Grounded 2 weapons tier list

Grounded 2, even in its first Early Access build, already has dozens of weapons. There are the craftables, and then there are unique weapons you can pick up from well-guarded or well-hidden spots. Overall, it's hard to make a fair tier list for all of them because most of them serve their purpose, at least in a specific niche and point of progression.

So, in this Grounded 2 Weapon tier list, I'll try to rank a weapon based on how effective it is at the point of progression when you're expected to craft it. All the craftable weapons in the game fall into Tier-I, Tier-II, or Tier-III, based on what kind of resources they require to craft, and the secret weapons are generally equivalent to the stats of one of these craftable ones.

Before we proceed, do note that there will be some subjective bias in what weapons I find less useful. For example, I'm not a fan of the dual claws or bows in this game, so weapons of this category won't rank very high.

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All Grounded 2 weapons ranked: Tier list

Here's my (very subjective) tier list ranking all the weapons:

Tier	Weapons
S	Ice Sickles, Gloom Skewer, Pinch Wacker, Wolfsbane Fangs, Mosquito Needle
A	Spicy Coaltana, Crimson Avenger, Heatwave, Glacial Sting, Mantis Blade, Weaver Daggers, Roach Club
B	Bushwacker, Scorching Orb, Larva Spear, Pebblet Spear, Mitey Fangs, Red Ant Club, Sprig Bow, Spider Stinger, Wolf Stinger
C	Stinger Spear, Warhammerlet, Northern Shredders, Crimson Saber

For my Grounded 2 weapon tier list, I've ranked the weapons in four categories: S, A, B, and C. I didn't go for a D-tier, because no weapon is irredeemably bad to the point of being newbie-traps. Anyhow, here's what the tiers broadly imply:

• S-tier weapons are the best of the best, and either outperform other options in their tier or have some sort of gimmick that makes them highly coveted.
• A-tier weapons are the solid choices, and while not borderline essentials like S-tier rankers, you can comfortably upgrade these.
• B-tier weapons are decent picks, and they provide reasonable performance for the general tier they are in.
• C-tier weapons are the clear underperformers. Don't bother crafting a C-tier weapon in Grounded 2, unless you really like the look of it.

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S-tier weapons in Grounded 2

Hard to beat the Ice Sickles as a Rogue (Image via Xbox Game Studios)

Ice Sickles (Unique) - This is by far the best dagger, if not the straight-up best weapon, in Grounded 2. Getting it is a daunting adventure culminating in a Dynasty Warriors-tier horde-clearing gauntlet. Yet, the Ice Sickles are so good that it's an essential task.

Great overall stats and the massive advantage of chilling and freezing enemies makes it a good pick-up for anyone, and easily the main game-changer for a Rogue-oriented setup.

Gloom Skewer (Unique) - Very handy DPS weapon if you're playing co-op, but even solo, Gloom Skewer is good because you can combo it with daggers to dish out more damage. It's a bit more micromanage-y to prime your target up this way, yet the damage boost is meaningful enough to make it a great bossing tool for Rogues.

Pinch Whacker (Unique) - This one-hander shocks enemies with every third hit, with an additional generous AoE. This is straight S-tier on that metric alone, be it for crowd-clearing or whittling down bosses. As a bonus, you also get the most consistent way to stunlock enemies in Grounded 2.

Wolfsbane Fangs - One of the few regular weapons worthy of S-tier. The reason is that rogues are overall the strongest archetype in Grounded 2 right now (so brace yourselves for potential nerfs sometime this year). Plus, the Wolfsbane Fangs also combine the opportunity to perform a safer hit-and-run tactic because of the Venom build-up.

Mosquito Needle - Getting a source of lifesteal as early as you get this rapier makes it a great mid-game mainstay. Even without that gimmick, though, it's fast enough to be a great upgrade over the Larva Spear.

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A-tier weapons in Grounded 2

I'm the praying mantis now (Image via Xbox Game Studios)

Crimson Avenger (Unique) - It's specifically an effective weapon against spiders, but another big reason why it's good is that it's also affected by the Red Ant Armor set combo damage boost. If you're doing a regular sword-and-board playstyle, this is probably the best mid-game weapon.

Heatwave (Unique) - The stats are similar to the Scorching Orb fire-staff you can craft. What about the unique effect, though? Well, it's only useful if you're trying to counter Chill, which is neither hard to do nor niche enough to not matter for most of the game in the current Grounded 2 version.

Right now, it's just a regular staff that gets a bump to maybe A+ tier, if only as a tool to get to the true breadwinner, the Ice Sickles.

Spicy Coaltana - Right now, this is the strongest weapon in terms of raw DPS, not considering set bonuses and other buffs. However, you get this at the very end of the current campaign in Grounded 2, so other than the satisfaction of having the returning classic two-hander from the first game, the brute strength is not that game-changing.

Check out: How to get Spicy Coaltana

Glacial Sting - There are just three staves in the game right now, and only this one freezes. In my book, this makes it the strongest one, especially on co-op.

Mantis Blade - Save for Spicy Coaltana, this is the strongest two-hander you can produce en masse in Grounded 2 right now.

Weaver Daggers - This is up here because you can get it relatively early, and even if you aren't a rogue, this is the most dramatic upgrade at this stage of progression in the game.

Roach Club - One of the best non-Unique weapons to deal with Scorpion in the mid-game. And we're talking about a rather large part of the mid-game here. Take it from someone who doesn't like the flavor of blunt weapons: Roach Club is here due to a lack of good alternatives in its time and place.

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B-tier weapons in Grounded 2

Bows are just not my jam, so they could be high-tier for you (Image via Xbox Game Studios)

Bushwacker (Unique) - This is probably the best shot for an all-in Ambush playstyle. This bow does extra flat damage if the target is at full health, so you want to combine it with the critical to potentially one-tap enemies.

That said, the stats don't make it future-proof. Unless there are new toys to strengthen an ambush predator ranger build in Grounded 2, this is just a B-tier weapon for now.

Scorching Orb - Compared to the Glacial Sting, this has a higher crit chance and more trickle damage coming in from the burn status. So, if you're someone who fancies staves as their main weapon class, this will probably be up higher at A-tier at least. However, for me, the utility of Glacial Sting's freeze makes it much more reliable overall.

Larva Spear - For sword-and-board players, Larva Spear is your first craftable "good weapon" to the point where you should upgrade it.

Pebblet Spear - For a starter weapon, this is quite good and versatile; it's arguably a better option over the Crimson Saber for your first dive into the Anthill dungeon.

Mitey Fangs - This gets a bonus from the Red Ant armor set, making it the only sparring weapon type worth investing in. Yay!

Sprig Bow, Spider Stinger, Wolf Stinger - Your regular bows from tier-1 to tier-3. Each gets incrementally better damage and crit chance. Wolf Stinger probably should be a tier higher if you really want to play a ranger, as it's the strongest bow in the game right now. These are all in B-tier because rangers are not really that strong in Grounded 2 yet.

Red Ant Club - You can make this quite early if you squash a few soldier ants, and its stats are decent enough across-the-board to last you till tier-2 gear.

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I haven't gone into details about C-tier weapons, because the whole point is that their immediate tier has better alternatives you can craft or find. For now, that's it for this Grounded 2 weapon tier list. As the game gets more weapons introduced throughout its Early Access process (and maybe balance patches), I'll update this tier list.

Check out our other guides on the game:

• Easiest Grounded 2 build guide: Best weapons and mutation setup explained
• How to dupe weapons in Grounded 2 (glitch)
• How to enter the Network Center in Grounded 2
• How to get Crimson Avenger in Grounded 2