You’re crouched behind a rusted sedan in a rainy Seattle street, and your heart is hammering against your ribs because you can hear the wet, rhythmic clicking of a Stalker nearby. You check your bag. Two shotgun shells. Three rounds in the semi-auto. That’s it. In most shooters, this is a minor inconvenience, but in Naughty Dog's world, it's a death sentence. Honestly, The Last of Us guns aren't just tools for combat; they are characters in their own right, defined by their janky reloads, terrifying recoil, and the way they make you feel every single shot.
Survival is messy.
When you look at the weaponry Joel, Ellie, and Abby lug around, you aren't looking at "power-ups." You're looking at relics of a dead world. These firearms are often decades old, held together by hope and gun oil. Understanding how they function—and more importantly, how the game forces you to prioritize them—is the difference between reaching the next checkpoint and seeing that dreaded red "You Died" screen.
The Scarcity Mindset and Realistic Ballistics
Most games treat ammunition like candy. You spray, you pray, and you find a crate. The Last of Us flips the script. Every bullet is a resource you probably shouldn't have spent. This scarcity informs the design of every firearm in the franchise. When you pull the trigger on Joel’s iconic Revolver, the sound isn't a "pew"—it's a violent, mechanical crack that echoes off the concrete. It feels heavy because the stakes are heavy.
The developers used a system called "aim sway" to simulate the adrenaline and exhaustion of the characters. It sucks. It’s supposed to. Unlike a professional soldier in Call of Duty, Ellie is a teenager with shaky hands. When you’re trying to line up a headshot on a Hunter, the reticle dances. You can't just "get good" at clicking heads; you have to invest in the character's skill tree to steady their breathing. It makes the The Last of Us guns feel grounded in a way few other games manage.
If you’ve played Part II, you know the physics went even deeper. Glass shatters differently depending on the caliber. Silencers aren't magic—they're plastic bottles stuffed with steel wool that break after three shots. It’s brutal. It’s grounded.
Breaking Down the Essential Arsenal
Let’s talk about the hardware. While the games offer a variety of firearms, a few stand out as the pillars of your survival strategy.
The Workhorse: The Bolt-Action Rifle
This is usually the first long gun you get. In the first game, Joel picks it up early; in the sequel, Ellie starts with it. It’s slow. Ridiculously slow. If you miss that first shot against a rushing Runner, you’re basically toast unless you’re a master at the dodge mechanic. But the stopping power? Unmatched. A fully upgraded rifle with a scope transforms the game into a stealth-sniper hybrid. It’s the gun you use when you want to thin out a crowd before they even know you’re there.
The Panic Button: The Pump-Action Shotgun
There is no sound more relieving in this series than the "ka-chunk" of a shell entering the chamber. The shotgun is your "get out of jail free" card. When a Clicker is three feet away and screaming in your face, you don't aim for the head—edging is for the rifle. You aim for the chest and let the spread do the work. Interestingly, the shotgun's effectiveness drops off a cliff after about ten yards, forcing you to play chicken with infected that can kill you in one bite.
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The Stealth King: The Bow
Technically not a "gun," but it occupies the same mental space in your loadout. The bow is the only weapon that allows for silent kills at range without burning through fragile suppressors. Plus, you can craft the ammo. Being able to retrieve an arrow from a corpse is a godsend when you're down to your last pistol mag. Just remember: the flight path isn't straight. You have to account for gravity, which makes hitting a moving target at 40 yards feel like a genuine achievement.
Upgrades That Actually Change the Game
One mistake players make is trying to upgrade every gun equally. Don't do that. You’ll end up with a bunch of mediocre tools instead of one or two reliable killers.
The weapon benches are where the "expert" level of play happens. When you're staring at a pile of scrap, you have to choose: do I want a bigger mag for the pistol, or do I want to reduce the recoil on the submachine gun?
- Stability First. Always. If you can’t hit what you’re aiming at, it doesn't matter how much damage the gun does.
- Reload Speed. This is a sneaky life-saver. In The Last of Us, enemies don't wait for you to finish fumbling with a magazine. They flank. They push. Cutting a second off your reload time is often better than a 10% damage boost.
- Capacity. Especially for the shotgun. Having two shells versus six shells changes how you approach a room full of Bloaters.
The Psychological Weight of the Firearms
There’s a subtle detail many people miss. In The Last of Us Part II, the guns sound different depending on the environment. Fire a pistol in a cramped hallway and your ears ring. Fire it in an open forest and the sound dissipates into the trees. This isn't just "cool tech"—it reinforces the danger. Every time you use The Last of Us guns, you are broadcasting your location to every enemy on the map.
You aren't a predator. You're a scavenger who happens to have a gun.
The game also uses "visual storytelling" through the weapons. Look at the wear and tear on Ellie's pistol versus the military-grade gear the WLF uses. Abby’s arsenal is cleaner, more modern, and reflects the fact that she belongs to a disciplined militia with a functional armory. Ellie’s gear is scavenged, cobbled together, and dirty. It tells you everything you need to know about their respective worlds without a single line of dialogue.
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Tactical Advice for Your Next Run
If you’re planning a Grounded difficulty run, or even just a standard replay, you need to change how you think about your firearms.
Stop aiming down sights (ADS) constantly. It slows you down and kills your peripheral vision. Learn the "hip fire" ranges for the shotgun and the shorty. Sometimes, just staggering an enemy with a quick shot to the leg is better than trying for a headshot, as it opens them up for a melee finisher that saves you three more bullets.
Also, pay attention to your "holster" upgrades. In the heat of a fight, swapping from a rifle to a pistol takes forever if you haven't unlocked the secondary holster. It’s one of the most important upgrades in the game, yet people often ignore it for "damage" perks. Being able to instantly switch to your sidearm when your primary clicks empty is what keeps you alive.
The Misconception of "Best" Weapons
People always ask what the "best" gun is. Honestly? It doesn't exist. The "best" gun is the one you have ammo for.
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If you have ten rounds for the Hunting Pistol, that’s your best gun for the next five minutes. The game is designed to force you into using things you might not like. Maybe you hate the Flamethrower because it’s clunky and has a short range. Too bad—you’re in a basement with two Shamblers and that’s all the fuel you've got. Learning the quirks of every weapon, from the arc of a Molotov to the kick of the 357, is the only way to master the combat loop.
What to Do Before Your Next Encounter
If you want to survive the brutal world of The Last of Us, you need to be proactive about your gear. Don't just wait for the next combat encounter to see what happens.
- Audit your inventory. If you have full ammo for a specific gun, use it in the next fight to make room for more pickups. Leaving ammo on the ground is a sin.
- Prioritize the Bow. It’s the most versatile tool for stealth players. Max out its draw speed as soon as humanly possible.
- Check your supplements. Certain player upgrades—like the ones that let you craft more arrows or incendiary shells—are more valuable than weapon upgrades in the long run.
- Master the "Quick-Throw." Tapping the trigger to lob a brick or bottle can stun an enemy, allowing you to close the gap and use a melee weapon instead of wasting a bullet.
Survival isn't about being the best shot; it's about being the smartest scavenger. Treat your guns with respect, keep them clean at the workbench, and for heaven's sake, make sure you've got a brick in your hand just in case.