The Best Weapons In Vampire Survivors, Ranked

Highlights

• Vampire Survivors is a 2D reverse bullet hell shoot ‘em up game with run-and-gun and roguelike elements that has grown in popularity in the gaming community.
• The game features various weapons that are balanced differently and can evolve into stronger forms with the right accessories, influencing their ranking.
• This ranking features the best weapons in Vampire Survivors, including their attributes and evolutions, to help players choose the most effective weapons for their gameplay.

Vampire Survivors is a 2D reverse bullet hell shoot ‘em up with run-and-gun and roguelike elements. Although this addictive game was released (for early access) with little notice on December 17, 2021, for the PC, it has since grown in popularity in the gaming community. In this game, players have 30 minutes to survive a stage, of which there are currently only two: Mad Forest and Inlaid Library.

There are many weapons to choose from while playing through a stage in Vampire Survivors. These weapons are balanced well, but some are noticeably better than others. The two stages are different in layout; a certain weapon might be more useful in Mad Forest than in the Inlaid Library. Some weapons also evolve into stronger weapons if the required accessory is in the inventory. The evolved weapons will be included in the base weapon’s entry and will influence the ranking of the base weapon. With that out of the way, here are the best weapons players can get in Vampire Survivors, ranked.

Updated on January 28, 2024, by Jeff Drake: The new Emergency Meeting DLC for Vampire Survivors added 16 new weapons to the pool. The previous two DLC offerings also added to the weapons pool. There are 58 standard weapons in the game as of this update, and this total doesn’t include weapon evolutions. Most of these weapons are middling; they inflict average damage or have limited range. There are also several weapons that are low tier in base form, but have a top tier evolved form – the Santa Water evolving into La Borra is a good example of this. Below are the 38 best weapons in Vampire Survivors, ranked from worst to best.

38 Garlic

Surrounds The Character With A Circular Protective Barrier

• Max Level: 8
• Evolves: Yes
• How To Unlock: Pick up 5 floor chickens

The Garlic weapon creates a circular barrier around the character that damages enemies when they cross the barrier. This weapon continues to damage enemies if they stay within the radius of the barrier. This weapon is great for the first ten minutes of a stage; after ten minutes the low damage of Garlic begins to fall behind the growing enemy strength.

The Soul Eater is the evolved form of the Garlic weapon. This has a larger radius and life-stealing properties – the character is healed when the Soul Eater hurts the enemy. There are a couple of Arcanas that elevate Garlic to a higher tier of weapon in Vampire Survivors, and if combined with the Crimson Shroud (evolved Laurel) the character can easily survive for 31 minutes.

37 Knife

Rapid Fire Weapon In One Direction

• Max Level: 8
• Evolves: Yes
• How To Unlock: N/A

When Vampire Survivors was young, it had a few stages that all offered players a wide, seemingly endless, stretch of land (or library) with only a few obstacles here and there. If this is how anyone remembers Vampire Survivors, the good news is things have changed quite a bit, and for the better.

There are now several stages with narrow corridors the player must traverse. Situations like this are where the Knife shines above all weapons. Few enemies can withstand more than a couple of seconds of this weapon fully leveled and evolved.

36 Clock Lancet

Freezes Enemies Around The Character

• Max Level: 7
• Evolves: No
• How To Unlock: Find the Orologion pick-up item.

The Clock Lancet doesn’t damage the enemy; all this weapon does is freeze enemies in place temporarily. This weapon sends out a medium-length ray of light every few seconds. This ray moves in a clockwise fashion between uses and freezes all nearby enemies.

There really isn’t much more to say about the Clock Lancet – it freezes enemies for a short while. However, it also freezes Death in its tracks. In fact, to beat Death the player absolutely needs the Clock Lancet. The Clock Lancet combined with weapons like the Runetracer, Bone, and La Borra, used in a confined area, can kill Death. It just takes time and a little luck.

The Clock Lancet can now be evolved into the Infinite Corridor. This operates as the Clock Lancet but periodically reduces the enemies’ health by half.

