Inferno Protocol Tier Lists
What to craft, inject, and fear while only three maze layers are playable.
Tier lists for an Early Access survival game are a weather report, not scripture. Inferno Protocol is still adding biomes, recipes, and creatures. The rankings below are grounded in what Tektonic has named, patched, or shown: melee with real stagger, random-ammo guns, labeled injectors, a Giant Rat grab, a trash eater that eats grenades, and traps that do more work than a panic magazine.
Open a child page when you have a specific question:
- Weapons — katana, shotgun, crossbow, brass knuckles, dual blades, explosives, and traps as honoraries.
- Injectors — dash, rage, night vision, double jump, extra health, and the unlabeled pile.
- Enemies — Junkyard walkers, Giant Rat, trash eater, Jungle stalkers, corridor brutes, and hostile camps.
If you want a walkthrough instead of a ranking, use the guides hub. Crafting loops sit in crafting. Combat timing sits in combat. Patch-driven reranks will land on patch notes.
How we rank during Early Access
We do not invent DPS tables. We ask four questions:
- Did the studio spend a patch on this tool (melee hitstop, night vision visuals, brass knuckle recipes)?
- Does it solve a named problem (rat grab, rain barrels, lying maps)?
- Is it loud in a game where voice and gunfire pull threats?
- Can a solo player use it, or does it need a six-stack?
S tier means take it when you see it. D tier means only if the bag is empty. Unlabeled injectors sit in their own warning row because a mutation can be a run-ender. Winter-layer gear is not ranked; the layer was not in the three-playable-layers statement at Early Access start.
How to use a ranking without griefing your squad
A shotgun is S in Junkyard interiors and a problem in stealth Jungle. Extra health is S before a camp fight and a waste if you are starving. Read the room, then the list. The co-op guide decides who carries explosives. The maze navigation page decides whether you should be fighting at all.
When a patch adds a weapon or restats brass knuckles, we rewrite the child page, not this hub paragraph. Check the date stamp and Steam news if a recipe looks wrong in-game. Early Access is allowed to embarrass last week’s S tier. That is the point of a 9–12 month plan on the roadmap.
What a ranking is not
A tier list is not a substitute for maze navigation. The S-tier katana still kills you in an unmarked Swamp if you sprint without chalk. It is not a substitute for co-op voice rules: a shotgun in S does not stay S when six open mics pull two extra patrols. It is not a complete database. If a YouTuber ranks a named prototype Tektonic has not printed, leave it off your craft queue until patch notes say otherwise.
Use this hub as a fork in the road. If you are choosing a first craft after the Prologue, open weapons. If you found a vial with a printed word, open injectors. If a grab or a crocodile just ended the run, open enemies and then the matching combat section. Come back when a layer ships. The letters will move; the four questions will not.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers for Inferno Protocol survivors.
Are these Inferno Protocol tier lists final?
No. Early Access will add biomes, enemies, and crafts. Rankings follow official names and patches, then get rewritten.
Where is the item spreadsheet?
Tektonic has not published a complete public database. We rank named tools only. See crafting for the harvest loop.
Should I follow the list in solo?
Yes, with quieter picks. Crossbow and traps climb in solo; rage and shotgun drop unless you can reset at the settlement.