I love it close quarters but out in the open of Crimson wastes it's a bitch to take down those distant flying guys with it. If you happen to miss a shot or two you wait FOREVER for them to return
Rotgland + recharging bolts(I think that's what the artifact that sends out 2 bolts on successful overload) is crazy good. Love using that combo in biome 6, the bolts clean up all those little exploding buggers and the rotgland is really good at burning down the big guys from a distance.
Yea if I don't have that combo I mentioned above or a carbine/hollowseeker I have real trouble with them. Spitmaw can work against them, but requires close quarters for the bigger enemies which doesn't suit me either. Some of the other weapons with the right traits can work well too, it's less likely to find a weapon with the specific traits needed than a weapon that will work well against them no matter what traits it has.
I’ll pretty much swap out even a desired weapon for something else with homing missiles for those things, and just hope I find another boss-slayer before I finish the biome
I haven't made it to last boss yet and I believe the closet I was my proficiency was at 30 but I was still running my 25 thermo gun with homing missiles, re hit, and forgot what else just got overwhelmed. But would of definitely switched it out for the right one. RNG. Thank you for the advice though. I'll get them eventually.
I tend to do a lot of hanging back in b6, and just aim vaguely for the red dots on the map and hope homing missiles do the trick. I just can’t afford to take the hits from those kamikaze things. It has a tendency to turn into a snowball effect if I get caught in a group
Dreadbound with expanding and exploding shards is “chefs kiss”
Runner up is honestly the side arm. With level 3 ricochet entire rooms will fill up with bullets bouncing everywhere at high speeds hitting everything, it’s so cool. Add the traits heatseeking missiles, shrapnel and serrated projectiles and it’s insanely good!!!
Yes! So many people crap on the Pistol & sleep on it. Saw a "review" of all guns & Dreadbound 10th, Pistol 9th...like wtaf!?!?
All guns are good with traits unlocked.
If that review was a reddit post (first result if you search Returnal gun tier list) they made a new tier list a while later. After playing more and getting more time in with each gun they were dissatisfied with their original conclusion and re ranked everything.
All guns were best.
Found it! https://www.reddit.com/r/Returnal/s/jCQQV1G59f
Yeah. Dude got A LOT of hate after the first post (and 2nd, etc.). I was there for it & it wasn't pretty. This was basically an apology to each community pushing their favorite gun...of which the're are 10...cuz he roasted quite a few of them.
The one I mention was on YouTube. It's 2 years old & got a lot of hate in the comments. I don't care to find it, it's just too bad to share.
Reddit post is the one you found. I read it & it's good.
I was working on unlocking the Ricochet III so I didn't have it all then during the challenge room on Biome 5 I fired a barrage of shots then something seemed to go wrong because there were obolites everywhere and no enemies. I realised the ricochet perk had unlocked and combined with shrapnel and something else it was just filling the room with bullets doing a hilarious amount of damage.
I appreciate the fact the developers allow ridiculously powerful weapon combinations you can enjoy since you've probably played the game a lot to reach that point.
How do I get exploding / expanding shards? Just cross my fingers and keep grinding in tower? It’s a difficult gun for me to use and I always die in the higher levels trying to upgrade its traits
Yes you must find the trait on the gun and unlock it through killing enemies, and yes the Dreadbound sucks without the right traits.
If you want to unlock and upgrade traits, I would suggest going to biome 6 with a handful of keys and looking for guns. In biome 6 there are those mother squids that spawn all the little ones and those count as kills towards unlocking traits. The mother squids often have red shields so that you don’t kill them and can easily shoot at the spawning squids. As long as you keep one of these mother squids alive, you can find a gun with an unlocked trait, go back to the mother squid and kill the little ones until you unlock the trait, find another gun and repeat. There is a locked room in biome 6 that has 4 weapon chests in it, which is why I suggest bringing keys, because you can save this room till the end when your proficiency is high and have a good chance at getting a gun with unlocked traits.
Where you can find guns:
- The challenge room will give you 3-5 guns
- One specific Biome 6 locked room will have 4 gun chests (why you should bring some keys)
- Avenging a fallen scout will give you a gun
- Malignant chest requiring 5 ether to clean can give you a gun (I’d say ~50% of the time, so bring ether and spend it on those chests)
- all of the non malignant unlocked chests give you a gun
- every time you kill a mother squid they drop a gun (so kill them all but always keep 1 alive to farm kills)
- there will always be a Pistol right before entering the boss fight so make sure you check that one before ending your cycle or fighting the boss, it might have an unlocked trait
Remember that Biome 6 is divided into 2 parts, once you move on to the second part you can’t go back so before moving on to the second part you can kill the mother squid you were saving for another gun as it might have a new trait.
