In any Far Cry game, a player's trip to a fictional version of any country isn't complete without their trusty travel tools. That doesn't mean backpacks, toiletries, or beef jerky — but guns. That's all the players need before they enter Hope County, Montana, because even the clergymen are packing heat in that place.
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Hope County's local dialects range from English to lead bullets with a hint of C4 explosions in the accent. That's how players need to communicate in Far Cry 5. In order to speak with the locals, players will need the best tools for the job. So if players want to say pew pew or kaboom in place of "hello," these weapons ought to make conversations flow smoothly.
10 SPAS-12
- Type: Shotgun
- Accuracy: 3/10
- Damage: 7/10
- Range: 4/10
- Rate of Fire: 4/10
- Handling: 5/10
The SPAS-12 has long populated the list of most effective contemporary guns in video games — and in real life. Thus, it's only a matter of experiment that they became the best shotgun in the game. It might not have the highest damage in its weapon class, but it doesn't have the weakness of other shotguns: the firing rate.
What makes the SPAS-12 so deadly at close quarters is that it's semi-automatic. So while it's not as robust as a double-barreled flock buster, it has more tactical value. Also, it lends a certain professional look to the player's otherwise casual-looking character.
9 AK-MS
- Type: Rifle
- Accuracy: 5/10
- Damage: 6/10
- Range: 6/10
- Rate of Fire: 5/10
- Handling: 5/10
The funny thing about the AK is that it's usually seen as a symbol of anti-Americanism. As such, it's usually the go-to weapons of villains in most military shooters. Regardless, it's a good reliable weapon. The fanatics and friendly locals of Hope County don't care much about the symbolic implications of such a weapon.
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The AK-47 and its specialized in-game variants, the AK-MS are all decent weapons in their own right. They're perfect for players looking for capable full-auto weapons that are also highly customizable and work well in any range.
8 MBP .50
- Type: Sniper rifle
- Accuracy: 8/10
- Damage: 9/10
- Range: 8/10
- Rate of Fire: 3/10
- Handling: 3/10
Then again, some players might want to but big holes in an enemy before they come into sight. The surest way to do that is with the MBP .50. As the name implies, it fires a highly invasive 50-caliber bullet. It's practically enough to take limbs off targets, but Far Cry 5 needn't be that graphic.
Needless to say, a sniper rifle that fires one of the largest bullets invented in warfare is overkill. In real life, this weapon was actually made for killing targets hiding behind bulletproof vehicles. There aren't many of those vehicles lying around in Hope County, so most targets will take the 50-caliber bullet raw with catastrophic results.
7 M249
- Type: Machine gun
- Accuracy: 5/10
- Damage: 6/10
- Range: 7/10
- Rate of Fire: 8/10
- Handling: 3/10
Speaking of overkill firepower, the M249 has plenty to spare. It's excessively talkative in the language of lead slugs, and can magically turn any target into a block of Swiss cheese. Frankly, most players wouldn't even want to use this weapon against enemies on foot. It's quite heavy and unwieldy for that; rifles do that job better.
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So what's this weapon for? Airplanes. Plenty of enemies in Hope County love to fly by and perform some strafing run volleys. They're too fast to hit with manual-aim rocket launchers, so the M249 is a surprisingly good method of countering them.
6 AR-CL
- Type: Rifle
- Accuracy: 6/10
- Damage: 4/10
- Range: 6/10
- Rate of Fire: 8/10
- Handling: 5/10
With all the weapons and weapon holsters in Far Cry 5, it can be messy to always keep the pockets full. Some players might want a weapon that can do many things and fit many roles. The AR-CL is perfect for that job. Think of it as a more multi-purpose version of the AK.
It does considerably less damage than that Russian-made weapon, but it makes up for it with better marginally better accuracy and a higher rate of fire. Moreover, the attachments for the AR-CL are more high-tech and varied. One can even make a sniper rifle out of this weapon.
5 M-79 Grenade Launcher
- Type: Sidearm
- Accuracy: 5/10
- Damage: 9/10
- Range: 7/10
- Rate of Fire: 2/10
- Handling: 5/10
While on the topic of relatively compact weapons that can fulfill many roles, the M-79 is a fan favorite. It was first introduced in Far Cry 2, and has since been a staple of the series due to how fun it is to use. It's a handheld grenade launcher, plain and simple.
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It's like a double-barreled shotgun, except there will be nothing left of the targets if they're hit. As expected, the rate of fire is poor but it's usually a one-shot, one-kill affair with this weapon — multiple kills if the wielder's aim is good.
4 D50
- Type: Sidearm
- Accuracy: 6/10
- Damage: 9/10
- Range: 5/10
- Rate of Fire: 3/10
- Handling: 4/10
The D50, more popularly known as the Desert Eagle, is an intimidating hand cannon usually seen in the hands of movie villains trying to compensate for something. It's not all for show, however, as the D50 packs a punch.
In Far Cry 5, it uses the same 50-caliber ammunition that the MBP .50 does, meaning players can treat this weapon like an MBP junior. That makes it an effective partner for a low-damage rifle, as long as the player is accurate.
3 Shovel Launcher
- Type: Launcher
- Accuracy: 7/10
- Damage: 7/10
- Range: 7/10
- Rate of Fire: 1/10
- Handling: 2/10
This is where Far Cry 5 started tapping into New Dawn territory. It's a wacky custom launcher weapon that fires shovels instead of rocket-propelled grenades (RPG). That doesn't diminish its efficiency against vehicles one bit.
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Players can use the Shovel Launcher against helicopters, trucks, SUVs, and even planes if they aim well. As an added bonus, the targets also get a surplus of shovels so they can dig their own graves since there's no way they can survive this weapon.
2 SMG-11
- Type: Sidearm
- Accuracy: 3/10
- Damage: 3/10
- Range: 4/10
- Rate of Fire: 8/10
- Handling: 6/10
That accuracy and damage numbers don't look too hot, but it's best to not underestimate this weapon. All its bad qualities are offset by the impressive rate of fire. The SMG-11, as the name explains, is a submachine gun, meaning it already has firing rate advantages over the pistol sidearms.
Players will also be surprised how fast the SMG-11 can take down enemies. It's useful in vehicles as well since it's a light sidearm. Some might find this an ideal weapon if the three main weapon slots are already occupied by long-range slow-firing weapons.
1 Recurve Bow
- Type: Bow
- Accuracy: 7/10
- Damage: 7/10
- Range: 7/10
- Rate of Fire: 6/10
- Handling: 5/10
One can't always go loud in Far Cry 5, especially when clearing outposts for bonuses or chasing achievements/challenges. That's why weapons like the Recurve Bow are a godsend when it comes to subtlety.
Its stats are slightly more appealing than the Compound Bow, and it definitely looks better. Like the AR-CL, it's also a flexible weapon since players can replace the arrows with explosive ones and easily deal with tough enemies.