35 Fire Wand

Shoots Fireballs In A Random Direction

• Max Level: 8
• Evolves: Yes
• How To Unlock: Destroy 20 light sources

The Fire Wand has one thing going for it; it does more damage than any standard weapon except the Axe (they both deal 20 damage). The drawback is the Fire Wand fires its projectiles in a random direction. The projectiles are also painfully slow. It is not uncommon for the targeted enemy to maneuver around the fireballs.

Hellfire is the evolved form of the Fire Wand and gains the ability to fire piercing projectiles. In essence, the Hellfire’s projectiles act as a lawnmower as they fly across the screen; all enemies caught in the path will be cut down. Combine this weapon with the Candelabrador and Duplicator to increase its efficiency.

34 Axe

Sends Multiple Axes In A High Arc

• Max Level: 8
• Evolves: Yes
• How To Unlock: N/A

The Axe sends axes flying in a high arc from the player character. When the Axe increases in level, it will do more damage, increase the number of axes that are thrown per use, and can pass through more enemies before disappearing. It is a slow, clumsy weapon at the early levels, and doesn’t travel very far horizontally even at level eight.

This weapon would not rank among the best weapons for Vampire Survivors were it not for its evolved form, the Death Spiral. The Death Spiral is an incredibly powerful weapon that sends out a wave of spinning scythes in all directions; these pass through enemies while damaging them. The Axe requires the Candelabrador accessory to evolve.

33 Glass Fandango

Stabs In One Direction While Moving, Or All Around When Still

• Max Level: 8
• Evolves: Yes
• How To Unlock: Find it in the Whiteout stage and get it to level seven

Glass Fandango is the starting weapon of She-Moon. This is a directional weapon, much like the Dagger; The weapon’s projectiles travel in whatever direction the character is facing. If the character is standing still when Glass Fandango activates the projectiles circle the character.

Celestial Voulge is the evolved form of Glass Fandango and functions like the lesser form. Pair Glass Fandango with passive items that increase area and reduce cooldown times, along with weapons that strike at the edge of the screen – like the Bracelet and Four Seasons.

32 Magic Wand

Rapid Fire Weapon That Targets The Nearest Enemy

• Max Level: 8
• Evolves: Yes
• How To Unlock: N/A

This weapon sends out magic missiles when used, which target the nearest enemy and do a moderate amount of damage. When leveled up, the Magic Wand gets additional magic missiles, some piercing capabilities, and a shortened cooldown time. This weapon is good at the start of a stage, becomes obsolete around minute 18, and then evolves into one of the best weapons in Vampire Survivors.

If a character has the Empty Tome accessory, the Magic Wand can be evolved into the Holy Wand. This weapon has no cooldown time, meaning it fires non-stop. If the character also has the Duplicator accessory, the Holy Wand becomes a rapid-fire shotgun.

31 Cross

The Cross Has A Boomerang-like Effect To Its Trajectory

• Max Level: 8
• Evolves: Yes
• How To Unlock: Find the Rosary pick-up item.

Gamers will immediately recognize the Cross weapon in Vampire Survivors — it is an almost direct copy of the Cross weapon in the early Castlevania games. When thrown, this weapon sends out spinning crosses that boomerang across the battlefield once. These crosses do significant damage and pass through enemies while dealing damage. It is a great weapon for clearing a path.

The Cross evolves into the Heaven Sword if the character possesses the Clover accessory. The Heaven Sword sends out a large sword that boomerangs and can cause critical hits. It is probably the weakest of the evolved weapons, but still highly effective.

30 Carrello

A Spinning Wheel That Bounces

• Max Level: 8
• Evolves: No
• How To Unlock: Unlock Ramba

This interesting weapon is the starting weapon of Ramba and can be exploited in an interesting way. The Carrello uses mine carts as projectiles. These carts travel left and right; bouncing off the edge of the screen and objects. As the Carrello is leveled up the carts grow larger and move faster. The number of bounces per cart is affected by the character’s Amount.

If the player can get the character’s movement speed to match the speed of the carts they can create a wall of carts to walk behind. This allows the player to travel indefinitely in one direction until around minute 24 – at which point the enemies will probably be too stout for the carts to clear a path.