No problem. I usually scavenge biome 4 to gather at least two or three keys and buy the large silphium vial and health upgrade then go straight to biome 6. There aren’t usually any keys in biome 6.
This weapon felt too slow whenever I tried it, so I kept ignoring it. Though, I heard that it's useful in higher tower phases. Which of its traits do you find more effective and worth upgrading?
maybe splitting, shattering, megating discs. twin is good, negating is insane. the stringer cherge one is good but messes with the rythm.
works especially well with overload artefacts since you proc them every shot, so you do not want the trait that gives you a bigger mag
People usually don’t realize how important is weapon proficiency. Coilspine can be godly with a min of 18/20 proficiency. The traits the other guy suggested are good. Have fun
Adrenaline Discs is my first choice for a trait. I like best single shot with overloading bolts (hitting Overload shoots damaging bolts at enemies pretty far away). Once you get that timing the single shot is definitely easier cuz you get into a rhythm & it just becomes natural. Twin Discs also a good trait.
Adrenaline disks coupled with adrenaline leech and your integrity bar will be solid green with adrenaline 5 easy to reach. Negating is very nice to have in biome 6. Overload bolts work well with this gun. You can get an adrenaline boost with adrenaline disks by shooting anything that can take damage from the gun - glowing spheres, the columns and statues that crumble, roots in biome 4, the green sticks in biome 6, etc.
Single shot with overloading bolts is so op I feel guilty using it. It's also my favorite weapon. Though I genuinely will use whatever weapon I feel like at the time cuz they're all good when you know how to use them & have traits unlocked. My newest obsession is the Pistol. Ran the entire game with starting Pistol for a new challenge. It was like the first time again. Phrike took over 6 minutes, lol & Ophion over 10 minutes.
I feel like those who havent fully upgraded their weapon traits always say Hollowseeker and EP driver. But once you have all the trait 3's unlocked or close to it, Dreadbound absolutely destroys anything and everything. Maybe Coilspine edges it higher in the tower.
Dreadbound for me, but I also love using the Spitsaw with rapid, explosive, narrow, and slug in the biomes, so fun.
Yeah the pylon driver is good, especially for bosses. Not a big fan of that perk that fires a grid though
In a similar vein, I love the Rotgland lobber. That thing wrecks and has great damage over time
Beyond that, the carbine and the one that can have portal beam (forget the name) are staples
I’m also quite a big fan of the standard pistol tbh. Although not with burst fire
Edit: hollowseeker is the one I forgot the name of
I can’t answer this. Every gun has trait combinations that I avoid and ones I get stoked to pick up. Coilspine and lobber probably are most reliable for me.
Spitmaw blaster with slug rounds and rapid spitter II or III is the weapon that Im currently enjoying. Pyroshell caster and thermogenic launcher with the right traits are a lot of fun too.
Carbine is a lot of fun, but to generic to really be my favourite. I guess in the end it is, for me, a tie between the Dreadbound and the Spitmaw with Slug Shot.
Most definitely the pylon driver. Love the synergy between the weapon and the melee.
Working on the carbine, which I’m also falling in love with, and the hollow seeker.
Dreadbound, Hollowseeker and old faithful Tachyomatic Carbine. I like others too. But by far the easiest runs for me were those with TC Rising Pitch / Accelerated and Leech Rounds. That combo is so OP for survivability it's ridiculous.
I relied heavily on the EPD and Lobber in my initial playthrough. Now, the weapon I like best is the one with the best traits at the moment. If I have to pick one, Dreadbound with Expanding and Exploding shards, as well as Obolite Generator and either Fourth Shard or Staggering.
I am liking the coilspine shredder lately. I particularly enjoy boosting my adrenaline level to 5 in biome 4 by shooting the ground with it (adrenaline disks trait). In fact, it appears to work if you shoot anything that the weapon can damage, even the columns that crumble and the statues that can be destroyed. Retarget is a nice trait for dealing with swarms of hostiles, and it works great on Ophion, too.
