The Eruptor Handcannon and Onslaught Rifle are the two weapons you want to build around in Saros. Full stop. Housemarque's new PS5 roguelike ships with 5 main weapon categories, 3 variants each, and 4 Power Weapons, which sounds like a lot of options until you realize a handful of them are genuinely outclassed by the rest.
Why the top two main weapons pull ahead
The Eruptor Handcannon and Onslaught Rifle share a design philosophy that makes them work in almost every situation. Both carry the Autohit property on their primary fire, meaning you're not punished for imprecise aim during hectic encounters. Their Alt-Fire modes then flip the script entirely, rewarding precision shots to weakpoints with significantly boosted damage. You get a safety net and a high-skill ceiling in the same package.
The Marksman Handcannon and Smart Rifle sit just below in A-tier. The Marksman drops the Autohit on primary fire but compensates with an Alt-Fire that marks enemies, effectively activating Autohit on demand. The Smart Rifle's Alt-Fire converts rounds into homing missiles, which sounds flashy and actually delivers. The two Crossbow variants, the Bifurcator and Impactor, round out A-tier with charged shots and homing bolt mechanics that hold up well into the later biomes.
If a lower-ranked weapon is 10 or more Proficiency levels above your current gun, swap it. Tier rankings assume equal Proficiency levels, and raw stat gaps can outweigh category placement in the short term.
The middle of the pack and what drags them down
B-tier is where things get interesting. The Myriad Chakram is probably the most mechanically distinct weapon in this group: it fires spinning discs that return after contact, and any disc that connects with a weakpoint comes back instantly for another shot. Skilled players can squeeze real value out of it. The problem is that realizing that value takes deliberate setup, and in a roguelike where runs can go sideways fast, that friction costs you.
The Horde Shotgun, Tactical Rifle, Ricochet Handcannon, and Repeater Crossbow all land in B-tier for similar reasons. They do their jobs but lack the flexibility of the top options. The Ricochet Handcannon's Alt-Fire, which just removes the fire rate limiter, feels like a missed opportunity compared to what the Eruptor offers.
Main weapons tier list, Saros
C-tier houses the Stalwart Shotgun, Annihilator Shotgun, and Ripsaw Chakram. The Stalwart's hovering projectile wall gimmick requires two separate inputs to pay off. The Annihilator's grenade Alt-Fire is satisfying once but inconsistent against fast-moving targets. The Ripsaw Chakram deals damage over time through lodged discs, which sounds good until you realize most encounters in Saros reward burst damage over sustained pressure.
At the bottom sits the Reaping Chakram. Single-shot, disc-based, with an Alt-Fire that spins the disc around protagonist Arjun as a melee deterrent. It is genuinely the weakest option in the pool and the one you most want to reroll away from before a boss room.
Power Weapons: two that work everywhere, two that need context
All four Power Weapons are situationally strong, but the Illumine and Prominence separate themselves by working against any enemy type without adjustment.
The Illumine locks onto targets and deals continuous damage while the beam is held, making it reliable against both elites and bosses. The Prominence lands a single massive hit with stagger, which is exactly what you want when a boss is about to punish you. The Dispiritor and Nova Lance are strong in the right matchup but feel limiting when the encounter doesn't cooperate.
How the weapon pool actually opens up
Here's the thing: you cannot sequence-break your way to the best weapons early. All 15 weapons unlock through story progression, with no optional or hidden guns in the current build. The pool expands in a fixed order, starting with Handcannon variants and ending with the Illumine Power Weapon after the Chakram variants unlock.
What this means practically is that your first few runs are Handcannon runs whether you like it or not. The good news is that the Eruptor is one of the starting variants, so the S-tier option is available from the jump. Corrupted versions of any weapon add extra modifiers on top of base stats, and if you find a Corrupted Eruptor or Onslaught Rifle, that is the priority pick regardless of Proficiency level differences.
For more on Saros systems and how to get the most out of each run, browse more guides covering the game's mechanics in detail. If you want a broader look at how Saros compares to other recent releases, check out our latest reviews for context on where it sits in the current roguelike field.