29 Shadow Pinion

Leaves A Trail Of Traps As You Travel

• Max Level: 8
• Evolves: Yes
• How To Unlock: Survive 15 minutes using Concetta

The Shadow Pinion was introduced into the game as the starting weapon of Concetta. Shadow Pinion leaves spinning drill heads behind the player, like a trail of breadcrumbs. When the player stops moving the drills are projected in the direction the character was last moving.

This weapon is excellent for crowd control and zoning, as it does a lot of damage in a (potentially) wide area – in the direction of the player’s choosing. The evolved version of Shadow Pinion, Valkyrie Turner, leaves a trail of fire instead of drill heads but operates in the same manner.

28 Report!

So Loud It Hurts

• Max Level: 8
• Evolves: Yes
• How To Unlock: Survive for 15 minutes with Dino

This weapon is part of the Emergency Meeting DLC, which introduced 16 new weapons into the game (among other goodies). Report sends out a wave of energy to either the right or the left of the character. The direction the character is facing when the weapon activates determines the direction of the wave; this weapon cannot fire projectiles up or down.

As the weapon rises in level the knockback effect of the energy wave improves, along with the weapon’s damage. The only arcana that works well with Report is Beginning. Report evolves into Emergency Meeting if the character has the Mini Crewmate passive item; this kills all of a randomly chosen enemy type when it activates.

27 Bracelet

Great For Reducing The Number Of Incoming Enemies

• Max Level: 6
• Evolves: Yes (twice)
• How To Unlock: Survive 30 minutes with Divano or Gallo.

The Bracelet is a useful weapon when combined with other weapons; however, it’s also capable of getting the player to the end of a stage by itself. This weapon sends out a spreading shot. As the Bracelet gets higher in level it sends its projectiles out further and begins to pierce multiple enemies.

This weapon doesn’t require a passive item to evolve into the Bi-Bracelet. The player just needs to get it to max level before opening a treasure chest. The Bracelet evolves twice, and after the second evolution (Tri-Bracelet) it begins to have a lingering effect at the edge of the screen which few enemies can pass through.

26 Mille Bolle Blu

A Great Weapon For Zoning

• Max Level: 8
• Evolves: Yes
• How To Unlock: Unlock the Gav’Et Oni character.

This weapon is only available via the Legacy of the Moonspell DLC. Mille Bolle Blus sends out bubbles that travel a short distance and then freeze in mid-air for a few seconds – making this one of the best weapons in the game for zoning purposes. This zoning works in open stages but also works well in stages with narrow passages.

Mille Bolle Blu can be evolved into the Boo Roo Boolle if the player collects the Spellbinder. This makes combining the Mille Bolle Blu with the King Bible an efficient use of passive item slots.

25 Gatti Amari

Tricky To Use, But Very Effective

• Max Level: 8
• Evolves: Yes
• How To Unlock: Survive 15 minutes with Gionvanna

These ferocious felines start off as more of a liability than a weapon. The Gatti Amari summons cats, not lions or tigers, which would have been nice. No, just regular house cats. These cats can steal pick-up items and even damage the player. They get better, though, much better.

When the cats steal a pick-up item there is almost always a beneficial effect – depending on the item consumed. The cats can also fight each other. This causes an area of effect similar to the Santa Water. When fully leveled, the cats will have these area of effect cat fights covering half the screen. Gatti Amari evolves into Vicious Hunger if the player has the Stone Mask. Vicious Hunger operates like Gatti Amari but is better in every way.

24 Peachone And Ebony Wings

Good (But Not Great) For Crowd Control

• Max Level: 8
• Evolves: Yes (Union)
• How To Unlock: Peachone is unlocked after surviving for 10 minutes. Ebony Wings unlocks when the player gets Peachone to level 7.

Peachone and Ebony Wings are bird weapons, and both have a similar effect. They both rain bombs on the enemy; the only difference is the color of the bombs and the direction of the attack (clockwise or counterclockwise, respectively). These bombs are fairly damaging, and by level eight can clear the area surrounding the character with ease.

