Every clone you send into a Quasimorph mission is one bad turn away from the vat, and the weapon slot you fill before launch often decides whether you extract or restart. In the opening hours, when your tech level is low and ammo is scarce, a small set of reliable guns carries you through the tight corridors and single-entrance rooms that make up most early maps. The picks below are either handed to you at the start or easy to loot on low-difficulty contracts.
Quick answer: Keep the SR-78 from your starter inventory as your main gun for its 111% accuracy and Piercing damage, back it with the Hydra-12 pistol for close kills, grab the Taiga M shotgun for point-blank fights, and loot a Builder nail gun when you can supply enough nails.
Early weapon comparison
Each of these weapons fills a different role, from long-range single shots to corridor sweeping. Match the damage type to the enemy in front of you, because hitting a target with a type it resists strips only a fraction of its health.
| Weapon | Damage type | Ammo | Reload cost | How you get it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SR-78 | Piercing | 7.97 bullets | 5 AP | Starter inventory |
| Hydra-12 | Blunt | 9mm bullets | 3 AP | Available from the start |
| Taiga M | Lacerating | 12g buckshot | 4 AP | Grab at game start |
| Builder | Regular | 90mm nails | 6 AP | Looted on low-difficulty missions |
SR-78: Your best free weapon
The SR-78 sits in your starting inventory, and it is the strongest gun you are given for nothing. Its shooting accuracy reaches 111%, one of the highest figures you will see this early, and it deals 31 to 45 Piercing damage. Piercing is the strongest damage type in the game, so this weapon handles a wide range of enemies without needing an ammo swap.
Stick to single-fire mode so you do not burn bullets on distant targets, and treat the weapon carefully because 7.97 ammo runs out fast. Reloading costs 5 action points, so enter fights with a full magazine and keep your engagements inside roughly 5 squares. Beyond that range you waste both ammo and accuracy.
Hydra-12: A dependable starting pistol
The Hydra-12 is a 9mm pistol you can use from the very beginning. It fires Blunt damage at 16 to 24 per bullet, and within its effective range of 4 squares it kills most enemies in one or two shots. Accuracy holds up well inside that range, and the fast 3-action-point reload makes it easy to keep firing across a turn.
The main limit is the damage type. Enemies with high Blunt resistance shrug off much of the hit, so keep the Hydra-12 as a reliable sidearm rather than your answer to everything. It shines as a finisher, cleaning up wounded targets that your main weapon left standing.
Taiga M: A precise close-range shotgun
Killing from a distance is the ideal, but a single close shot often beats several inaccurate long-range attempts. That is where the Taiga M earns its slot. It is a precise shotgun you can grab as soon as the game starts, firing Lacerating damage from 12g buckshot.
Unlike shotguns that load one shell at a time, the Taiga M carries a 10-round magazine and fully reloads for 4 action points. It also has knockback, which pushes crowding enemies away and buys you a turn of breathing room when a fight closes in.
Builder: A nail gun for ammo-rich runs
Nail guns come in several forms, and the Builder is essentially the machine-gun version. It uses 90mm nails, deals 15 to 45 per nail, and offers double-fire and triple-fire modes. Because it throws several nails per action, it stays useful even in longer-range fights despite not being pinpoint accurate.
The 180-nail magazine means you rarely reload mid-mission, though a reload still costs 6 action points and the 5-degree scatter angle keeps it less accurate than most assault rifles. You do not start with a Builder, but it drops easily on lower-difficulty missions. Only carry it when your backpack holds a large stack of nails, since a nail gun without ammo is dead weight.
Match damage type to the enemy
Weapon choice in Quasimorph is not only about raw damage. Different enemies resist different ammo types, and firing the right type removes a much larger chunk of health. Right-click to examine a target before you commit, then pick the weapon whose damage type the enemy is weak to.
A practical early loadout carries two damage types so no single armor profile stops you cold. The SR-78 covers Piercing, the Taiga M brings Lacerating for rushers, the Hydra-12 adds Blunt cleanup, and the Builder offers a high-volume option when you can feed it nails. Reload during cover turns and enter each room with a full magazine, since a mid-fight reload can cost the turn that keeps your clone alive.
