Overview
Weapons and equipment in The Expanse: Osiris Reborn form the backbone of how players define their playstyle. The game does not use a traditional class system. Instead, your character build emerges organically from the weapons, gadgets, and abilities you choose to invest in over the course of the campaign. Creative Director Alexander Mishulin has compared this approach to Soulslike games, where discovering a weapon during gameplay and then strengthening your playstyle around it is the core loop. You are never locked out of using any particular piece of gear. Early in the game you have freedom to experiment with different styles, perhaps trying the role of a sniper one mission and a hacker or engineer the next. Over time, however, you will be called to make definitive choices about which weapons and gadgets to specialize in.
The developers have confirmed that the game features a couple dozen weapons or more, each with varying parameters including damage output, accuracy, and recoil behavior. Weapons also behave differently in zero-gravity environments, where firearm ballistics and recoil work differently than they do on solid ground. This gives every weapon a second dimension of performance that players need to account for during spacewalk encounters.
Combat Approaches
The announcement trailer and Gamescom 2025 gameplay showcased three distinct combat approaches. One approach centers on traditional firearms, using cover-based tactics to engage enemies directly. A second approach leans on drone-based support, allowing the player to direct a gun drone from a distance while staying out of the line of fire. The third approach uses a ballistic shield paired with a shoulder-mounted weapon, turning the player into a mobile fortress capable of pushing forward through enemy positions. That shield loadout also includes some form of jetpack propulsion that converts the shield into a battering ram for close-quarters breaches.
These approaches are not hard-wired classes. They represent starting points that you can mix, match, and evolve as you find new gear and unlock new skills. The combat system is built around three layers: cover-based firefights as the foundation, a second layer of skills and technological tools (gadgets), and a third layer of team tactics where companions provide combat opportunities by exploiting environmental weaknesses.
Known Gadgets and Tools
Gadgets provide the tactical variety that separates a straightforward shooter from a flexible action RPG. The following gadgets and tools have been confirmed through official sources, developer interviews, and gameplay demonstrations.
Gadget / Tool | Description |
|---|---|
Tactical Visor | A visor that highlights enemies through smoke and cover, giving the wearer a tactical awareness advantage in low-visibility situations. |
Protective Drone | A deployable combat drone that can provide covering fire or draw enemy attention. One of the three demonstrated combat approaches revolves around drone-based support. |
Ballistic Shield | A handheld energy or physical shield used in a defensive combat style. Can be combined with a shoulder-mounted weapon for simultaneous attack and defense. |
Shoulder Cannon | A powerful shoulder-mounted weapon paired with the ballistic shield loadout. Allows the player to fire while maintaining shield coverage. |
Grenades | Throwable explosives confirmed as part of the combat toolkit. In the Expanse universe, grenades can be fitted with thrusters for use in zero-gravity environments. |
Jetpack / Ram Module | Propulsion system attached to the shield loadout that converts the ballistic shield into a battering ram for aggressive forward pushes. |
Weapons and Parameters
Each weapon in the game has a distinct stat profile. The confirmed parameters that differentiate weapons from one another are damage, accuracy, and recoil. Beyond raw stats, weapons define your build identity in a way the developers compare to how weapons work in Dark Souls or Elden Ring: you find a weapon, you invest in it, and your entire approach to combat shifts around it.
Weapon types shown in trailers and gameplay include conventional firearms (rifles, pistols, shotguns), heavy weapons, and specialized tech-based armaments. The developer has not published a full weapon list, but the Gamescom demo showed the player switching between different weapon types mid-combat to adapt to changing encounter conditions.
Armor and Protection
Armor is part of the broader equipment system that players invest in throughout the game. While the developers have not broken down individual armor sets in detail, the crafting and upgrade system (described below) applies to armor alongside weapons and gadgets. The Gamescom demo showed characters wearing varied armor configurations ranging from light tactical suits to heavier plated gear, suggesting that armor choice interacts with playstyle. Characters in the announcement trailer wore distinct armor styles that matched their combat approach, with the shield-bearer in heavier plating and the drone operator in a lighter, more mobile kit.
Crafting and Upgrades
The game includes a crafting system that uses materials gathered from vendors and looting to upgrade weapons, armor, and gadgets. During the Gamescom Q&A, the developers confirmed that crafting materials can be obtained both from purchasing at shops in social hubs like Ceres and Pinkwater Station, and from looting during missions. The crafting system was described as still in active development during that interview, but its core function is to let players strengthen the weapons and equipment that define their build.
The Pinkwater Station demo demonstrated how player choices affect equipment access. If the player asks civilians to surrender during the Protogen attack, the station armory remains stocked and the player can obtain supplies from it. If instead the player encourages resistance, groups of civilians are killed and the armory may be depleted. This is one example of how the choices and consequences system intersects directly with equipment availability.
Equipment in Zero Gravity
Equipment behavior changes during zero-gravity sections. Magnetic boots keep the player anchored to surfaces, but weapons experience altered recoil physics, grenades behave differently without gravity pulling them downward, and drones operate in fully three-dimensional space. The developers worked with former NASA astronaut and ISS commander Leroy Chiao to ensure that equipment interactions in vacuum and zero-G felt grounded in real physics while remaining fun to play with.
Skill Checks and Equipment
Some equipment and gadgets interact with the game's skill check system. Failed skill checks do not block story missions, but they may deny access to optional areas, bonus loot, or alternate approaches to encounters. This means that investing in certain equipment-related skills can open up routes and rewards that a purely combat-focused build might miss.
Tips
Experiment freely in the early hours before committing to a specialization. The game gives you room to try different weapon types before asking you to invest deeply.
Pay attention to how weapons handle in zero-G. A weapon that feels comfortable on a station deck might behave very differently during a hull-walk encounter.
Companion combat opportunities can compensate for gaps in your personal loadout. If you specialize in ranged combat, bring companions who can handle close-quarters threats.
Check vendor inventories at social hubs between missions. Crafting materials purchased from shops supplement what you loot during operations.