If the character gets Peachone and Ebony Wings to level eight, they will merge to form Vandalier. Vandalier fires all the projectiles of Peachone and Ebony Wings and has twice the area of effect. This union also opens a weapon slot, allowing the player to select an additional weapon.

23 Whip

Overlooked And Underestimated

• Max Level: 8
• Evolves: Yes
• How To Unlock: N/A

This is another underrated weapon in Vampire Survivors. The Whip has a wide attack area and passes through enemies while damaging them. It gets a wider area of effect as it gains levels, and begins attacking enemies on both sides of the player. The only thing holding the Whip back in the rankings is that its damage doesn’t scale high enough.

This weapon is excellent at keeping swarming enemies from reaching the player character. It also clears large swathes of the battlefield of enemies, making it great for creating escape routes. The Whip evolves into the Bloody Tear if the character has the Hollow Heart accessory. The Bloody Tear heals the user a portion of the damage it deals, making it hard for the player to die.

22 Pentagram

Kill Everything Onscreen In One Shot

• Max Level: 8
• Evolves: Yes
• How To Unlock: Surviving for 20 Minutes

The Pentagram always feels like a big decision when it appears when leveling up. The reason for this is that the Pentagram forces players to change how they play. During the early levels, this weapon destroys everything onscreen; including treasure chests and experience gems. A roughly minute-long cooldown time is another factor that players must consider when deciding whether to pick the Pentagram.

A recent update introduced a new character, Christine, whose starting weapon is the Pentagram. At the same time, the Pentagram was given an evolved version – the Gorgeous Moon. In addition to killing all enemies onscreen, The Gorgeous Moon provides extra experience gems and pulls them to the player, much like the pick-up item, the Vacuum.

21 Runetracer

Diamond Projectiles That Pierce Through Enemies

• Max Level: 8
• Evolves: Yes
• How To Unlock: Survive more than 5 minutes with Pasqualina

The Runetracer is an underrated weapon. Many players likely assume that because this weapon doesn’t evolve, it’s inferior to those that can — but that’s a mistake. At the start, the Runertracer is an ineffective weapon. Its projectiles fire in random directions, and in the first ten minutes, this means that most projectiles won’t hit many enemies before disappearing.

However, when the Runetracer’s level is maxed, it becomes one of the better crowd-control weapons, especially in the Inlaid Library. This is because the Runetracer bounces off objects and walls, and the Inlaid Library is a narrow stage with walls at the top and bottom.

The Runetracer now has an evolved form, NO FUTURE. The evolved version’s projectiles cause an explosion when they bounce.

20 Bone

A Great Late-Game Weapon

• Max Level: 8
• Evolves: No
• How To Unlock: Unlock the Mortaccio character

The Bone is the starting weapon of Mortaccio, and it’s a rare occurrence for it to be offered to another character when leveling up. It happens – just not very often. The Bone functions similarly to the Runetracer. The biggest difference between the two is that the Bone bounces off enemies rather than penetrating and continuing.

There are few weapons that outperform the Bone when the player is surrounded by enemies in the later minutes of a stage. The Bone also does a large amount of damage; meaning that most enemies die from a single hit.

19 Lightning Ring

Call Down The Thunder With The Lightning Ring

• Max Level: 8
• Evolves: Yes
• How To Unlock: Defeat 5000 Enemies

The Lightning Ring showers the stage with lightning bolts from the sky. These bolts hit random targets, and aren’t affected by increases in projectile speed and duration of the weapon’s effect. As this weapon levels up, it gets increased damage, the number of lightning bolts sent down, and the area of effect.

At level one, this weapon is pretty mediocre. Fortunately, the enemies are weak until about the 10-minute mark of a stage. At level eight, this weapon can clear entire groups of enemies. The Lightning Ring can be greatly improved with the Spinach and Empty Tome accessories.

Following a post-release update, the Lightning Ring now evolves into the Thunder Loop; which strikes twice the number of enemies. However, the Duplicator accessory is required in order to evolve the Lightning Ring.