Best Highguard weapons and tier list

The armory of Highguard weapons might be quite small for now, but its varied and the guns within are all quite effective, as our tier list shows. Some are simple and versatile, and others pack plenty of power but at the cost of overall unwieldiness. From my time playing Highguard so far, the Vanguard assault rifle, Paladin shotgun, Longhorn revolver, and Viper SMG have quickly proven to be my favorites, but there are plenty more weapons and mods to go choose from. If you want a more thorough breakdown of the best weapons and what they do, I've laid out all that and more below.

Best Highguard loadout weapons and tier list

All the weapons in Highguard are fairly solid at minimum based on my time playing, but this tier list will help you figure out what to prioritize for your initial loadout and when looting prior to battling over the Shieldbreaker:

• S-Tier: The best weapons Highguard has to offer due to their power, versatility, ease-of-use, or a combination of all three.
  • Vanguard, Paladin, Longhorn
• A-Tier: Great weapons that can have a bit of a learning curve and won't be to everyone's tastes due to their specialized roles or minor flaws.
  • Viper, Dynasty, Saber Rifle, Ranger, Big Rig
• B-Tier: Good weapons that can be especially deadly in the right situation or skilled hands but aren't the easiest to use.
  • Corsair, Kraken

Best Highguard Raid Weapons

As for Raid Weapons, these are a different beast compared to the above weapons since their focus is on helping you obliterate the enemy team's base in various ways. In general, you should choose either the Rocket Launcher or Blast Hammer as both are great for destroying walls, but it's mostly down to personal preference and the sort of base you're raiding – the Rocket Launcher can destroy only one wall at a time but can do so from any range, while the Hammer is highly destructive and great for cracking open floors as well as walls, but is locked to the ground and risks putting you closer to enemy players.

The Zipline can be useful in some circumstances, helping you outmanoeuvre the enemy in their own base, but I'd say it's inessential overall compared to the other two weapons. It's more of a nice bonus to have if one person on your team wants to use it rather than a critical part of your raiding strategy – and some of the best Highguard Wardens have abilities that are arguably more helpful anyway.

All Highguard weapons and mods

There are currently 10 guns and three Raid Weapons, and most of them have at least one modded version that you have a higher chance of looting the longer a Highguard match lasts or you can sometimes buy them from Trader Flynn. As our Highguard tips say, make sure you save your Vesper if you want to be able to afford the best possible weapons.

Alternatively, you can loot weapons from red chests found across the map. Although, any red chest in a Points of Interest will contain Masterwork weapons isntead, which have the best possible stat boosts within their rarity (that means a blue-rarity Masterwork gun is better than a standard blue-rarity version, but a purple-rarity gun is better than a blue Masterwork).

Below, I've listed every Highguard weapon, how it works, and what its mods do, if it has any:

• Corsair: Triple-barrelled, six-round-burst SMG with a very high fire rate and high vertical and horizontal recoil. Potent at very short range but can be unforgiving if you miss even a few shots in a burst and the unwieldy recoil doesn't help that.
  • Double Shot: Fire two full volleys per trigger pull (that's a 12-round burst!).
• Paladin: Fully automatic shotgun with a solid fire rate and large magazine. It doesn't always kill that quickly, but its sustained fire means you can blast away at enemies while they scramble to land any shots on you.
  • Base Breaker: Shots can break walls.
  • Drum Mag: Substantially increases magazine size but reduces reload speed.
• Kraken: Punchy pump-action that has a slow fire rate and small ammo tube. It's obviously a great close-quarters weapon, capable of ripping through enemy armor, but missing a single shot when duelling an enemy can quickly spell your end.
  • Double Shot: Fire two bullets per trigger pull at the cost of a slower fire rate.
• Viper: Rapid fire SMG that can shred through enemy Wardens at close-range, but its shaky recoil makes it somewhat difficult to handle. I highly recommend getting to grips with hip-firing as well as using the sights to get the most out of the Viper.
  • Impact Rounds: Increases bullet damage at the cost of a lower fire rate.
• Vanguard: Highguard's reliable all-rounder assault rifle weapon. It's accurate, relatively easy to use, and versatile.
  • Drum Mag: Substantially increases magazine size but reduces reload speed.
• Dynasty: As the AK-47-equivalent in Highguard, the Dynasty's recoil is a bit harder to control compared to the Vanguard, especially with some noticeable horizontal kick thrown in, but it hits a bit harder. Mostly useful for covering medium ranges but can be good up close.
  • Base Breaker: Shots can break walls.
  • Impact Rounds: Increases bullet damage at the cost of a lower fire rate.
• Big Rig: The Big Rig is a very powerful LMG that hits hard, has a large magazine, and surprisingly good hipfire, meaning you can spray and pray up close or suppress from a distance. However, it's only available from airdrops, so grab it if you can!
• Saber Rifle: Accurate burst-fire rifle that excels at medium ranges and can even chip away at far-off enemies. Since you can switch to its low-zoom iron sights, it's certainly usable at close-range but can be easily outclassed by other weapons.
  • Impact Rounds: Increased critical damage and bullet speed at the cost of a slower fire rate and switching to a two-round burst.
• Longhorn: A powerful and precise hand cannon that can be used to great effect at close, medium, and longer ranges, but it's got a bit of a learning curve with slower projectiles.
  • Base Breaker: Shots can break walls.
  • Double Shot: Fire two bullets per trigger pull at the cost of a slower fire rate.
  • Repeater: Makes the weapon fully automatic and increases its fire rate, but its performance at longer ranges suffers.
• Ranger: A classic bolt-action sniper rifle that's highly accurate and delivers high-damage shots, but a high-zoom scope means it's only good for long-range engagements.
  • Repeater: Makes the weapon fully automatic and increases its fire rate, but its performance at longer ranges suffers.
• Blast Hammer (Raid Weapon): Explosive hammer that's great for smashing down multiple walls and floors in a single swing, but short destructive range means you have to physically get to what you want to destroy and that can lead to putting yourself in dangerous situations.
  • Smokebringer: Blast Hammer swings create an obscuring smoke wall at the end of the shockwave.
  • Earthquake: Blast Hammer swings create a wall of rock in a line directly ahead, increasing the range of the hammer's destructive force. The rock wall deals damage as it emerges and can be used as cover.
• Rocket Launcher (Raid Weapon): Standard rocket launcher that can blow up a single wall per rocket and is also quite effective against enemy players. It's definitely the most versatile of the Raid weapons, with its main benefit being that you can use it to destroy walls at practically any range.
  • Multi-Lock: Aim down sights to lock onto up to three destructible targets, then fire to launch up to three homing rockets.
  • Thermite: Upgraded rockets that have a larger blast, which allows them to destroy multiple walls at once and increased damage that lets them destroy reinforced walls easily.
• Zipline (Raid Weapon): More of a tool than a weapon, the Zipline is great for pushing into enemy territory quickly and sometimes in unexpected ways, but only the most co-ordinated teams are going to get the most out of it. Ziplines can also be shot and destroyed!
  • Unbreakable: Ziplines cannot be destroyed.
  • Invisible: Zipline cables are invisible and players riding on them are also invisible, so long as they don't shoot.

If you're trying to play with friends on different platforms, our Highguard crossplay guide will help you team up.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.