10 POWERFUL New Weapons We Unlocked In 2023

2023 was a great year for games, and any good year for games is also a good year for powerful weapons. Weapons are how we interact with the world in video games – and we’re not going to talk about those regular boring weapons everyone can find. These are the secret weapons – the unlockables we missed and the overpowered tools of destruction we’d do anything to earn. Some of these weapons are ridiculously difficult to unlock but they’re all worth tracking down in 2024.

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#10 Erebus [Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty]

The Phantom Liberty DLC redeems one of the shakiest video game launches of the last few years, turning Cyberpunk 2077 into a legitimately great game. Phantom Liberty does more than your average DLC, adding secret weapons only the most dedicated players will discover. While you can find hidden weapons by exploring secret parties all over the new region of Dogtown, we’re talking about an even more impressive unique gun that’s hard to find – the Erebus. This special weapon shoots bullets infused with Blackwall power, which if you’ve played Cyberpunk, means very bad things. Basically, the gun shoots AI-enhanced digital bullets that spread like a deadly virus, rapidly draining the health of everyone in an area it spread to.

To get your hands on the Erebus, you’ll need to follow the Phantom Liberty storyline all the way to the end. We won’t go deep into spoilers here – but you need to side with Reed before the final missions. Following Reed’s path leads to a secret underground facility you can explore. Inside this facility, you’ll need to discover the code to an optional locked door. Through the locked door into the engineering bay, you can recover the blueprint for the Erebus weapon. After completing the expansion story, return to your apartment. After some time has passed, a mysterious caller will contact you. Go to Yoko, one of the first Netrunner vendors you’ll meet at the start of the game, and she’ll offer to help you. Give her the gear and you’ll get this gun.

And this is a doozy of a gun. It has unique effects you won’t find anywhere else in the game, and it is absurdly hard to get. Of course, we’re going to put it first on the list. You ought to get it too. I’d guess 99% of players missed this weirdo weapon, and it’s easily one of the most powerful weapons to unlock from last year.

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#9 Handcannon [Resident Evil 4 Remake]

The legendary Handcannon is back in Resident Evil 4 Remake. If you’re a fan of Resident Evil 4 or Resident Evil 5 or really most of the Resident Evil games, you’ll be familiar with the overwhelming power of this revolver. And Resident Evil 4 even gives you options for unlocking it. Capcom really knocked the Resident Evil 4 Remake out of the park, adding even more weapons – and with those weapons come increased difficulty. This game is way harder than the original, so it definitely feels good to headshot enemies with the power of a rocket launcher in your hands. One shot of the upgraded Handcannon will split enemies in half.

The raw power is hilarious, and the Handcannon is a must for speedrunning – especially if you purchase the Infinite Ammo upgrade. To unlock the Handcannon, you’ll need to complete Professional Difficulty without using any Bonus Weapons. Bonus Weapons include the Handcannon. That isn’t easy for inexperienced players, but there’s an easier way. You can also earn it by earning S-Rank on the Village, Castle and Island maps in The Mercenaries mode. You only need to earn a single S-Rank score on each map. A pretty easy task if you used overpowered characters like Wesker or Krauser. Now that’s an unlockable we can appreciate.

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#8 The Blood of Lathander [Baldur’s Gate 3]

In games like Baldur’s Gate 3, usually you won’t encounter weapons that really wow us. One sword is the same as any other – you use it on an enemy, get a little animation, and see damage numbers appear. You don’t really get a visceral feeling of satisfaction when using weapons in most RPGs.

Not so in Baldur’s Gate 3. Look, there are plenty of Legendary and non-Legendary Weapons we could choose from, but we’re going with one weapon most of us had a chance to find. And that’s the Blood of Lathander. This golden mace is a holy relic that can be unlocked by completing an environmental puzzle in Rosymorn Monastery. There’s a hidden room in the deepest chamber that leads to the mace, which is available as early as Act 1. Because you can get it so early, we have to put it on the list. This thing is game-changing.

The mace generates light that blinds undead and fiends when they approach, giving you an instant advantage in battle. You’ll be fighting a lot of undead (and a lot of fiends) so this is useful instantly. On top of the blinding light, it also auto-revives the holder when they die. This effect heals nearby allies. And the equipped character can use a charge of the spell Sunbeam to scorch rows of enemies. Anyone that’s played Baldur’s Gate 3 will say the same thing. Don’t miss out on the Blood of Lathander.

