All Weapons in Returnal Guide

In this Returnal All Weapons Guide I’ll be coving all the Returnal Weapons found in this Playstation 5 exclusive. I’ll be showing you not only where they can be found, but what they do, what bonuses they can come with, as well as what Alt-Fire Modes they have and what Weapon Traits are possible. Please note this page will be updated as more information becomes available.

All Weapons in Returnal Guide

There are roughly a dozen Weapons in Returnal, so there isn’t a huge list, but they all have a lot of variations that you can acquire through out the course of your first playthrough. First up, let’s begin with the Modified Sidearm SD-M8, since that’s the first Weapon you acquire and it’s the one you will always begin with.

Modified Sidearm SD-M8

The Modified Sidearm SD-M8 is what you begin each attempt to escape Atropos with, and it comes with no Traits to start. You can find better versions of it immediately, and it won’t take long to find them.

Modified Sidearm SD-M8 Stats

Bonus Damage – Increases how much damage is dealt with this Weapon
Overload Projectiles – Increases the amount of projectiles fired after a successful Overload ??
Firerate – Increases how quickly you can fire the weapon

Modified Sidearm SD-M8 Traits

Spitmaw Blasters come with a various amount of the following Traits, and these are determined by the level of the Weapon. The higher level the Weapon the more Traits and higher Tier Traits can be found on the Weapon.

Homing Missile – Fires a homing missile periodically when firing
Piercing – Bullets pierce hostiles, hitting enemies behind your target
Snubnose Barrel – ???

Proficiency Level 5 Required

Shrapnel – Bullets deal aoe damage on impact
Charging Shot – ???

Proficiency Level 15 Required

Proficiency Level 25 Required

Modified Sidearm SD-M8 Alt-Fire

Modified Sidearm SD-M8 come with random Alt-Fires, and they can have any of the following Alt-Fire Modes:

Shockstream – Shocks nearby targets, dealing damage over time
Trackerswarm – Fires a group of homing projectiles at a target
??

Spitmaw Blaster

The Spitmaw Blaster can be found at any point from the very beginning of the game whenever a Weapon would drop. These Weapons operate much like a Shotgun, firing a group of small projectiles at the target that take up a wide area. This makes this Weapons much more effective against large enemies, and those that are very close to you. It’s very easy to Stagger enemies with this Weapon, and Staggered enemies take increased damage.

Spitmaw Blaster Stats

Spitmaw Blasters come with various amounts of the following Stats, adding up to a total of the level of the Weapon:

Bonus Damage – Increases how much damage is dealt with this Weapon
Effective Range – Increases how far this weapon will deal full damage
Stagger Power – Increases Stagger build up on the enemy per projectile that hits

Spitmaw Blaster Traits

Slug Shot – Changes the spread of the weapon to a single round fired
Rapid Spitter – Increases the fire rate of the weapon
Acid Clouds – ??

Proficiency Level 5 Required

Wide Maw – Increases the spread of the projectiles fired
Narrow Maw – Narrows the spread of the projectiles fired
Critical Stagger – ??

Proficiency Level 15 Required

Proficiency Level 25 Required

Spitmaw Blaster Alt-Fire

Spitmaw Blasters come with random Alt-Fires, and they can have any of the following Alt-Fire Modes:

Voidbeam – A long, continous beam that deals increasing damage if kept on a single target.

Shockstream – Shocks nearby targets, dealing damage over time
??

Tachyomatic Carbine

The Tachomatic Carbine is a fully automatic assault rifle that functions well in mid or close range situations. It has the highest fire rate of any of the beginning weapons in the game, and is just an all around good choice if you don’t like the pistole and you aren’t comfortable with the Shotgun. You will get this weapon very early on in the game.

Tachyomatic Carbine Stats

Tachyomatic Carbines come with various amounts of the following Stats, adding up to a total of the level of the Weapon:

Bonus Damage – Increases how much damage is dealt with this Weapon
Overheat Limit – Increases how many projectiles you can fire before reloading
Projectile Speed – Increases how fast your projectiles travel

Tachyomatic Carbine Traits

Tachyomatic Carbines come with a various amount of the following Traits, and these are determined by the level of the Weapon. The higher level the Weapon the more Traits and higher Tier Traits can be found on the Weapon.

High Caliber – ??
Rising Pitch – ??
Payload Rounds – ??

Proficiency Level 5 Required

Critical Hit – ??
Hardened – ??

Proficiency Level 15 Required

Proficiency Level 25 Required

Tachyomatic Carbine Alt-Fire

Tachyomatic Carbines come with random Alt-Fires, and they can have any of the following Alt-Fire Modes:

Trackerswarm – Fires a group of homing projectiles at a target
Shockstream – Shocks nearby targets, dealing damage over time

Thermogenic Launcher

The Thermogenic Launcher is a rocket launcher that fires three small missiles that home onto your target if they get close enough to it. You can fire 3 shots before you need to reload, but they can hit quite hard, and are very effective against larger enemies. The downside to this Weapon is that it has a rather low center of gravity, making it difficult to hit anything even slightly below you, because rockets tend to clip the ground when aiming downward. Best used against large and flying enemies for this reason.

The Thermogenic Launcher is located in Derelict Citadel, in an area guarded by several large eyes up above, and two turrets guarding a door. Inside this door is the Thermogenic Launcher.

Thermogenic Launcher Stats

Thermogenic Launchers come with various amounts of the following Stats, adding up to a total of the level of the Weapon:

Bonus Damage – Increases how much damage is dealt with this Weapon
Explosion Radius – Increases how big the explosions of each rocket are
Reload Speed – How fast you reload when you run out of ammo

Thermogenic Launcher Traits

Thermogenic Launchers come with a various amount of the following Traits, and these are determined by the level of the Weapon. The higher level the Weapon the more Traits and higher Tier Traits can be found on the Weapon.