Best rimworld mods for new/replaced weapons?

[Sir Happy]

I mean weapons throughout the whole game not just a certain era

[MadArtillery]

I enjoy Rimsenal Augmented Vanilla and Rimsenal Core. Fills out some niches that didn't exist like hybrid melee and ranged weapons. And the core stuff has a lot of neat weapons generally built around specific themes. Find a lot of it interesting and while not all of it is great it's a mostly a good mix of okay-good so it's not going to take over a whole playthrough, just add some new cool stuff to use.

I tried the vanilla expended weapons but ultimately found a majority of what was added was totally useless or mediocre any time I looked at the actual numbers and firing times. Was pretty disappointing. Especially on the lower tech stuff

[Astasia]

The base game weapons tend to do a pretty good job at filling in all the various niches, so that most of the modded weapons I have tried have been "do the same thing but better/worse" and I don't much see the point in that. So personally I instead use style packs for "variety." With Vanilla Expanded Memes, and Alpha Memes, there's a pretty good variety of weapon styles that can totally change up the feel of your colony arsenal, without being overpowered or useless clutter.

If I want "late game" weapons to extend progression, I sometimes use the base Vanilla Expanded Weapons mod for the charge weapons. Other options for that are like Eccentric Tech, or The Cosmic Odyssey (has an OP modded faction IIRC), but they definitely are not "balanced" and just exist as a very late game way to make your characters even more overpowered.

[MadArtillery]

Originally posted by Astasia:

The base game weapons tend to do a pretty good job at filling in all the various niches, so that most of the modded weapons I have tried have been "do the same thing but better/worse" and I don't much see the point in that. So personally I instead use style packs for "variety." With Vanilla Expanded Memes, and Alpha Memes, there's a pretty good variety of weapon styles that can totally change up the feel of your colony arsenal, without being overpowered or useless clutter.

If I want "late game" weapons to extend progression, I sometimes use the base Vanilla Expanded Weapons mod for the charge weapons. Other options for that are like Eccentric Tech, or The Cosmic Odyssey (has an OP modded faction IIRC), but they definitely are not "balanced" and just exist as a very late game way to make your characters even more overpowered.

I do think there is some room in the vanilla set up. Like we have hellcats now, why not expand on the underslung single shot attachment concept. Having a few one use grenades or emps attached to rifles is nice way to diversify on an already introduced concept. I find them fun at least. Pulse is also as you pointed out, pretty minimalist in its singular contribution. More damage but shorter range is a pretty easy concept to expand the pusle lineup outside of just a rifle. Area of effect damage is also pretty limited outside of incinerators and basic grenades. There's even a quirk that shield belts don't block ranged blunt damage giving a lineup of blunt ranged damage a completely unique quirk just by making them exist.

[Wraith_Magus]

Personally, I feel there should be more spacer/ultratech weapons, even if they fill the same role. You have great variety in modern weapons, there's a few charge weapons at spacer tech, and then all the ultratech weapons are melee. You want long-range firepower? Starting the game as a tribal, you can load some smokeleaf up on a caravan and buy a sniper rifle from a civil outlander base, and by working your way up the tech tree, you carefully and painstakingly work your way up to ending the game with your long-range support weapon of choice being... the same sniper rifle you've had all game, but maybe with a higher quality.

There's certainly room for diversifying "long range really good AP" weapons for taking down centipedes and "long range, at least relatively better RoF" long-ranged weapons, at that.

To give some examples, here's one with charged weapon versions of all the modern weapons, including a marksman rifle and anti-material rifle (RoF vs. AP long range role), plus charged machinegun turret:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2912279562
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2375692535

Nonlethal also fills an unserved niche for those wanting to manage prison/slave riots
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2454918354

For more options across all tech levels, Vanilla Weapons Expanded is an obvious one. They also have more niche weapons, like a "tribal" tech, one for scavenged/pipe weapons that are easy to assemble with low tech but jam frequently, etc.

Oh, and a really important one if you start doing things like this:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=927155256
Having the ability to swap weapons is key if you want to use specialist weapons like rockets or grenades without giving all your snipers or rocket-wielders power claws or just leaving them to die in melee.

Depending on what qualifies as a "weapon" you have the entire vehicles framework mod series, including the "RimThunder" mods that introduce tanks and jet fighters, plus things that let you load up into mecha exoskeletons.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3301872053
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3377130226

A key thing to note if you're worried about balance is that raiders can use the weapons in some mods by default and not others. Simple sidearms has a menu so that you can give raiders more "budget" for extra weapons and bringing sidearms of their own so raiders can have a backup weapons that make their gunners less vulnerable to getting shanked in a flanking melee charge. If you use the dragoon mod, pirate raiders will show up with exoskeletons, too. There are also mods that make the mech clusters show up with more powerful enemies, as well, if you're feeling you're getting too strong.

Of course, if you want to go down the rabbit hole that is Combat Extended, there are a ♥♥♥♥ ton of mods related to CE that go way, way too in-depth on it. If you're really, REALLY into this sort of thing, there's a whole string of mods where you pick out a rifle and then there are picatenny rails and attachments you can strap on so you can compare your M-4 with ACOG vs. nightvision scope or whatever like it's Call of Duty. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2878204522

Of course, there's also mods to add weapons from every game license under the sun. Obviously, there are going to be Warhammer 40k bolters, Star Wars lightsabers, XCom plasma rifles, all the weapons from Bloodborne or Skyrim, etc.

Oh, and speaking of things vanilla definitely doesn't have a niche for...
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2497919470
My warg pack shall now have automatic shotguns. [Elmo_fire.gif]