At the beginning of the game, you are given a choice of weapons: a sniper rifle, a GEP gun, or a mini-crossbow. This guide will argue that selecting the GEP gun is the most optimal option, regardless of the chosen playstyle.

This section will outline the consequences of each option in order to support the argument.


"I'll take the rifle"
A sniper rifle with six bullets.



"Give me the GEP gun"
A GEP gun with four rockets.



"The crossbow"
A mini-crossbow with four bolts.

The GEP gun option is the most optimal, regardless of the chosen playstyle.

Even if you want to play as a sniper, GEP gun is the most optimal option. Even if you want to play as a silent assassin, GEP gun is the most optimal option. Even if you want to play as a pacifist, GEP gun is the most optimal option.


The reasoning is following:
The GEP gun is a valuable and versatile tool in the game. In addition to its offensive capabilities, it can also be used to open locked doors and containers, potentially saving resources and allowing access to otherwise inaccessible areas. Although the mini-crossbow and sniper rifle are also useful weapons, they are available to the player from the very beginning of the game. In fact, it is possible to obtain both of these weapons within the first minute of gameplay. Choosing the GEP gun as a starting weapon allows the player to have all three options available from the outset, while choosing any other option will require the player to wait until later in the game to access the GEP gun; thus, limiting the players options considerably for a long period of time.

By selecting the GEP gun, you are not limiting yourself to it. You are able to get the mini-crossbow and sniper rifle just a few moments later. However, by foregoing the GEP gun, you are handicapping your breach capabilities for a considerable time, until you have a chance to find a GEP gun.

The video below demonstrates that it is possible to acquire both the mini-crossbow and sniper rifle within the first minute of gameplay:

If you select the mini-crossbow or sniper rifle, you are not selecting a weapon: you are selecting to have extra ammo for this weapon. To be precise, you will have four bolts for the mini-crossbow and six bullets for a sniper rifle. Since you can easily acquire both weapons by looting NPCs, you will have access to duplicate of a weapon you already have, instead of receiving a unique one. By forgoing the GEP gun, you are not just giving up an anti-armor weapon, but also a versatile breach tool.

You may find more ammo scattered around the island, including rockets for the GEP gun on the north dock inside an ammo crate. If you loot the crate, you will have eight GEP gun rockets. This means you will be able to open eight non-infinite strength doors or containers before you need to find even more rockets.

In return, you are sacrificing ammunition that can only be used to dispose of enemies, a function that can be outsourced to a whole arsenal of other weapons. Lockpicks and multitools, which are used to open doors and containers, are scarce throughout the game. The further you progress, the more lockpics and mutitools will be required to open closed doors and containers, with the ones containing the most valuable content costing outrages amounts of resources. However, it always takes just one GEP gun rocket to open whatever is on your way.