-round ammunition and you can’t really use ammo refill stations to replenish spent firepower.
On the plus side, the Arc Rifle won’t take any of your two weapon slots. So you don’t have to choose between your Plasma Rifle and this one. Your only other choice at the moment for the special weapons slot is the Laser Rifle.
- 45-rounds
- Great crowd control
- Special weapon type
- Has to be looted outside of saferooms
The Arc Rifle can be great in getting you out of tough situations. Particularly when you find yourself surrounded and want to clear out hordes as fast as possible.
As for the best perk for the Arc Rifle, you’re best bet is to go for Special Charge Extender which will allow you to use the gun a bit more. This perk is excellent due to the Arc Rifle’s limited ammunition.
Pistol
Of course, every zombie shooter comes with its own standard sidearm. This 12-shot small arms might not seem like much but it is the only weapon you can use when you’re downed and waiting for your friends to revive you. It might just save your life.
The Pistol is easily outperformed by any other gun in the arsenal. While its infinite ammunition can be tempting for those who don’t like to keep up with numbers, it just lacks the firepower to get you out of tough situations quickly. Unless Stray Bombay gives us the ability to be space John Wick with this thing, you’re better off using this gun when you’ve got no other options left.
- A 12-shot sidearm
- Infinite ammunition
- Starting weapon
To make the Pistol even better, here are the best perks you can choose for it and what they do:
- Burstfire Pistol – tired of your single shot pistol? Make it a burst shot!
- Charge Extender – you’ll get 50% more charge between reloads for both your primary and secondary weapons.
- Criticality – your enemies explode after critical hits. What more can be said?
- Weapon Handling – closing thing that lets you become space John Wick as it lets you switch between primary and secondary faster and moving at fast speeds while aiming down sights.
- Weapon Stabilizer – both your primary and secondary have less recoil.
The Anacrusis All Equipments
In order to increase your odds of survival, The Anacrusis throws some significant equipment tools your way. The equipment down below won’t secure every fight, but they will help you get some breathing room.
Pulse
The Pulse is a knockback ability that is designed to give you some room. Who knew that parasitic lifeforms don’t have any sense of personal space? If you ever find yourself overwhelmed, the Pulse knockback tool can send your enemies flying. Your Pulse ability will automatically recharge after some time but can be modified via perks to function even better.
- Sends aliens flying
- Rechargable
Here are the best perks to choose for The Pulse and what they do:
- Pulse Amplifier – as the name suggests, this increases the Pulse’s area-of-effect allowing you to hit more enemies.
- Pulse Extender – gives you another Pulse charge to use.
- Pulse Overcharge – will let you hold down the button to charge your Pulse ability which will release and even more powerful version of it.
- Pulse Recycler – this will recharge your Pulse ability faster once an ally near you uses it. Perfect for team attacks.
- Pulse Screen – once you’ve used Pulse once, you’re given a one-time shield that blocks any attack.
- Turbo Pulse – if you’re the type to use Pulse frequently, then you’re going to want this. This will help decrease the cooldown period for your ability.
Auto Turret
Practically a staple in the zombie shooting genre. No game like Anacrusis is complete without an automatic firing turret you place into the ground. The auto turret isn’t some weapon you use in your hands. It’s best placed on the floor where it has a good view of the room and let it rip.
- Defensive turret
- 180 radius targeting
- Can last for a few minutes
The Auto Turret usually has two charges but you can place more should you find them. Once you’ve placed them on the floor, they can’t be picked up again. They can be a great defensive weapon for keeping enemies at bay so long as you’re strategic in their placement. Auto Turrets are best used just before big engagements. It has a 180 degree radius for targeting and will take out hostile aliens in front of it.
To help make the Auto Turret more viable, there are plenty of perks that will extend its utility.
- Special Charge Extender – which increase the Lifespan of the Auto Turret allowing it to last a little more longer.
The Anacrusis All Grenade Types
There are times when your blaster just won’t do the trick. If you’ve got too many against you on the horizon, then you may want to take advantage of Anacrusis’ six different grenade types.
Here are all the grenades you can use in Anacrusis, what they do, and when best to use them.
Impact Grenades
Your Anacrusis equivalent of a frag grenade. Impact grenades are great for clearing out hordes in a short amount of time. They can take out the alien grunts in just one hit and also deal some significant damage to elite aliens. The nearer enemy aliens are to the center of the blast, the more damage you’ll deal.
Your best use for Impact Grenades is to throw them right at the center of the horde. It will explode a single second after connecting with a surface so you have to time the bounce carefully.
