The Complete Guide On Weapons and Offensive Abilities

A guide on where to find all 6 guns and the benefits and drawbacks to each weapon and offensive ability.

Overview

This guide will teach you more than you ever wanted to know about the weapons in Hyper Light Drifter! For future reference, "New Game+" will be abbreviated "NG+". NG+ is available after you have beaten the game at least once. Also, I mention "post switches". These are a type of switch that can be activated after being hit and I call them so because they look like a fence post. If there are any mistakes or if I left out something, please tell me so I can change the guide to be as accurate as possible.

General notes:
-You must hit either enemies or breakable objects to recharge guns. Enemies give more recharge than breakable objects (looks to be about half, although I need more testing). It also seems that if you break multiple objects with one swing of your sword, you are rewarded the same as if you hit only one object .
-The rate of fire for all the weapons are, in order from highest to lowest, are: pistol > shard gun > laser rifle > shotgun > hand cannon > rail gun.
-The order of animation priorities, in order from highest to lowest, are: dash > sword > gun. The animation for the gun, for example, can be interrupted by swinging the sword. Through this technique, you can deal 6 damage instantly by shooting a shotgun at point-blank range and immediately slashing afterwards.
-Gun upgrades do NOT upgrade damage—only maximum shot count
-All gun upgrades are purchased for 2 credits from the shop in the south half of town, on the left

Sword

Your sword is your main weapon and the most invaluable item. It cuts down all who stand in your way and supplies your guns with ammuntion for even more bloodshed. You can chose from 11 different swords by collecting outfits. Outfits also come with a sword and a sprite and there are 11 outfits and the NG+ outfit. The outfit you get in NG+ is different, but it uses the same sword as the one from the chain dash challenge set. It, however, gives no buffs. Go to your home and activate the panel just left of the mirror on wall to change swords. The swords, like sprites and outfits, each have buffs according to each set (which can even give a third buff when mixed with sprites and outfits of different sets).

Weapon Features:

• 3-hit combo, then a pause. Don't overplay yourself by trying to hit a fourth time
  
• Deals 1 damage
  
• Of course, a very short range
  
• Some arc to your swing. Not much, but some
  
• 11 different swords
  
• Various buffs

A picture of the armory panel and all the swords

Sword Charge (Ability)

Charge up for massive damage! Useful for taking out enemies with a lot of health. Just be mindful of how much time you need to charge up. Can be purchased in town for 3 credits.

Ability Features:

• Takes a second to charge up
  
• Deals 5 damage
  
• Longer range than the regular slash attack
  
• You can move while charging up, but slowly and you stop when the charge is ready
  
• Only able to slash in 4 directions
  
• Charge uses approximately 33% of your stamina and 15% if at least one piece of the chain dash challenge outfit is equipped

Ability Location:

Purchased in the shop in the north half of town, on the left.

Dash Attack (Ability)

The dash attack is very useful for damaging enemies who have made the mistake of lining up. By killing an enemy with this attack, you can decapitate your foes or perform another, similarly gruesome execution on some enemies—different from that of a regular kill. To execute the maneuver, press the dash button and the sword button AT THE SAME TIME. The animation is very similar to the regular dash, but not the same. Buy it in town for 3 credits.

Ability Features:

• Range is the same as your dash
  
• Deals 2 damage
  
• Can hit multiple enemies
  
• You can dash over ledges and still hit enemies
  
• You are invulnerable to projectiles while performing a dash attack (I'm not sure about melee attacks, though)
  
• The dash attack consumes approximately 50% of your stamina and 25% with at least one piece of the chain dash challenge outfit equipped

Ability Location:

Purchased at the store in the north half of town, on the left.

"Shield Dash" (Ability)

A very useful attack to knock back most enemies or kill them. Keep in mind where you land after perfoming this maneuver, though. To perform the maneuver, press the sword button during your dash. You can buy it in town for 3 credits.

