The best weapons in Far Cry 5

While you can stumble upon any weapon in Far Cry 5’s arsenal, you can also just buy and customize about half of them right away. Rather than a matter of where to find the best weapons, it’s a matter of what you want to put your in-game money towards, and that money, like real money, represents your valuable time. This weapons guide will run down our top picks for some common use cases, recommend an attachment or two, and break down what they’re best suited for. Keep in mind, we’re still unlocking new weapons, so take our advice as something to start with. That said, we’ll be sure to update should our recommendations change. 

The best weapon for close-quarters crowd control 

SBS | Attachment: Reflex sight (optional)

You’re bound to mess up at some point and alert the whole damn county to your presence, and that means getting rushed by dozens of brainwashed angels, a cultist or two wielding spiked bats, and a shotgunner for good measure. Think of the SBS as a delete button, a double-barreled shotgun that chews through cultists as quickly as your ammo reserves. It downs VIP cultists and armored enemies without issue, and works at a surprisingly long range. Pair it with incendiary ammo for a good time.

Runner up: M133 or M133 M

The best long-distance silenced weapon 

AR-CL | Attachment: Marksman ADV-X scope, silencer

The AR-CL is effective at quietly taking out cultists at long distances, but versatile enough to double as a mid-range assault weapon if things go haywire. Tap V to switch between firing single shots, bursts, or let loose with an automatic spray. There are rifles you can unlock later that are more accurate and lethal at long distances, but the AR-CL shoots far and hard enough for most situations.

Runner up: Compound bow w/ Marksman sight

The best stealth companion tool 

1911 Handgun | Attachment: Silencer

The most common pistol in Far Cry 5 is also the best to carry with you at all time, especially if you’re a more stealthy player. And even more so if you’re a bad stealthy player. It’s powerful enough to take down most basic enemies with a headshot and has super easy handling, making it a great companion for cleaning up in case you alert someone. 

Runner up: Compound bow

The best sci-fi gun for sci-fi stuff 

The Magnopulser | Attachment: None

Finish up a string of sidequests with Larry, the mad scientist of Holland Valley, and he’ll ‘give’ you the Magnopulser, a strange piece of technology from who-knows-where that fires a wide blast of energy from its spinning maw that sends anything in its path flying. You can bounce cultists around endlessly thanks to an unlimited ammo supply, but get too trigger happy and it’ll overheat. It doesn’t do any damage at a distance, so don’t turn to the Magnopulser for efficiency. It’s best used to send a crowd to the ground, at which point you can clean up however you see fit. But if you pull the trigger standing right next to an enemy, they’ll dissolve into a fine red mist. 

The best mid-range kitchen sink weapon 

AR-C | Attachment: Red dot or reflex sight, extended magazine

The AR-C does it all. And as one of the most common weapons in the game, it should. Effective at close, medium, and the shortest of the long range the AR-C’s accuracy, handling, and alternate firing modes make it effective in almost any situation. Don’t depend on it entirely though—without the extended mag (and even with) it’s easy to run out of ammo quickly. Keep burst or single shot firing modes on by default, but if things go fully automatic and hope for the best. 

Runner up: MPK5 w/ Optical sight

The best vehicle blower-upper 

M249 | Attachment: Bullets

Sure, you could always use an RPG, but you’ll run out of ammo in no time. The damage isn’t too high, but with such a deep magazine and quick rate of fire, the M249 ruins vehicles of every type. It’s also capable of ripping up armored enemies with ease. Chances are it’ll be easier to keep topped off than a rocket launcher too.

Runner up: RPG-7

The best impression of CoD's carbine

MS16 Trooper | Attachment: Reflex or red dot sight

The MS16 isn’t the most efficient weapon, but it sure is one of the most satisfying to use. Consider it the Call of Duty Carbine of Far Cry 5, a rifle that plinks with every shot and shings when your magazine empties out. It’ll fire just about as fast as you can click too, making it the ideal weapon for mouse control. Pop a short range sight on and make sure you get the rifle mastery perk to decrease bullet spread, then hit the country and pretend you’re the best headshotsman in all of Hope County. 

Runner up: 45/70-T

The best SMG if you don't carry an SMG 

SMG-11 | Attachment: Extended clip

If you don't carry a machine gun (or if you want to carry two, I guess), keep the SMG-11 in your pistol slot. It's good for a quick, panicked spray of approximately 1 million bullets that may or may not (probably not) kill whatever has gotten within close range when you suddenly realize your shotgun is out of ammo. It's also fun for emptying at something while driving or ziplining without having to be too fussy about your aim.

Runner up: Skorpion (it's just as wasteful, but less accurate)

The best weapon that I’m not sure what to do with 

Slingshot | Attachment: None (but give it a very expensive skin)

I bought the slingshot thinking it’d be the perfect stealth companion tool, something used to fire off rocks that distract nearby guards, but in my testing guards don’t really give a shit about rocks zinging past their heads. They do care when they get nailed by one though, but as far as I can tell it doesn’t do much, if any, damage. You also shoot arrows with it for some reason, though they don't’ go very far, sort of dropping off sharply after 10 meters or so. I can imagine using it to grief a friend in co-op which I will definitely do as soon as possible, but without any squirrels to chase or cruel neighbor’s windows to smash I’m not sure what good the slingshot is for.  

Runner up: Fishing rod (it is not a gun, therefore it is the worst gun)

The best implement for bashing heads in 

Brass Knuckles | Attachment: Human

Buy the brass knuckles and they’ll become your new default fisticuffs for quick and effective melee situations. Most melee use cases are based on feeling like a monster more than anything—if there’s more than three enemies around, melee weapons just don’t do the job well enough to make them truly useful. But if you’re cleaning up an outpost, take out your fists, hold down the punch button to wind up, then bop a cultist on the head and watch them crumple. They bring an intimate, stylistic, rock hard flourish to combat. 

Runner up: Shovel (the sound it makes on impact is just awful and we love it)

Second runner up: Oar (because you can pretend you're in a screwball summer camp movie and you're knocking out the evil camp counselor)