You’re standing on a floating platform in Nefarious City, surrounded by robots that want to turn you into scrap metal. Your finger is hovering over the weapon wheel. Most games would give you a pistol or a shotgun and call it a day. But Insomniac Games doesn't do "normal." They give you a sprinkler that turns enemies into topiary art.
Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart weapons are weird. They’re loud. Honestly, some of them are kind of useless if you don't know how to upgrade them properly.
If you've played any entry in this long-running series, you know the drill: collect bolts, buy the weirdest-looking gadget from Mrs. Zurkon, and then blast things until they explode into more bolts. But Rift Apart changes the math because of the DualSense controller. The haptic feedback and adaptive triggers actually change how these guns feel in your hands. It's not just about the damage numbers anymore; it's about the "thunk" you feel when a projectile leaves the barrel.
The Burst Pistol vs. The Constructionoid Pistol
Let's talk about the starting gear. Usually, the first gun you get in a Ratchet game is a pea-shooter you ditch the moment something shinier appears. The Burst Pistol (which eventually becomes the Blast Pistol) is actually pretty reliable. It’s your standard semi-auto. But here is the thing: the haptic triggers let you fire slowly by pulling halfway, or you can slam it down for full-auto fire.
Most players sleep on the basic pistol. Don't. When you're dealing with those annoying "Goons-4-Less" flyers, the accuracy of the Blast Pistol is better than spray-and-pray weapons.
Contrast that with something like the Shatterbomb. It’s basically a futuristic grenade. It's satisfying, sure. But in the early game, you’re going to run out of ammo constantly. You've gotta balance the heavy hitters with the reliable stuff. This isn't just a shooter; it's resource management disguised as a cartoon.
Why the Topiary Sprinkler is Low-Key Overpowered
If you ask a hardcore fan about the best Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart weapons, they might point to the RYNO 8. It’s the classic choice. But if you want to actually survive the Arena challenges on the harder difficulties, you need to fall in love with the Topiary Sprinkler.
It sounds ridiculous. You throw a little turret on the ground, and it sprays water on enemies. Then, they turn into hedges. While they’re frozen as leafy statues, they take continuous damage and—crucially—they stop attacking you.
This is the ultimate crowd control tool. In Rift Apart, the screen gets crowded. Fast. Between the dimensional rifts and the sheer number of particles, it's easy to lose track of who is shooting at you. The Sprinkler gives you breathing room. Plus, seeing a giant mechanical boss turned into a well-manicured bush is never not funny.
The Ricochet and the Art of Timing
The Ricochet is a weird one. It’s a ball that you fire at an enemy, and then you have to time your trigger pulls to keep it bouncing off their head. It feels like a rhythm game inside a third-person shooter.
If you're lazy, this gun sucks.
If you have rhythm, it’s a monster.
Once you upgrade it to the Wreckochet, the damage output for single targets is staggering. It’s perfect for those tanky enemies that have too much health. You just latch onto them and keep tapping that trigger until they go pop. It saves ammo on your more expensive guns, too.
The Heavy Hitters: Negatron Collider and Lightning Rod
Sometimes you just want to delete everything in a straight line. That's where the Negatron Collider comes in. It’s a massive beam weapon that requires a brief charge-up. Because it pierces through enemies, it’s the king of narrow hallways.
- Line 'em up.
- Charge the trigger.
- Watch the blue light melt through three layers of armor.
Then there’s the Lightning Rod. It’s the spiritual successor to the Plasma Coil from previous games. It shocks an enemy, and then that shock jumps to nearby enemies. This creates a chain reaction. It’s arguably the best weapon for dealing with the swarms of small, biting creatures on Sargasso. You don't even really need to aim. Just fire in the general direction of the noise and let the electricity do the work.
Dealing with the "Ammo Problem"
You’re going to run out of ammo. It’s inevitable. The game encourages you to swap weapons constantly because the ammo crates are randomized based on what you’re currently low on.
A common mistake is sticking to just one or two favorites. If you do that, the game’s "director" AI will stop giving you the drops you need. You have to cycle. Use the Enforcer (the double-barrel shotgun) for close-up encounters, then swap to the Mr. Fungi for passive support while you back off and reload.
The Enforcer is actually a great example of the DualSense tech. Pulling the trigger halfway fires one barrel. Pulling it all the way fires both. It feels chunky. It feels dangerous. At Level 5, it becomes the Executor, and it fires four shots at once. It’s essentially a "delete" button for anything standing within five feet of you.
