Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 Weapons

Infinite sidearm is a rule, not a flavor line

Official materials list the sidearm as infinite. Spend it. The first-game habit of treating the pistol as a last resort is how Marines die in a doorway with a dry pulse rifle. Showcase kits even put an Incendiary Augment on a standard M4 so the backup still has a damage type when the flamethrower is the wrong tool.

Crouch changes how Signatures play

Crouch is new versus Fireteam Elite 1. On Extreme and Insane, a Pulse Rifle or Smartgun gunline that stands up will hit the Marine in front. Rockets and flamethrowers are worse. Call the lane, crouch the stack, then dump the Signature. Difficulty owns the rule set; this page owns the guns that make the rule bite.

Once the slots are clear, you need names — the confirmed roster, not a DPS sheet.

DLC pulse rifles are store SKUs, not a hidden fourth slot

Ripley's Hive Exterminator Pack, Herk's Mondo Pest Pack, and Rain's Jackson's Star Pack add modified pulse rifles (Rain’s with a cryo underbarrel) plus outfits, decals, and a store line that mentions traits, perks, Augments, and colorways. Rain’s pack is sold separately from Premium in public listings (~$9.99). Confirm the SKU on Steam / console before you plan a kit around that gun. This wiki will not invent a “free unlock” path.

What the table refuses to rank

No column is a tier. Volcan is the Xenomorph-fire answer, Djinn is the armor answer, Smartgun is the icon hose, Pulse Rifle is the film rifle with a grenade launcher this time. If two rows share a job, pick the one your class actually showed, then spend Augments. The next section is the two names people search first.

Pulse Rifle: the UGL is the sequel change

The first game’s Pulse Rifle was a rifle without the underbarrel tool many Marines expected. Official Specialist kits now put the M41A with underbarrel grenade launcher on a Grenadier hybrid next to a rocket Signature. That is a lot of explosives on one Marine — brilliant on Casual / Standard, a wipe factory on Insane unless the Fireteam crouches. Pair the rifle with Incendiary or Piercing ammo from the elements chart rather than assuming the UGL replaces elemental packing.

Smartgun: still a Signature, still not a free Insane win

Showcases put L56A3 on Marauder lists and on the Paladin Specialist kit as the “giant sword.” Auto-track and a huge mag are the fantasy. High-difficulty tuning, movement while spun up, and whether it still falls off as a bullet-sponge hose are TBA until measured. Do not copy first-game bitterness as a live patch note. Do not copy first-game “it shreds everything” either. Bring it for the job: hold a lane, watch the Siren, let the rest of the Fireteam handle Exploder acid.

Both guns still go through the same craft loop as a plasma emitter — Fire Modes, Traits, Attachments, then one Augment when the weapon is fully upgraded.

Augment is a fork, not a grind bar

Once the gun is fully upgraded you pick among Augments. High Explosive Rounds is the patch-notes example: direct hits become AoE, explosion radius matters, and weak-point damage is the trade. That is the opposite of “put explosive on everything.” A Djinn railgun that exists to pop Synth plates may not want the same Augment as a Volcan that already is a cone. Leave a later Augments database for the full matrix; this page only teaches the gate and the one named fork.

Ammo crates feed the element you already chose

Day-1 notes say elemental ammo stacks and restocks the matching elemental weapon. Incendiary Rounds: first pickup +20 Thermal ammo, a second Incendiary pickup +40. Bring the gun that drinks that crate. A Pulse Rifle packed with Piercing does not become a flamethrower because you walked over a thermal box.

Craft is how you finish a gun. The last decision is which gun belongs on this drop.

Read the briefing, then pack the crate

Campaign missions preview enemy types before you drop on LV-558. If the card says Xenomorphs, thermal is the starting rule (they are fire-sensitive in public previews). If Synths show, piercing belongs on someone. Horde maps — Blacksite, Crash Landed, Crusher — can rotate all three factions; keep a piercing option in the Fireteam even if you personally bring Volcan.

Do not duplicate a teammate’s cone

Two Volcans on a four-stack is a thermal echo, not a plan. If a Marauder already brought M12A1, your Signature should cover piercing or a hold hose — Djinn, Smartgun, or Zephyr — unless Challenge Cards make the extra explosive legal. The Fireteam is four jobs; the locker is not a DPS race.

Stop hunting a best-weapon thumbnail

If the briefing is Xenomorphs, Volcan or Incendiary Pulse is the starting rule. If Synths show, Djinn or piercing ammo is the starting rule. Come back to this roster when a new patch names a gun — not when a ranked list invents a DPS winner.