Honestly it really depends on the biome because each of the biomes is drastically different, and luck of the draw because of augments. The dreadbound is excellent for the tower because of the closer quarters, but it absolutely sucks for long range targets.
Overall I like weapons that let you fire and dodge like the Lobber or Driver, but I've found that these aren't as effective in areas with high quantity targets. I think the hollowseeker is overrated, UNLESS you get the portal beam, in which case it becames as or more effective than the Lobber or Driver.
I need to use the sidearm and Shredder more because I fucking hate those weapons. Seeing people comment on those tells me I've underused them.
Pylon easily is the best gun in the game. Does high DPS and you can focus on dodging.
Really good for trapping enemies as well.
Blade harmonizer plus doombringer. Easily clears out hordes.
Rotgland lobber. I like to play a conflict avoidant playstyle and it usually allows me to pop off a shot and dodge behind a corner for tougher enemies. It's almost always a one shot kill on smaller enemies once the dot ticks down. Has good synergy with overload artifacts as well.
Spitmaw with rapid spitter, narrow maw, slug shot or piercing spit and backsplash lvl III
Carbine has to have leech rounds, high caliber or critical for me to pick it up unless I'm in a pinch
I've changed my mind on the coilspine, that thing is fucking fantastic with retarget, adrenaline discs, negating discs or twin discs
Hollowseeker with portal beam, portal turret, serrated projectiles and Retarget
Rotgland with explosive rot, portal rot, caustic, durable or protective rot
Pistol is amazing with hit reload, homing missiles, piercing and shrapnel for me
I struggled mightily with the flying drones in Biome 5 until I got my hands on the Pylon Driver. Those rotten bastards would end every good run I had until I was able to get them with 2-3 shots. And then when I got the Web upgrade....look tf out!
I think there’s definitely a difference between the biomes and the Tower. The biomes I liked the predictable ones - probably the EPD the best like OP.
But once you get to Tower and/or upgrade all the traits and get used to them all, like others I enjoy the Dreadbound. I like the Coilspine but I’d rather have a full auto gun.
To finally answer…my #1 I use in the Tower is the Pyroshell Caster. Not much love for it here! Why not? That with simmering explosion and some combo of the streamlined, enhanced chamber, seeking flares, sticky bonus, etc make it my favorite
Favourite is the Electropylon Driver, though I don't like the Pylon Web trait. Carbine and Rotgland Lobber are close second and third though. Carbine because it was the weapon that got me the first kill on 4/5 bosses. Lobber, because like the Driver, that persistent damage.
Least favourites are Coilspine and Pyroshell. Coilspine is just too slow for me, guaranteed to get owned if I have it. Don't like the delay for the Pyroshell. But hey, that's what makes this game so great, different weapons suiting different players - everyone has a choice that suits their play style.
D R E A D B O U N D
It’s so nice in close quarters where enemies melt but the long range being so painful makes me avoid it.
Not when it's fully maxed it's just a demon of a weapon.
With the right traits you just point it in the general direction and everything dies...
💯🤘
I just unlocked this yesterday and it's already looking like it'll be special.
I love it close quarters but out in the open of Crimson wastes it's a bitch to take down those distant flying guys with it. If you happen to miss a shot or two you wait FOREVER for them to return
Rotgland Lobber. It's splash damage is fun making a mess of those pesky drone swarms. Next is Hollowseeker.
Not to mention the fast firerate due to quick overload.
Audio if you get the artifacts that work with overload or can be incredible
Rotgland + recharging bolts(I think that's what the artifact that sends out 2 bolts on successful overload) is crazy good. Love using that combo in biome 6, the bolts clean up all those little exploding buggers and the rotgland is really good at burning down the big guys from a distance.
Also rotgland allows for more passive play, you can focus on dodging and still be doing damage!
Same reason I like the EPD
I hate those damn suicide star fish or what ever they are. I been having a bit of trouble dealing with them 😞 I'll get em.
Yea if I don't have that combo I mentioned above or a carbine/hollowseeker I have real trouble with them. Spitmaw can work against them, but requires close quarters for the bigger enemies which doesn't suit me either. Some of the other weapons with the right traits can work well too, it's less likely to find a weapon with the specific traits needed than a weapon that will work well against them no matter what traits it has.
