Weapons are critical parts of nearly every video game. It can be a sword, gun, or even your bare hands. Games find ways to raise the bar constantly with crazier and more powerful weapons.
But it isn't always about power. Fun in games is just as much about being challenged as it is feeling like a master. Sometimes they might give the player a massive boost in strength. Other times they might unlock new ways to play. These weapons follow that philosophy perfectly, living on as icons of the games they originate from. From their eye-catching design to their legendary backgrounds, here are the 10 most iconic weapons you can find in video games.
10 M4A1: Call of Duty
Everyone can recognize this modern military weapon. Available in almost every modern Call of Duty, the M4A1 is a versatile yet powerful assault rifle in both single-player and multiplayer.
It made its introduction in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare—not to be confused with the 2019 reboot. From there, it has been a staple in nearly every Call of Duty game, being a dependable and sometimes overpowered weapon of choice.
9 Ashbringer: World of Warcraft
The Warcraft series is filled with many legendary weapons, complete with backstories and lore. One such weapon, the Ashbringer, is one of the coolest and most iconic weapons in all of Warcraft lore.
Finally being obtainable in Legion, players were excited to find this mythical weapon available to use. The weapon gave bonuses to typical damage stats, but also did massive damage to enemies with its Wake of Ashes ability. This weapon lived up to the legend portrayed by Blizzard in countless books and lore pieces in-game.
8 Railgun: Quake
The sounds of anger from being killed across the map still haunt Quake maps to this day. The Railgun is Quake's answer for a futuristic sniper rifle and it's a fantastic weapon at that.
Unlike most weapons that have projectile time, this weapon is near-instant and has perfect accuracy. The sound this weapon makes when it hits a target's head is one of the most iconic sounds in gaming. Chaining two shots in Quake III Arena will grant players the "Impressive" announcement followed with a medal, making this high skill weapon that much better to use.
7 Moonlight Greatsword: Dark Souls
Greatswords are one of the instantly recognizable things about Dark Souls. Despite this game's immense difficulty curve, the weapons players can wield make them feel all the more powerful.
The Moonlight Greatsword takes this to another level by incorporating magic into the blade itself. Mage builds can use this sword with exceptional proficiency, so long as they have adequate strength. Every Dark Souls entry has included this weapon in some shape or form, but the legitimacy of it being the true Moonlight Greatsword in each entry remains a debate.
6 Hidden Blades: Assassin's Creed
Most rogue-based characters in fiction depict dexterous characters using their agility to kill enemies with daggers in the shadows, up close, or far away with more conspicuous weapons.
Hidden Blades are genius in that they hide the weapon into someone's sleeves. In Assassin's Creed, players can walk up to targets and eliminate them just by putting their palm on them. It feels amazing to successfully pull off an assassination with these weapons, and they fit the playstyle of a conspicuous assassin even better.
5 Ray Gun: Call of Duty Zombies
Besides an easter egg players can do in Call of Duty: World at War, the Ray Gun is exclusive to CoD's famous Zombies game mode. This weapon makes short work of the Undead Horde players will face for dozens of hours.
This weapon looks like a toy weapon, but looks can be deceiving. This weapon shoots explosive rays at targets, blowing off limbs and dealing damage in a small area from impact. While its effectiveness has fluctuated from each game, it is still one of the better weapons players can use to survive for high rounds in many zombies maps.
4 Crowbar: Half-Life
This next entry isn't a gun. Most wouldn't use this weapon unless it was in self-defense. Not Gordan Freeman.
The Crowbar is one of the first weapons players obtain in the Half-Life games, letting players damage enemies that get too close for comfort. It does a great job of breaking objects, destroying things that might obstruct the player's path. Bullets will still do players best, but this last resort weapon does its job exceptionally well.
3 Fat Man: Fallout
Firing nukes usually happens in cutscenes or as rewards for insane feats in most games. Fallout, however, embraces the absurdity and lets players use a shoulder-mounted nuke launcher.
It does exactly what it sounds like: shoots nukes. Fallout: New Vegas added special ammo types to this weapon to allow for cluster bombs instead of a giant nuke. Fallout 4 allows players to get legendary versions of this weapon with added benefits. Even without all of those upgrades. players use this in Fallout 3 to near single-handedly take out a Super Human Behemoth. Shooting nukes is something that never gets old.
2 Assault Rifle: Halo
Everyone talks about the awesome Energy Sword Covenant wield in Halo, but where is the love for the iconic Assault Rifle?
This weapon has received changes numerous times through the series, but the Assault Rifle fills an important role in every Halo as a great weapon against weaker enemies. Combat Evolved had a version that worked more like an SMG, while Halo 3 and onwards treated it as a high caliber medium ranged weapon. It looks unique, sounds amazing, and is a weapon you almost always have. It's no wonder it's used in nearly every Halo game's cover art.
1 Double-Barreled Shotgun: Doom
The BFG is what most people think when they hear Doom. The unique plasma cannon can blast holes through anyone. But this entry isn't about the BFG.
No, it's about the Double-Barreled Shotgun, a gun that is somehow even more awesome than a plasma gun of destruction. This simple weapon is one of the best in the entire game for taking out tougher Demons, dealing massive damage when the player is close. The way the doom marine and doom slayer reload it gets players giddy to fire the next shot, and the sound. Man, the sound is incredible. While the BFG might deal more damage, the Double-Barrel is reliable, always has ammo, and will never let you down.