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Despite there being plenty of weapons to choose from in Death Stranding, there are only 4 main types in which all can be classified: Non-Lethal Anti-Personnel, Lethal Anti-Personnel, Non-Lethal Anti-BT, and Lethal Anti-BT. Each serves a function related to the type's name, which hints at their usability, but context can often be very helpful to determine which is right for any given situation.
Whether one goes the Non-Lethal or Lethal route is up to the player, however, there are important factors to consider before running head-first into any sort of confrontation in Death Stranding. Regardless if one's foes are human or BT, planning ahead can make any courier's job much easier.
About Non-Lethal Anti-Personnel Weapons
Firstly, an easy way to distinguish Non-Lethal weapons from their Lethal variants is the color: Non-Lethal Anti-Personnel weapons are blue while Lethal Anti-Personnel weapons are orange. As the name of Non-Lethal Anti-Personnel weapons implies, such armaments are used to knock out human foes without killing them, which is important for preventing the increase of BTs in the area.
There is a direct correlation between the number of MULEs killed and the number of BTs in the area, so, if one does not desire to deal with additional deadly specters, don't kill anyone. Knocked-out foes will remain unconscious until one of their allies finds and revives them or if they are left alone long enough to wake up on their own.
About Lethal Anti-Personnel Weapons
As mentioned before, Lethal Anti-Personnel weapons will be orange in color, making them easy to tell apart from Non-Lethal Anti-Personnel variants. In terms of effectiveness, Lethal Anti-Personnel weapons are much more efficient at clearing out MULEs and other human foes than Non-Lethal Anti-Personnel weapons, though, at the expense of causing more BTs to spawn in areas where enemy blood was shed.
The dead bodies of slain foes will despawn shortly after the enemy's demise, though, will be replaced by something worse. The ammunition for these guns, and well as their non-lethal kin, can be found at distribution centers all over the map.
About Non-Lethal Anti-BT weapons
These weapons cannot kill or even knock out human targets and are designed specifically for use against BTs. As such, the supernatural threats are what the player should focus on slaying with these kinds of weapons, though, Non-Lethal Anti-BT weapons are not the only way to take down BTs.
These weapons use rounds made from Sam's blood, so they replenish ammo a bit differently from regular guns conceptually, but can still be refilled upon visiting one's room in a distribution center. They also take Sam's blood (the player's HP) to reload, so don't get too trigger-happy unless one has plenty of Blood Bags on hand.
About Lethal Anti-BT Weapons
Despite being a classification of its own, there are no weapons that naturally fit into the category of Lethal Anti-BT weapon without some adjustments being made by the player. Any Lethal Anti-Personnel weapon can be turned into a Lethal Anti-BT weapon by loading it with blood rounds, which can be changed in Sam's equipment menu.
Furthermore, players can use Lethal Anti-Personnel weapons to take down BTs without needing to swap ammo if they utilize Hematic Grenades. The Hematic Grenades dissipate regular BTs by themselves but can be also used to great effect on larger BT bosses. After throwing a Hematic Grenade at a large BT, it will hurt the foe while creating a cloud of red mist, which, when shot through with regular Lethal Anti-Personnel ammo, will severely hurt the inhuman adversary--arguably the highest DPS method of slaying BT bosses.
Death Stranding is available on PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows, and PlayStation 5.