Choosing which weapons to use in Avowed is a lot of fun. Almost all one-handed weapons can be equipped with both hands in any combination, and your character has two loadouts that you can switch between at will – giving you a lot of freedom. Would you like to carry a shield and a pistol in one slot and a wand and a dagger in the other? You can!
The hard part is figuring out which weapons are best. After about four hours with a preview build of the game I made one much When it comes to switching, I have some great tips for combos that work in the early game and the information you need to decide which ones work best for you.
And if you want an idea of the best way to combine these weapons with skills, check out our guide to the best builds in Avowed.
Best weapon combinations
(Image credit: Obsidian Entertainment, Xbox Game Studios)
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Simple combinations
Row 0 – Cell 0 Utilization 1 unloading 2
Ready for anything Ax + shield
Arquebuse or magic wand + grimoire
Attack and defense Ax + pistol
Spear + shield
Pistol Wizard Pistol + magic book
Ax + shield
Fantasy John Wick Pistol + pistol
Arquebus
When in doubt, it’s a safe bet to have one melee loadout and one ranged loadout. This gives you a lot of flexibility – you can open fights with a few shots, but won’t be at a defensive disadvantage if the enemy gets to you. A good example would be using one Ax and shield with a Arquebus . You take a lot of damage with your weapon, but don’t get caught reloading.
Magic can play the same role in this type of configuration by simply replacing the ranged weapon with one Magic wand and magic book . With magic you get a little more versatility – each spell book contains multiple spells, and you also have the attacks of the wand. The disadvantages are that each spell has its own cooldown before it can be used again and the cost it has in essence. At the start of the game, you may find yourself burning essence potions quickly to maintain spell effectiveness.
However, you can also create more unusual or targeted combinations. With a Pistol with an axe or other one-handed melee weapon allows you to threaten enemies at both short and medium ranges. While the pistol is reloading, just keep swinging. However, keep in mind that you can’t block with such a loadout, so you’ll have to get used to ducking and weaving – or equip a more defensive pair for your other loadout, e.g Shield and spear to switch when things get scary.
Likewise one Pistol and magic book can work well and gives you a backup ranged option in case your essence runs out that is more effective than a wand. Focus on long-range spells like Chill Blades and leave the pistol for mid-range.
(Image credit: Obsidian Entertainment, Xbox Game Studios)
Two-handed melee weapons are really fun, especially those Greatsword especially when combined with the Ranger Tree’s Parry ability. They’re not as safe as using a shield or keeping enemies at a distance, but the massive damage of each hit can make it much easier to take out important targets quickly. And you can always choose a more defensive or far-reaching option for your other loadout to switch up if necessary.
For pure chaos, I had a lot of fun (pun intended). two pistols . The reload time here is short enough that you can get a fairly consistent firing rhythm with two shots by alternating them, and it’s super satisfying to shoot around and dodge to score headshots everywhere, like a cross between John Wick and Blackbeard. Your other loadout can be a little more defensive for safety reasons, but I really enjoyed going full black powder with one Arquebus for my second loadout. Use it to shoot distant targets, fire your pistols at nearby targets, and always keep moving – it turns out there are few problems gunpowder can’t solve.
One combination that you might expect to work, that I’ve had no luck with at all, is using two one-handed melee weapons, like one Mace and a dagger . While you can’t block, you don’t seem to be able to attack any faster either since you can only swing one weapon at a time. As it stands, I can’t see any advantage other than the slight flexibility it offers in choosing the weapon for each swing. It may be that later skills unlock the potential of this traditional style of two-handing, but for the early game I would recommend a safer approach.
Weapon types
(Image credit: Obsidian Entertainment)
Melee weapons
Ax: Axes are my favorite melee weapons and have a good balance of damage and swing speed that makes them versatile and easy to use.
Club: Slower, but with higher damage and higher stun. More difficult to use, but combines well with a shield, opening up sure opportunities for your hits. Add the Shield Bash ability to further stun enemies and quickly stagger them.
Dagger: Super fast with high critical chance, but low damage and short range. I didn’t have much luck finding a good combination for this – the frantic attack animations seem a bit at odds with the relatively deliberate pace of Avowed’s combat.
Spear: The long range and average speed make spears a great defensive choice, especially with a shield, but I think once you get comfortable with blocking and dodging you may find these advantages unnecessary.
Sign: Is a shield a weapon? Sort of, but you can only use it in your offhand, so forget your dreams of double shielding. The light blocking power of shields makes them an amazing tool in close combat. It makes sense not to use one, but be prepared that you may need to be sharper in your dodges and/or parries.
Greatsword: A two-handed weapon, which primarily means you can’t use it with a shield. However, it can still block, and if you grab the Parry ability, you can still put up a reliable defense. Greatswords are a great, balanced option among two-handed weapons, with manageable swing speed and high damage. Great fun.
Great axe: Slower swing speed than the greatsword, but higher damage. I think it’s a bit of a compromise, at least in the early game. You really have to know when you can get a hit in and when you can’t, otherwise you have to be ready to take a few hits, which isn’t easy when you start out with low health armor.
Great hammer: Even higher damage, but even slower, making it really unwieldy against Avowed’s many small, fast enemies. The last thing you want in a Xaurip fight is such a sluggish swing animation.
Ranged weapons
(Image credit: Obsidian Entertainment, Xbox Game Studios)
Arquebus: Suffers from a long reload animation, but the damage is huge and, more importantly, it fires in a perfectly straight line at any distance. This certainly makes it the best sniper weapon in the game and is really easy to use.
Gun: Shorter range than the arquebus, but one-handed and with a much shorter reload time. A great off-hand weapon that can be combined with melee or magic, or doubled up for a faster rate of fire.
Bows: The sheer power of gunpowder makes the traditional bow and arrow seem like the weaker option. It’s not just about their lower damage, but also the pretty brutal drop-off they have. After being released, an arrow gradually falls towards the ground. This means you have to aim over where you actually want it to hit, depending on how far away the target is. Judging this is much harder than just aiming and clicking your weapons, and also makes it harder to hit weak spots, further reducing your damage. The one major advantage I see with bows is that they are the best choice for stealth. Gunshots are loud – if you want to clear a camp one patrol at a time, a bow is what you need.
Magic weapons
(Image credit: Obsidian Entertainment, Xbox Game Studios)
Magic book: The most important weapon for every wizard. It has no attacks of its own, but a selection of spells (specific to each spellbook) can be cast by it. You can also cast magic without spells by purchasing the spells as abilities instead. But even in this case, they are still stronger when cast from a spellbook. The only downside is that they are tied to the off-hand, so you can’t dual-wield books and call yourself Conan the Librarian.
Magic wand: These act more like ranged weapons, but fire small magical bolts instead of bullets or arrows. They fit in very well with a spellbook, but I don’t think they’re really a good option for most builds. At long range you focus on your spells, and at medium or close range a pistol or melee weapon is more useful.
