Starfield | All Energy and Particle Pistols Ranked

When it comes to talking about energy and particle pistols in Starfield, there is a clear difference between the worst and the best. Each weapon in this type either depends on using particle beams or energy bolts to deal damage to opponents. Generally, these will have an effect like fire, electricity, or knock which makes the weapon more usable. With this in mind, energy weapons prefer a higher rate of fire with more ammunition per magazine than traditional ballistic weapons. Though this may result in an easier time for more damage quickly, it can’t be undermined that energy weapons have some drawbacks. 

That being said, when ranking an energy weapon we have to look at the cost of ammunition, damage dealt, and effects given. Luckily, there are plenty of normal and special options to carry on your intergalactic adventure in Starfield. To make these weapons more potent, players should invest in the energy weapons perk and in this case, the gunslinger perk. This way you make the most of your energy weapons, especially later on in the game. At the beginning of your playthrough, not a lot of energy pistols will make themselves distinct when considering rifles. However, as you level up, energy pistols slowly overtake their rifle counterparts. 

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Energy Weapon Uses

In Starfield, different damage types are useful against different enemies. Specifically, energy weapons are great against armored opponents and those who get too close. Aliens, robots, and armored humanoids will be made quick work of if you have the proper effects at the ready. Very commonly these energy weapons may mix electricity, fire, and explosive damage to make them even more powerful. To supplement this, most energy weapons focus on having a high rate of fire and more shots per magazine. The downside to energy weapons is that they tend to fall off at a distance, requiring the player to become close and personal with their targets. 

Energy Versus Particle Beams

When discussing energy weapons in Starfield, there are two main types of projectiles. You have the common energy bolt or laser which is common for the Solstice model of pistol and its unique variants. These focus on smaller singular shots that can become more rapid action as a result. Typically energy weapons like this will be significantly faster firing at the cost of dealing less overall damage. Additionally, energy shots alone will only deal energy damage, which makes it limited in who you use it against. 

Particle Beam weapons are items that mix a stream of energy with physical particle currents to produce a damaging beam. Every beam weapon will include both physical and energy damage, generally having a much better range. Fortunately, particle Beam weapons on average have a slower rate of fire to supplement this increase in damage. Mixing the two damage types means that particle Beam weapons can be used on a greater amount of enemies overall. In terms of which one is better, they’re very similar to the differences between energy and plasma in Fallout. For this reason, it all depends on if you prefer slow and heavy or fast and light. 

Solstice

Solistice – An Under-Powered Option #7

The Solstice is a specialized energy pistol that has not only a unique design but also a decent amount of damage. Early in the game, the Solstice can be better than something like the Eon or Rattler on the physical side due to the ammunition per magazine. Another great part about these energy weapons over physical ones is that the ammunition is almost always available. Though it may be expensive to keep in stock, almost every major vendor will carry the various energy ammunition types along with others. Luckily this means that you’ll be able to collect them more often than things like the .45 ACP ammunition type.

As for what the solstice is best for, they’re more often than not a perfect option for combat, they do go for a fair amount of credits. Because of this beyond the early game, they are better off just throwing them into your cargo hold for vendors. Otherwise, it is a rapid-shooting semi-automatic energy pistol with an interesting reloading process. Having an interesting action where you replace the muzzle of the weapon you’re left with some interesting thoughts. For one, is the weapon fired from the muzzle and the rest from a battery, or vice versa? It’s one of the first weapons I’ve ever noticed in a game that has a barrel that acts as a magazine. This alone makes the weapon stylistically impressive, even if it does fall short after level five. 

Novalight

Novalight – The Pilot’s Choice #6

Second on the list is the Novalight, acting more like a compact menace than anything else. Novalight pistols deal a decent amount of damage for the fire rate available, making short work of early-game threats. Being a particle beam weapon, it does significantly more damage than a standard energy weapon. Dealing with both physical and energy damage, can be devastating to any opponent type you come across. Unlike the solstice, with the proper perks you could easily use this weapon well into the end game. Even better in Starfield, these particle beam weapons have a chance of damaging multiple enemies in a single shot.

You can acquire novalights practically anywhere as they’re one of the more common weapons in Starfield. Because of this, keeping your weapon armed and ready will be easy so long as you have access to the credits. Additionally, if you want to make a tight profit, Novalights are especially light to carry, so you can collect a lot of them to sell. Perhaps what’s best about these weapons though compared to the solstice is their sheer amount of customization. Novalight pistols can easily be upgraded for any building style, making them perfect for everyone!

The Spacer

The Spacer – Deep Space Shooter #5

The unique version of the Novalight is the ever-potent special weapon known as The Spacer. Being highly modified for gunslinging at a distance, The Spacer has a lot to offer players. This weapon boasts heightened damage and accuracy along with keeping more shots per magazine. Range, magazine capacity, accuracy, and damage are all increased in this special variety to make it truly amazing. While this weapon will serve you well in most situations, undoubtedly it was designed for space combat. Being given the space adept perk, it will deal extra damage when used in outer space. This means The Spacer is perfect for ship-to-ship combat, space stations, or any other pirate-related activity. 

