Deadly Days Roadtrip Weapon Tier List: 1.0 Ranked

This tier list ranks weapons for the 1.0 build that shipped on 29 October 2026. It assumes a normal run with a backpack you can actually fill, not a theoretical perfect grid. A weapon's tier is therefore a statement about how much support it needs and how reliably it converts that support into a dead boss.

Official source: Deadly Days: Roadtrip 1.0 notes

More sources: Pixelsplit — Deadly Days: Roadtrip and Steam news hub.

How the tiers work

• S. Wins a run with ordinary support. Either the damage engine is self-contained, or the weapon changes what your other items can do.
• A. Excellent with a specific support package. Strong picks when the package is already in your bag.
• B. Solid, replaceable. Good for the first two biomes, not the reason you win.
• C. Starter or transition weapons. Fine when they drop, not worth building around.

Craft-only weapons are ranked by their crafted version. A weapon that is merely good when found and build-defining when crafted is noted in its entry.

S tier

Crossbow (craft-only)

Bolts stick in enemies and repeat on-hit effects when triggered. That single sentence makes the Crossbow the best build enabler in the game: every trigger item you own becomes a delayed payload, and a Cogwheel can chain the whole grid. The raw damage is unremarkable; the proc ceiling is not.

Needs: at least two trigger items and a way to keep the target in place. Fails against: bosses that teleport before the payload resolves.

Flamethrower (craft-only)

The fire puddles deal a percentage of enemy health per second. Percentage damage is the answer to elite and boss health pools, and Burn keeps ticking while you reposition. It is the most forgiving S-tier weapon because it does not care about your aim.

Needs: a root, a slow, or a corridor. Fails against: fast enemies in open biomes.

The Grinder (craft-only)

A spinning wheel that destroys everything in its path. It is a moving damage zone, which means it keeps working while you loot, dodge, or open a crate. On corridor maps it is close to free damage.

Needs: crowd control to keep enemies in the path. Fails against: ranged enemies that stand outside the wheel.

Mega Shotgun (craft-only)

The highest burst in the game at close range. It deletes elites and boss phases, and the pellet count makes on-hit effects proc multiple times per shot. The reload window is the price.

Needs: an escape or a knockback. Fails against: anything that survives the first two shots.

A tier

Desert Eagle (craft-only)

High damage and pierces one extra enemy. In a corridor or a stacked wave, the pierce doubles its effective damage. It is an A rather than an S because it wants a line, and many arenas refuse to give you one.

LMG

Fast fire rate and a heavy footprint. The 1.0 fire-rate fix means it now actually fires at its stated rate, which quietly buffed every fast weapon. It is the best non-crafted carrier for on-hit and crit builds, provided you can afford the cells.

Tommy Gun

Faster than the LMG and less accurate. Accuracy matters less than proc frequency in a bullet-heaven, so it is a legitimate crit carrier. Pair it with the Ripped-Out Eye and accept that you will fight at kissing distance.

Shotgun

The reliable mid-game burst weapon. It does not scale as hard as the Mega Shotgun, but it is findable, it fits a reasonable footprint, and it teaches you to close distance before firing.

Katana

Melee with a clean arc. The 1.0 build increased its damage by 25%, which moved it from "fine" to "genuinely good" on melee builds. It pairs with life steal and attack speed rather than crit.

B tier

Rifle

Accurate, moderate rate of fire, good at range. It is the weapon you take when you do not yet know what the run is. Nothing about it is wasted, and nothing about it wins the run.

Uzi (crafted, rare)

A fast, cheap-to-fire weapon that shines early and fades when enemy health scales. Good with on-hit effects, poor as a boss killer.

Super Knife

The 1.0 patch reduced its damage from 280 to 224. It is still a fast melee option with a small footprint, but it is no longer the automatic pick it was in Early Access.

Chainsaw

High melee damage and a terrifying sound. The footprint and the commitment make it a B: it deletes whatever is in front of you and nothing else.

Rocket Launcher

Area damage with a slow cadence. Excellent against packs, mediocre against a single boss, and dangerous in a small room.

Revolver

Slow, accurate, high per-shot damage. It rewards crit and flat damage multipliers, but the cadence makes it unforgiving when you miss.

C tier

Pistol

The default starting weapon. It is not bad; it is a placeholder. Replace it when a better weapon fits, not before.

Crowbar

Melee with a looting-speed bonus. The bonus is the point; the damage is not.

Machete

A small sweep and a small footprint. A fine first melee weapon, not a build.

Brass Knuckles

Fast, short punches. It occupies almost no space and does almost no damage. It is a trigger delivery system at best.

Patch notes that changed the ranking

• Ranged fire rate is no longer frame-rate dependent. Fast weapons are better than Early Access tier lists claimed.
• Projectiles merge above the cap and deal full damage. Fast weapons with on-hit effects gained value.
• Katana +25% damage. Melee moved up one tier.
• Super Knife 280 → 224. Melee's best generic option moved down.
• Crit tiers above 100%. Crit builds gained a ceiling they did not have.

How to use a tier list without copying it

A tier list assumes a support package. If you have no trigger items, the Crossbow is a B. If you have no escape, the Mega Shotgun is a death sentence. Read the "needs" line in each entry, then look at your bag. The weapon that fits your grid beats the weapon that tops the list.

FAQ

Is this tier list for co-op? It is for solo. In co-op, the carry weapon matters less than the seam layout; see the co-op guide.

Where is the Tesla Coil? It is an item, not a weapon. It anchors the Tesla Chain build covered on the best builds page.

Do legendary versions change the tier? A legendary version of a B weapon can outperform a common S weapon. Rarity is a multiplier on the base entry, not a replacement for it.

Will a balance patch invalidate this? Possibly. The page carries a last-updated date; check it against the current build.

Related

• Best builds: the five engines behind these weapons
• Legendary weapons: where the high-rarity drops come from
• Crafting guide: how to make the S-tier weapons