The first time I pinned an enemy with the crossbow was a highlight of years of gaming. So satisfying.
I think it’s really interesting that people are mentioning the Titanfall 2 smart pistol and the supercharged gravity gun from Half Life 2. These guns are so OP that you can only use them for a short time in the campaign. What makes them feel good is the contrast to how difficult the game was a few minutes ago. If you had them long enough to get used to them, not only would they not feel good to use, but the game would probably feel very boring.
Still, the net experience is very memorable when done right, and I’m glad people like them!
Destiny’s 1000-Yard Stare just for how perfect the name is for a sniper rifle.
Top favorite though has to be the Torque Bow from Gears of War. There was the perfect moment of satisfaction when you landed a hit on someone and they had a split second to realize they’ve been stuck. Likewise, it was funny in GoW2 when they added a short one-liner when you were stuck just before you were blown to pieces.
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The shotgun in Halo 2.
I have vivid memories of LAN parties where for whatever reason something would click and for a brief moment I would demolish my brother and his older friends, who were better at the game than I was for the most part. The shotgun was one of the few ways I was able to compete with them, it made me feel a little more grown up and empowered, which is something angst-y teens need from time to time.
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The colt walker in Fistful of Frags. When you shoot the thing it feels like you’re firing a cannon and it often one-shots people, making it extremely satisfying to use.
I often find it hard to pin down a favourite with these kinds of broad questions so I’m just going to list off some that I really like.
- The M4A1 with silencer in Counter Strike: great sound, super accurate, just a joy to fire. (honourable mention: the SG-553 AR, favourite weapon in CS:Source back in the day, handles really well and the ACOG scope is a nice advantage)
- Hard to top the double barrel shotgun in DOOM’16: just massive damage, explosive sound, feels great.
- Battlefield 3 had a semi-automatic DMR that let you put iron sights on it, the MK11. Fantastic gun in most mid-long range engagements and I think it bred some fascination for me with semi-auto rifles.
- You can’t go through a ‘best weapon’ list without naming Ratchet & Clank; as for me I love the Blitz Cannon in 2, an electric shotgun that looks like a sideways toaster with a handle, punches real good. (honourable mention: the Pulse Rifle from the same game, great kick, melts most enemies)
- More recently I’ve been liking the auto rifle you get from the Destiny 2 raid, the Ghost Primus, handles really well, does more damage on the last rounds of the clip, has a much better red dot sight than the raid scout rifle, and when you paint away the gold and white colour scheme it actually looks pretty good.
(honourable mention: Nameless Midnight, favourite scout rifle in the game, explosive rounds, solid ass gun, not currently used because I can’t seem to find decent scout rifles to infuse it with)
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The Soda Popper from TF2. It just goes so well with Scout’s playstyle.
Jack from Mass Effect 2.
Slightly more on topic though, the best gun comes from (yes, seriously) Turok 2. The Cerebral Bore. A gun that fires a homing missile that drills into your enemies brain. Plus, it’s called the Cerebral Bore!
Gotta be the Spy’s butterfly knife in TF2. I used to mash the weapon swap button just to watch the slick opening animation over and over.
Spas-12 in original Call of Duty Modern Warfare. A perfectly tuned shotgun in a shooter. It felt amazing, it hit like a truck, and it was focused enough to not get complaints about it’s range/power/whatever people always complain about shotguns about.
Quakes Railgun. There’s no leeway when it comes to it, you either hit and deal massive damage or you miss and are stuck for a few seconds not being able to shoot.
Quake Champions announcer saying “impressive” for consecutive hits is so gratifying.
TF2 sticky launcher. It had the 3rd highest burst damage potential in the game with the added bonus of mobility. Sticky jumps > rocket jumps.
In a game that’s all about ridiculously over powered weaponry, Borderlands 2’s Hellfire may be the most OP weapon in the game. An SMG that features stacking fire damage, I once got a Shift Code for one as part of a Borderlands loot crate from Thinkgeek, but I was so paranoid about using it too soon that I never actually cashed it in.
