Check out our Metro Exodus review and performance test. For handy tips, check out our Metro Exodus weapons guide, weapon upgrade locations, and Metro Exodus crafting guide.
You’ll find new attachments all the time in Metro Exodus, which gradually improve your weapons as you move through the story. Usually you don’t have to go far to find them, and many show up on enemies during the main quest.
However, there are some that are worth searching out early. I’ve listed them below, along with some advice about where to find them.
Sniper and Heavy stocks
For more info on the best weapons in the game, check out our comprehensive Metro Exodus weapons guide.
Getting the sniper or heavy stocks will boost the stability of your weapon, making it much easier to handle. You can find heavier stocks for rifles, pistols and machineguns.
You can grab a sniper stock for your pistols very early on. During the first mission after you’ve named the Aurora, where you’re infiltrating a church, you’ll be asked to jump out a window to hide from guards. After you jump out, loop back to the right and walk up the stairs, taking out the three guards. You’ll get a sniper stock as well as other useful pistol attachments.
For a heavy stock later on, visit the bandit camp Duke mentions when you meet him in his lookout. Take the ladder to the roof on the east side of the building and sneak down to the west side, where you’ll see a guard snoozing in a chair. Knock him out and grab his gun.
If you haven’t found a rifle or shotgun heavy grip by the time you get to the desert, you can get one by visiting the tall building on the far east of the map, with the crashed helicopter in front. Go in via the bottom floor and take the stairs up. On the second floor, enter the doorway to your left, where you’ll see a rifle leaning against the wall.
Barrels
Make sure you never run out of the essentials with our guide to crafting in Metro Exodus.
You should find a long barrel as soon as possible for your weapons: it sacrifices some stability, but gives you extra damage and accuracy. Plus, when combined with a heavy stock the reduced stability won’t make a difference.
For your pistols, you can grab a long barrel at the bandit camp I described above, straight after you meet Duke. You can also grab a long rifle barrel in the building in the desert described above.
The only reason not to have a long barrel is if you want to equip a suppressor, which only pairs with a short barrel. It’s good to always have at least one silenced weapon with you so you can avoid unwanted attention. You’ll pick up a suppressor early in the game.
Scopes
The reflex scope is fine for most situations, but you’re going to want some zoom, too. You can get a 4x scope when you’re on the way back from the church mission early on—look for the crashed plane at the location below. The scope is in the cockpit.
Other scopes to consider are the night vision scope, which you get as part of the main story ( just keep your eyes peeled), and the 6x scope for the Valve sniper rifle. You can grab the 6x by attacking the big crane bandit camp at the center of the desert map. You can’t miss it.
Magazines
For a solid early rifle upgrade, grab the magazine at the location below, just to the west of where you save Anna from the poisonous gas.
Make sure you also find the eight-shot cylinder for your revolver, which you’ll find at the bandit camp at the location below.