You can find The Spacer in Neon City sold at the Arboron shop. This unique weapon will set you back almost 14 thousand credits however it’s well worth the acquisition. Being a fast-firing and deadly weapon, Novalights are already one of the better options among pistols available. Granting it a unique variety only serves to make the weapon that much more overpowered. The only downside to The Spacer is that compared to its normal counterpart it is significantly heavier. However, by the time you’ve acquired this hot shot particle Beam pistol, you should be able to merit the extra three pounds. So if you’re looking for a space-based combat weapon, The Spacer is for you!

Short Circuit

Short Circuit – For The A.I. In The Audience #4

Going back to the Solstice weapon variety, one of its two unique versions is the Short Circuit. It is designed to be used against robot enemies. This weapon is assured to help you along the way against automated defenses. There are several points in the game where a weapon like this can shine through, especially when doing the Crimson Fleet storyline. Keeping this idea in mind, the Short Circuit is by far one of the best weapons for dealing with robots. Energy damage will already be relatively effective against them, however, the added 20% damage bonus is nothing to scoff at. 

If you want to acquire the Short Circuit pistol for yourself you can purchase it in Hopetown. Being located at the Best Defense shop, you’ll need to bring at least eight thousand credits with you. While you’re here, don’t forget to also pick up the special weapon Speechless Fire for another ten thousand credits. Overall, the Short Circuit is just a better version of the solstice that weighs more. You get better damage, accuracy, and fire rates when using this weapon over its standard counterpart. Because of this, you’ll have an easy time taking care of any of our future A.I. enemies. 

Ember

Ember – With Heated Passion #3

The Ember pistol is a unique variety of the solstice which not only grants the player some powerful damage. Unfortunately, it requires a few hoops to be jumped through to actually acquire it. This weapon is a unique solstice that has a special appearance and deals with passive fire damage. Having a hot orange appearance with air-brushed black, this weapon is incredibly stylized for what it is. Additionally, Ember has increased damage, accuracy, and range over the traditional Solstice pistol. The real trick of getting this pistol isn’t paying credits, but rather making sure you do a set of steps in a quest itself. It’s really easy to go about doing this quest line and completely missing the Ember pistol as a reward.

To get Ember you’re going to want to start the Ryujin Industries Questline. Once you do and you speak to an NPC named Simon persuade him into telling you about the side job. From here you’ll be able to do the quest as normal until you reach a ship known as the Datura. Do not attack the ship or its owner, instead board it and speak to the character Malai. From here you can either choose to persuade her or kill her to get the Ember pistol from Simon. If you attempt to complete the quest any other way the unique weapon will not be available for collection. This makes the Ember one of the more tricky energy weapons to acquire in the game. 

Terror Inflictor

Terror Inflictor – Spooky And Scary #2

The Terror Inflictor is a special weapon that can only be acquired after you’ve started a new game plus. This weapon is the unique variety of the Starshard, however has worse overall stats than it’s base model. Using a mixture of physical and energy damage, the terror Inflictor attempts to demoralize its enemies with its special ability. This tends to fall short in the game seeing that making someone run away isn’t as effective as killing them. Further, because it can only be purchased in a shop that spawns randomly, you’ll have a hard time getting your hands on it.

The terror Inflictor will cost over fifty thousand credits and seems barely worth the amount of money spent on it. That being said, it does deal significantly more damage than any of the previous weapons on this list. However, when compared to the basic version of the Starshard weapon, it finds itself devastatingly lacking. At the end of the day while this is a great weapon to collect, finding the starborn trader is incredibly difficult. They randomly spawn at any given location, orbit, really anywhere you can be. Therefore getting the terror Inflictor may not be worth the damage it deals. 

-source: JorRaptor

Va’Ruun Starshard – God Can’t Do All The Work #1

The Va’Ruun Starshard is one of the best energy weapons you can get in the game for a variety of reasons. Having one of the highest damage pools in Starfield, this weapon mixes both physical and energy damage to produce a particle-beam effect. Va’ruun Starshard is especially potent in the hands of a gunslinger, mixing heavy pistols and energy damage for maximum effect. These pistols can be found around Starfield in the hands of zealots and their higher-ranking members. Fortunately, even if you don’t like carrying them for their high recoil, star shards sell for quite a bit of credit. The best possible option for these weapons, however, is to keep them as a side arm given how much damage they deal.

You’ll be pretty hard-pressed to find these weapons early on as enemies tend to scale with your level. This creates a scenario where you won’t be able to get your hands on this item until after you’ve hit at least level twenty. That being said, if you’re lucky, or feeling especially powerful you can skip to some higher-level planets to find them. These are some of the heaviest and most powerful weapons in house Va’Ruun’s arsenal, and with a little skill, it can be yours as well. The only real downside to these unique pistols is the significant recoil that comes with them.

The best weapon in Starfield’s energy and particle pistols is easily the Va’Ruun Starshard

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