Best Impact Grenade Perks:
- Grenade Amplifier – extends the radius of the Impact Grenades.
- Grenade Extender – will allow you to pack more Impact Grenades.
Incendiary Grenades
You can already tell what this does just from the name. If the Impact Grenade is great for crowd control, then Incendiary Grenades are best used for area control. Any alien going through the fire will be burned, continuously damaging them. It can be useful to cover areas where the horde is coming at you from. Aliens standing on fire for too long get very severe damage, but that also includes you.
Best Incendiary Grenade Perks:
- Grenade Amplifier – extends the radius of the Incendiary Grenades.
- Grenade Extender – will allow you to pack more Incendiary Grenades.
Goo Grenades
Nobody can really tell what they’re made of. But aliens hate them, and they don’t affect you so they’re good. Goo Grenades slow down most enemy types except for the Spikes, who are just going to roll over them anyway.
Goo Grenades are a great alternative to Incendiary. They’re useful for area control against enemies who are coming at you in hordes. Goo Grenades do not slow down players so you can take advantage of this. They are especially useful against charging Brutes.
Best Goo Grenade Perks:
- Defensive Goo – will protect you more from damage as you stand in the goo.
- Grenade Amplifier – increase the area-of-effect of the Goo Grenade
- Healing Goo – will heal you and your nearby allies on the goo.
Stasis Grenades
Much like Goo Grenades, Stasis Grenades slow down enemies who enter its bubble. Unlike Goo Grenades, the effect doesn’t really last as long as you’d like to and the radius for the Stasis Grenades isn’t too big. However, it seems to slow enemies down more significantly than Goo Grenades. And they make for excellent placements in tight hallways.
Best Stasis Grenade Perks:
- Grenade Amplifier – extends the radius of the Stasis Grenades.
- Grenade Extender – will allow you to pack more Stasis Grenades.
Vortex Grenades
What’s a sci-fi without a little anti-gravity? Vortex Grenades will circle your enemies against each other midair before exploding. It will attract enemies and bring them closer together allowing for more kills.
The tradeoff here is that Vortex Grenades don’t deal as much damage as Impact Grenades. However, they are much more reliable for crowd control scenarios.
Best Vortex Grenade Perks:
- Grenade Amplifier – extends the radius of the Vortex Grenades.
- Grenade Extender – will allow you to pack more Vortex Grenades.
Shield Grenades
Shield Grenades are unique in that they are entirely used defensively. Unlike other grenades, even the Goo Grenades and Stasis Grenades which have a debuff effect on enemies, this grenade serves its purpose by giving you a pocket of safety to revive players or heal yourself.
The Shield Grenade will push out weaker enemy types but will not do much against elite aliens. Fire from Goopers and Spawner Minions can still break through the shield. Brutes are completely unaffected by it. Your best use for Shield Grenades is to protect you when you’re at low health.
Best Shield Grenade Perks:
- Grenade Amplifier – extends the radius of the Shield Grenades.
- Grenade Extender – will allow you to pack more Shield Grenades.
Explosive Tanks
Not really a grenade type, but we thought we might include it. Explosive tanks aren’t something you can really carry in your pocket. But you can pick them up and throw them. Shooting a tank will cause it to explode in a wide radius that surpasses Impact Grenades.
The Anacrusis All Health Items
Expect to take some damage along the path to victory. Nobody is perfect. You will get hurt during your time in The Anacrusis. Thankfully there are a few Health Items and perks that will patch you back into the action right away.
Health Scanner
You can grab these at the start of every mission or during your journey outside. They’ll heal about 45-55 of your lost health depending on what is missing. You can even modify it with perks to make it more effective.
Best Perks for Health Scanner:
- Fast Healing – will allow you to use health scanners and revive downed allies much faster.
- Healing Extender – will increase the potency of health restored and even give the ability to overheal.
Health Booster
If you’re hurting and need to get some quick health back, then the Health Booster is the best thing since sliced bread. If you’ve taken too much damage and are below 25% health, you will start limping. The Health Booster can give you a quick “pick-me-up” to get back to speed.
Best Perks for Health Booster:
- Adrenaline Booster – will give you more than just a health boost. After a single use of the Health Booster, your agility, overall endurance, and damage are also boosted.
- Healing Extender – will increase the potency of the booster.
- Temp Health Stabilizer – allows the temporary health given by the booster to last longer.
And that’s all the weapon types including the health items to take advantage of in The Anacrusis. Thanks for reading our The Anacrusis All Weapons Explained guide. For more on The Anacrusis, check out our other content.
Check out the official trailer for the game. It’s great fun with friends!