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#7 Heavy Bolter [Warhammer 40k: Rogue Trader]

From one cRPG to another. We’re going from the expensive polish of Baldur’s Gate 3 to the down-and-dirty classic role-playing of Rogue Trader, and the weapons we’ve picked totally show off that dichotomy. The Warhammer universe is full of unbelievably detailed and powerful relics from eons of constant warfare – specialized weapons covered in gold filigree created for Chapter Masters, intergalactic rules, and the Imperium’s chosen. But all those weapons pale in comparison to the unstoppable Heavy Bolter.

We’ve all played Warhammer games. We’ve all used a Heavy Bolter. Even the recent old-school shooter Boltgun put the Heavy Bolter front and center. But none of them compare to the Heavy Bolter in Rogue Trader. This bog-standard pattern weapon, a gun that’s mass-produced in-universe for armies of Space Marines, is probably the best weapon in the game. Equip your Sister of Battle or Space Marine, and watch them literally shred armies of enemies. Unleashing hell on the hated Xenos has never been so much fun. And you can even get two! This gun literally carried me through Rogue Trader. Nothing else even came close.

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#6 Moonlight Greatsword [Armored Core 6]

Armored Core 6 returns players to an unrelentingly grim corporate battlefield of the far future, where people are reduced to the weapons they pilot. And even in this science-fiction setting with Mech warfare, From Software can’t stop themselves. They had to include the Moonlight Greatsword. This weapon is going to be on all of our lists until FromSoft stops making video games. The Moonlight Greatsword appears in almost every game in the developer’s catalog. It wasn’t that long ago that the Moonlight Greatsword appeared as a hidden weapon in Elden Ring. Now your mech from the future can wield the fantasy weapon.

To get the Moonlight Greatsword, or the IA-C01W2: MOONLIGHT in-game, start the mission ‘Reach the Coral Convergence’ and get to the bridge near the end. The Moonlight is in the lake under the bridge. This area is totally optional, but if you enter the lake you’ll find a chest with the MOONLIGHT. Instead of being a pure melee weapon, the Moonlight launches a wave of energy with each swing, cutting through the air and hitting anything in a wide radius. While the Moonlight Greatsword isn’t the best weapon in Armored Core 6, it is one of the most fun to unlock. We just couldn’t resist this one.

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#5 Lightscale Trident [Tears of the Kingdom]

It’s about time the humble Trident got its due. Tears of the Kingdom gives you the tools to create incredibly powerful weapons with a little luck and ingenuity. And we’re going to talk about what might be the very best weapon in the game – the best that doesn’t break after a single hit. Trying to explain the best weapons in Tears of the Kingdom is tough, because there are so many weird weapon perks you can exploit to deal insane damage. But we’re ignoring (most) of that right now and focusing on a weapon you can keep using to deal extremely high damage. We’re talking about the Lightscale Trident.

The Lightscale Trident is actually really easy to get – after completing the Water Shrine in the Zora’s Domain, travel to the general store and talk to Dento. Trade him the items he needs and you’ll get the Lightscale Trident. The tricky part is making it absurdly strong. Fuse a Molduga Jaw to the trident to boost power from 44 to 108. Next, jump in the water or throw Splashfruit at your feet. As long as Link is wet, you’ll deal twice as much damage. Splashfruit is plentiful, and by splashing yourself, you’ll be dishing out 216 damage per hit. Finally, equip and fully upgrade the Radiant Set from the Kakariko Village armor shop. This armor further increases the damage of bone weapons. As if you needed to deal more damage. Combine all that complicated stuff to make the Lightscale Trident your new favorite.

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#4 Advanced Magshear [Starfield]

One of the most powerful weapons we found while exploring the vast galaxy of Starfield was the Keelhauler – a weapon you’ll earn by working for the optional (and evil) faction the Crimson Fleet. But, as it turns out, there’s a much better weapon sitting on a shelf somewhere. That’s the true Bethesda experience. No matter how many times you play, there’s usually some random weapon in some random location that’s a million times better. And so we’re going to talk about the basic, no-frills Advanced Magshear.

