Summary
Alan Wake 2’s main appeal is its narrative experience, letting you delve into Bright Falls' many mysteries with its two protagonists, Alan Wake and Saga Anderson. But to solve these mysteries, you’ll have to get through the Taken, the game’s main antagonistic force.
To do so, the game offers you quite an arsenal that, by the end of the game, will end up being more than you may carry. This is comparable to the game’s predecessor, American Nightmare, but this time you can save weapons in the Shoebox system, so all that’s left is choosing the best one.
9Throwables
The Best Defense Is A Good Flare
While not firearms, the different types of throwable items (namely theFlare, Rocket Flare and Flashbang Grenade) are great to have available, so they can get you out of a pinch. They can be used by both characters, and serve as a great distraction to avoid some fights.
Among the three options, the Grenade has to be the worst one; it barely manages to remove the Taken shadows, and it doesn’t stun them for long. And from the two remaining, the Rocket Flare is indeed powerful, but the basic Flare is available more frequently, and it can be used to fend off enemy grabs.
8Revolver
Alan’s Base Weapon
When compared to the rest of the arsenal available in the game, Alan’s Revolver leaves a lot to be desired, even whenupgraded with Words of Power. The thing is,for Alan, this will be his only weapon for the first part of the game, so he’s stuck with the Revolver’s low power.
The Revolver being less useful than other weapons is clearly intentional; Alan isn’t supposed to fight most of his enemies, and in fact, he doesn’t even have boss fights. The real action star is Saga, so it’s best for Alan if he saves ammo and batteries while exploring the Dark Place.
7Pistol
Saga’s Base Weapon
Saga’s Pistol, much like Alan’s Revolver, is a low-damage weapon that you’ll have to contend with for the whole game. It barely tickles the toughest Taken, but you’ll still feel compelled to carry it around everywhere due to the constant bullets you’ll find for it.
This is due tothe Pistol being meant to be a side arm, not your main weapon; something you use to finish enemies off or when you run out of other ammo. An enemy you do want the Pistol for is the Taken Wolves, since they don’t have too much health, but they move so fast that you’ll likely waste ammo on them.
6Sawed-Off Shotgun
Saga’s First Shotgun
The Sawed-Off Shotgun is the first real weapon for Saga, capable of sending the Taken flying away from you in a comical fashion. It can’t hold too many bullets, but by the time you get it a single shot is more than enough, unless you’re on the hardest difficulty.
It isn’t any higher on the list due to how it falls off in useability once the Taken start grouping more and more. While this Shotgun can deal with crowds, you need to make every shot count, andit has very little accuracy for any kind of long-range shots.
5Hunting Crossbow
Saga’s Unique Weapon
The Hunting Crossbow is the game’s hardest weapon to master, but it’s well worth it, since its unique mechanic andhigh damage output make it worthwhile to learn. If you’re able to catch the Taken unaware, the Crossbow can take them out with ease, making no noise and letting you get the arrows back.
Yet mastering the weapon also involves mastering the combat encounters, since once the Taken see you, the slow rate of fire of the Crossbow just won’t cut it. Not to mention that there’s not much you can do with it during Saga’s boss fights.
4Double-Barrel Shotgun
Alan’s Only Shotgun
Once you manage to find the Double-Barrel Shotgun, it feels like an absolute blessing. Alan has, compared to Saga, a very small arsenal, and some enemies are bullet sponges that the Revolver is ill-suited to handle with.
It stillhas a slow rate of fire and can’t hold much ammo, but it goes hand in hand with how Alan’s gameplay works. You want to try to face the least number of enemies, but when fighting is unavoidable, the Double-Barrel Shotgun can make said fight be resolved in no time.
3Pump-Action Shotgun
A Better Shotgun For Saga
Being the final weapon for Saga, you won’t get too much time to enjoy its power. What you will get is ample targets to use it on, since not only will you have to deal with waves of Taken, you’ll also have to face off against Scratch himself in the game’s hardest fight.
It does take up a lot of space in your inventory, but at that point in the game, not only will you have upgraded your inventory space, but there are certain weapons you won’t need. The Sawed-Off Shotgun is made irrelevant with this weapon, and the Hunting Crossbow can’t be used effectively against so many enemies.
2Flare Gun
Alan’s Best Weapon
You won’t find too much ammo for the Flare Gun during your playthrough, and that’s because, against the Taken, it works like a Rocket Launcher. The massive damage it deals against the creatures of darkness allows you to completely clear a room of enemies in a single shot.
Alan’s side of gameplay involves avoiding enemies, and at times it’s better to take some damage if it means making it to the next checkpoint.The Flare Gun lets you clear enemies with easein moments where you can’t run anymore, and with upgrades with the Words of Power, it can even heal you on kill.
1Hunting Rifle
Saga’s Best Weapon
What makes the Hunting Rifle so good, is that it hasthe range and lethality of the Hunting Rifle without needing to master it. In fact,it even comes with upgradeslike hitting Taken without removing their shadow, meaning that if you’re not that good at headshots, you can still take them down with ease.
It combines very well with Saga’s Shotguns, since you may start combat by picking Taken off from afar and then switching to either Shotgun when they get close. In the end, it has no clear downside, making it an easy pick for the best weapon in Alan Wake 2.
