Naraka: Bladepoint Best Weapons guide
Understanding the weapons in Naraka: Bladepoint's complex combat system is just one step towards victory!
Naraka: Bladepoint’s deceptively complex combat system is based around a “rock, paper, scissors” system of light attacks, focus attacks and parries. But on top of this, you also need to master the varied roster of weapons at your disposal.
After all, Naraka: Bladepoint is still a Battle Royale, so grabbing the best weapons available from your starting zone can make all the difference in how your match plays out.
Despite this however, just like the best characters in Naraka: Bladepoint, there’s more nuance involved in arming yourself than you might expect.
What are the best weapons in Naraka: Bladepoint?
Currently, the best weapon in Naraka: Bladepoint is the Fan. However, the newest weapon, the Heng Sword, has the potential to take that crown.
Often in Naraka, the newest weapon is the strongest, providing something fresh to look for while you’re gathering your equipment and shaking up the meta.
“The Fan is strong because it has the good movement of the Dagger - more or less - but it has the damage and range of a Longsword, plus some really nasty extra stagger,” Heaven, a YouTuber who makes English-language tutorials for Naraka, told VG247 at Naraka’s J Cup world championship.
“By tendency, the most recently released weapon is going to be the strongest,” “My take on it is that the developers, when they make a new weapon, introduce unique mechanics and in order to make players pick it up and gather data on how to optimise it they need to make it stronger than other weapons.
“Then once they have the data, they nerf it - they lower the damage but keep the unique mechanics.”
But even though the Fan is definitely the weapon to grab, match-winning players at the J Cup world championship also made use of:
- Longsword
- Nunchucks
- Dual Halberds
- Staff
- Spear
You can see from that variety of weapons that even if you can’t lay your hands on the absolute top pick in the meta at any one time, you still have a chance of winning against even the best Naraka: Bladepoint players in the world. That is if you have the combat skills to back it up.
How do you get better with weapons in Naraka Bladepoint?
Because of Naraka: Bladepoint’s high skill gap and long time-to-kill, having the best weapon isn’t a sure-fire path to victory; how you use your weapon is just as important as which weapon you have.
To improve your overall game, it’s important to learn specific combos in the practice arena so you can still perform well regardless of which weapon you manage to pick up.
If you have an understanding of combos for a variety of different weapons, it will only ever give you more options and more versatility in adverse situations. But even then, honing your understanding of when to leave fights, retreat and wait for the right time to strike - whatever weapon you’re using - will make you a better player in the long run.
“There are a lot of situations where you leave people with like 1hp and that’s very frustrating so learning the max damage combos are very important,” ELD.Froztiuvs, a Naraka: Bladepoint pro player representing the NA region, told VG247 at J Cup.
“It has a lot of similarities with a fighting game, but a lot of people don’t make that connection. There are a lot of fighting game terms that apply to Naraka, but people don’t use them.
“But I’d say it would be equal with movement. Especially in tournaments, defensive options are way better than offensive. The best players like Mike and Spider, their defensive movement and dodges are on another level compared to other players.
“How they survive is all defensive and most of the time their kills are third-party, stealing kills, it’s pretty rare to get an isolated fight outside of the Realm of Yang. That’s where combos matter, but outside of that arena, movement and defensive options are way better.”
To learn these vital skills, many Naraka pros and content creators extol the importance of watching the best players and incorporating the techniques into your own game. This way you not only learn solid combos that you can apply in multiple situations, but also how to force those situations when you face off against opponents and compete with higher level players.
“Try to be systematic about it,” Heaven explained. “Learn one basic combo per weapon and learn how to tech-chase it, how to space, how to play against certain weapons, then you’re good.
“Understand the holdcheck mini-game - that’s important in Trios, but also in Solos. The basic tradeoffs.
“When it comes to advancing, it’s about watching the game. You have to watch others because you can’t possibly figure out everything on your own. There are some things you can only figure out from watching replays from more advanced players.”
Where to learn about the best weapons in Naraka
To see top players in action, the best place to look is Naraka Esports' official Twitch channel, which features live coverage and replays of high-level Naraka:Bladepoint tournaments throughout the year.
The most prestigious of these is the gala J Cup World Championship, which in 2023 was held in Chengdu, China.
Pay attention to how Solo Champion AOW.Mike opportunistically snipes kills, but is relentless once fully committed.
While in Trios, look out for the defined roles each player performs and how disciplined they are in carrying it out.
What about ranged weapons?
Even though Naraka is a melee-focused battle royale, ranged weapons can be important.
Ranged weapons play a much more pivotal role when you’re playing with a team in Trios than in Solo.
At the J Cup world championships, pro players most often used high-damage ranged weapons like the Cannon to support their teammates.
However, on your own in Solo something quicker like the Musket, Bow, or Repeating Crossbow is preferrable.