Weapon Tier List for Serious Sam: Shatterverse

How this gun list is built

You start a Shatterverse run with a starter trio: Desert Eagle, a shotgun, and the M1A2 Thompson. Catalyst Orbs, the same currency that buys Sams, unlock the rest of the toys between runs. Analog Stick’s launch review names the late shop plainly: laser pistols and ray guns show up, grenade launchers show up, and orbs buy a sniper rifle and a double-barrel shotgun. This page ranks that on-ramp against the unlocked minigun, laser, grenade launcher, sniper, and double barrel. It is a launch-week snapshot from playtest notes and early reviews, not a patched infinite DPS spreadsheet.

Ranks are for a typical Serious-difficulty run, solo or 2–5 player co-op. Affixes matter. Playtest notes removed random base-stat generation and made higher ranks roll equal or better affix counts. Two miniguns are not the same minigun. A clean Thompson can beat a cursed purple pistol. If a chest hands you a lower-stat gun than what you are holding, Analog Stick already complained about that loop; skip the chest and keep shooting.

For names, fire modes, and shop routing, use the weapon guide. For which Sam should hold which barrel, use the builds guide and the Sam tier list. This page is shopping order plus the heat warning.

Tier	Gun	Role
S	Minigun	Volume fire, cluster delete, Alien Sam’s best friend
S	Grenade launcher	Chokes, Cartoon Sam explosions, packed 4–5 player rooms
A	Laser	Beam pressure, watches overheat
A	Double barrel	Doorway bursts, Broken Sam lanes, execute setups
A	Thompson (starter)	Honest full-auto on-ramp, playtest range buff
B	Sniper	Elites and lieutenants, hungry for a quiet line
B	Shotgun (starter)	Early biomes, still useful, outscaled later
B	Desert Eagle / late pistols	On-ramp only; late pistols often feel obsolete

S-tier: the guns that change a run

Minigun is the volume argument. Once Catalyst Orbs have paid for it, a packed arena stops being a precision exam. Alien Sam Quad Wielding a minigun is the trailer. Broken Sam holding a lane with one is the adult version. Heat still exists as a pacing tool on long sprays; you cannot spin it forever through a lieutenant phase without a plan. Take affixes that help you stay on target, not a reload joke. If the shop offers a minigun and a late pistol, buy the minigun.

Grenade launcher is the other S because Shatterverse still funnels. Three biomes, arena tiles, and 4–5 player chokes reward a gun that deletes a doorway. Cartoon Sam already has bigger explosions by default, so a grenade launcher on him is the kit admitting what it is. Orphan Sam can plant buzzsaws on the same choke; do not stack both on three fodder enemies. Self-damage and stolen execute targets are the tax. If your group heals by punching wounded Gnaar, a greedy launcher will starve them.

Neither S-tier gun is a reason to skip the starter trio on run one. You will not own them yet. Play the Thompson until the orbs say otherwise.

A-tier: strong with a catch

Laser sits in A because it is a Serious Sam toy that still asks you to manage heat. Overheat is not flavor text. Dump a full beam into a lieutenant, watch the gun choke, and you will understand why this is not a free S. On Alien Sam, Quad Wield plus a hot laser is four barrels you are babysitting. On Cartoon Sam, the laser is a sidearm while you wait for dash and bombs. Take it when the biome has long sightlines and you have the discipline to let it cool. Playtest notes even called out an Electric affix that had been missing; zap when the run offers it, still respect the heat.

Double barrel sits in A as the burst shotgun the starter pump wishes it was. Analog Stick listed it as an orb purchase alongside the sniper. It is a doorway gun, a revive-tile gun, and a Broken Sam gun. Close range is the whole identity. If you bought it to snipe Harpies, you bought the wrong unlock. Pair it with movement or a decoy so you can actually stand at double-barrel distance without eating a kamikaze.

Thompson stays in A even though it is a starter. The July 2026 playtest increased its range. It is the honest full-auto you will fire for hours before the minigun exists, and it remains a backup when the late shop is rolling garbage affixes. Do not vendor a clean Thompson because a chest glowed. Rank and affix count matter more than the word unlocked.

B-tier: usable, situational, or already replaced

Sniper is B because Shatterverse is an arena roguelite, not a camp simulator. It is the right gun for a lieutenant weak point, a distant Arachnoid, or a player who already holds a lane. It is the wrong gun for a 5-player fodder flood. Retro Sam can decoy while someone snipes. Five snipers cannot decoy. Unlock it, then leave it on the wheel until the room actually has a line.

Starter shotgun is B because it does the early biomes and then waits behind double barrel. Keep it until the orb purchase exists. After that, it is a backup when the double barrel is dry or the affixes are wrong.

Desert Eagle and the late pistols are the honesty row. You need a pistol to start. You do not need a late pistol to finish. Players already complain that some late pistols feel obsolete: chests hand you a colored gun with worse stats than the Thompson you are holding, and Quad Wield does not magically make a weak pistol a minigun. If a laser pistol or ray gun rolls excellent affixes, it can punch above this letter. The default case is B or skip. Spend orbs on minigun, laser, grenade launcher, sniper, or double barrel before you invest in another sidearm identity.

SBC Cannon showed up in playtest bug fixes (projectiles should beat Beheaded Rocketeer rockets). It is in the game. It is not ranked S here because this list is the starter trio versus the named unlocks above, not a full catalog. When the weapon guide documents it properly, this table can grow. Until then, treat cannon as a find, not a shopping plan.

Overheat, ranks, and affixes

Overheat is the rule that separates trailer clips from live play. Laser is the obvious heat gun. Minigun sprays have a pacing tax of their own. If a disc or affix mentions heat, cooldown, or fire rate, read it twice on energy weapons. Four-arm Quad Wield multiplies the mistake. A Cartoon Sam who dashes while a laser is overheated is still a Sam with no gun for a beat.

Weapon ranks should now be consistent: playtest notes stripped random base stats and scaled affixes with rank. Higher rank should mean more or better affixes, not a dice roll that makes a white gun beat a purple. Analog Stick still saw chests full of worse guns in Act I. Believe both. The system wants you to upgrade; the loot table will still try to distract you.

Nearly fifty affixes exist, and some only appear in later acts. Faster projectiles, tighter spread with fewer pellets, bleed chance — those are real. They are also why a B-tier sniper with the right rider can outplay an S-tier launcher with none. This list ranks the gun identities, not every roll. If your minigun feels like a B, check the affixes before you check this table.

Who should buy what

• Alien Sam: minigun first, laser second, ignore late pistols.
• Cartoon Sam: grenade launcher first, anything explosive, Thompson until then.
• Retro Sam: Thompson and shotgun while decoys do the gathering; sniper only if a teammate is not already holding one.
• Orphan Sam: guns that work around a planted portal. Launcher and double barrel, not a sniper that makes you leave the saws.
• Broken Sam: minigun or double barrel in the doorway. Self-heal ultimate path does not replace a real gun.

Starter trio is not a punishment. It is the first two hours, which is also how long Analog Stick took to unlock the other four Sams. Buy a Sam hole first if the lobby is empty, then buy a gun hole. Cross-play and peer-to-peer do not change the shop. Solo does not get a secret better pistol.

When a patch retunes heat or ranks, start at the updates hub and the launch notes, then come back. Until then, spend Catalyst Orbs like you will remember the overheat bar exists. The minigun and the grenade launcher are the launch-week reasons to open the shop. The late pistol is the launch-week reason to walk past it. If you want the full fire-mode writeup instead of letters, that is the weapon guide, and it is the page that should win the argument when a chest and this table disagree.