Upgrading and customizing weapons in Metro Exodus is quite simple. The popular franchise has created a truly unique attachment system in its third installment. Players can find weapon attachments by dismantling guns picked up from dead enemies and in many locations across the various maps. If the attachment for a gun is orange, that means Artyom has not picked it up yet. The actual customization process is an improvement from the prior games in the series, and easy for anyone to understand.
The workbench on the Aurora allows gamers to customize weapons by picking and choosing the attachments in each slot. As far as upgrading a weapon, adding and swapping attachments is all players can do. This guide will explain a few more things about the attachment slots, as well as what combinations work well for a particular build.
Weapon Attachments
There are a total of five different attachment slots in Metro Exodus, which are listed below:
- Barrel
- Gadgets
- Magazine
- Sights
- Stock
Each of these slots has four different attachments for gamers to choose from given they have found all of the attachments for each weapon. Many of the weapons in each class have similar options, although there are slight differences from weapon to weapon. The developers did a great job simplifying the attachment system and giving players a ton of different potential combinations.
For any given gun there are 625 different potential combinations of attachments, assuming the gun has four different choices in each slot. Instead of including dozens of guns, the developers chose to give the player more creativity, which is not common in the shooter genre.
Attachment Breakdown
Each weapon slot focuses on a specific area of weapon performance. There are some variations, but the general principles outlined below apply to almost every class.
Barrels
Barrel upgrades increase the damage and range of the weapon at the cost of stability. The longer the barrel, the more damage and effective range the weapon will have. Suppressors are a good choice for a stealth build. While they do reduce damage and range, it will be harder for enemies to spot Artyom's location.
The Helsing and Tikhar have a slot called the Mechanism upgrade instead of a Barrel slot. These mechanism upgrades can change the firing system of the guns. For example, the pneumatic system of the Tikhar can be upgraded to refill the chamber after every shot. Likewise, the Helsing can be upgraded for more bullet velocity or a faster fire rate.
Gadgets
Gadgets replace crosshairs with a cleaner red, green, or infrared laser sight. With these gadgets equipped, it is easier to spot and hit shots at close range. The sight picture is cleaner as well. Infrared sights are crucial when fighting enemies at night, as they provide concealment.
Magazine
Smaller magazines are lighter, but often do not provide enough ammo for endgame gunfights. The larger a magazine is, the more drastic the stability penalty is. For long-range weapons, a 30 or 45 round magazine should be sufficient. Hitting shots with the High Capacity mags can be difficult due to a -6 stability penalty.
Sights
Almost all of the weapons give gamers the option of using iron sights or a reflex sight. Both choices are manageable at close range, but the NV, 4x, and 6x are preferable at longer ranges. The right sight depends on preference, as well as which class of weapon Artyom is using.
Stock
The Stock on a weapon will have a huge impact on recoil control and stability. Base light grips are better for close-range combat because they do not penalize movement. The Heavy Stock And Grip provides the highest stability boost at +10. However, it will make the weapon slower and less versatile in close-range gunfights. If recoil is an issue with one of the guns, the Heavy Stock is the proper choice.
Best Attachments For Every Class
The best weapons and attachments will ultimately depend at least somewhat on personal preference. Playstyle is another important consideration when customizing a weapon. This list includes the attachments that will provide the most benefits for the average player.
- SMG: Light Grip, Standard Barrel And Compensator, Reflex Sight, 45-round mag, Green Laser
- Intermediate AR: Light Grip, Short Barrel And Flash Suppressor, Reflex Sight, 45-round mag, Green Laser
- Long Range AR: Heavy Stock And Grip, Long Barrel And Compensator, 45-round mag, Scope 4x, Infrared Laser
- Sniper (Valve): Heavy Stock, Heavy Barrel, Single Column Magazine, Scope 6x, Infrared Laser
- Pistol: Standard Stock, Standard Barrel, Reflex Sight, 8-shot Cylinder, Green Laser
- Shotgun (Ashot/Shambler): Heavy Grip, Four Barrels/Long Barrel, Closed Reflex Sight, 10-round mag, Green Laser
- Tihar: Heavy Stock, Railgun, Reflex Sight, Horizontal Magazine, Infrared Laser
- Helsing: Heavy Stock, Pneumatic Bow System, Scope 4x, 6 Bolt mag, Infrared Laser
The Flamethrower and Gatling Gun are excluded because the upgraded attachments for those weapons are obvious. It should also be clarified that the SMG build refers to a Full Auto pistol conversion or Assault Rifle kitted for close range. The primary differences between the pistol SMG and assault rifle SMG builds will be the Long Barrel Conversion and the magazine size. With that, gamers should have a better idea of what attachments will best suit a particular build in Exodus.