There are a multitude of different Anti-Xeno weapons in the game, and they come in two main variants, with two subclasses:
With the events of Salvation and the Thargoid Maelstroms, modified (pre-engineered) variants of many AX weapons have become available. They must be purchased per-module, making them far more expensive than traditional guardian weaponry.
For unlock costs on these new weapons, see Inara’s Tech Broker Page
Guardian weapons are the most effective AX weapons in the game (specifically the Guardian Gauss Cannon) with human AX weapons being mostly unusable against Interceptors (with the exception of the Remote Release Flak Launcher).
Some builds will also include Thermal Vent Beam Lasers which allow pilots to easily reduce ship heat and avoid significant amounts of Thargoid fire. For more information, see Cold Orbiting and Lasers.
The currently best available weapons are the Remote Release Flak Launcher, Guardian Gauss Cannon, Modified Guardian Shard Cannon, and Modified Guardian Plasma Charger.
For those who do not have guardian tech unlocked, the Gimballed Enhanced AX Multicannons are the best option, but these are only viable for Cyclops and Scouts.
All ships have a default limit of 4 AX Weapons. Azimuth’s weapons stabilizer can increase this limit, however, for most weapons the distributor draw is too much to make this viable.
Currently the only effective weapon to deal with Thargon Swarms.
Recommendation: Must have! (Required to take out swarms)
Note: Does not count against the 4 experimental weapon limit.
Current undisputed AX meta. Guardian Gauss Cannons function like a Railgun with a short delay before firing. Heavy Armour Penetration means it is effective against even the toughest Thargoids. Coming in only small and medium classes, these allow a surprisingly even playing field between all ship classes. They have a maximum range of 3km and a damage falloff start of 1.5km, allowing for precision heart sniping at range. Its only downside is high heat generation which necessitates constant heatsink use.
Recommendation: Best AX weapon (Great armour penetration, High damage, Accurate)
Note: When using Gauss Cannons, it is important to ensure your hardpoints have good Convergence
While the guardian gauss is similar to a railgun, the modified gauss are much like an imperial hammer, giving them their nickname “hammer gauss”. These fire in a 4-round burst, with each shot dealing 25% of the normal damage. Overall, they are considered harder to use than stock gauss.
Recommendation: Do not use (Harder to aim, each gun costs materials)
Similar to a Frag Cannon, very wide spread with only around a 700m effective range which means to be used effectively the pilot must fly within lightning range. While a potent weapon for speedrunning, the requirement of firing from within lightning range means that they are ineffective otherwise.
Recommendation: Do not use (Low effective range, Poor armour penetration)
These shard cannons come in medium and small variants. They have long range engineering and a higher armor penetration. They are a great alternative to gauss, offering a lot of the benefits of shard cannons but with lesser downsides. Due to their comparatively low distributor draw, they are the only Guardian weapon which ships can make use of 6 mounted at once.
Recommendation: Very good AX weapon (Very high DPS)
Similar to a Plasma Accelerator, but poor armour penetration value makes it less effective against tougher Interceptors and difficulty to aim makes it bad for using on hearts. Damage dealt is also unpredictable.
Recommendation: Do not use (Poor armour penetration, Difficult to aim, Terrible capacitor draw)
These plasma chargers come in medium and small variants. They have greatly improved stats over stock chargers, with higher armor penetration, shot speed, and damage. While they struggle to deal damage to hearts, they are unrivaled in their exert capability.
Recommendation: Good AX weapon (Massive damage, Not effective against hearts)
AXMCs come in two types - Turreted and Fixed, and in two sizes - Medium and Large. The Large Turreted ones are the most effective Scout hunting weapon in the game, but the Large Fixed ones are only passable against the weakest Interceptor variant, the Cyclops, and the others are very ineffective.
Recommendation: Outclassed by Enhanced AXMCs
These improved AXMCs currently only come in fixed, gimballed, and turreted forms. They come with a marginal increase to damage, as well as a large increase in shot speed. Overall, they are only a small upgrade from regular AXMCs, but still better in all regards.
The gimballed variants are the best, dealing nearly as much damage as fixed and coming with a great tracking arc. With a xeno scan, these can even be effective at killing cyclops.
Recommendation: Great for scouts, viable for cyclops
Okay, but very difficult to aim as they are slow moving and dumbfire only. Minimal ammo.
Recommendation: Do Not Use (Poor damage)
Coming with only a marginal increase in damage and shot speed over standard AXMRs, these still deal no damage to hearts.
Recommendation: Do Not Use (Poor damage)
These modified missile racks deal slightly less damage, but come with a greater fire rate and ammo cap. They still suffer from all of the downsides of missile racks, and have a very low armor piercing value.
Recommendation: Ok AX Weapon (Less damage than guardian weapons)
Same as a normal Multi-Cannon and can be engineered, however it will not do AX damage unless ammo is synthesized. Not to be confused with any variant of AXMCs.
Recommendation: Do not use (Poor damage, Cannot use without synth)
Note: Does not count against the 4 experimental weapon limit.
Similar to the Advanced Multi-Cannon, these are an engineerable clone of the normal Missile Rack which requires synth to deal AX damage. Due to their extreme splash damage, synth requirement, and lack of weapon number limit, they are banned from use in AXI ranks. Not to be confused with any variant of AXMRs.
Recommendation: Use at own discretion (Cannot use without synth, Banned from progression kills)
Note: Does not count against the 4 experimental weapon limit.
For more detailed stats on AX weapons, see the AX Balance Research Spreadsheet