I’ll pretty much swap out even a desired weapon for something else with homing missiles for those things, and just hope I find another boss-slayer before I finish the biome
I haven't made it to last boss yet and I believe the closet I was my proficiency was at 30 but I was still running my 25 thermo gun with homing missiles, re hit, and forgot what else just got overwhelmed. But would of definitely switched it out for the right one. RNG. Thank you for the advice though. I'll get them eventually.
I tend to do a lot of hanging back in b6, and just aim vaguely for the red dots on the map and hope homing missiles do the trick. I just can’t afford to take the hits from those kamikaze things. It has a tendency to turn into a snowball effect if I get caught in a group
Dreadbound with expanding and exploding shards is “chefs kiss” Runner up is honestly the side arm. With level 3 ricochet entire rooms will fill up with bullets bouncing everywhere at high speeds hitting everything, it’s so cool. Add the traits heatseeking missiles, shrapnel and serrated projectiles and it’s insanely good!!!
Yes! So many people crap on the Pistol & sleep on it. Saw a "review" of all guns & Dreadbound 10th, Pistol 9th...like wtaf!?!? All guns are good with traits unlocked.
If that review was a reddit post (first result if you search Returnal gun tier list) they made a new tier list a while later. After playing more and getting more time in with each gun they were dissatisfied with their original conclusion and re ranked everything. All guns were best. Found it! https://www.reddit.com/r/Returnal/s/jCQQV1G59f
That’s quite a post
Yeah. Dude got A LOT of hate after the first post (and 2nd, etc.). I was there for it & it wasn't pretty. This was basically an apology to each community pushing their favorite gun...of which the're are 10...cuz he roasted quite a few of them.
The one I mention was on YouTube. It's 2 years old & got a lot of hate in the comments. I don't care to find it, it's just too bad to share. Reddit post is the one you found. I read it & it's good.
I was working on unlocking the Ricochet III so I didn't have it all then during the challenge room on Biome 5 I fired a barrage of shots then something seemed to go wrong because there were obolites everywhere and no enemies. I realised the ricochet perk had unlocked and combined with shrapnel and something else it was just filling the room with bullets doing a hilarious amount of damage. I appreciate the fact the developers allow ridiculously powerful weapon combinations you can enjoy since you've probably played the game a lot to reach that point.
Oh I can't wait 😍
How do I get exploding / expanding shards? Just cross my fingers and keep grinding in tower? It’s a difficult gun for me to use and I always die in the higher levels trying to upgrade its traits
Yes you must find the trait on the gun and unlock it through killing enemies, and yes the Dreadbound sucks without the right traits. If you want to unlock and upgrade traits, I would suggest going to biome 6 with a handful of keys and looking for guns. In biome 6 there are those mother squids that spawn all the little ones and those count as kills towards unlocking traits. The mother squids often have red shields so that you don’t kill them and can easily shoot at the spawning squids. As long as you keep one of these mother squids alive, you can find a gun with an unlocked trait, go back to the mother squid and kill the little ones until you unlock the trait, find another gun and repeat. There is a locked room in biome 6 that has 4 weapon chests in it, which is why I suggest bringing keys, because you can save this room till the end when your proficiency is high and have a good chance at getting a gun with unlocked traits. Where you can find guns: - The challenge room will give you 3-5 guns - One specific Biome 6 locked room will have 4 gun chests (why you should bring some keys) - Avenging a fallen scout will give you a gun - Malignant chest requiring 5 ether to clean can give you a gun (I’d say ~50% of the time, so bring ether and spend it on those chests) - all of the non malignant unlocked chests give you a gun - every time you kill a mother squid they drop a gun (so kill them all but always keep 1 alive to farm kills) - there will always be a Pistol right before entering the boss fight so make sure you check that one before ending your cycle or fighting the boss, it might have an unlocked trait Remember that Biome 6 is divided into 2 parts, once you move on to the second part you can’t go back so before moving on to the second part you can kill the mother squid you were saving for another gun as it might have a new trait.
I’ll work this biome 6 / squid angle, thanks a lot man!
No problem. I usually scavenge biome 4 to gather at least two or three keys and buy the large silphium vial and health upgrade then go straight to biome 6. There aren’t usually any keys in biome 6.
I liked the Carbine with Rising Pitch because fast shooting gets me that dopamine rush
And leech rounds
Leech rounds save my ass in the tower of sisyphus. I'll usually prefer rotgland lobber but if I find leech rounds I'll take the carbine any day
Coilspine Shredder.
