Best weapons to upgrade first in The Last of Us Part II

There are a lot of weapons you can find and upgrade in The Last of Us Part II, and here are the ones you should upgrade first to get you through the early hours of the game. 

The Last of Us Part II is Naughty Dog‘s follow-up to the beloved The Last of Us, and the world is more brutal and unforgiving than ever in the sequel. Throughout your time in the game, you’ll find plenty of weapons but to get the most out of them you’ll want to upgrade them at workbenches.

Upgrading your weapons is a simple process as long as you’ve got the right amount of resources. If you’re wondering which weapons benefit the most from being upgraded in the early hours of the game, then we’ve got you covered.

Without further ado, here are the best weapons to upgrade first in The Last of Us Part II.

1. Semi-Auto Pistol

This is your starter weapon, so you’ll want to get cracking with upgrades as soon as possible. A good rule of thumb is to focus on capacity first so that you can make the most out of the ammo you find around the world. The more bullets you can fire, the more equipped you’ll be to handle each situation.

Following capacity upgrades, focus on recoil and fire rate. Better recoil control will ensure you get quick, clean shots in without worrying about missing those all-important headshots, and a better fire rate can help you dispatch additional enemies quicker.

2. Pump Shotgun

The Pump Shotgun can deal some massive damage, even without additional upgrades. It’s a formidable tool that’s great at clearing out large swaths of enemies, whether they’re human or otherwise. With that said, you’ll want to upgrade it as soon as you have it available to make it even more terrifying to wield. Upgrade its stability first to ensure when you aim, you’re right on target.

Follow up with capacity and fire rate upgrades when you have enough parts for a sidearm that’s nearly like an instant kill for most lesser enemies that aren’t higher-grade infected. You’ll be glad you invested in the Pump Shotgun when you start dealing with larger mobs that feel more difficult to start controlling.

3. Bolt-Action Rifle

You’ll have to make a decision in terms of how you want to play The Last of Us Part 2 when you go to upgrade your Bolt-Action Rifle. It can be used as a short or long-range weapon, but it’s up to you how you want to use it. If you want to use it at close-range for explosive effect, go for a capacity upgrade first to double your ammo.

You can use this rifle as more of a quick scope machine and use crack shots when up close, so focus on capacity and damage if you plan on skipping long-range combat. Otherwise, be sure to upgrade your scope to make sure you can not only see what you’re aiming at, but that you can account for bullet drop when you finally take the shot.

4. Revolver

The Revolver is a slower shot than the Semi-Auto Pistol, but it’s also more powerful. For that reason, you’ll want to go ahead and snag the damage upgrade the fire rate first. It’s not automatic, so that means you might be scrambling for a shot that, while devastating, won’t come as quickly as you need it to. Then grab the reload speed upgrade so you can go ahead and get bullets back in the chamber for another round of enemies.

Stability and damage aren’t as important with the Revolver, but they’re the icing on the cake. You don’t actually need them since it is already quite a bit of a beast on its own much like the Pump Shotgun, but if you find yourself with more Parts and can’t decide what you want to do with them, you can’t go wrong juicing it up even further.

Those are the best weapons to upgrade early in The Last of Us Part II! For more on the game, check out our guides below:

How to find the rare Antique Ring | How long is The Last of Us Part II? | How to find the soda can door code