Highguard Weapons Guide: All Combat and Raid Weapon Stats at Launch

Free-to-play PvP raid shooter Highguard is launching with a diverse arsenal of weapons, and during an invite-only media playtest on Jan. 21, esports.gg gained hands-on access to test the game ahead of release.

Through direct gameplay testing, we recorded weapon damage, reload speed, fire rate, and maximum DPS for each weapon available at launch. All values were gathered through repeated in-game testing and reflect the playtest build, meaning they may change before release.

Along the way, the esports.gg team also captured exclusive images, gameplay footage, and gameplay data, giving you an early look at what to expect when Highguard goes live. For more coverage, check out our Highguard guides hub.

Highguard will launch with ten combat weapons; three Assault Rifles, two Shotguns, two SMGs, one Revolver, one Gatling Gun and one Sniper Rifle. Each Warden can only carry two combat weapons at any one time in addition to a siege weapon and a melee weapon.

Below is a full list of all ten weapons in Highguard at launch:

The Big Rig Gatling Gun can only be found in Care Package Drops, which begin to spawn in the second Gear Up phase. None of the weapons are character-specific, and all ten weapons can be used by any of the Wardens.

There are three ways to acquire weapons in Highguard:

During our playtest we found weapons relatively easy to find in chests and saved our Vesper for purchasing Armor. However, if RNG is not on your side you may wish to spend in the Shop. Vesper is a mineral in-game that can be mined using your melee weapon or gained through enemy kills.

All Wardens can also throw grenades. Grenades are in unlimited supply but have a fixed cooldown of 45 seconds. Grenades will explode 3 seconds after they are thrown and deal up to 100 damage on a direct hit.

All weapon stats in this article are based on esports.gg’s exclusive Highguard playtest.

In addition to combat weapons, every player has an Axe which does big damage per swing, can be used to destroy non-reinforced walls in a few hits and can be thrown by holding the melee button. Melee is also how players mine Vesper for the shop.

Each player will also carry one Raid Weapon, either a Rocket Launcher, a Zipline or a Blast Hammer. These weapons are primarily intended to destroy or avoid walls during the Raid phase. You can also discover upgraded versions of all three base-attack weapons in chests, and can swap them out mid-game.

At launch there will be four scope options in Highguard:

The majority of Highguard weapons come with a default ironsight, with the exception of the Ranger Sniper Rifle and Saber Assault Rifle which come with a 3X Scope as default.

The Kraken (Shotgun), Paladin (Shotgun), Corsair (SMG) and Big Rig (Gatling Gun) are the only four weapons that can not equip any other scope besides the Ironsight.

All remaining weapons have two scope styles available, which you can switch between freely. Luckily you won't need to hunt for scope attachments as you would in Apex Legends or PUBG, as you have them automatically.

For the stat fiends who might wish to know the Damage-per-second (DPS) of all weapons in Highguard, we got you covered.

In terms of raw DPS, the Corsair leads the SMG category based on our direct gameplay testing. However, that damage comes at a cost: the Corsair’s heavy recoil and long reload time make it less forgiving than other close-quarters options.

Among Assault Rifles, the Dynasty edges out the competition with the highest DPS, even surpassing the burst-fire Saber Rifle. That said, the real standout across the entire arsenal is the Paladin Shotgun, which boasts the highest DPS in the game — outperforming even the Ranger Sniper Rifle.

Of course, maximizing that damage means figuring out how to close the gap in a game where Mounts are always in play.

Highguard officially launches on January 26 at 10 a.m. PT, and with these stats in hand, you’ll know exactly what to expect when you drop in.