Weapon Mods

Weapon mods are the parts that sit in a weapon's mod slots. They add a stat bonus or a special effect to a gun or a melee weapon. A mod can raise Crit Chance, enlarge a magazine, make bullets burn or let a blade kill a wounded enemy in one hit. Some mods fit every weapon, while others fit only one class or one weapon type. A weapon holds up to two mods, and its mod slots open from Tier 2. Weapon mods suit every build, since each one bends a weapon toward a single playstyle.

Effects

Weapon mods change one part of how a weapon fights. Many give a bonus and take something back in return.

Crits and damage. Better Half adds Crit Chance once half the magazine is spent. Equalizer adds damage against Elite enemies. Swiss Cheese gives Power weapons more Armor Penetration but makes each bullet cost more Stamina. Headtoll rewards a streak of headshot kills with rising bonuses, from fire rate up to Crit Chance, Crit Damage and Health. Silencio gives melee weapons a large Crit Chance bonus while V is crouched and undetected.

Magazines and handling. Big Mag makes the magazine bigger but slows the reload. Shuffler refills part of the magazine each time V draws the weapon, but a normal reload takes longer. Focus Fire tightens hip fire at the cost of effective range. Ready Steady lowers recoil, more so when V aims from cover. Parallax steadies a handgun while aiming, but Stamina stops refilling while V aims.

Status effects. Pyro turns part of a Power weapon's damage into Thermal damage with a chance to Burn. Bleedout lets Bleeding damage land critical hits. Haemocide makes Bleeding last longer. Bloodbruiser makes a Blunt weapon lethal and lets it cause Bleeding. Spinetickler gives fully charged Tech shots a chance to set off an EMP blast.

Instant kills. Kneel! gives every leg shot from a shotgun a chance to dismember and kill the enemy outright. Vivisector raises the chance to dismember with each shotgun blast. Severance gives melee hits to the head or limbs the same kind of chance on an enemy below half Health.

Smart and Tech weapons. Headhopper adds lock-on targets, lock-on speed and headshot damage. Panorama widens the lock-on area but slows each lock. Gambiteer makes Smart bullets faster and better at piercing armor, but they home in less often. C-Thru helps charged Tech shots pass through cover. Supercharger speeds up the charge and lowers the Stamina cost but cuts Armor Penetration.

Melee and throws. Cyclone turns a Sprint Attack into a chain of unlimited combo attacks. Airstrike adds Crit Chance and Crit Damage to attacks made in midair. Boomerang sends a thrown weapon back to V after a headshot kill. Zero-G makes thrown weapons fly straight.

Non-lethal. Pax makes any weapon knock enemies out instead of killing them. It adds damage outside of combat, and its in-combat penalty disappears at Tier 5.

Pros

• Many mods add a special effect, such as an EMP blast, a Burn or an instant kill.
• Two mods of the same kind and tier combine into one of the next tier.
• Some mods change how a weapon plays, such as Pax and Kneel!.

Cons

• A weapon mod stays in the weapon for good once installed.
• Many mods trade one stat for another, such as reload speed for magazine size.
• A mod can go only on a weapon of the same tier or a higher one.

Mod Categories

Best Weapon Mods

Name	Image	Why
Wallpuncher		Doubles the charge limit with full Armor Penetration
Severance		Melee hits can kill a wounded enemy outright
Kneel!		Leg shots can kill instantly
Headhopper		More locks, faster locks, headshot damage
Silencio		Every strike from hiding crits at Tier 5
Spinetickler		EMP blast on half of full charge hits at Tier 5
Better Half		Up to 20% Crit Chance for the second half of a magazine
Pax		Non-lethal takedowns on any weapon

Wallpuncher and Severance are Iconic mods crafted from the Active Chimera Core in Phantom Liberty. Only one Chimera Core mod can be crafted in a playthrough. Kneel! comes only at Tier 5, so it needs a Tier 5 shotgun.

Character Builds

Each attribute has mods that fit its weapons.