Ability Features:

• The range of the shield dash is UP TO the range of your regular dash. The range depends on when you press the attack button during your dash as the attack ends your dash when it is pressed
  
• Deals 1 damage on hit and 2 additional damage if the enemy is knocked into a wall
  
• Knocks back most enemies. Larger enemies and bosses are not knocked back and you bounce off of them upon strike
  
• Can hit mulitple enemies
  
• Enemies that are knocked back can hit other enemies and deal 1 damage to them as well
  
• The shield dash consumes approximately 50% of your stamina and 25% with at least one piece of the chain dash challenge outfit equipped

Ability Location:

Purchased in town from the shop in the north half of town, on the right.

Pistol

The pistol is the first weapon you acquire and one of the most useful ones.

Weapon features:

• Fastest rpm of any weapon
  
• Holds 6 rounds and 9 once upgraded
  
• 1 damage
  
• Long range
  
• Recharges 1 shot with each sword hit on an enemy

Weapon Location:

Found in the "tutorial" area. After you take the elevator down, you loot the pistol off of dead body. Pretty hard to miss.

Hand Cannon

The Hand Cannon is an alright weapon. I never really use it, though, to be honest. Interestingly enough, the gun is also used by the boss you have to beat in order to acquire it.


Weapon Features:

• Slow rate of fire
  
• You stop moving when you fire
  
• Holds 4 shots and 6 once upgraded
  
• Deals 3 damage
  
• Long range
  
• Knockback on the player upon firing
  
• The projectile fired is very wide, making it easier to hit enemies
  
• The shot progressively increases in speed after fired
  
• Recharges 2/3 shots with each sword hit

Weapon Location:

Found on the body of The Hanged Man (the boss to the west). Make sure not to miss it because it is in an unusual place.

Shard Gun

The Shard Gun(?) is a good weapon to use when you don't have enough time to aim or have a horde of enemies behind you.


Weapon Features:

• Medium rate of fire. Two shots can be fired quickly, but there is a pause after the second
  
• Holds 3 shots and 4 once upgraded
  
• Fires 4 projectiles
  
• Deals 1 damage per projectile
  
• Medium range. The ideal range is either so close that all the projectiles hit the enemy or far enough away that they are able to come back together
  
• The gun fires the projectiles in a very wide arc, similar to that of the shotgun, but the projectiles change course to meet up at a point
  
• Recharges 3/7 shots in each sword hit on an enemy

Weapon Location:

Found after the horde room past the 8 module door in the east. From the teleporter, just start walking east and take the path north. Before you get to the staircase that leads you to a new "room", there is a door requiring 3 modules. After one room, take the path west and then north a little to find the 8 module door. Go down the elevator past the door and complete the horde room within.

Shotgun

The shotgun is my favorite weapon and the only one to be able to deal fractional damage. I'm not sure if it's always 1/2 or other fractions of a point of damage, but I've dealt 1/2 damage while testing it! If you aren't firing at point-blank range, you are likely to deal less than max damage.


Weapon Features:

• Slow rate of fire
  
• There is a brief period after firing where the player cannot move
  
• Holds 4 shots and 6 once upgraded
  
• Deals up to 5 damage. You deal less damage with more distance
  
• Short range, even shorter ideal range
  
• Fires in a wide arc
  
• Recharges 5/9 shots or so with each sword hit on an enemy

Weapon Location:

Found on a skeleton after defeating the frog boss in the east. You will come to a room roughly in the shape of an 'F'. The skeleton is found here.

Laser Rifle

The laser rifle is very useful for damaging multiple enemies since it can shoot through enemies. It can also activate certain "post" switches that neither the regular pistol nor sword can affect. These particular switches look like posts, but are thicker than the other variant.

Weapon Features:

• Medium-slow rate of fire (slightly faster than the shotgun)
  
• Holds 4 shots and 6 once upgraded
  
• Deals 2 damage
  
• Can hit multiple enemies
  
• Long range
  
• Recharges 5/9 shots or so with each sword hit on an enemy
  
• Can activate certain switches

Weapon Location:

Found on a skeleton after defeating The Hierophant (the boss to the north). From the boss room, exit to the next room and there should be a skeleton in the middle of the room.

