Every Dead Space Weapon and Tool, Explained

Dead Space weapons are, for the most part, not weapons at all. Isaac Clarke is an engineer, and the guns he carries through the USG Ishimura, Titan Station and Tau Volantis are mining cutters, survey tools and repair equipment, built by companies like Schofield Tools and Timson Tools for cracking planets apart. They work against Necromorphs because cutting off limbs is the way to stop the creatures. Real military firearms only turn up in soldiers' hands, and in quantity in Dead Space 3. This guide covers each one, what it was for in the story, and where it appears. (Dead Space; Dead Space 2; Dead Space 3)

Cutting tools#

The core of the arsenal is industrial cutting gear from the mining fleets of the Concordance Extraction Corporation, made to slice rock and ore. Against Necromorphs, a clean cut through a limb does more than any amount of damage to the body. (Dead Space)

Plasma Cutter#

A family of handheld mining tools that fire a focused bolt of plasma. The common model is the 211-V from Schofield Tools. Isaac finds his first one on a bloodied workbench aboard the Ishimura, and Ellie Langford carries one of the same line. It appears in every main game, the remake, Extraction, Ignition and the 2011 mobile game, and Dead Space 3 also has a Planet Cracker version. See Plasma Cutter. (Dead Space; Dead Space: Extraction; Dead Space: Ignition; Dead Space 2; Dead Space (mobile); Dead Space 3; Dead Space (2023))

Line Gun#

The IM-822 Handheld Ore Cutter, a Schofield Tools mining cutter with a wide horizontal beam for ore too heavy for the Plasma Cutter. Its secondary function plants a timed mine in Dead Space and Dead Space 2 and a laser trap mine in the remake. It appears in Dead Space, Extraction, the mobile game, Dead Space 2, Dead Space 3 and the remake. See Line Gun. (Dead Space; Dead Space: Extraction; Dead Space 2; Dead Space (mobile); Dead Space 3; Dead Space (2023))

Ripper#

The RC-DS Remote Control Disc Ripper, a Schofield Tools rock cutter that holds a spinning sawblade in front of the user on a gravity tether. It was dangerous even in trained hands, which made it a brutal close-range weapon. It appears in Dead Space, Extraction, the mobile game, Dead Space 2, Dead Space 3 and the remake. See Ripper. (Dead Space; Dead Space: Extraction; Dead Space 2; Dead Space (mobile); Dead Space 3; Dead Space (2023))

PFM-100 Hydrazine Torch Flamethrower#

An oversized blowtorch built to melt the ice that locks ore inside comets and frozen meteors. Survivors turned its cone of hydrazine flame on the dead. It appears in Dead Space, Extraction, Dead Space 2 and the remake, and Dead Space 3 has a weaker flamethrower built from a blueprint. See Flamethrower. (Dead Space; Dead Space: Extraction; Dead Space 2; Dead Space 3; Dead Space (2023))

Arc Welder#

A Schofield Tools welding gun for repairing structural damage, preferred by engineering crews over the rivet gun. Survivors of the Aegis VII outbreak found that its electrical arc could tear Necromorphs apart. It appears in Extraction. See Arc Welder. (Dead Space: Extraction)

Plasma saws and the Core Extractor#

Two plasma saws turn up outside the main games. An unnamed handheld saw, which projects plasma in the shape of a blade, is what the Unitologist engineer Samuel Irons uses to carve through the first outbreak on the Ishimura in Downfall. The SH-B1 Plasma Saw and the V101 Core Extractor, a core-sampling tool with four plasma beams, are carried by the saboteur Vandal on Titan Station in the mobile game. See Unknown Plasma Saw, SH-B1 Plasma Saw and Core Extractor. (Dead Space: Downfall; Dead Space (mobile))

Kinetic and force tools#

The second group pushes, pounds and pins rather than cuts. Most started as survey or demolition equipment. (Dead Space; Dead Space 2)

Contact Beam#

The C99 Supercollider Contact Beam, a miniaturised particle accelerator built to split rock too tough for smaller mining tools. Its charged blast is one of the most powerful tools Isaac carries, kept for the largest Necromorphs. It appears in Dead Space, Extraction, Dead Space 2, Dead Space 3 and the remake. See Contact Beam. (Dead Space; Dead Space: Extraction; Dead Space 2; Dead Space 3; Dead Space (2023))

Force Gun#

The Handheld Graviton Accelerator, a short-range kinetic tool for blasting rock apart and shifting debris between miners in zero gravity. Its concussive blast knocks Necromorphs off their feet. It appears in Dead Space, Dead Space 2, Dead Space 3 and the remake, where its secondary fire creates a gravity well. See Force Gun. (Dead Space; Dead Space 2; Dead Space 3; Dead Space (2023))