The Secret Sauce: Raritanium Upgrades
You see those blue crystals scattered around the maps? That’s Raritanium. Do not hoard it. Spend it the second you see Mrs. Zurkon.
Every weapon has a grid of upgrades. You’re looking for the "Gold" cells. These are special perks—like increased ammo capacity, larger explosion radii, or a chance to drop extra bolts. To unlock a Gold cell, you have to buy all the surrounding standard cells.
Focus on the Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart weapons you use for bosses first. Upgrading the damage on the Headhunter (the sniper rifle) is a priority. When you zoom in with the Headhunter, time slows down. If you’ve upgraded the weak-point damage, you can end boss fights in seconds. It feels a bit like cheating, but in a game where you're a space cat fighting a multi-dimensional emperor, "cheating" is just efficient gameplay.
The Drillhound: For Those Who Hate Aiming
The Drillhound is a sleeper hit. You fire a robotic dog that tunnels underground and then leaps up to bite the target. The tracking is aggressive. You can fire this thing from behind cover, and it will find its way to the enemy.
It’s the "coward’s choice," and I mean that in the best way possible. When your health is low and the screen is full of lasers, you don't want to poke your head out to aim a sniper rifle. You want to send a pack of mechanical dogs to do the dirty work for you.
Leveling Up to the RYNO 8
You can't talk about these weapons without mentioning the RYNO (Rip You a New One). To get it in Rift Apart, you have to find all the Spybots hidden across the various planets.
The RYNO 8 is special because it opens rifts that drop objects from other PlayStation franchises. You might see a Sly Cooper van drop on a robot’s head. Or a Thunderjaw from Horizon Zero Dawn. It’s chaotic and visually messy, but it’s the most powerful tool in the game.
Is it practical? Not really. It’s more of a victory lap. By the time you unlock it and level it up to the RYNO ∞, you’ve basically already won. But seeing the dimensional tears rip through the fabric of reality while a heavy metal soundtrack plays is the peak Ratchet and Clank experience.
Maximize Your Arsenal Efficiency
To really master the combat in this game, you have to think in "layers." You should always have a "passive" weapon active. That means either Mr. Fungi or the Glove of Doom. These deploy little minions that fight alongside you.
Once your minions are out, you throw a Topiary Sprinkler to freeze the crowd. Then you pull out the heavy damage dealers like the Warmonger (rocket launcher) or the Negatron Collider. This layered approach ensures you're never taking 100% of the aggro.
If you just run in with a shotgun, you’re going to get overwhelmed on the Renegade Legend difficulty. The game wants you to be a conductor of a very violent, very colorful orchestra.
The Void Repulsor: The Best Defense
Finally, don't overlook the Void Repulsor. It’s a shield that catches incoming projectiles. If you hold the trigger, it creates a barrier in front of you. When you release it, it blasts all that caught energy back at the enemies.
It’s one of the few defensive Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart weapons. In the late game, when the bosses start filling the screen with purple orbs and missiles, this shield is the only thing that will keep your health bar from vaporizing. When it levels up to the Void Reactor, it can even catch physical bullets and fire them back as a shotgun blast.
Actionable Next Steps for Mastery
- Prioritize the Sprinkler: Get the Topiary Sprinkler to Level 5 as fast as possible. The "Golden" upgrades for it increase the duration of the freeze, which is a literal lifesaver in the Arena.
- Check the Map for Spybots: If you're missing a weapon, it's likely the RYNO. Open your map on every planet and look for the Spybot icon. Some are hidden behind small platforming puzzles or inside "Pocket Dimensions."
- Farm Bolts in the Arena: If you're short on cash for the more expensive guns like the Warmonger, go to Zurkie’s. Replaying the bronze and silver challenges is the fastest way to pad your wallet.
- Abuse the Weapon Wheel: Go into the settings and adjust the weapon wheel slow-motion. If you feel like things are too fast, you can make the game almost pause when you're switching guns, giving you time to think.
- Complete the Set in Challenge Mode: Once you finish the game, start Challenge Mode (New Game Plus). This is the only way to get the "Omega" versions of the guns and reach Level 10, where the truly broken power-ups live.
Mastering the gear in Rift Apart isn't about having the fastest reflexes. It’s about knowing which weird gadget counters which annoying enemy. Once you stop treating it like a standard shooter and start treating it like a tactical sandbox of chaos, the game really opens up. Go buy that Sprinkler. Your future self will thank you when you aren't being stomped by a giant robot dinosaur.