Weapons Guide Part 0: Classifications

Have a gun. Preferably, have at least two guns. Bring all of your friends who have guns.

This is for people who don't want to read the details of each weapon, just have them listed by class with their pros and cons. I'm not going to put the tools in here, for obvious reasons. I've covered each group together into these categories: Pistol, Shotgun, Rifle, Scoped Rifle, SMG, Melee (and tools), Grenade.

The Flare gun and Bow aren't in here - check my ammo article here for some info on these special weapons.

Pistols

"In a zombie apocalypse, your sidearm can and will be your lifesaver."

Weapons in this category:
Ruger Mark III
Beretta M92FS
Glock
Smith and Wesson 686-6
Colt National Match 1911

Pros:
Lightweight - Carrying all 4 pistols weighs the same as the Sako 85 (all of 90 units), making using nothing but them a feasible option.
Backup potential - AKA lightweight 2, it's what makes pistols perfect backup weapons.
Focus mode - Double damage ability only available with pistols.

Pro/Con:
Reload speed - Pistol reloads are faster than reloading other weapons, unless you're reloading from an empty mag (or the revolver).

Con:
Ammo cap - With a max capacity of 18/16/11 in the 2-shot (unfocused) pistols, and nine in the one-shot, timing reloads are very important.

Shotguns

Not one Metal Slug, but a lot of buckshot.

Weapons in this category:
Beretta SV10
Mossberg 500a
Winchester X3
Remington 870

Pros:
Close-range damage - If you need this explained, you're playing the wrong game.
"Panic weapon" - If you got surprised by a zombie in the shadows, or otherwise not have time to aim, having this weapon makes it easy to take a quick, "panic shot".
Interruptable reload - Why stop reloading all your shots when you can pause, take a shot, then finish reloading?

Cons:
Range - If you need this explained, just like the damage above, this isn't for you.
Ammo cap - even worse than the pistols, a max of nine means watching over the ammo count becomes even more important.

Rifles

This is my rifle, this is my gun.

Weapons in this category:
Winchester 1892
Simonov SKS (Special)
CZ858

Technically, the PATHETIC Ruger 10/22 is a rifle, in terms of size and long, sighted barrel. However, it has none of the benefits of a rifle, aside from distance accuracy. Do not use unless there is LITERALLY no other option. All comments listed below don't apply to it.

Pros:
Ammo cap - with two exceptions (one I just ranted about), each of these guns holds minimum 16 rounds, more than enough to make some room.
Damage - One shot + headshot = one dead zombie.

Pro/Con:
Semi-automatic - Combined with the high ammo caps, zombies pose an even smaller threat. Just make sure you don't waste ammo!

Con:
Reloads - Relatively slow, full-mag (with an exception) reloading can leave you not wanting to reload, leaving you with an empty mag and surrounded by zombies.

Special - Try meleeing a zombie in the head.

Sniper Rifles

"The only thing I feel when I kill is the recoil from my rifle."

-Michael H. Tactical Response Unit Sniper

Weapons in this category:
Sako 85
M16A4 (Special)

Pros:
Range - When you need to make sure you won't get hit.
Damage - Just as obvious as the shotguns.

Cons:
Reloading - Even worse than that of the other rifles.
Up-close shooting - You could hit a fly in the distance, but good luck shooting anything closer than six feet.

Special - You can look in the scope without zooming in.

SMGs

"Now I can solve up to 800 problems a minute!"

Weapons in this category:
H&K MP5A3
Ingram Mac-10

Pro:
Ammo cap - >30-bullet mag size means less reloading.

Cons:
Full-auto - A waste of ammo, most times you try to fire one shot, you waste another bullet.
Recoil - Makes rapid-fire almost guaranteed to waste ammo.
Sights - The hardest weapons to aim with properly.
Lower damage - It takes multiple shots to kill a zombie.

Melee (& Tools)

"Axe me a question, I dare you."

Weapons in this category:
Fists
Kitchen Knife
Hatchet
Fire Axe
Baseball Bat
Sledgehammer
Pipe Wrench
Lead Pipe
Spade
Crowbar
Machete
Chainsaw (Special)

Tools:
Welder
Claw Hammer
Fire Extinguisher
Maglite

Pros:
No ammo - No need to reload
Power attacks - More damage and higher chances of knockback.

Cons:
No range - Make each hit count!
Exhaustion - Replaces ammo, too many attacks in a short time will tire you out. Don't overdo it.


Special: Turn on the chainsaw! (Uses gas when on - don't leave it running!)

