Saros has a ton of weapons — over 15 primary guns, plus 4 powerful ones that unlock as you progress through the biomes. To grab a weapon you like for your current run, look for white, red, and yellow containers — that’s where they usually drop. Or use the reroll option if you’re after a specific model. Below we break down how each weapon works and which biome it starts appearing in.
For trophy hunters: unlocking the full arsenal is one of the requirements for the “Full Arsenal” trophy. You’ll also need to get 25 kills with each weapon. The easiest way to track progress is to check the databank and aim for around 20% per weapon. Not perfect, but it works fine for grinding.
Table of Contents
Primary Weapons in Saros — From Revolvers to Chakrams
Shattered Rise (Biome 1) — Five Weapons from the Start
Eruptor Revolver
Fires in three-round bursts. Alt-fire loads multiple rounds into the chamber at once — releasing a wide spread with heavy recoil and massive scatter. Perfect when enemies are clustered together.
Ricochet Revolver
Single shots pierce through enemies and bounce off walls, reaching targets behind cover. Alt-fire dramatically increases fire rate — like the trigger got stuck on “spray and pray”.
Sharpshooter Revolver
The only revolver without auto-aim. Primary fire is a three-round burst. Alt-fire charges a powerful shot that marks an enemy — after that, primary fire against the marked target gains homing. A clever tool for crowd control enthusiasts.
Tactical Rifle
Standard fire rate by default. Hold L2 and the rate of fire starts climbing — the longer you hold, the faster the bullets fly.
Surge Assault Rifle
No auto-aim. Base fire works like the tactical rifle, but alt-fire slows the pace and doubles the number of projectiles — and they home in on weak points automatically. An absolute gift against bosses.
Smart Rifle
Fires red projectiles. Normal shots work as-is. Alt-fire turns the burst into a homing spread. Clears crowds in an instant.
Ancient Depths (Biome 2) — Shotguns for Every Taste
Horde Shotgun
Semi-auto with a wide horizontal spread. Press L2 and the weapon switches to a vertical spread, making it easier to hit enemies at range.
Steadfast Shotgun
Same base attack, but alt-fire releases a slow-moving wall of pellets. Follow it up with a primary shot into that wall and the pellets suddenly accelerate. A combo for tactically-minded players.
Annihilator Shotgun
Primary attack like the Horde. L2 turns it into a grenade launcher: the grenade explodes on contact with a target or surface, clearing the area. Two in one — buckshot and explosives.
Shattered Descent (Biome 3) — Hybrid Crossbows
Repeater Crossbow
Fires a wide bolt. Alt-fire launches a single projectile that, on hitting an enemy or wall, splits into several homing bolts. A “matryoshka” effect.
Impactor Crossbow
Base attack charges up — the longer you hold, the more bolts load. Release R2 or dash to fire. Alt-fire is a single bolt that, on hitting a weak point, spawns homing copies of itself.
Bifurcator Crossbow
Charge up (longer = more projectiles), release or dash to fire — and all bolts home in automatically. Alt-fire is identical to the Repeater’s. Three crossbows on paper, but they feel like six.
Acolyte’s Haven (Biome 6) — Chakrams for True Experts
Ripsaw Chakram
Holding R2 launches discs that embed into enemies. Hold alt-fire and the lodged discs start dealing continuous damage until the enemy dies or you release the button. Effortless control.
Reaper Chakram
Throw a disc with primary fire, recall it with L2. If you keep holding L2 after the recall, a spinning ring forms around your character and slices nearby enemies. Great for crowds.
Myriad Chakram
Rapid-fires homing discs. Alt-fire disables the homing but aims discs at weak points and makes them return instantly. High skill floor, but in skilled hands — a killing machine.
We’ve only covered primary weapons here. The four powerful weapons and upgrade details are covered in part two — there’s plenty to be surprised by. For now, grind each weapon to 25 kills so you don’t miss the trophy.
Heavy Weapons in Saros — Four Guns for Total Annihilation
Beyond the main arsenal, the game features four heavy weapons. They unlock in different biomes and serve as situational trump cards.
Prominence (Shattered Rise, Biome 1)
Hold L2, then R2 — launch an explosive projectile. Large blast radius plus a stun effect. A great way to break up a crowd when you’re cornered.
Dispiritor (Ancient Depths, Biome 2)
Deals damage over time and can hit multiple enemies in a spread simultaneously. If an enemy dies to this weapon, it leaves behind a cage that fires small projectiles in all directions. Essentially a chain reaction.
Nova Lance (Desecrated Fortress, Biome 5)
A charged energy shot (hold L2 and R2). On release, it pierces through multiple targets and deals serious damage to weak spots. Against bosses — an absolute sledgehammer.
Illumine (Cathedral, Biome 7)
The last heavy weapon. Charge up and fire a continuous beam that burns an enemy until the energy runs out. Just hold the button and watch health bars melt away.
Best Weapons in Saros? My Personal Top 3 After 35 Hours
Honestly, you can clear the biomes with any weapon — especially toward the mid and late game, where the developers have balanced things out nicely. But if you’re picking favourites, three weapons clearly stand above the rest. After nearly 35 hours in Saros, here’s my personal top three.
Coming in at third place — the Ricochet Revolver. Funny enough, one of the first weapons you get is still one of the best. People who dismissed pistols in Returnal will be pleasantly surprised: in Saros, revolvers received a lot of love.
Why is it great? Ricochets pierce enemies and bounce off walls. Clearing rooms takes seconds. Just hold L2 for alt-fire and spam shots — damage spreads across multiple targets at once. The only reason it didn’t rank higher: it’s weak against bosses. They’re typically single targets, so the weapon’s main strength doesn’t apply.
Second place goes to the Annihilator Shotgun. This is where the real fun begins. Unlike the Spitmaw Blaster from Returnal, shotguns in Saros work differently. The base attack is standard, but alt-fire (L2) turns the gun into a grenade launcher. One or two shots and any enemy’s health bar simply disappears.
In boss fights, if you consistently land grenades, phases melt at cosmic speed. Aiming at small flying targets with a grenade launcher is a pain, admittedly. But that’s what the primary attack is for.
And my absolute favourite — the Repeater Crossbow. One of the simplest weapons to use, and it does 90% of the work for you. I know some people don’t like that “easy mode” feel, but the truth is: this crossbow feels like a weapon of mass destruction. The primary attack literally shreds enemies, and higher mastery levels increase fire rate.
The real star is the alt-fire. You can aim at any point on the floor or wall, and the projectiles will still home in on enemies. They keep chasing targets and dealing damage while you freely move around the room. In boss fights the crossbow holds up just as well: you can always alternate alt-fire with heavy moves. Most fights end up feeling less like brutal tests of skill and more like a relaxed stroll.
In the second part we covered the heavy weapons and a personal top five. If you want to know about hidden synergies between weapons and artefacts — and there are some that genuinely break the balance — let us know and we’ll put together a third article. In the meantime, collect all 10 pairs and go claim that “Full Arsenal” trophy.
