The whacky solar system players can explore in The Outer Worlds holds many different weapon varieties for the lone colonist to wield during their adventures across the Halcyon system. From the simple Tossball Blocker to the ever-reliable Plasma Rifle, there’s seemingly a weapon for every occasion, though none hold a candle to the elusive Science Weapons.
Taking the outlandish gameplay and turning it up to eleven seems to be the sole purpose of these hidden gems, as they all have a simple yet ridiculous effect that is always a blast to use. Not all of the Science Weapons are made equal, however, and some can easily be left at the bottom of the player’s bag for the majority of the game.
5 Shrink Ray
The first Science Weapon players can find on Phineas’ ship is the Shrink Ray, a small pistol looking gun that gives off strong vibes of classic sci-fi weapons. Its initial shot is relatively weak compared to the other Science Weapons and even compared to many early game guns and melee weapons players can find, but it has a useful side effect that can make harder enemies easier to deal with. Aside from the hilarious shrinking effect that does exactly what it says on the box, the Shrink Ray also weakens enemies considerably, making them easier to take down with a stronger weapon or with the assistance of a companion.
While the Shrink Ray isn’t a bad weapon, it is let down by the fact that it relies so heavily on either a supporting character or by constantly switching weapons to make its use effective. It can be very useful against some of the big later game enemies that seem to take more bullets than they otherwise should, but for the most part, the Shrink Ray isn’t as useful as it could be.
4 Mind Control Ray
Like the Shrink Ray, the Mind Control Ray doesn’t do all that much damage by itself, only dealing slightly more damage than it’s little brother, but its secondary effect is what really sets it apart from the previous entry. The Mind Control Ray does exactly what it says on the box and mind controls anyone unfortunate enough to be shot with it. Increasing the Science Skill will also increase how aggressively the controlled enemy will attack their allies, making it a perfect tool for any Science-based builds.
While the Mind Control Ray doesn’t fall into exactly the same pitfalls as the Shrink Ray, as the ability to bring marauders over to the player’s side takes away some of the need for a companion to help deal damage, it still isn’t the best weapon by itself. It seems the best way to use the Mind Control Ray is to take over a few bad guys, then switch to a different weapon to thin the herds while they are fighting amongst each other.
3 Mandibular Rearranger
The first of two melee weapons in the Science Weapon group has one of the most useful effects in any RPG – it freezes any enemy hit with it in place, leaving the player to swing away without worrying about being hit back. While the effect is definitely useful, the damage output means that players are unlikely to rely on the secondary effect much unless they are playing on higher levels. The enemy is more likely to die from the damage before being frozen unless they are Mega enemies.
The Mandibular Rearranger gives off some serious Windshear vibes from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, though in this case, it’s not entirely broken and actually does what it says it should.
2 Gloop Gun
Giving off some serious GLOO Cannon vibes form Prey, the Gloop Gun takes a very similar concept but puts a whacky spin on the original design. This oversized cannon shoots a blob of blue energy in an arc that leaves a puddle of gloop on the ground, dealing decent damage to mobs of enemies and is good for crowd control. While this is fine by itself, it also has a secondary effect that makes the weapon a lot more fun than it appears to be at first glance, as enemies that are affected by the loop will levitate for a short time.
For the most part, it’s not a good idea to rely solely on the levitation aspect of this weapon. It is much harder to hit the same enemy with the Gloop Gun while they are in the air, but the damage dealt on the first shot makes it great for taking out waves of weaker enemies in a few well-placed shots.
1 Prismatic Hammer
Easily the best Science Weapon in The Outer Worlds, as well as the best melee weapon in the entire game, is the Prismatic Hammer. Aside from looking like someone simply strapped a rocket to a handle and called it a hammer, this weapon deals ridiculous levels of damage when players have unlocked the power attack with Two-Handed weapons.
When the head of the hammer impacts, it will send a wave of energy forward in a straight line in front of the player. This makes it not only good up close, but from a distance as well. While the range of the energy wave isn’t particularly long, it still gives players the extra distance that makes engaging in melee combat much safer than it otherwise would be.
