Weapons

Discover the best weapons in Vampyr! This guide details one-handed, two-handed, off-hand, pistols, and shotguns, including stats, upgrades, and top recommendations.

Vampyr features five weapon categories: one-handed melee, two-handed melee, off-hand, pistols, and shotguns. Your basic attack always uses your equipped melee weapon, while the alternative attack varies based on your off-hand or firearm. Weapons can be found in five conditions: Used, Common, Good, Remarkable, and Perfect. Upgrading weapons at a workbench using found materials increases their primary damage type (Health, Stun, or Blood) and unlocks the 'Work in progress' trophy. Optional upgrades can be added at each level above Used, offering benefits like increased damage, reduced stamina consumption, added stun damage, blood absorption, increased fire rate, or reduced reload time. Adding an optional upgrade unlocks the 'That's better' trophy.

Weapon attack speed varies: one-handed and off-hand weapons typically have a speed of 10 (Machetes and surgical saws are 15), while two-handed weapons have a speed of 5. Firearms have a base fire rate of 10, with some exceptions. Reload times also differ significantly between weapon types.

The following are recommendations for the best weapons in each category:

Best Weapons

1H (One-Handed Melee)

• Hacksaw: Best overall if not embracing citizens; can be specced for blood drain (max 10 per hit). Replaced late-game by True Dragonbane.
• Newton's Saber: Best early-game if murdering citizens; spec for damage.
• Louise's Machete: Edges out Newton's Saber late-game with superior DPS.
• Rakesh's Surgical Saw: Good for blood draining with melee.

Off-Hand

• Liston Knife: Best overall for stunning enemies and restoring blood gauge quickly (3-4 hits).
• Thoreau's Surgical Knife / Giselle's Dagger: Slightly better blood drain if murdering citizens.
• Cristina's Dagger: Marked decrease in stamina usage if murdering citizens.

2H (Two-Handed Melee)

• Barbed Cudgel: Excellent early-game choice for killing and stun damage; spec for stun and damage.
• Mace: Continues from Barbed Cudgel, also good for stun-locking.
• Joe's Barbed Cudgel: Early-game upgrade for Barbed Cudgel if murdering citizens.
• Samuel Connor's Mace: Early-game upgrade for Mace if murdering citizens.

Pistols

• Revolver: Can be specced for high stun damage; useful for aggroing distant enemies and damaging them while they close in.
• Parabellum: Overtakes Revolver late-game with elemental damage upgrades.
• Tom's Revolver: Minor damage upgrade if murdering citizens.
• Clarence's Parabellum: Minor damage upgrade if murdering citizens.
• Joe's Semi-Automatic: Slightly slow firing but has higher maximum damage than other pistols.

Shotguns

• Lupara: Best early-game shotgun.
• Pump-Action Shotgun: Best late-game shotgun, replacing Lupara in Chapter 4. Requires investment in the Cartridge Bag passive ability.
• Double-barrelled shotguns are less effective and only dropped by murdered citizens.