The weapons worth your money — and the research worth your supplies.

The default rifle for almost everything. Low recoil, good range, and Incendiary rounds shred NPCs in heist and sell-mission firefights.

Slightly more range than the Special Carbine, slightly more kick. A fine alternative if you already own it — not worth buying both.

Cheap and available early. Replace it with a Special Carbine as soon as you can afford one; don't spend Mk II money here.

The best answer to armoured NPC waves and helicopters. Full Metal Jacket rounds punch through cover and engine blocks.

Explosive rounds are the single most useful research unlock in the game: two shots on most aircraft, one on most cars. Expensive and worth it.

Pleasant to shoot but the Heavy Sniper Mk II or a rifle covers the same ground. Buy it last.

Slow to reload and easy to counter, but it ends griefer vehicles and stubborn heist targets for very little money.

The reliable way to remove an Oppressor or a helicopter without practice. Keep it for defence, not for chasing.

Huge damage, terrible mobility. Fun for Survivals and gang attacks, a liability anywhere you need to move.

Usable from a vehicle, which makes it the practical explosive for sell missions and free-roam defence.

Every player should own this. It rights a flipped sale vehicle, frees one stuck on scenery, and never runs out of ammo.

A Minigun with a light show. Skip it unless you already own everything useful.

The classic drive-by weapon: high fire rate, usable from any seat, and cheap enough to own from your first hours.

Hollow Point rounds make it a genuine close-range threat, and it is the cheapest way to try the Mk II ammo system.

Fine before you can afford the AP Pistol. Replace it the moment you can.

Excellent indoors — heist interiors, Cluckin' Bell, stash houses — and it accepts the useful ammo types.

Explosive shotgun rounds are the sleeper pick of the research tree — devastating in close quarters and against light vehicles.

Fast and forgiving, but the Pump Shotgun Mk II outclasses it once you have the research.

Required for several heist preps and the fastest way to clear a blockade or a pursuing vehicle.

Superb for defending a sale vehicle or a doorway while you deal with something else.

Cheap and surprisingly effective on grouped NPCs. Never use one near your own sale vehicle.

Needed for a handful of missions and nothing else. Buy it when a mission asks for it.

Shuts down aircraft and vehicles without destroying them. A luxury purchase for players who live in public lobbies.

Free from the collectibles rotation and occasionally handy for a silent approach. No reason to spend money on melee.