Grenades

"Hallelujah!" *BOOM*[www.youtube.com]

Grenade Types:
M67 Fragmentation Grenade
Molotov
TNT

Pros:
MASSIVE DAMAGE - Splat. (Or fire.)
AoE - About 6-foot radius of destruction.

Pro/Con:
Thrown weapon - An accurate throw can destroy a cluster... Or bump off a zombie (or teammate!) and roll right back to you.

Cons:
Self-damage - If you get hit, you're not going to live.
Ammo - You can only hold one, and it's not that light.

My favorites.

Use a gun that works every time. "All skill is in vain when an Angel pisses in the flintlock of your musket."

Hey person, reading this far. It looks like you want to know what I prefer to use (or not to). Don't use this as an "absolute best weapons" list, and please, do NOT start arguing. I'm only putting weapons in here - the rest is open space for ammo, tools or items.

That being said, I'm curious what your preferred loadout is - pass a comment on!

My preferred weapons:
1) Colt 1911 (Weight: 20) (Ammo: .45 ACP) (Cap. 7+1)
Backup or primary, combines high damage, clear sights and quick reload.

2a) M16A4 (Weight: 80) (Ammo: 5.56mm) (Cap. 30+1)
High capacity primary with a scope that allows for aim without looking down them.

2b) Simonov SKS (Weight: 80) (Ammo: 7.62x39) (Cap. 10)
Good damage, but has a special (slower) melee attack that decapitates zombies.

2c) Winchester 1892 (Weight: 60) (Ammo: .357) (Cap. 15+1)
Single-shot reloads and piercing shots lead to lines of zombies shot down.

3a) Machete (Weight: 10)
Lightweight melee weapon allows for rapid attacks, with a very effective power attack.

3b) Fire Axe (Weight: 80)
Longer melee range, Power attack = decapitation.

4) S&W 686 (Weight: 30) (Ammo: .357) (Cap. 6)
Essentially the Winchester with fewer shots and full-reload. Optional.

Weapons only as a last resort:
Ruger 10/22 (Weight: 50) (Ammo: .22LR) (Cap. 10+1)
Why use a weaker rifle, unable to focus, with fewer shots?

H&K MP5A3 (Weight: 60) (Ammo: 9mm) (Cap. 30+1)
No focus mode alone makes it worse than the 9mm pistols. Recoil makes it very hard to burst-fire.

Ingram Mac-10 (Weight: 60) (Ammo: .45 ACP) (Cap. 32+1)
Still no single-shot option, still has a lot of recoil. Waste of .45 ammo.

Flare Gun (Weight: 10) (Ammo: Flares) (Cap. 1)
Definitely not as a weapon.

Fists (No weight), Kitchen Knife (Weight: 10), Pipe Wrench (Weight: 24)
Very little range, very little damage, very little reason to ever use.

Ideally, I'll keep this section up-to-date as updates are released, or comments are added.

[Phoenix The Dragon™]

Ruger 10/22 is actually pretty good when you have the extended mag version, what makes it even better is a mod that changes the gun to a DMR with a 2x aimpoint scope on it allowing you to land shots more easier. That being said i'd consider a Ruger 10/22 a DMR without sniper rounds that is

[Tony]

Hatchet has less damage than machete tho but it makes up for the lightness, that's why it ties in with machete.

[Tony]

Just saying but machete is the best weapon OK?
Actually hatchet ties in with it.
Reason for this because machete and hatchet has a range of fucking a kilometer, damage so fucking unreal it's funny, light as all balls, fast hitting, and you can kill more than 2 with it, with only one swing...

[Scientist]

i once used the sledge hammer to kill like 6 zombies with one swing

[mentibee]

pipe wrench is pretty reliable decap if you aim for the head. hatchet is a good two-hitter weapon.

[Famicom Punch!]

...typontius, I've been waiting for someone to call me on that. Thanks.

sense jay, I haven't had a chance to play on dodgeball servers, but I'll add that in. The Sako and AWP can one-shot torsos, but you usually don't have it out in close quarters.

[felmari]

nice guild even for seasoned players.

the Ingram Mac-10 is great for unloading for the 1911.

[typontius13(sirsteve404)]

Famicom Punch! [author] Nov 22, 2014 @ 10:55pm
:I've been off NMRiH for a while - I'll get it updated once exams are over (check back mid-December, and call me on it if there's no changes then)

still not updated 3 years later :P

[Otichoo]

where is bow and arrow? :/

[ФWraith, The Caped CrusaderФ]

snipers hit things at close range fairly nice and work well for panick shots, and the over under sv beretta shot gun has high range with pretty low spread with a lot of piecing damage, which can be tested in dodge ball or pvp