Javelin Gun#

A telemetric survey tool made by Timson Tools that fires titanium spikes with great accuracy. On Titan Station it pins Necromorphs to walls, and Director Hans Tiedemann carries one when he confronts Isaac at the Marker. It appears in Dead Space 2 and Dead Space 3. See Javelin Gun. (Dead Space 2; Dead Space 3)

Detonator#

A seismic survey tool used in drilling prospection, which sticks laser tripmines to almost any surface. Survivors on Titan Station used it to trap corridors. It appears in Dead Space 2 and Dead Space 3. See Detonator. (Dead Space 2; Dead Space 3)

Rivet guns#

Two rivet guns exist. The 935 Bonder, a Schofield Tools construction riveter for paneling and bulkhead supports, is used by survivors of the Aegis VII colony in Extraction. The 711-MarkCL, a Timson Tools repair launcher for deep space miners and engineers, is an extra in Dead Space 2 and can be built in Dead Space 3. See 935 Bonder Rivet Gun and 711-MarkCL Rivet Gun. (Dead Space: Extraction; Dead Space 2; Dead Space 3)

Military weapons#

Real firearms belong to soldiers and security forces, and on the Ishimura they were rare. Dead Space 3, set among the ruins of a Sovereign Colonies military expedition, is full of them. (Dead Space; Dead Space 3)

SWS Motorized Pulse Rifle#

The standard service rifle of the Earth Defense Force Marines, a triple-barrelled automatic also carried by EarthGov security, corporate guards and civilians. It is the one true military weapon Isaac can carry in the first game. It appears in Dead Space, Extraction, Dead Space 2, Dead Space 3 and the remake. See SWS Motorized Pulse Rifle. (Dead Space; Dead Space: Extraction; Dead Space 2; Dead Space 3; Dead Space (2023))

Seeker Rifle#

A scoped, long-range marksman rifle carried by EarthGov security forces and Earth Defense Force soldiers. It appears in Dead Space 2 and Dead Space 3. See Seeker Rifle. (Dead Space 2; Dead Space 3)

Divet#

The standard CEC sidearm, a compact automatic pistol carried by P-Sec officers on the Aegis VII colony and the Ishimura. It is the starting weapon of the detective Nathan McNeill in Extraction. Isaac never carries one, but in the first game he watches others use it. See Divet. (Dead Space; Dead Space: Extraction)

Bullpup Rifle#

The standard rifle of the Sovereign Colonies Armed Forces, used by the Legionaries who garrisoned Tau Volantis two centuries before Isaac arrived. It appears in Dead Space 3. See Bullpup Rifle. (Dead Space 3)

Submachine Gun#

A compact automatic carried by both the Circle and EarthGov forces in Dead Space 3. John Carver hands one to Isaac at the start of their trip to Tau Volantis. See Submachine Gun. (Dead Space 3)

Heavy Pulse Rifle#

A heavier pulse rifle, Vandal's only store-bought gun in the 2011 mobile game. See Heavy Pulse Rifle. (Dead Space (mobile))

Special and late-series tools#

A few tools don't fit the groups above: the two modules built into Isaac's RIG, Dead Space 3's crafting system and one joke. (Dead Space; Dead Space 3)

Kinesis Module#

A small device that lets an engineer grab and move heavy objects through an artificial gravity field. Isaac uses it to throw debris, and Necromorph blades, at enemies. It appears in every main game and the remake. See Kinesis Module. (Dead Space; Dead Space 2; Dead Space 3; Dead Space (2023))

Stasis Module#

A RIG attachment that slows whatever it hits, built for surgery and for slowing down dangerous machinery. Soldiers' suits had it built in, which is why reanimated soldiers become the fast-moving Twitchers. It appears in every main game and the remake. See Stasis Module and the RIG. (Dead Space; Dead Space 2; Dead Space 3; Dead Space (2023))

Weapon parts#

Dead Space 3 replaces fixed weapons with crafting. A frame, a tool and a tip combine at a bench into a working weapon, and the same parts can rebuild most of the guns from the earlier games. See Weapon Parts. (Dead Space 3)

Hand Cannon#

A giant red foam hand that Isaac points at enemies like a toy gun. It is a reward for finishing Dead Space 2 on Hard Core or the remake on Impossible, and it isn't part of the story. See Hand Cannon. (Dead Space 2; Dead Space (2023))