Deep Rock Galactic: New Weapons in Season 2 Explained

Image: Ghost Ship Games, Coffee Stain Publishing via HGG / Koby Gibson Ross

Human Made

Penned by Gibson Vasela

My name is Gibson Vasela. I am a freelance writer who has been playing video games for almost 20 years now. I play all kinds of games, but I especially love immersive sims and RPGs.

Reviewed by Benjamin Barr

Another new season of Deep Rock Galactic has been released. And with this new season comes the addition of four long-awaited new weapons! Keeping things in line with previous weapon updates, they each feel unique and special in their own ways and come with a variety of different attachments.

With this new content, many players are probably wondering if these new guns are worth checking out. What do they feel like? How do they affect gameplay? How do you even unlock them? We’ll be going over all that and more in this Deep Rock Galactic guide to all new weapons in Season 2 explained.

Popular Destinations..

Deep Rock Galactic Waystone | Navigation Page

Deep Rock Galactic: The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide (2024)

All New Weapons in Season 2 Explained

Let’s get straight into our breakdown of all the new weapons in Deep Rock Galactic Season 2!

How do you unlock the new weapons?

First off, let’s go over the most important aspect of the new weapons — how to unlock them. While inside the space rig, head to the mission select console. Right behind it is an “Assignments” console. From here, you can select a variety of different assignments that require you to complete several specific missions to unlock a certain reward.

Each weapon in the game can be unlocked by completing its respective assignment. Some assignments require you to be at a certain level before you can start them, so keep that in mind. Once you see a weapon that you like and want to unlock, select the assignment to unlock it and you can get started!

Every weapon assignment is fairly short and easy to complete, each requiring you to complete only three specific missions. These missions vary greatly in length and game mode, but they can all be played at any difficulty. Once you’re ready, choose the mission from the mission select console to begin.

After all three missions are completed, the weapon will be ready for purchase from the Equipment console. Walk up to it and choose the class that uses the weapon, then select the secondary weapon slot. Then all you have to do is choose the new weapon and you can purchase it for 8,200 credits plus a variety of crafting materials.

1. Nishanka Boltshark X-80

First up on our guide to Deep Rock Galactic‘s all new weapons in Season 2, we have the Nishanka Boltshark X-80! This is the new secondary gun available for the Scout class. It’s a modified modern crossbow that allows you to shoot regular bolts alongside a wide variety of special ammo types! Some of these bolts can even be retrieved after being fired (provided they missed their target).

If modified right, you should be able to kill most regular glyphid enemies in only a single hit with a regular bolt. This type of weapon is really only good for picking off single targets, as you need to manually reload after every bolt it before you can fire again. I wouldn’t recommend using this gun alongside the M1000 Classic, due to the crossbow not being a good weapon for crowd control.

Alternate Ammo Types

In addition to regular bolts, this weapon also comes with special ammo types! There are three special ammo types in total:

• Taser: Deals electric damage to hostile bugs and arcs with nearby Taser bolts.
• Chemical Explosion: Enemies hit with this bolt will explode upon their death.
• Pheromone Dart: Infects an enemy with special pheromones that make them attack other enemies for a short period of time.

Out of these three, I choose to stick with the Pheromone Dart. While there is a pheromone canister already available for the Scout class, you can only carry a limited number at a time. With the crossbow, you are able to use them much more often.

Even though you can only infect one enemy at a time, they work on most enemy types for an equal duration. I recommend using them whenever you see a Glyphid Praetorian, as it’s a great way to get some heat off your back in the middle of a swarm.

2. Colette Wave Cooker

For our second weapon on this walkthrough, we have the Colette Wave Cooker! This fine firearm belongs to the Driller class. It is a devastating microwave emitted with the power to cook bugs inside out! It has really, really great range and accuracy, and never needs to be reloaded! This gun can, however, overheat if fired for too long.

It’s an effective weapon that can be used on practically any enemy and in any situation. Thanks to it not needing to be reloaded, you can swap to your primary weapon after it overheats and switch back to it at any time.

