Best Weapons in 99 Nights in the Forest

Ask five sites for a weapons tier list and you get five different answers. So this page does something slightly different: it shows you where the lists agree, and it flags the one source that actually publishes damage numbers instead of vibes.

Last verified: 2026-09-29. Weapons and chest tables shift with patches, so treat this as a map, not scripture.

The Consensus Top Tier

These are the weapons that rank S-tier across three or more independent tier lists. Everything below this line is where the lists start arguing.

A warning on the Admin Axe: it is event-exclusive. Every list puts it at the top and almost nobody has one. Do not plan a build around it.

Just below, ranked S by two lists each: Morningstar, Obsidiron Hammer, Infernal Sword, Ice Sword, Poison Spear, Flamethrower.

The Only Damage Numbers Anyone Has Published

Most tier lists give no figures at all. One source does, so here it is — with the caveat that it is a single source and the rest of the internet does not corroborate the exact values.

Two things worth reading out of that table:

The Morningstar and Obsidiron Hammer are statistically identical — same 70 damage, same swing speed, and both fill an explosion bar that detonates for area damage when it tops out. The only difference is how you get them.

For scale, enemy health is roughly Wolf 75 and Bear 350. That is why a Rifle one-shots a wolf and takes four to six shots on a bear — the same reason the bear caves on Missing Kids Locations feel like a wall.

How You Actually Get Weapons

1. Pick a class that starts with one. The fastest route to a usable weapon is the class menu, not a chest.

• Assassin (500 Diamonds) — Katana and Kunai, so both ranges covered from minute one.
• Ranger (70 Diamonds) — Revolver plus 18 ammo.
• Lumberjack (70 Diamonds) — Good Axe: a weapon and a tool.
• Pyromaniac — Flamethrower, which is S-tier crowd control from the start.
• Cyborg (600 Diamonds) — Laser Cannon, skipping the alien grind entirely.

2. Trade with the Pelt Trader. He shows up on Day 2 of every run and takes Rabbit Feet and Wolf Pelts. The ladder is Good Axe → Spear or Revolver → Strong Axe or Rifle → best available. He is limited, so on a team decide who gets what before he arrives.

3. Open chests, in the right order. Regular and Good chests hold basics. Rare chests need campfire Level 4. Gold Chests sit near the Cultist Stronghold and hold the mid-to-high tier. Ruby Chests are the top. Biome chests are thematic: Ice Chests in the snow, Infernal in the volcanic zone.

4. Run the Cultist Stronghold. It resets roughly every 20 minutes and is the single most repeatable source of Gold and Ruby Chests in the game.

5. Special sources. Trident comes from fishing (the Bone Lake is the best spot). Alien weapons come from UFO crash sites. The Chainsaw is crafted at the Workshop from 4 Cultist Gems, 4 Bear Pelts, 2 Alpha Wolf Pelts and 10 Scrap — see How to Get Wood Fast, because it is a tool before it is a weapon.

The Early-Game Ladder

What to carry when, if you are not buying a weapon class:

• Day 1–2: whatever your class gave you, plus a Good Axe from the Pelt Trader or a chest. A Revolver from a Common Chest can save your first wolf encounter.
• Mid game: move to Rifle — 60–90 damage, and one-shots wolves.
• Late game: push for Morningstar or Tactical Shotgun, and add an elemental weapon for whichever biome you are farming.

Hard Mode: Corrupted Weapons

Hard Mode has its own variants — Corrupted Axe, Corrupted Shotgun, Corrupted Revolver and Corrupted Throwing Axe — from the Corrupted Tools update of 31 January 2026. They carry boosted stats and are considered the meta for pushing past night 99, but players report drawbacks with sustained use. Try one before you commit a loadout to it.

What to Actually Carry

The most consistent advice across every source is combined arms: one melee, one ranged, one utility.

• Melee for wolves and cultists that close distance.
• Ranged for bears and anything you would rather not touch — and this is what you use on the caves.
• Utility: something with an elemental or crowd-control effect, or a no-ammo option like the Crossbow or Blowpipe so you always have a fallback.

And the cheapest upgrade of all: stop fighting things you can recruit. Several of the animals on this list are also pets — see Taming Guide.

Quick Reference

Related Pages

• Best Class — the classes that start you with a weapon
• Missing Kids Locations — the bear and wolf caves these weapons are for
• Taming Guide — the cheaper alternative to killing everything
• How to Get Wood Fast — the Chainsaw, and the campfire level that gates Rare Chests