EVE Vanguard weapons
EVE Vanguard weapons split into six combat guns and one harvesting tool, and every one of them carries the fingerprint of a New Eden faction. In the Operation Avalon alpha you carry an SMG, a Shrapnel Cannon, a Laser DMR, a Beam Rifle, a Slug Launcher, and the hand-forged Nova Blade for close finishers. The table above lists each weapon's class, role, faction flavor, and damage type; no fire-rate or magazine numbers are published, so anything shown here is what Fenris Creations has actually revealed.
Two ideas shape how EVE Vanguard weapons behave: damage type and chipsets. Amarr designs lean into Energy, Minmatar designs lean into Kinetic, and chipsets let you retune a gun mid-fight instead of swapping to a second one. Add the Mining Tool for cracking ore and tech vaults, and you have the full kit you deploy with as a Warclone. Learn these EVE Vanguard weapons before you drop and every raid gets easier.
| Weapon | Class | Damage | Fire role | Faction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SMG | Submachine gun | Kinetic | Close-quarters automatic | Minmatar |
| Shrapnel Cannon | Scatter cannon | Kinetic | Short-range burst damage | Minmatar |
| Laser DMR | Designated marksman rifle | Energy | Precision mid-to-long range | Amarr |
| Beam Rifle | Energy rifle | Energy | Sustained energy damage | Amarr |
| Slug Launcher | Slug launcher | Kinetic | Heavy single-slug punch | Minmatar |
| Nova Blade | Melee | — | Silent close-range finisher | — |
Field tools
| Tool | Use |
|---|---|
| Mining Tool | Harvest ore, open tech vaults |
How weapons work in EVE Vanguard
The six combat EVE Vanguard weapons are built around two damage types, Energy and Kinetic, and each leans toward one based on the New Eden faction that inspired it. Amarr technology runs on energy, so the Laser DMR and the Beam Rifle both deal Energy damage: the DMR for precise mid-to-long range shots, the Beam Rifle for sustained fire. Minmatar engineering favors raw kinetic force, which is why the SMG, the Shrapnel Cannon, and the Slug Launcher all land as Kinetic. The SMG spits close-range automatic fire, the Shrapnel Cannon scatters like a shotgun, and the Slug Launcher throws a single heavy punch. The Nova Blade sits outside the damage-type split as a silent melee finisher for when your ammo runs dry. Patch-note coverage attaches faction-flavored full names to these guns, but the generic type names above are the ones that matter in a fight. Reading the Energy-versus-Kinetic divide is the foundation of using EVE Vanguard weapons well, because the armor and drones you face on Lost Convoy react differently to each.
Chipsets: retuning EVE Vanguard weapons mid-fight
Chipsets are modular components that let you change how a gun behaves without holstering it. Two things are swappable on the fly: fire mode, flipping between Burst and Full-auto, and damage type, switching a weapon between Energy and Kinetic. That turns a single gun into two tools: you can open a fight with controlled Burst fire at range, then drop to Full-auto when a Heavy Oppressor closes the distance, or retune your damage to match whatever stands in front of you. Because so many EVE Vanguard weapons can shift their output this way, your loadout stays flexible even when you only carry two guns and the Nova Blade into a deployment. Media coverage brands the wider system 'Adaptive Weaponry,' but the mechanic is what counts: chipsets are the reason EVE Vanguard weapons feel less locked-in than most extraction shooters, where a gun does one job. Set your chipsets before you deploy through the gameplay loop, since retuning in the middle of a firefight costs you a beat you may not have.
The Mining Tool
Not every piece of gear in EVE Vanguard is a weapon. The Mining Tool is a mining laser you point at ore deposits to harvest resources, and the same beam cracks open tech vaults for loot. It carries over from the earliest First Strike builds and fills the non-combat half of the loop: you fight your way to a dig site, then switch to the tool to pull value out of the ground before extraction. Ore and salvaged materials feed your crafting and blueprints back at base, so the Mining Tool is how a raid pays for itself. It has no damage type and no faction lean, which sets it apart from the combat EVE Vanguard weapons in your kit; it is a job, not a gun. The Upwell dig sites and refineries scattered across Lost Convoy are where the tool earns its slot, since securing that tech is often the point of the whole deployment. Keep it equipped whenever your objective involves harvesting, and read the extraction guide for getting that loot off the planet.
Frequently asked questions
How many weapons does EVE Vanguard have?
Operation Avalon ships six combat weapons: the SMG, Shrapnel Cannon, Laser DMR, Beam Rifle, Slug Launcher, and the melee Nova Blade, plus the non-combat Mining Tool. Fenris Creations has not published damage, fire-rate, or magazine numbers for any of them, so the table above lists only the classes, roles, and damage types shown so far.
What are chipsets in EVE Vanguard?
Chipsets are modular weapon components you set before deploying and can swap during a fight. They let you flip a gun's fire mode between Burst and Full-auto and change its damage type between Energy and Kinetic, so a single weapon covers situations that would normally need two. It keeps a small loadout flexible against changing threats.
What is the Mining Tool used for?
The Mining Tool is a mining laser rather than a weapon. You use it to harvest ore from deposits and to crack open tech vaults for loot on maps like Lost Convoy. The resources it pulls feed crafting and blueprints back at base, so it turns a completed objective into real progression before you extract.