High-End Mods

When modifying the weapon, there were three (fairly expensive) mods that stood out to me:

• Contagion Transmitter: Damage is increased against targets suffering from corrosion. Additionally, a “poisonous vapor” can now spread between targets.
• Boiler Ray: Upon death, targets now have a chance to explode into a million pieces!
• Exothermic Reactor: When dealing damage to targets that are either burning or frozen, some of their extreme temperatures will spread to other targets.

You can only choose one out of these three, so be sure to pick wisely! Personally, I went with the Boiler Ray modification. There is something very satisfying about watching bugs explode from the inside out when you hit them with your Wave Cooker. It’s a very effective — albeit unethical — method to dispatch enemies.

3. Shard Diffractor

For the third newest weapon in Deep Rock Galactic, it’s the Shard Diffractor! This is a heavy weapon that can only be used by the Engineer class. The Shard Diffractor is a special weapon that shoots a laser beam at enemies, disintegrating them into nothing! It’s powered by a small chunk of an Ommoran Heartstone located at the center of the gun.

This is probably my favorite new weapon out of all the ones we’ve received in Season 2. It’s incredibly satisfying to use — if fully upgraded, it absolutely shreds through opponents! Since it’s a laser beam, it has no projectile drop off and the range and accuracy are near-perfection. The Shard Diffractor deals a lot of damage to enemies big and small, making it good for both crowd control and hitting big targets.

High-End Mods

The three special upgrades located at the bottom of the modification screen are listed as follows:

• Hydrogen Rupturing: Deals more damage to enemies currently being damaged by electricity.
• Bio-Mass Converter: The laser beam lasts longer with each additional target killed.
• Dazzle Module: Enemies hit by the weapon will slow down when being damaged.

The first one — Hydrogen Rupturing — is great if you love to use the “Stubby” Voltaic SMG as your primary weapon. The SMG deals electric damage to targets, and being able to swap to your secondary to do even more damage to them after they’re electrified is incredibly useful. If you don’t use that weapon very often, you might want to take a look at the other two options.

The Dazzle Module is great for getting large swarms of enemies off your back, as the ability to slow them down can keep them from overwhelming you all at once. Another alternative choice is the Bio-Mass Converter, which is the one I personally stuck with. It refunds a total of three pieces of ammo for every kill, which doesn’t sound like a lot, but it’s still useful to have for longer missions and Deep Dives.

4. Armskore Coil Gun

And now, for the last firearm on our list for all new weapons in Season 2 of Deep Rock Galactic, it’s the Armskore Coil Gun! The Coil Gun is the newest secondary weapon for the Gunner class, and you can only use it with him. This heavy-duty pistol is sort of like a pocket railgun. It can fire projectiles at incredibly high speeds, making it capable of piercing through enemies and some surfaces.

To fire this weapon effectively, you need to hold down the fire button to charge it up first. Just don’t hold down the trigger for very long, otherwise your weapon will overheat. After the projectile is fired from the coil gun, it will leave behind a sparkling trail that can damage any bugs foolish enough to walk into it!

High-End Mods

Just like the last few weapons on this list, this firearm features several modifications that really change how it works. They are listed as follows:

• Necro-Thermal Catalyst: When you shoot and kill an enemy that is on fire, it will explode and damage all nearby hostiles.
• Dilated Injector System: The trail that is left behind the gun after it fires is now much wider, making it more likely to come into contact with enemy bugs.
• Electric Trail: The trail now deals electric energy to all enemies it touches.

You can’t really go wrong with any of the modifications listed here, as they all make an already deadly gun even deadlier. The Necro-Thermal Catalyst is a personal favorite of mine! Being able to explode flaming enemies is great, but it’s really only worth it if you have a primary weapon equipped that can set enemies ablaze efficiently.

The Dilated Injector System and Electric Trail are both decent alternatives. Upgrading the projectile trail is great for thinning out big groups of enemies and dealing with swarms. As long as you know when and where to shoot, you can make efficient use of these two mods.

Join the High Ground

What do you think of our guide for all new weapons in Season 2 of Deep Rock Galactic explained? What are your thoughts on all the new weapons? Let us know, and be sure to subscribe to our weekly newsletter for more regular content! We offer regular features on all the latest games, including more Deep Rock Galactic.

Happy gaming!

Related Reading