Located in Hopetown, the starship manufacturing facility, go to the ‘Best Defense’ store. On a wall-mounted shelf in the back-right of the store, you’ll find a rifle called the Advanced Magshear. If it isn’t there, save your game and reload. This high-powered rifle chews through expensive .50 caliber ammo and it’s totally worth it. While the ammo costs a lot of credits, the gun is overpowered for the rest of the game. No need to do a special quest. No secret dungeons to search. Just rob from a random shelf in a random gun store on a podunk planet. Equip this gun to a companion with just one bullet, and they can clear the rest of the game for you. Now you’ll have your own personal walking killing machine. No gameplay required!

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#3 Mystery Egg [Super Mario RPG]

The Super Mario RPG remake on Nintendo Switch gave us a chance to learn even more about one of our favorite childhood RPGs – and boy, is there a lot of weird stuff in Super Mario RPG. This seemingly pointless item can become something useful. Sort of. I’ll start from the beginning.

In the town of Marrymore, Mario and friends can purchase an accessory called the Nurture Ring. Princess Peach can equip it to provide 50% protection against all elemental damage. The ring also has a secret hidden function – if you use the Mysterious Egg item, which is a seemingly useless egg you get for defeating Speardovich – you’ll eventually unlock a special power called the Lamb’s Lure. Use the Mystery Egg 10 times in battle and it will transform into the Lamb’s Lure – which is an infinite use battle item that transforms a single enemy into a lamb.

Okay, that’s pretty weird. But if you use the Lamb’s Lure 48 times, it evolves into the Lamb Attack. This attack transforms all enemies into lambs at the same time. This is supremely weird and dubiously useful because you won’t get a single point of XP for using the Lamb Attack. It’s really no different than running away. Just the fact this secret attack exists at all is so strange we had to put it on our list. Maybe it’s cheating to include it here at all — sure, this item is one of the more powerful weapons of the year simply because it kills enemies instantly, but wow is it weird.

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#2 Cross [Sons of the Forest]

Sometimes, you’ll find something and not even know it’s one of the best powerful weapons of the year. That happened to us while playing the terrifying survival game Sons of the Forest. Exploring deep into the island infested with freaky monstrosities, we encountered a golden cross in one of the toughest areas of the game. Unless we’re fighting Dracula, a cross is usually not a weapon. And against most of the mutants on the island, the cross is totally useless. It doesn’t affect them. They’ll ignore all your cross-waving and rip your face off.

So it was to our surprise that we discovered the cross is one of the best weapons in the game. When entering the final area of the story, you’ll encounter dozens of the gangly, difficult demon mutants. Showing the cross to these bad boys does something alright – waving it around lights demons on fire, sending them screaming away from the player. And it’s a twist – the demonic enemies must really be demonic, right? The cross is also useful against the super-sized demon at the end of the lava caves. The power of Christ definitely compels these creatures. And while the Cross does nothing against the new final boss, using it to survive the spookiest caves in the game is a pretty big bonus.

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#1 Hand Cannon [Dead Space Remake]

There’s more than one Handcannon on our list this year. The Hand Cannon is the premier Easter egg weapon of 2023, and one of the toughest to unlock. You’ll need to complete the hardest difficulty of the Dead Space Remake without dying once. On Impossible Difficulty, you’ll have to play with permadeath – and the remixed campaign offers new surprises for players. Permadeath on the hardest difficulty is just cruel, but at least the reward is worth it. The Hand Cannon isn’t just a gun. It’s an audiovisual experience.

The Hand Cannon is a giant foam-finger that blows up enemies – pressing primary fire goes “Bang!” and secondary fire goes “Pew!” – the Hand Cannon has infinite ammo because it doesn’t use any ammo and can be fired as fast as the player pulls the trigger. The Easter egg foam finger is a transplant from Dead Space 2, where you also had to complete the hardest difficulty. The creeping horror of the USS Ishimura can’t stop us from giggling while nuking necromorphs with the unstoppable power of our imagination. That makes this easily one of the best powerful weapons of 2023.

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And that’s all the powerful weapons we loved in 2023. We’re sure there are plenty we missed — this list only includes games I was able to play last year, and I’ve still got a lot of catching up to do. Let us know some of your favorite powerful weapons in games. Maybe this list needs a Part 2.