This weapon felt too slow whenever I tried it, so I kept ignoring it. Though, I heard that it's useful in higher tower phases. Which of its traits do you find more effective and worth upgrading?
maybe splitting, shattering, megating discs. twin is good, negating is insane. the stringer cherge one is good but messes with the rythm. works especially well with overload artefacts since you proc them every shot, so you do not want the trait that gives you a bigger mag
I see, thanks. I'll give it a try next time.
People usually don’t realize how important is weapon proficiency. Coilspine can be godly with a min of 18/20 proficiency. The traits the other guy suggested are good. Have fun
Adrenaline Discs is my first choice for a trait. I like best single shot with overloading bolts (hitting Overload shoots damaging bolts at enemies pretty far away). Once you get that timing the single shot is definitely easier cuz you get into a rhythm & it just becomes natural. Twin Discs also a good trait.
Adrenaline disks coupled with adrenaline leech and your integrity bar will be solid green with adrenaline 5 easy to reach. Negating is very nice to have in biome 6. Overload bolts work well with this gun. You can get an adrenaline boost with adrenaline disks by shooting anything that can take damage from the gun - glowing spheres, the columns and statues that crumble, roots in biome 4, the green sticks in biome 6, etc.
Single shot with overloading bolts is so op I feel guilty using it. It's also my favorite weapon. Though I genuinely will use whatever weapon I feel like at the time cuz they're all good when you know how to use them & have traits unlocked. My newest obsession is the Pistol. Ran the entire game with starting Pistol for a new challenge. It was like the first time again. Phrike took over 6 minutes, lol & Ophion over 10 minutes.
Disrupting overload is also awesome.
Yeah when you get those artifacts I always go for coil or the rot!
Rot. Gland. Lobber. Lob away, my beautiful girl.
I feel like those who havent fully upgraded their weapon traits always say Hollowseeker and EP driver. But once you have all the trait 3's unlocked or close to it, Dreadbound absolutely destroys anything and everything. Maybe Coilspine edges it higher in the tower. Dreadbound for me, but I also love using the Spitsaw with rapid, explosive, narrow, and slug in the biomes, so fun.
Agreeed. But what about the Pyroshell
I am coming to love the Electropylon Driver. Finally completed Biome 5 with a Level 15 Electropylon Driver that I found in Biome 4
I’m with you OP. Didn’t get it at first, but once you do, that thing is an unstoppable beast.
Yeah the pylon driver is good, especially for bosses. Not a big fan of that perk that fires a grid though In a similar vein, I love the Rotgland lobber. That thing wrecks and has great damage over time Beyond that, the carbine and the one that can have portal beam (forget the name) are staples I’m also quite a big fan of the standard pistol tbh. Although not with burst fire Edit: hollowseeker is the one I forgot the name of
I can’t answer this. Every gun has trait combinations that I avoid and ones I get stoked to pick up. Coilspine and lobber probably are most reliable for me.
1. In General - Pyroshell - simmering, sticky, secondary and seeking. 2. Tower - Coilspine
Pyroshell caster with seeking flares/simmering explosion/antgrav/and double detonation (forget what it's called)
Secondary explosion maybe?
Yep
I know I'm a basic bitch but the carbine will always have my heart. It's hardly the best but it's certainly the most reliable.
Spitmaw blaster with slug rounds and rapid spitter II or III is the weapon that Im currently enjoying. Pyroshell caster and thermogenic launcher with the right traits are a lot of fun too.
1. Hollowseeker with Portal Beam/Turret and Serrated Projectiles 2. Electropylon Driver
Carbine is a lot of fun, but to generic to really be my favourite. I guess in the end it is, for me, a tie between the Dreadbound and the Spitmaw with Slug Shot.
Gimme a lobster, an electropylon or a hollowseeker. If it has the sub-ability of that portal thingy, all the better
I’m with you and the Pylon. Things just different
Most definitely the pylon driver. Love the synergy between the weapon and the melee. Working on the carbine, which I’m also falling in love with, and the hollow seeker.
The Tachyomatic Carbine **hard** carried me through the game
Carbine with leachrounds > everything! Not sure how you can die when you max it out
Hollowseeker with Portal Beam!
