Overview
Weapons in Rooted fall into three confirmed categories, each reflecting a different source and era of technology. Combat uses motion-captured animations for realistic weapon handling and feedback.
Weapon Categories
Category | Description | Examples |
|---|---|---|
Salvaged classics | Pre-apocalypse firearms recovered from the world. Conventional weapons from before the bacteriological war. | M4A1 assault rifle, Glock pistol |
Futuristic 2080-era tech | Advanced weapons from the 2080s, representing the peak of pre-war technology. These are rarer and more powerful. | To be revealed |
Player-crafted homemade | Weapons built by the player from salvaged materials using crafting stations. Improvised but functional. | To be revealed |
Currently Implemented Firearms
As of the December 2025 firearms update (patch v0.0.2.355), two firearms are available in the game:
Weapon | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
M4A1 | Assault rifle | Available at the spawn location when starting a fresh game. |
Glock | Pistol | Available at the spawn location when starting a fresh game. |
Combat was originally scheduled for Alpha Phase 4 but was moved to Phase 3 because the hunting system requires firearms to function.
Training Range
A shooting range is located next to The Mansion. Players can use this area to practice recoil control, accuracy, and general weapon behavior in a safe environment before heading into combat situations.
Hunting Traps
In addition to firearms, players can use traditional snare-based hunting traps for capturing prey. These traps support the Hunting and Fishing gameplay loop and offer a stealthy alternative to firearms for food gathering.
Base Defense Weapons
Players can craft barricades, partitions, and traps to protect their bases from enemy incursions. These defensive installations complement the player's personal weapon loadout.
Confirmed Firearms
The 0.0.2.355 update on December 3, 2025 introduced the first firearms to the live alpha. A training range was added near the Mansion to let players sight-in newly recovered guns before stepping into hostile territory.
Weapon | Class | Introduced | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
M4A1 | Assault rifle | v0.0.2.355 (Dec 2025) | Recovered from world spawns; uses appropriate caliber. |
Glock | Sidearm | v0.0.2.355 (Dec 2025) | Sidearm option; pairs with rifle in long runs. |
Combat and Animation
Combat animation in Rooted is built from motion-capture work, with continued tuning across the alpha. The 0.0.2.355 patch corrected hip-fire aim offset and fixed firing during squeezed-through tight passages. The 0.0.2.362 hotfix added new ammo spawners across the live areas, smoothing the supply curve while testers continue to stress the systems.
Friendly Fire and Multiplayer
Friendly fire is opt-in and toggleable in co-op sessions, allowing groups to choose whether the realism risk applies to their session. Coordinated firing lines, role assignment, and clear marker calls cut the friendly-fire risk significantly when the option is on. PvP is planned for post-Early Access on dedicated servers, with no formal player-versus-player loop in the current build outside the optional friendly-fire toggle.
Phase 3 Outlook
The studio's Phase 3 outline confirms continued additions to the weapon roster and supporting systems through 2026. Recovered 2080-era tech is the next frontier the team has flagged; release timing is tied to broader Phase 3 cadence rather than a fixed date.
On-Body Weapon Stowing (In Development)
A June 2026 update detailed how stowed weapons will sit on the survivor, work that is in development and not yet in the public build. Guns ride on the backpack and smaller gear sits on the body, and a survivor can carry a primary, a sidearm, and a melee weapon at once, drawing one at a time.
Where each weapon sits, along with the backpack and its capacity, is defined as data rather than wired by hand, which lets the team adjust loadout rules without code changes. This stowing model is confirmed development direction.
Melee, Bleeding, And Throwables (In Development)
A June 12, 2026 development update added melee depth and the first throwables, work that is in development and not yet in the public build. Melee weapons deal real damage, and bladed ones make a target bleed. Firearm wounds default to piercing, which can also bleed. Damage resolves against the body itself, so a headshot deals double and a limb hit deals less.
The first throwables are grenades and molotovs. They are server-simulated projectiles that arc under gravity and detonate on a fuse or on impact, applying radial damage that falls off with distance. A molotov leaves a pool of fire that keeps burning anyone who stands in it. When a throw is lined up, an aim arc previews the trajectory with a marker at the predicted impact point. These additions are confirmed development direction.