Inferno Protocol Weapons Tier List

This ranking is for the Early Access kit Tektonic has named or shown: a melee system with hitstop and stagger cancel, brass knuckles, katana, dual-blade claws, shotgun, handgun, crossbow, dynamite, grenades, bear traps, teleport traps, and fire barrels. It is not a 1.0 meta. When a patch restats a recipe, come back. How to actually swing and reload is in combat. How to get the parts is in crafting.

S tier — take these on purpose

Melee with stagger (katana / heavy melee). The combat update made stagger cancel real. A weapon that can interrupt a zombie mid-swing is better than a loud gun you cannot reload. Katana shows up in Jungle screenshots for a reason: reach plus quiet. Use lights to probe, heavies to interrupt, and do not rage-inject until you can land the cancel sober.

Bear trap. Hold time was reduced and it no longer false-triggers on climbs. It is the best solo DPS in the game because it works while you are marking a wall. Notebook the tile so co-op partners do not donate a shin. See crafting for placement.

Shotgun (interiors). Official art and the demo weapon preview put it in the kit. Random ammo means you do not live on it, but one confirmed interior plus a Giant Rat at kissing range is why it sits in S for Junkyard. Outside, it is a flare gun with extra steps.

A tier — excellent with a plan

Crossbow. Jungle tool. Slower, quieter, good for the mark-maker. Loses rank in frantic camps. Pair with night vision if you insist on dark peeks.

Dual blades / claw gauntlets. Shown in official screenshots as a two-hand melee stance. High ceiling if you have space; low floor in a rat grab. Not your only weapon.

Teleport trap + explosive. Explosives teleport with the trap when it fires. That combo is how you delete a hallway you do not want to occupy. Needs inventory discipline and a squad that can hear “trap live” without using proximity.

Handgun. The workhorse in dark corridor shots. Finishes staggered targets. Easier ammo math than a shotgun if you actually count.

B tier — good, situational, or still settling

Brass knuckles. Added, then patched for effects and recipes. They exist, they are close-in, and they are not a rat solution. Keep them as a backup melee when the katana is on the settlement rack.

Dynamite / grenades (as a primary). S against the trash eater, B as a general plan. Boom Specialist is an achievement, not a personality. Friendly fire and noise are real.

Fire barrel. Cooks and denies. Rain shuts it off. S in dry Junkyard, C in Swamp storms. Bring a torch anyway; wall torches are navigation, not DPS.

Torch as a weapon. It lights, it marks, it is not a katana. If you are swinging a torch at a bloated hallway creature, you have already lost the gear check. Still carry one.

C and D — empty bags and vanity

Random empty world guns. A shotgun with three shells is a resource, not a loadout. Craft or trade before you identity-lock.

Clothing as “armor.” Cowboy hat, loin cloth, glasses look great in screenshots. The Snatcher backpack is the only clothing-adjacent item we would pull into B for carry. Vanity last.

Unverified experimental prototypes. The press kit mentions experimental firearms. Until a patch names them, they are not on this list. We will not invent a railgun.

Layer bias

• Junkyard: shotgun, handgun, knuckles, barrels.
• Jungle: katana, crossbow, dual blades, quiet traps.
• Swamp: traps under roof, explosives for grouped threats, fewer barrels in rain.

Solo players should bump traps and crossbow. Six-stacks can afford shotgun noise if the co-op lead owns the fall back. Injectors change this list: dash makes blades scarier, rage makes shotguns ruder, night vision makes crossbows nicer. Read injectors before you rerank in your head.

When Winter or a new craft line lands, this page will move names, not invent them. Track patch notes and the roadmap. If a recipe fails in-game, believe the live build over last week’s S.