Do you know what are the main types of RPG weapons? Role-playing games (RPGs) have been part of the lives of millions worldwide with their rich storytelling and immersive worlds to explore. According to a report from Newzoo, the RPG genre has consistently stayed in the top 5 genres by revenue over the last few years, being particularly successful among mobile gamers.
A core element that defines the RPG experience is the arsenal of weapons at your disposal. More than just tools for combat, your choice of armaments can reflect your character’s identity and persona. The giant two-handed battleaxe speaks to the brutish warrior archetype, while a powerful enchanted staff represents the wise and mystical mage.
Throughout this article, we’ll dive into the main types of RPG weapons, what makes them unique, and how they shape vastly different gameplay styles even among themselves!
Learn the 3 quintessential types of RPG weapons
Let’s take a deep dive into the three main types of RPG weapons and how they open up vastly different gameplay experiences:
Melee weapons
First, to begin our list of types of RPG weapons, we have the melee crew – you warriors, barbarians, tanks, and knights for whom combat is an up-close and very personal affair.
Sure, you could take the stealthy route or pummel enemies from afar with puny magic, but let’s be honest: where’s the fun in that? You live for those glorious moments when you’re standing on top of the bodies of your vanquished foes, for those battles of raw speed, might, and strength (or endurance if you’re into outlasting your foes).
Whether you’re swinging a classic longsword, a brutal greataxe, a warhammer that could demolish city walls, or bashing skulls with a spiked mace, melee is all about dishing out physical punishment. You trade in the subtle arts for sheer, unrestrained might.
Even within this “simplistic” category, you will find incredible diversity in gameplay:
- Dual-wielding one-handed weapons with short blades, like daggers, shortswords, and punch daggers, can offer a highly mobile, agility-based experience;
- Using a gigantic zweihander (which is another term for two-handed sword), hammer, or mace could turn you into a towering giant;
- A sword and board character is usually a very balanced way to play many RPGs: they provide some damage and defenses while staying relatively mobile, but will be far from the best at anything;
- Staves could provide a very agile, defensive playstyle or a melee and magic hybrid class, like the monk, who could pummel foes with wind-based attacks.
So games tap into these differences with customized movesets, abilities, and fighting styles for different melee weapon types.
In Elder Scrolls games, for example, swinging a mace has a distinct brutal rhythm than the swift slashes of a dagger. Dark Souls, on the other hand, tests your patience and discipline with weighty greatswords while rewarding quick katanas with brief windows of opportunity to get some chip damage.
Magic weapons
Of course, why get all sweaty in the thick of battle when you could be applying the explodey kinds of hurts from a nice, safe distance? This is the philosophy of your magic slingers – mages, warlocks, battle clerics, necromancers, and the occasional batty wizard somehow pushing 700 years old.
Rather than walking head-first into the fray, you lords and ladies of the mystic arts prefer to focus your energies on arcane foci like wands, staves, tomes, and other assorted spell-slinging tools. Your weapons are catalysts for shaping your mana into fiery conflagrations, deafening lightning storms, terrifying void rifts, massive blizzards, and every other flavor of computed ruin.
Once more, even within this category, you have lots of design space to use. Wands are better suited for subtle incantations and hexes, while massive two-handed staves allow players to really pour on the rocket-powered magical punishment.
Wizards of the darker arts might wield voodoo dolls, tomes packed with magical lore, and other weird paraphernalia to summon eldritch horrors and inflict massive destruction with curses and forbidden magic. On the other hand, clerics and other light-attuned characters will usually prefer holy symbols and scepters to channel divine energies onto their targets.
For example, Final Fantasy’s mages mix and match unique spell-shaping catalysts like rods, grimoires, and rackets. Finally, Dragon Age complemented its brilliant magic system with a diverse assortment of magical armaments to make each mage feel unique.
Ranged weapons
For the ranged combat specialists, battles are all about strategic positioning and getting the perfect shot lined up to neutralize threats before they know you’re there. Whether you’re a hunter, ranger, scout, or gunner, the goal is the precise application of violent force from a safe distance behind the front lines.
Bows, crossbows, rifles, muskets, hand cannons, slings, throwing weapons, and even cumbersome rocket launchers – these are the tools that allow ranged fighters to deal damage while avoiding up-close skirmishes.
And they too can differ a lot from each other in gameplay. Shortbows offer mobility at the cost of damage output, while arbalest crossbows hit absurdly hard, but with time-consuming reloads. Thrown weapons like knives, javelins, and even potions are great for mid-range skirmishing, allowing you to pose a threat while maintaining some distance.
In games, we can talk about The Elder Scrolls series, which has practically turned stealth archery into an art form unto itself at this point, and its popularity among gamers is not to be understated. And we’re not even taking unique bows and their properties into account!
Lost Ark, one of the most popular MMORPGs in recent times, has many ranged classes: the artillerist uses a rocket launcher for slow, but destructive explosions, the gunslinger and deadeye use their pistols to wreak havoc at a medium distance while darting across the battlefield, and the sharpshooter and his trusty bow sniping his foes from afar.
Finally, the Monster Hunter games highlight gunlances, bowguns, and other assorted ranged beating sticks to an obscene degree.
Types of RPG weapons: closing thoughts
All in all, that’s the basic framework! These three types of RPG weapons – melee, magic, and ranged – are the building blocks for almost every experience in the genre.
But this is just the tip of the iceberg: game designers can get super creative and add all sorts of twists to these classic categories. The best, most memorable games in the genre usually go wild with their weapon classes, blending different styles and defying conventions at every turn.
Games like Warframe and Borderlands turn the uniqueness up to 11. While they’re first-person looter shooters, they also have RPG elements, with many weapons being inspired by the three main types – by the way, in these titles, the weapon variety borders on the comically insane.
The possibilities are endless, and that’s what keeps RPGs feeling endlessly fresh even after decades of entries.
Crafting the perfect RPG adventure, on the other hand, requires more than just choosing the right weapon – it’s about bringing your vision to life with a team of experts who understand the nitty-gritty aspects of game development.
That’s where Main Leaf comes in! With our talented team of game developers, designers, and artists, we can help you bring your RPG dreams to reality at an affordable cost. We can also implement the latest trends in gaming to help it stand out from the crowd.
Whether you’re a seasoned developer looking to level up your game or a newcomer with a bold idea, we at Main Leaf are here to support you every step of the way. Contact us today to get started with our top-notch development services!
