Best Open-World Games For Weapon Customization, Ranked

Summary

• Customizing weapons enhances gameplay by increasing player attachment.
• The Legendary Gunsmith being unlocked in Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain adds a whole new layer to the game.
• In open-world games like The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim and Dragon Age: Inquisition, investing in crafting results in powerful gear.

In action games, weapons play a crucial role in the gameplay and often feel like extensions of the player. This experience is enhanced in open-world games, where players have the opportunity to customize their weapons to match their personal style. The ability to create the right weapon can significantly impact the player’s experience.

Weapon customization not only allows players to personalize in-game items but also helps them develop an attachment to these weapons. When players defeat a powerful boss or experience significant moments in the story while wielding their unique weapon, it enhances their sense of involvement in the game.

Unlocking The Legendary Gunsmith Is Worth The Effort

Playing Solid Snake in Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain already features a plethora of weapons to use. However, later in the game, the player can unlock the Legendary Gunsmith via a side mission, which allows them to craft weapons with the perfect specs to suit the player.

A lot of fun can be had with the Legendary Gunsmith in Metal Gear Solid 5. There are no limitations to the attachments, with options for all guns being shared among each other. This allows players to create weapons that are standard or as wild as they please, which fits the bizarre world of Metal Gear Solid, which constantly shifts between grounded and absurd.

Smithing Is One Of The Best Skills To Invest In

The great thing about The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim is the freedom to pursue any skill and talent provided. If someone wants to focus purely on magic and sword-handling, they can. If they want to be a hammer-swinging alchemist, they can. Thanks to the skill system, anyone is free to essentially create their own character class.

Among the skill trees in Skyrim is Smithing, which is as taxing as it is rewarding. Slaying monsters and mining materials allows the player to return to a blacksmith’s shop and craft armor and weaponry. The reward is worth the effort because certain crafting recipes can lead to having some of the most powerful weaponry in the game.

6

Borderlands 3

The Third Game Finally Gave Players More Cosmetics For Guns

Part of the appeal of Borderlands is the thousands of guns that can be collected, as it is the grandfather of looter shooters. Borderlands 3 goes even further by allowing players to change the components of the guns themselves, such as magazines, grips, bodies, barrels, and more.

On top of the different aspects of the weapons, Borderlands 3 also allows players to paint them with different skins. While the game had fewer options for exploration than Borderlands 2, roaming the different planets and completing quests in Borderlands 3 does reward the player with a plethora of new guns, each of them customizable.

5

Dragon Age: Inquisition

BioWare Created A Beautiful Weapon System For Fantasy Buffs

While the crafting system in Dragon Age: Inquisition is not complex or deep in any way, the visuals go a long way. Whether it’s an axe or a sword, BioWare spared no expense in putting as many details into the weapons as possible, and despite the game being over a decade old, the graphical fidelity and art style still hold up.

In Dragon Age: Inquisition, crafting is key to obtaining some of the best weapons. Each weapon and piece of armor has modification slots where players can apply bonuses to their character. This allows for powerful builds that can lead to impressive outcomes in the later stages of the game.

4

Cyberpunk 2077

Night City Is Filled To The Brim With Craftable Weapons

After many updates and fixes, Cyberpunk 2077 has emerged as practically a new game. There is so much more depth put into the RPG aspect and that includes the guns. Throughout the game, many guns can be collected from the foes that V defeats on their journey, including shotguns, SMGs, assault rifles, revolvers, and pistols just to name a few.

Cyberpunk 2077 also features melee weapons to go along with the firearms and to fit the RPG mechanics, all weapons can have status effects on the character as well as attachments to enhance them. On top of that, for every weapon that can be found, there are plenty more that can be crafted for the ideal loadout to take on the denizens of Night City.

3

Dead Rising 4

Deck The Halls With Zombies And Crazy Weapons

Slaying zombies with a baseball bat or a machete is fun, but Dead Rising games have always been about crafting bombastic weapons to fight hordes of zombies. In Dead Rising 4, they can be as simple as an axe that sends out electric shocks with each swing or a ridiculous invention like the Suckmaster 3000 bomb that pulls zombies into a vacuum that shreds them apart.

Additionally, Dead Rising 4 takes place during the holidays, resulting in multiple Christmas and Winter-themed weapons that can be crafted as well. It all fits the intentionally silly and over-the-top style that the Dead Rising series is known for.

2

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

A Strong Jedi RPG With A Built In Lightsaber Building Simulator

On top of a thrilling Jedi adventure in the same vein as Dark Souls or Elden Ring, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor takes the already in-depth customization options from the first game and amplifies them. Not only does the lightsaber have more colors of blades to choose from, but it also has even more components to alternate between to create the player’s dream lightsaber.

Alongside the lightsabers, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor gives Cal Kestis a blaster, which can also be customized from top to bottom. Adding in the dozens of colors and textures that can be added to the weapons, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is perfect for those who love to swap their loadout for another one every playthrough or for every section of the game.

1

Fallout 4

Building The Ideal Weapon To Survive Nuclear Fallout

Similar to Metro Exodus, the apocalypse in Fallout 4 is a desolate wasteland with survivors scavenging anything they can find to make a weapon. The fourth mainline game in the beloved franchise features more crafting than ever before, with numerous upgrades for nearly every part of any weapon.

By the end of Fallout 4, a simple pipe pistol can become one of the most powerful weapons in the game. While upgrading to other strong weapons is also an option, keep in mind that the more powerful the weapon or upgrade, the more time you’ll need to invest in gameplay to find the necessary materials. Unlike in Skyrim, however, there are far more noticeable changes to the in-game models.