Are all weapons viable?

[FireGryph]

My friends and I always seem to default to specific weapons, and I'm curious if it's just us or if there is a real reason apart from preference. We almost never use swords or kunai, for example, apart from getting elemental Gemini chance for primary weapons.
Are there some weapons that just don't really work compared to the other choices?

[Remi Pockets Empty]

In my experience it's gonna come down less to preference and more to the inscriptions once you get into the mid and late points of runs. Though i have noticed that some weapons that i use i only really use for a specific action or situation. I usually avoid all melee when using anyone but the bird and tortoise. But i have notice that with the bunny(my main currently) i experiment more with load outs, same with the monkey. I have noticed that some of the injectors seem to be better than my preferred smgs stat wise, while something may be better than my kunai or other pistol inscription wise. So maybe the inscription rng could factor in, and tbh some of the smgs just don't cut it unless they have good inscriptions imo.

[Demonettee]

I just pick based on characters tbh

[931numbers]

Can all weapons be used to reach the end of the run and win? Yes.

Are all weapons equally or similarly useful in achieving that win? The answer is a bit more complicated, but the short answer is no.

Most heroes have preferred weapons and/or playstyles, so they will naturally gravitate towards certain types of weapons. However there are certain weapons that even despite being good for your hero may still look inferior more than average.

A good example of this is Tiger Cannon vs Deafening Mortar. Both are launchers that use Special ammo, have bad movement speed, 1 shot per magazine by default, deal high damage every shot, and are good in the hands of Ao Bai (Dog).

Then you realize that Deafening Mortar can fire about 3 shots in the time it takes for Tiger Cannon to fire 1 (more or less), it deals significantly more damage with both the primary fire and weapon skill when used correctly, can hit more often for better on-hit effects, has less reload time, the primary fire benefits more from AoE increases, the weapon skill can fire over obstacles, and the weapon skill even has the same AoE range as Tiger Cannon anyway.

When you look at both of these weapons, one is clearly superior compared to the other, so you're going to pick it more often. They can both let you win, but one is far easier than the other.

[nul]

It also depends on the difficulty you select.
Some weapons are simply better at outputting damage, yes. But on lower difficulties, a lot of that damage is overkill.
Whereas some weapons are quicker at eliminating enemies on lower difficulties, simply because of ease of use or utility. But because of the way enemy health scales based on difficulty, they quickly become useless at higher difficulties.

[FireGryph]

Thank you all for the replies. Everything said does make sense, too. I'm just curious to try some other weapons now and see how things pan out. I'm rarely the top damage amongst my friends anyways, so they can just carry me harder!

[Neon Black Interactive]

It kinda depends on where you set the bar. The short answer is you can win with anything, but weapon balance is pretty poor. The difference between the best weapons and the worst ones is like an ocean of difference. Inscriptions do make a difference but the best weapons are good no matter what's on them, and the worst ones struggle even with good inscriptions. In coop especially on high difficulties trying to run weapons on the lower end of the spectrum is dubious at best, often you'll just not get to play if you try this cause you'll be so much weaker than your teammates.

[Dead Tired Poss]

If you just play on normal mode all weapons are great but the deeper you go into the game the less and less viable so many weapons become. Characters also gravitate towards specific weapons that suit their playstyle. Best example is the dog, ao bai, who can't dual wield swords and certain other weapons so you wouldn't even bother with those. You'll also develop your own preference the more you play, I refuse to take rainbows or sunders as an example. I just don't think either of them are good and they're pretty much recycled on the spot for me. Scorching Rounds used to be good to me but going into reincarnation levels it just doesnt perform the same.

[Limdood]

Originally posted by Dead Tired Poss:

If you just play on normal mode all weapons are great but the deeper you go into the game the less and less viable so many weapons become. Characters also gravitate towards specific weapons that suit their playstyle. Best example is the dog, ao bai, who can't dual wield swords and certain other weapons so you wouldn't even bother with those. You'll also develop your own preference the more you play, I refuse to take rainbows or sunders as an example. I just don't think either of them are good and they're pretty much recycled on the spot for me. Scorching Rounds used to be good to me but going into reincarnation levels it just doesnt perform the same.

and as a comparison to that, a good rainbow is one of my MOST chosen weapons, because it pairs so utterly amazingly as the main firing weapon of a plant spores build.

Likewise I know some people who love using Illusion, and others who can't stand the weapon and will ditch it even if using a character it'd normally be strong on.

Other than a few key weapons which perform their very very specific role the BEST (such as a crit-share Goshawk on a crit soul strike monkey build, or an argus as the top shotgun to pair with a plant spores build), a lot of it is up to personal preference

[booka]