InOnce Human, you need all the firepower you can get to deal with deviants, bosses, and Great Ones. While you could use heavier weapons, like snipers and SMGs, they can be a bit situational, so having a reliable, general-purpose pistol as your go-to secondary weapon can be a strong choice.
Pistols specialize in a multitude of ranges—they have enough stopping power to stun an enemy with a headshot, and being quick to draw makes them a great weapon to regain momentum if an enemy sneaks up behind you. As such, with seven pistols in the game, each separated into different rarities, knowing which one’s the best can give you a massive advantage on the field.
7DE.50
Rarity: Common
If you’re just starting out, the DE.50 will likely be your first firearm in the game, and since it’s the only Common-tier pistol, it ranks at the bottom. For your first few expeditions, this weapon gets the job done—it has a decent range, stun potential, and fire rate.
However, once you craft any other pistol, it’ll always invalidate anything the DE.50 has to offer. One of the most sought-after things about a weapon is its Weapon Features, and since this is the only pistol without those features, justifying its late-game usage is tough.
6R500 - Hunter
Rarity: Rare
Though the Hunter is the weakest pistol in the R500 series, it’s still a strong choice for balancing DPS and fire rate. Its Fast Gunner ability adds a 30 percent base damage boost, with an additional one percent increase to both fire rate and damage upon upgrading the pistol.
The additional bonuses to fire rate and damage can stack up to five times, with a 30 percent chance of triggering per shot. Given its rarity, the RS500 - Hunter’s features are extremely versatile, but the restrictive timer on those boosts is a noticeable weakness.
5DE.50 - Wildfire
Rarity: Epic
Despite the DE.50 - Wildfire’s mediocre DPS, it’s a top-notch choice in arenas with several elite enemies and bosses because of its passive effect: The Bull’s Eye. This effect, with a 60 percent triggering chance, highlights the marked target, making them suffer from eight percent Vulnerability for 12 seconds.
Enemies afflicted with Vulnerability take extra damage; in the case of the DE.50 - Wildfire, they’ll suffer eight percent more damage. It may not seem like a lot, but considering this pistol also gets an excess 25 percent damage increase, the buffs begin stacking up quickly.
4G-17 - Dusty
The G-17 - Dusty has one of the most unorthodox passive abilities in Once Human: Shrapnel. With a 55 percent chance of triggering when you shoot an enemy, this ability deals 50 percent of the DPS to a random unhit spot of that enemy. This also means it won’t trigger if you hit every limb.
Dusty’s upgraded version removes this restriction, but keeping up is still challenging. Thankfully, the ability isn’t necessarily what this pistol is known for—it has, by far, the quickest fire rate of any pistol, and with a decent magazine size, it’s perfect for clearing weaker hordes.
Equip the G-17 - Dusty with the Shrapnel Souvenir Mod to refill one bullet after hitting a weak spot.
Compared to the G-17 - Dusty, the RS500 - Hammerhead Shark is bulkier but remains excellent at clearing out hordes. It has a 60 percent chance of afflicting Power Surge, an overpowering effect that does Status Damage and applies a Shocked State to enemies.
When Shocked, enemies move slower and take more damage, giving you the chance to reposition. Additionally, the Hammerhead Shark helps conserve ammo, restoring one bullet for every four Shock damage dealt. Its versatility and resource-saving abilities make it a strong choice for crowd control in tough situations, which, coincidentally,is what a Power Surge build specializes in.
2DE.50 - Jaws
Rarity: Legendary
The DE.50 - Jaws is designed to go in bomber and explosive builds because of its Unstable Bomber ability. Apart from being highly effective against Deviants, thanks to its DMG bonus, this pistol is an AoE machine, guaranteeing an explosion after every four shots.
However, if you’re a sharpshooter, it gets even better—critical hits reduce the aforementioned requirement by one, and hitting a weak spot adds 30 percent damage to the explosion. Thus, you’re able to utilize the DE.50 - Jaws in a Crit build and watch as you obliterate Deviants with ease.
1R500 - Memento
In hindsight, it may look like the RS500 - Memento is fairly similar to its weaker counterpart, the RS500 - Hunter, since they share the same Fast Gunner Weapon Feature. However, you’ll instantly realize that not only does Memento’s base DPS rival sniper rifles, but the Fast Gunner ability has several new amplifications.
The ability now restores bullets, has a higher triggering chance, and adds more damage because of its percentage-based stats. On top of that, the Memento can garner even more damage, approximating 80 percent more, if it consumes an extra bullet. Thus, with all these bonuses coupled with monstrous base DPS, this is easily the best pistol for power seekers.
Use the Memento as a primary weapon alongside an SMG, LMG, or Assault Rifle as a secondary weapon.
