While every Transformer has a default primary weapon, you can adjust your loadout numerous times throughout Rise of the Dark Spark. Once you’ve unlocked a weapon by picking it up or finding it in a gearbox, you can always switch to that weapon at any loadout terminal. However, not all weapons are created equal, so let’s take a look at some of the weapons you should focus on. You should also check out our free walkthrough of the single player campaign.
Riot Cannon
Arguably the best primary weapon in the game, the Riot Cannon has a wide blast radius and inflicts considerable damage. Few enemies can take more than one or two shots from the Riot Cannon and live. In addition, the wide blast radius means you can take out multiple enemies with a single shot if you have good aim and the enemies are close enough together (which happens more often than you might think). You don’t even need to really aim all that well since the blast radius allows you to be close enough to your target and still score the kill. The amount of ammo the Riot Cannon holds isn’t great at first, but it can be upgraded.
Nucleon Charge Rifle
This is essentially the primary sniper rifle in the game. Once you look through the scope, it takes a moment to charge. The charge (indicated by the bars on either side of the scope) determines the range and power of your shot. This is a great weapon to use if you have a good camping position and aren’t overly worried about getting flanked. Unfortunately, the precision nature of the weapon makes it useless at close range, or when you need to quickly dispose of an enemy.
Thermo Rocket Cannon
The Thermo Rocket Cannon is one of the best heavy weapons. It quickly locks-on to an enemy, then fires a guided missile that’s difficult to avoid. There are times when an enemy will move behind a barrier or similar obstacle, but it’s rare for this attack to miss once you have a lock. It also packs quite a punch, meaning you rarely have to fire more than one shot per enemy. The only downfall is that it doesn’t have a lot of ammo, so unless there’s yellow ammo around, it’s unlikely this weapon will last through most battles. Use it on enemies that move around a lot and are harder to hit with more conventional weapons.
X18 Scrapmaker
The big advantage of the X18 is that you never have to reload. It has a little bit of startup before it fires, but in a heavy-duty firefight, this thing is great. There are plenty of times throughout the game where reloading is a hassle because you just want to continuously fire. Well, with the X18 you can do just that. It also has solid range and decent damage output to boot.
V32.CYBR Corrupt@r
This is more of a fun weapon rather than a practical one, but it gets the job done. When you tag an enemy with this weapon, your foe temporarily changes to your side. They will immediately attack the closest adversary. Unfortunately, the AI in the game isn’t great, so it generally takes the turned enemy longer to defeat his comrades than a human would take. However, if you’re outnumbered, this weapon may come in handy to turn the tables and give you some much-needed support. It doesn’t hold a lot of ammo, but you only need one shot to turn an enemy, and the effect lasts long enough for you to clear out the remaining enemies in most instances.
Melee
At close range, few weapons are better than a simple melee attack. Few enemies can survive two melee attacks, and if you connect with the first, you can hit them again while they’re grounded. You also don’t have to worry about ammo limitations with your melee attack, and it’s always available. Just be careful of the enemy’s attack, as it’s generally just as powerful as yours, if not more so.
