Skip to main content
If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.

Ghost Recon Breakpoint weapons - best sniper rifle, how to upgrade your guns

Dave Irwin avatar
Guide by Dave Irwin Former Guides Writer
Published on
1 comment

With Ghost Recon Breakpoint, weapons and armour now have levels, rarities, and other RPG-like things, bringing it more in line with The Division. But that's not the only thing you need to keep an eye on as there are plenty of upgrades for the guns in the game, as there are attachments and even upgraded versions of the main weapons in the game. We've also included some information about which sniper rifles and DMRs are the best in the game.

Ghost Recon Breakpoint weapons guide

Our Ghost Recon Breakpoint weapons guide will go over the basics of how your equipment works in the game, how to upgrade your weapons, and how to affix attachments. There are also some tips for using the Ghost Recon Breakpoint Sniper Rifles and DMRs effectively.

Ghost Recon Breakpoint guns

Ghost Recon Breakpoint gun levels

As you begin the game, it soon becomes apparent that gear has levels. You'll want to be upgrading this as you progress through the game by replacing weapons looted, or bought weapons from the shop in Erewhon. Armour pieces work in pretty much the same way and the idea is that you equip stuff to match your level, thus upgrading your equipment level and making tougher enemies easier to deal with. Later on, when you're getting MkII or MkIII weapons, they'll add additional perks to that weapon type. Here is a short primer on each main weapon type:

  • Assault Rifles - Automatic rifles with a balance of stability and good reload time. They tend to have fewer bullets in their clips than other automatic weapons.
  • Handguns - Sidearms that are there as a last resort or for stealthy combat in close range. Tend not to deal much damage and are a little imprecise.
  • LMG - Beefy machine-guns with a high rate of fire and manageable recoil. They take aeons to reload though.
  • Shotguns - Only really for close range, but make a big noise and obliterate anyone close enough.
  • SMG - Smaller clips and better reload times than the LMG. They do tend to have horrible recoil management, however. Better at close to medium range combat.
  • Sniper Rifle - Keep as far away as possible and never take the silencer off this gun. Has to feed a new bullet after every shot, but packs a punch and is accurate at long range.
  • DMR - Less range than the Sniper Rifle, but can fire multiple shots before you need to reload. I'd still stick the silencer on this gun permanently as you'll not want to be seen.

Loot comes in the colour-coded tiers that you're probably accustomed to, but in case the concept is new to you, here are the ranks:

  • White - Standard
  • Green - Improved (Has a perk)
  • Blue - Advanced (Has two perks)
  • Purple/Pink - High End (Has two perks)
  • Yellow - Elite (Has two perks)
  • Orange - Signature (Has unique perks)

The one thing to note is that headshots will always kill PVE enemies, if they have heads to shoot that is. This means that you can even kill high-level Wolves with a well-placed shot, though you're likely going to get the attention of the rest of the pack who will proceed to hunt you down. Upgrading weapons is something you should be doing anyway though, not least of which because there are drones out there and they take a lot more bullets.

Ghost Recon Breakpoint sniping

Best Sniper Rifle in Ghost Recon Breakpoint

If, like me, you are more inclined in Ghost Recon games to shoot enemies from afar and not wish to deal with too many enemies at once, there are several things you need to know to effectively snipe enemies.

There is a bullet drop effect that kicks in once you're trying to shoot enemies at around 200m-300m away. This is the base effect for most sniper rifles and DMRs, however, there are a bunch of things that increase or decrease your maximum range:

  • The range of the gun you have equipped - it isn't lying for once!
  • Whether or not you have the Ballistic Advantage perk equipped, which is unlocked in the Sniper tier of skills.
  • If you've activated the "Armor Buster" class skill activated,  more on classes in our Ghost Recon Breakpoint skills guide - this will halve the bullet drop.

So as an in-game example, if you have the TAC-50 equipped - by far the best Sniper Rifle, as well as having the Sniper perk and Sharpshooter class skill activated, you will have negligible bullet drop compared to normal and you can effectively make a shot out as far as 500m. That is if you make the shot. The TAC-50 has probably the best stats for a Sniper Rifle, but if you prefer a different sniper rifle or DMR, then use that. I tend to prefer the Scorpio Scout DMR because I got used to the bullet drop associated with it early on.

The second thing that you should pay attention to in relation to bullet drop is the scope itself. There are notches on the scope that you can work out how far away you'll need to be for that notch to be accurate.

If you wish to "scope" your rifle - which is essentially finding out the range for the notches of your sniper rifle, head to the bivouac near Dead Horse Swamp in Smuggler's Cove - it's close to the border. Head south towards the lake and the point at the east of the lake. Clear out the enemies here and look to the side of the building with three bins. There is a wooden beam going through the centre, which you can aim at. Use your drone to ping the spot.

Use the nearby boat to cross the river and across the railway line. You can then head out as far as 500m. This is where you'll be shooting and your bullets will likely hit the white wall. Shoot at the beam, while holding your breath by pressing Space while aiming on keyboard and mouse,  and use your drone to go and look at where the bullet dropped to.

It's also worth noting the notches in the scope can act as a guide if you're aiming down sights, the levels at which they indicate bullet drop varies from gun to gun, but they're a good guide for any shot beyond 200m. You will need to manually experiment with this, but once you've got it down, you should be landing headshots on enemies from over 300m away.

Ghost Recon Breakpoint upgrades

Ghost Recon Breakpoint gunsmith

By holding down the G key as your mouse is hovering over a weapon, you can bring up a special gunsmith menu. Here you can attach any unlocked attachments to the weapon, but you can also apply upgrades that carry over to every single version of the brand or make of that weapon. So if you were to upgrade the accuracy of a make of gun, it will carry over for every gun of that make. You'll need materials in order to do this, which are normally obtained by dismantling old weapons for parts.

You can find out more about how to find and equip attachments in our Ghost Recon Breakpoint blueprint locations guide.

Ghost Recon Breakpoint weapon attachment chest

How to use weapon blueprints in Ghost Recon Breakpoint

Once you have found a Ghost Recon Breakpoint weapon blueprint, information on how you can unlock weapon blueprints can be found in our Ghost Recon Breakpoint blueprint locations guide, then you can then bring it back to Erewhon. Speak to Maria Schulz in the shop and give her the blueprint for the item. You'll then be able to buy the weapon based on the blueprint at a competitive Gear Level. You'll also be able to find blueprints for MkII and MkIII weapons later on, so be sure to scavenge as much as you can.

Ghost Recon Breakpoint guide links

Rock Paper Shotgun is the home of PC gaming

Sign in and join us on our journey to discover strange and compelling PC games.

In this article

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint

Video Game

Related topics
Action Adventure Feature Guides Ubisoft
About the Author
Dave Irwin avatar

Dave Irwin

Former Guides Writer

Dave was a guides writer for Rock Paper Shotgun from 2018-2020. He previously worked as a freelancer for TheSixthAxis, Tech Advisor and Kotaku, producing hundreds of guides to help people get better at their favourite games. He now writes guides for PCGamesN.
Comments