Atomic Heartis an action role-playing game that is filled with intense fights against foes that will have players dodging left and right to avoid getting injured. To make these battles easier, playerscan upgrade the equipmentthat they already own or find stronger weapons while exploring the facility.
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With various guns and melee weapons available to make up P-3’s artillery these are by far thebest weapons inAtomic Heartthat players should consider keeping in their inventory. These weapons are sure to give players a better chance at surviving against not only the robots but also the organic life that has been created at the facility.
Updated on June 21, 2025, by Megan Smith:Since Atomic Heart was originally released on the 21st of February, players have plenty more to look forward to with Mundfish also announcing that the game will be receiving DLC content that will expand the first-person shooters' story. Atomic Heart: Annihilation will be released very soon which hopes to not only bring a new place to explore but also two new weapons anda brand-new glove powerfor players to explore. Until then, Atomic Heart has plenty of other interesting weaponry for a player to explore from brutal melee weapons to deadly artillery. While facing the Soviet robots that have gone rogue, these are by far some ofAtomic Heart’s best weaponsa player should be using.
10Swede – Melee
As the first melee weapon players are equipped with, the Swede is an axe with a lot of personality and packs a mean hit to any enemy the player faces. Overall, this axe has fairly decent stats, especially withno inherent weaknessesas it may not be the quickest melee weapon, but it also isn’t the slowest out of all those that are available.
Although it may be at the bottom of the best weapons, the Swede is a melee that players can use throughout their entire playthrough ofAtomic Heartas long as they ensure to continually upgrade it.
9Dominator – Energy
With a name like the Dominator, many players would expect this energy weapon tohave brutal repercussionsfor the enemies they face while exploring the buildings that make up the facility inAtomic Heart. This weapon can shoot a single foe quickly or fire a blast of electric energy.
However, the Dominator is a very expensive weapon, taking up a lot of energy with each shot fired. Therefore, players should only consider using it when fighting robotic bosses as well as groups of robots as they will run out of energy fast if they don’t have the right character upgrades.
8PM – Ammo
While there is plenty of other weaponry inAtomic Heart. Sometimes all a player needs is a decent pistol like the PM –also known as Makarov Pistol– to help them defend themselves against the metallic foes of the underground facilities. Players will want to keep plenty of their hard-hitting artillery for thevarious bosses and harder enemiesplayers will face when attempting to progress the story.
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Therefore, the PM –and the easy-to-create ammo for it– will most likely be used in every other situation as a player can easily take down a VOV-A6 Lab Tech with a couple of well-aimed shots. Other than thisAtomic Heart’sbest melee weapons will deal with any stragglers.
7Fox – Melee
For players that are looking for a quicker melee weapon, then the Fox is by far the fastest at hitting enemies before they can get a single swing in themselves. This small axe is sure to interest some players though it must be admitted that compared to other melee weapons it does the least amount of damage no matter how fast it is.
This is because Fox isn’t to be used on its own and instead is a way for players that are focusing on using energy weapons to make back some of the fuel they need to fire the big guns. A fully upgraded Fox will quickly drain enemies to refill the player’s energy, learning how to combo this can allow energy weapons to last longer in battles.
6Fat Boy – Ammo
While this anti-tank rocket launcher may no longer be facing any military vehicles, it still has a use when taking on the much larger robots that havetaken over Facility 3826. Players are likely to not be wasting their rockets on any regular enemies, although it will likely eradicate a small group of foes and instead save their artillery for the bosses of the title.
The only issue with the Fat Boy is how rare finding the Fat Boy rockets it needs is; players can also craft their own ammo for one of the greatest weapons ofAtomic Heart, although they are incredibly expensive to craft.
5Snowball – Melee
The Snowball is a makeshift mace made from a couple of blades and a rusty metal pipe. Even with its makeshift roots, Snowball can turn into a lethal melee weapon that can demolish foes in one hit of a charged attack.
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There are some downfalls to this mace as it’s incredibly heavy which makes it slow to swing. Due to the quickness of many battles inAtomic Heart,this may make it difficult for a player to actually get a charged hit on an enemy. That’s why even though it is a great weapon, there is one melee tool for P-3 that knocks Snowball out of the park.
4Electro – Energy
Even the most powerful of weapons can come in small packages, this includes the lethal power hidden within the tiny energy pistol called Electro. While it may appeara weak starting energy weaponfor players with the right upgrades P-3 won’t require any of the other energy weapons available.
Upgrading it with the EMP Generator turns this single-shot gun into an explosive energy force. Players can charge it to hit an area of robots that can eventually put them all out of work with only a couple of hits. Electro is sure to scale with the player if they continue to give it the attention it needs at Nora.
3Kalash – Ammo
Carrying the player through the entire game comes easy to the Kalash. There is not really anything special about this typical assault rifle, but that’s what makes it such a good weapon. After finding the recipe to this gun randomly in one of the many chests aroundAtomic Heartplayers will have a great rifle to pick enemies off from a medium range.
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Byupgrading this assault rifleplayers can turn the Kalash into a weapon that can deal with almost any situation the player finds themselves in and may never need to worry about getting hit by a foe ever again.
2Zvezdochka – Melee
When looking for the best melee weapon to use in the entirety ofAtomic Heartplayers will find that they have hit gold when they finally locate the recipe for the Zvezdochka. This heavy melee weapon does what Snowball does but even better.
Although it is just as heavy as this mace and has a lethal charge-up attack, unlike Snowball the Zvezdochka’s regular hits do enough damage when upgraded that players don’t feel they are losing hours as they swing away. Players will be looking to save if they want to get their hands on this asan end-gamemelee weapon it costs a lot to upgrade.
1KS-23 – Ammo
Undeniably the best weapon in the whole ofAtomic Heartgoes to the first-ever gun the player gets at the start of the game. The KS-23 is a shotgun that players will be upgrading throughout their adventure of the facility. While the gun may have a slow reload as well as awful recoil at the start of the player’s playthrough, with persistence gamers can turn this shotgun into something that will demolish their foes.
Even with its short range, this isn’t a drawback as many of the fights players will be facingtend to be up close. Therefore, as long as a player can aim they are sure to have a fighting chance with the KS-23.
Atomic Heartis out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