Rail Gun

The rail gun is hands down the most powerful weapon in the game.


Weapon Features:

• Slowest rate of fire in the game. You stop moving, charge up, and shoot
  
• Takes 0.7 seconds from pressing the button to shoot to when the gun fires
  
• Holds 2 shots and 3 once upgraded
  
• Deals 7 damage
  
• Long range
  
• Like the laser rifle, it can activate certain post switches

Weapon Location:

Found beyond the 8 module door in the southern desert. The door can be found in the northeast corner of the "hub" where the teleporter is. However, you must travel to the southern cliff and take the path east and up to an elevator to the sky. After defeating the horde room, you find a skeleton with the gun on him

Bomb

Bombs are a great way to clear a room full of enemies without much threat. Keep in mind that the bombs are rolled in the direction your character if you're playing on keyboard and mouse!

Weapon Features:

• HUGE area of effect
  
• Deals 3 damage anywhere in blast range
  
• Bombs are replenished in 70 seconds after tossed and approximately 52 seconds after tossed when wearing at least one piece of the "orange" outfit set
  
• Can hold up to 2 bombs
  
• First bomb costs 2 credits, while the second bomb costs 3

Weapon Location:

You can buy bombs from the shop in south half of town, on the right.

[爪ㄖㄖ丂卄乇ㄚ]

This is actually really good, glad you didn't meme anyone.

[Thomasat]

Somehow I managed to glitch through a passage to get the Rail gun early, either that or it is an easter egg, either way I couldn't go back through the passage afterwards and had to fast travel back to the location, if I can do it again I may be able to post a screenshot if nobody has any clue about what I'm talking about

[007Bistromath]

I got the dash attack first, and so got used to pressing the buttons at the same time as you describe. However, once I got the thrust, I had trouble performing one or the other consistently. This is fixed by pressing dash a little later, basically the reverse of the thrust. It has to be a fairly quick, fluid motion. As far as I can tell, if you cancel a regular swing into a dash, that dash will be a decap strike.

[Madness]

Oh, there are more.
()The shard gun is not a homing device. The bullets travel in a predefined pattern every time.
()You mention that the bombs cannot finish off the final boss, but as far as I know none of these weapons can, except the sword. You might want to move that under "general notes" or something.

[Madness]

Some fixes:
()I've seen cases where the dash attack seems to have an extended range. I think it might keep going if enemies are lined up well enough. It definitely has gone farther than a normal dash.
()You use the term "shield dash" in the dash attack description.

()The range of the shield dash seems to rely on when you activate it in the dash. If you activate it near the end I assume it will have a similar range, but if you mash DASH then SWORD quickly it doesn't go as far.

[x.iso]

damn it, athough shiled dash attack can potentially be very useful it's a huge pain in the ass as it uses same buttons as normal dash attack and is triggered easily with slighest timing mismatch (which does usually occur when shit hits the fan and you try to perform too many maneuvers in short ammount of time). Wish I could disable this ability altogether.

[arcais]

this is a very useful guide, but i noticed the hand cannon deals 3 damage, where as you list it as 2 damage.

[CraftyBirb]

@Vyokir Yeah, I suppose. I guess I'll have to change that and add in recharge rates of upgraded and non-upgraded :/

[DollMako]

Saying that the upgrades increase the maximum stored ammunition is a little misleading. What it actually does, is that it takes less energy per shot. If you equip both the hand cannon and laser rifle with one of them upgraded, and your guns are at half charge one will have 3/6 shots and the other 2/4 (they share energy). Basically this means that upgraded weapons refill ammunition quicker and use it more efficiently than non-upgraded.

[Gen]

The attack and chrage attack animations may only play in 4 directions, but as long as you contact the ball with your strike, you aim it with the left stick (SC/Xbox). Facing away from the ball and charging an attack, you can still shoot it in any direction, provided the animation makes contact.