• Body. Shotguns take Kneel!, Vivisector and Condenser. Rip And Tear adds damage between shotgun shots and Quick Melee Attacks. Blunt weapons take Barbarian and K.O., and Quake raises Blunt attack speed.
• Reflexes. Automatic guns take Big Mag, Better Half and Ready Steady, backed by Spray And Pray and Shoot To Chill. Blades take Bleedout, Haemocide and Slice 'Em Up. Slaughterhouse makes every attack apply Bleeding, and Lead And Steel lowers the Stamina cost of blade attacks.
• Technical Ability. Tech weapons take Wallpuncher, C-Thru, Supercharger and Spinetickler. Bolt raises charge speed, and In Charge stops the weapon from firing on its own at full charge.
• Intelligence. Smart weapons take Headhopper, Panorama and Gambiteer. Targeting Prism adds a lock-on target, and Smart Synergy gives instant locks during Overclock.
• Cool. Handguns take Pinpoint, Zenith and Parallax, and rifles take Headtoll and Stabilizer. Focus and Deadeye add headshot and weak spot damage. Thrown knives and axes take Boomerang, Zero-G and Javelin, and Juggler adds headshot damage with throwables.

Notes

• A matching pair of the same mod and tier combines at the crafting menu into one copy a tier higher.
• Weapon vendors sell ranged mods, and melee weapon vendors sell melee mods. Their stock changes after a day passes.
• Iconic mods can be moved between weapons, and the game removes them when the weapon is sold, dismantled or dropped.

All Weapon Mods

Every weapon mods mod is listed below.

Name	Image	Effect
Airstrike		Raises crit chance and crit damage for midair attacks
Barbarian		More damage against stunned, staggered and knocked down enemies
Better Half		Raises crit chance with the second half of the magazine
Big Mag		Bigger magazine, slower reload
Bleedout		Bleeding damage can crit
Bloodbruiser		Makes a blunt weapon lethal and able to cause Bleeding
Boomerang		A headshot kill with a thrown weapon can return it at once
C-Thru		Charged shots pierce cover sooner and lose less damage
Condenser		Tighter pellet spread, less damage per pellet
Critochet		Raises crit chance with ricochets
Cyclone		A sprint attack opens unlimited combos with stacking attack speed
Equalizer		More damage against Elite enemies
Firecracker		Shoots explosive rounds
Fleetshot		Lower Stamina cost and no heavy weapon slowdown, less armor penetration
Focus Fire		Tighter hipfire spread, shorter effective range
Gambiteer		Faster bullets and more armor penetration, less homing
Hackatomy		Hits can apply a quickhack effect based on the body part hit
Haemocide		Longer Bleeding and more crit chance, lower base damage
Headhopper		More lock-on targets, faster lock-on and more headshot damage
Headtoll		A headshot kill streak grants stacking combat bonuses
Javelin		More armor penetration with melee, doubled on throws
K.O.		More damage and knockdowns on stunned enemies, slower attacks
Kneel!		Leg shots can dismember and kill instantly
Panorama		Larger smart reticle that holds a lock longer, slower lock-on
Parallax		Longer range and less sway when aiming, Stamina stops regenerating
Pax		Makes the weapon non-lethal, more damage outside combat
Pinpoint		Tighter bullet spread after each headshot, stacking
Pyro		Turns part of the damage into Thermal damage with a chance to Burn
Ready Steady		Lowers recoil, more so when aiming from cover
Severance		Hits to the head or limbs of a weakened enemy can dismember and kill
Shuffler		Drawing the weapon refills part of the magazine
Silencio		More crit chance and crit damage when crouched and undetected
Slice 'Em Up		A kill leaves enemies more open to Finishers for a short time
Spinetickler		Fully charged hits can cause an EMP blast
Stabilizer		Better weapon handling when crouching or crouch-sprinting
Supercharger		Faster charge and lower Stamina cost, less armor penetration
Swiss Cheese		More armor penetration, higher Stamina cost per bullet
Vivisector		More dismemberment, then more torso damage for a short time
Wallpuncher		Charges to 200%, full armor penetration, no cover penalty
Zenith		More crit chance, tighter spread and faster swap after drawing
Zero-G		More effective range, thrown weapons fly straight