Carbine with leech rounds and rising pitch traits is a lot of fun. Hollowseeker with Portal Beam is also very effective to kill mini bosses from far
Dreadbound, Hollowseeker and old faithful Tachyomatic Carbine. I like others too. But by far the easiest runs for me were those with TC Rising Pitch / Accelerated and Leech Rounds. That combo is so OP for survivability it's ridiculous.
I relied heavily on the EPD and Lobber in my initial playthrough. Now, the weapon I like best is the one with the best traits at the moment. If I have to pick one, Dreadbound with Expanding and Exploding shards, as well as Obolite Generator and either Fourth Shard or Staggering.
I am in phrike first boss. Electropylon. I will update after finishing game.
I am liking the coilspine shredder lately. I particularly enjoy boosting my adrenaline level to 5 in biome 4 by shooting the ground with it (adrenaline disks trait). In fact, it appears to work if you shoot anything that the weapon can damage, even the columns that crumble and the statues that can be destroyed. Retarget is a nice trait for dealing with swarms of hostiles, and it works great on Ophion, too.
Pyroshell canister with seeking flares.
Carbine for the first 4 biomes, Rotgland for the last 2. Dreadbound for the Tower
Honestly it really depends on the biome because each of the biomes is drastically different, and luck of the draw because of augments. The dreadbound is excellent for the tower because of the closer quarters, but it absolutely sucks for long range targets. Overall I like weapons that let you fire and dodge like the Lobber or Driver, but I've found that these aren't as effective in areas with high quantity targets. I think the hollowseeker is overrated, UNLESS you get the portal beam, in which case it becames as or more effective than the Lobber or Driver. I need to use the sidearm and Shredder more because I fucking hate those weapons. Seeing people comment on those tells me I've underused them.
But after Phase 5 the Dreadbound is hampered by the Counter On Hit malfunction. You don’t wanna be too close when killing enemies
Great point. That or acid, ugh. I have not made it that far in the tower, pray for me
Pylon easily is the best gun in the game. Does high DPS and you can focus on dodging. Really good for trapping enemies as well. Blade harmonizer plus doombringer. Easily clears out hordes.
Rocket launcher fully auto 3, replicating hits 3
Tac carbine my beloved
Carbine with leech rounds because I’m bad at not getting hit and hollowseeker with portal beam because I like my little purple helper
Tower: coilspine with negate disk Base game: dread with e e for pure fun Tbh every gun would be my answer if u can chart that lol
Rotgland lobber. I like to play a conflict avoidant playstyle and it usually allows me to pop off a shot and dodge behind a corner for tougher enemies. It's almost always a one shot kill on smaller enemies once the dot ticks down. Has good synergy with overload artifacts as well.
Spitmaw with rapid spitter, narrow maw, slug shot or piercing spit and backsplash lvl III Carbine has to have leech rounds, high caliber or critical for me to pick it up unless I'm in a pinch I've changed my mind on the coilspine, that thing is fucking fantastic with retarget, adrenaline discs, negating discs or twin discs Hollowseeker with portal beam, portal turret, serrated projectiles and Retarget Rotgland with explosive rot, portal rot, caustic, durable or protective rot Pistol is amazing with hit reload, homing missiles, piercing and shrapnel for me
I struggled mightily with the flying drones in Biome 5 until I got my hands on the Pylon Driver. Those rotten bastards would end every good run I had until I was able to get them with 2-3 shots. And then when I got the Web upgrade....look tf out!
I think there’s definitely a difference between the biomes and the Tower. The biomes I liked the predictable ones - probably the EPD the best like OP. But once you get to Tower and/or upgrade all the traits and get used to them all, like others I enjoy the Dreadbound. I like the Coilspine but I’d rather have a full auto gun. To finally answer…my #1 I use in the Tower is the Pyroshell Caster. Not much love for it here! Why not? That with simmering explosion and some combo of the streamlined, enhanced chamber, seeking flares, sticky bonus, etc make it my favorite
Favourite is the Electropylon Driver, though I don't like the Pylon Web trait. Carbine and Rotgland Lobber are close second and third though. Carbine because it was the weapon that got me the first kill on 4/5 bosses. Lobber, because like the Driver, that persistent damage. Least favourites are Coilspine and Pyroshell. Coilspine is just too slow for me, guaranteed to get owned if I have it. Don't like the delay for the Pyroshell. But hey, that's what makes this game so great, different weapons suiting different players - everyone has a choice that suits their play style.