Jagged Alliance 2 Best Weapons

Overall, the best weapon in Jagged Alliance 2 is the Heckler & Koch G41 5.56mm assault rifle.

Steyr Aug assault rifle
Dragunov sniper rifle
Glock 17 semi-automatic pistol
Glock 18 machine pistol
FN-FAL
C-7
MAC-10 uzi
M24
Mini 14 rifle
M-14
Colt Commando
H&K G11
CAWS shotgun
FN Minimi
Rocket Rifle
Automag III Big Bertha
FN-P90 submachine gun
H&K 21 machine gun
RPK-74
Grenade Launcher
Light Anti-Tank Weapon LAW
Lightweight Mortar

When ranking weapons for Jagged Alliance 2, here are the questions I asked myself:

How effective is the weapon in impacting or dictating combat encounter outcomes?
How easy and early is its acquisition, is its usefulness long-lasting, and how many can be acquired?
If the weapon needs ammo, how easy is its acquisition?
How much damage does the weapon inflict, how much range does it have, and what is its action-point (AP) expenditure?

Such traits are decisive factors in how a weapon ranks.

Also, which temporary attachments are available to the weapon? Temporary attachments include silencer, bipod (prone to-hit +20%), laser scope (to-hit +20%), sniper scope (range +20), duckbill and talon underslung grenade launcher.

And which permanent attachments are available to the weapon? The permanent attachments are gun barrel extender (increases range +10) and rod and spring (decreases single-shot and burst AP expenditure).

This ranking takes into account not just the weapon itself (its stats) but also puts great weight on its ease of acquisition (accessibility) and its ongoing viability over the course of the campaign (how much use it gets). For example, whoop-dee-doo if an end-game weapon outclasses a weapon that was useful for three-quarters of the campaign. Clearly, the latter has been the best weapon for us. That said, in this write-up, I will be noting what are statistically the best weapons as well, because it's important to upgrade when our weapon is finally outclassed.

The above ranking does not presuppose foreknowledge of itemization or the merc pool, aka metagaming: it's based upon what I consider to be the natural and logical progression of the campaign, as outlined in my walkthrough.

cf. Best Weapons Fallout 2.

List of Weapons in Jagged Alliance 2

Pistols, Jagged Alliance 2

.38 Special

Barracuda .357 CAL Pistol

Beretta 92F 9mm Pistol

Beretta 93R 9mm Machine Pistol

Desert Eagle .357 CAL Pistol

Glock 17 9mm Pistol

Glock 18 9mm Machine Pistol

Colt 45 Pistol

Automag III 7.62mm NATO Pistol

Sub-Machine Guns, Jagged Alliance 2

MAC-10 .45 CAL Submachine Gun

H&K MP5K 9mm submachine gun

H&K MP53 5.56mm submachine gun

Colt Commando 5.56mm submachine gun

AKSU-74 5.45mm submachine gun

FN-P90 5.7mm submachine gun

Thompson M1A1 .45 CAL submachine gun

Type-85 7.62mm WP Submachine gun

Assault Rifles, Jagged Alliance 2

Under my criteria, assault rifles are the best weapons in Jagged Alliance 2; they are King. Sniper rifles and submachine guns come in equal second. Rifles, pistols and heavy and thrown weapons come in third. Melee weapons do not get a look-in as melee combat is extremely situational, risky and difficult to coerce unless we are experts.

Assault rifles are great all-arounders: damage, range, handling, attachments and itemization; they have it all. By the midway point of the campaign (Cambria), assault rifles can be fitted with sniper scope and laser scope (and later with gun barrel extender and rod & spring).

In terms of pure damage output, assault rifles are best wielded by Auto-Weapons: Expert I.M.Ps with the Psycho trait.

AK-74 5.45mm assault rifle

AKM 7.62mm assault rifle

FA-MAS 5.56mm assault rifle

H&K G3A3 7.62mm NATO assault rifle

H&K G-41 assault rifle

M-14 7.62mm NATO assault rifle

C-7 5.56mm assault rifle

FN-FAL 7.62mm NATO assault rifle

H&K G11 4.7mm assault rifle

Steyr Aug 5.56mm assault rifle

Shotguns, Jagged Alliance 2

Remington M870, 12 Gauge Shotgun

SPAS-15, 12 Gauge Shotgun

CAWS Shotgun

Rifles, Jagged Alliance 2

Sturm Ruger Mini-14

SKS 7.62mm WP Rifle

Sniper Rifles, Jagged Alliance 2

Dragunov 7.62mm WP Sniper Rifle

M24 7.62mm NATO sniper rifle

Machine Guns, Jagged Alliance 2

H&K 21 7.62mm NATO light machine gun

FN Minimi 5.56mm light machine gun

RPK-74 5.45mm light machine gun

Experimental Weapons, Jagged Alliance 2

Rocket Rifle

Auto Rocket Rifle

BOOM Weapons, Jagged Alliance 2

M79 Grenade Launcher

M72A2 Light Anti-Tank Weapon (LAW)

M224 60mm CAL Lightweight Mortar

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