Pragmata is out at last, after many years of delays and fears that it might have been binned by Capcom, rising from the ashes as one of the best releases so far this year, with everything from its wholesome story to its electric combat and moment-to-moment gameplay being stellar. There’s no denying that Capcom is on a generational run, and they deserve nothing but praise for overcoming the hurdles this game presented.
And, speaking of this game’s excellent combat, its weapon arsenal is also pretty solid, offering 15 weapons total that can range from ‘must-haves’ to ‘okay with very specific builds’ and everything in between. While we wouldn’t say there’s a bad weapon, some are much more viable than others throughout the majority of the game, which is unfortunate, as some of the less-viable ones are often the most interesting to use!
15
Hacking Mines
Kicking things off, and placing dead last, is the Hacking Mines weapon in Pragmata, which is a pretty solid weapon overall, but requires specific builds to really shine. This weapon allows you to infuse mines with Hacking Nodes, essentially extending Diana’s Hacking capabilities outside of the Hacking Mini-Game, which you must play if you want to open the enemy up and deal damage.
If Hacking weren’t mandatory or wasn’t nearly as fun or intuitive as it is, we could easily see this weapon shoot up the list in dramatic fashion. But alas, this weapon essentially makes some encounters a cakewalk, while being, at best, okay in most other situations. It’s not a terrible weapon by any stretch of the imagination, just not what we’d consider one of the best!
14
Impact Barrier
Next up is the Impact Barrier, which is a pretty useful tool in theory, but can often feel like a waste in its slot, as there are already a very limited number of Defense Units to choose from, and this is by far the weakest of the bunch. While it does absorb incoming damage and projectiles from enemies, it fails to prove itself as a ‘must-have,’ especially in the later sections of the game when you need weapons that can make a drastic difference during encounters.
Furthermore, once you get a solid build going and get used to the game’s combat in general, you won’t really need to rely on the Impact Barrier to overcome even the most challenging encounters the game has to offer. It’s nice to have if that’s all you can pick up, but we wouldn’t place it over anything else within its category, placing it near the very bottom of the list!
13
Homing Missiles
Following that is a bit of a surprising choice, as the Homing Missiles are a solid Attack Unit that excels greatly at thinning out hordes of enemies. However, while they pack a punch, they also sort of rely on a solid build to get the most out of them, and must be upgraded as soon as possible to make them less of a chore to use. Charge weapons can be hit or miss, as they essentially require you to use Mods and Upgrades to make its charge rate as fast as possible.
Again, the Homing Missiles are very solid on their own, but when compared to the other Attack Units in the game, we cannot help but feel they’re amongst the weakest ones. We still strongly recommend using them to your advantage when facing large groups of enemies, but we wouldn’t pick them over pretty much any other Attack Unit you can get your hands on!
12
Sticky Bombs
Sticky Bombs are up next, bringing another Tactical Unit into the mix, and a quite powerful one at that. While they’re excellent for making Hacking enemy targets easier, they ultimately don’t move the needle much, as you can get much better results with Mods and other Upgrades. However, when paired with Hacking-focused Mods, this weapon easily becomes one of the best choices you can have, which is nice to see.
Overall, the Sticky Bombs aren’t the worst thing you can equip in your Tactical Unit slot, but there are MUCH better options out there that feel rewarding and useful right out the gate without feeling like a dedicated build is required to draw out their true potential!
11
Code Generator
Speaking of Tactical Units that feel like they do much better with dedicated builds focused around their gimmicks, the Code Generator is up next, which is a weapon that has the potential to increase Diana’s Hacking Damage, making light-blue Hacking Nodes appear during the Hacking Mini-Game, allowing you to pass through them to deal additional damage.
Additionally, the Code Generator will temporarily remove all Error Nodes, allowing you to navigate the board more freely. It’s an excellent tool overall, but we feel you won’t really be relying super heavily on it unless you’re going for a build that is focused heavily on Hacking and dealing more damage when passing through Hacking Nodes. There are better Tactical Units out there, but this one is pretty solid overall!
10
Pulse Carbine
Starting our top ten is the Pulse Carbine, which serves as the second Primary Unit you unlock, meant to replace your Grip Gun. While it is a very solid weapon, it unfortunately falls short of its predecessor in just about every way, as its primary use case is building up the enemy’s Heat Gauge, allowing you to down them more frequently, leading to large damage output.
Despite how good that sounds on paper, you will be shocked at how much less raw damage this thing does in comparison to the Grip Gun, as the majority of its damage comes after you down the enemy and perform follow-up attacks, requiring specific builds to really cash out on. With focused Mods and Upgrades, this weapon can be one of the best in the game, but the Grip Gun is so reliable that it’s hard to recommend this over it!
9
Stasis Net
From there, we’re moving onto the Stasis Net, which is one of the best Tactical Units in Pragmata. Not only do you get it extremely early in your playthrough, but it remains relevant all the way through the end, as it temporarily freezes enemies caught within its area of effect, allowing you to unleash tons of damage on them via other weapons or Hacking.
Sure, this weapon basically serves as a means to use other weapons, but it locks even the most formidable foes down for a brief moment, opening them up to your offensive onslaught. The Stasis Net is very solid, and we’d place it higher if it felt a tad better to use after fully upgrading it. While it’s still very strong, it will slowly start to feel a bit less impactful the further you progress, but not to the point where it feels useless or anything!
8
Shockwave Gun
Okay, the Shockwave Gun is one of our favorite Attack Units in the game, but we’re not so biased to place it in the top five or anything, as it quickly loses steam when you make it slightly beyond the halfway point of the game. In the early goings of your adventure, this thing rips through everything in sight, and if it maintained that level of power throughout, it would be top three, no questions asked.
Unfortunately, that’s just not the case, as the Shockwave Gun remains solid from start to finish, but requires many more shots from it to finish off enemies. Sure, with a strong damage-focused build, it can dang-near one-shot most enemies in some cases, but that’s what drops it several pegs. It’s still a very strong Attack Unit, but not one of the top-tier!
7
Charge Piercer
Ah, the Charge Piercer, another excellent Attack Unit that punches through armored enemies like nothing, making it extremely potent in specific encounters. While it is easily one of the best in its class, it being a charge weapon already makes it pretty reliant on Mods and Upgrades to be tolerable to use mid-combat, but it’s so good that we refuse to place it any lower.
Even without a dedicated build or any upgrades, the Charge Piercer will obliterate pretty much anything in its path, which is pretty much all you could ask for out of an Attack Unit. Sure, it could be better in some areas, but we think it’s still one of the best offerings in its role!
6
Decoy Generator
Just missing the top five is the trusty Decoy Generator, which is one of the best weapons in the game and one of the best Defense Units you can get your hands on. Fortunately for you, you will acquire this beauty relatively early on, which showcases just how incredible it is; it never really weakens as you progress. This weapon allows you to create a hologram that pulls the aggro of nearby enemies, causing them to swarm toward it.
If you’re familiar with the Zombies mode from the Call of Duty series, this is essentially the Monkey Bomb, and yes, it’s just as potent. Being able to pool all nearby enemies into a large group allows you to use other weapons with large AoEs or Hacking Nodes that impact all nearby enemies and other tools that can wipe out large groups. While it is a bit build-reliant, it’s still a very strong weapon at all stages of the game, which is why it deserves its high placement!
