Dead Space 3 – Weapon Crafting

From Explosion Amplifiers to Stasis Coating, Prima gives you the lowdown on crafting and modding your arsenal.

As an engineer, Isaac Clarke is familiar with a wide range of tools and equipment. However, these same tools can serve as weapons in the fight against the Necromorph hordes.

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At workbenches, Isaac can use his skills to take parts and resources and use them to craft weapons. When crafting a weapon, you begin with a frame.

There are different sizes of frames and some frames can hold more tools and circuits than others. You then add one or two tools to the frame—an upper tool and often a lower tool. Tools are the weapons. For each weapon, you can select a tip.

Tips can change the way the weapon functions. Next, you can select an upper and a side attachment. Attachments can affect the projectiles of the weapon or add other effects. Finally, as you find circuits, you can insert them into the weapon to modify damage, reloading time, clip size, and rate of fire.

If you are proud of your weapon and want to keep the idea, make a blueprint of the weapon. Let’s take a look at the various parts you can use to craft your own weapons.

You can also upgrade existing weapons—even blueprint weapons, to make them better or to fit your style of play.

Isaac’s Log

I really enjoyed experimenting with weapons. Since there were workbenches in many places, if I did not like my current weapons,I could easily modify or switch them out.

As I advanced across Tau Volantis, I kept my eyes open for weapon parts so I could craft new and more powerful weapons. I also found that different people favor different weapons.

The weapons that I thought awesome did not always impress John Carver. Of course, as an engineer, I preferred weapons made of tools while Carver usually went for military-type weapons.

Frames

All weapons start with a frame. When selecting a frame, you want to pick one that will provide the slots you need.

Name Description # of Tool Slots # of Circuit Slots
Compact Standard Frame A standard compact frame for one-handed weapons 2 4
Heavy Standard Frame A standard heavy frame for two-handed weapons 2 4
Compact Elite Frame An elite compact frame for one-handed weapons 2 8
Compact EarthGov Frame A compact frame with built-in upgrades 2 2
Heavy S.C.A.F. Frame A heavy frame with built-in upgrades 2 2

Tools

Tools are the meat of the weapon—the part that causes damage. After you have a frame, you can attach one or two tools, depending on the number of tool slots. Most tools can be placed in either the upper or lower tool slots.

Name Description
Military Engine A military weapon used by S.C.A.F. forces
Plasma Core A cutting tool that fires ionized plasma fuel
Pneumatic Torch An incendiary device fueled by compressed gas
Rip Core A short-range suspended saw blade tool
Survey Charge A seismic tool that fires explosive canisters
Telemetry Spike A mining tool that fires tempered alloy bolts
Tesla Core An engine for high-current electric welding
Hydraulic Engine A cutting tool resembling a bayonet, used for clearing large areas
Isaac’s Log

The type of weapon created using a tool can depend on the frame. For example, a compact frame with a pneumatic torch makes a blow torch, but if you use a heavy frame, it becomes a flamethrower.

Modules

Modules are tools that can be placed in the lower tool slot. However, they are not weapons in themselves. Instead, they modify the weapon in the upper slot.

Name Description
Electrocution Module Electrocutes the last shot fired
Explosion Module Causes the last shot fired to explode
Rotator Cuff Module Allows primary tool to rotate 90 degrees
Canister Recovery Module Allows recovery of last deployed canister

Tips

Every weapon has a default tip. However, by adding a different tip, you can change the way the weapon operates or the type of projectile.

Name Description
Directed Ejection Field Fires effect or projectile in short, forceful impulses
Directed Suspension Field Enables kinetic suspension of effect or projectile
Repeater Applies automatic fire to effect or projectile, for increased rate of fire
Compressor Compresses effect or projectile into a more compact, intense form
Conic Dispersal Disperses effect or projectile into a short-range, spread pattern
Diffraction Torus Allows effect or projectile to spread around the point of impact
Precision Adaptor Focuses effect or projectile for increased accuracy and lethality
Rail Accelerator Accelerates effect or projectile at high speed with penetrating force

Attachments

Attachments are just that—attachments that you can add to your weapon. Some can be placed only on top of the weapon, such as scopes, while others must be on the side of the weapon.

Most attachments can be placed in either location. Attachments can modify projectiles, add abilities to the weapon, or can have an effect on the user or their co-op partner.

Name Description
Stasis Amplifier Stasis shots have larger radius
Ammo Box Automatically reloads after last shot
Ammo Sweeper Automatically picks up nearby ammo
Explosion Amplifier Increases the radius of explosions
Ammo Support Increases ammo efficiency for self and partner
Damage Support Increases partner’s damage with all weapons
Medic Support Health packs consumed by user also heal partner
Stasis Support Stasis packs consumed by user also recharge partner
Safety Guard Prevents user from taking damage from his own weapons
Scope Military scope for long-range aiming (top only)
Full Zoom Scope Prototype military scope for advanced long-range aiming (top only)
Electric Charge Electrifies projectiles to cause small amounts of voltaic damage (side only)
Acid Bath Coats projectiles in acid that does damage over time (side only)
Stasis Coating Coats projectiles with a very small amount of stasis (side only)
Flame Glaze Adds fire to projectiles (side only)

Crafting Guide

Here is a table that shows how the combinations of frame, tool, and tip can create different types of weapons. Think of it as a cookbook for crafting.

Weapon Frame Tool Tip
Submachine Gun Compact Military Engine Default
Revolver Compact Military Engine Compact Directed Ejection Field
Plasma Cutter Compact Plasma Core Default
Plasma Disperser Compact Plasma Core Compact Conic Dispersal
Plasma Repeater Compact Plasma Core Compact Directed Ejection Field
Blowtorch Compact Pneumatic Torch Default
Compact Suspended Ripper Compact Rip Core Default
Ripper Compact Rip Core Compact Directed Ejection Field
Rivet Gun Compact Telemetry Spike Default
Arc Welder Compact Tesla Core Default
Carbine Heavy Military Engine Default
Pulse Rifle Heavy Military Engine Repeater
Seeker Rifle Heavy Military Engine Precision Tip
Shotgun Heavy Military Engine Conic Dispersal
Assault Rifle Heavy Military Engine Compressor
Galvanizer Heavy Military Engine Directed Suspension Field
Force Gun Heavy Plasma Core Default
Kinetic Projector Heavy Plasma Core Compressor
Contact Beam Heavy Plasma Core Precision Tip
Flamethrower Heavy Pneumatic Torch Default
Magnesium Afterburner Heavy Pneumatic Torch Compressor
Cryogenic Torch Heavy Pneumatic Torch Precision Tip
Heavy Suspended Ripper Heavy Rip Core Default
Heavy Ripper Heavy Rip Core Directed Ejection Field
Grenade Launcher Heavy Survey Charge Default
Detonator Mine Heavy Survey Charge Directed Ejection Field
Line Gun Mine Heavy Survey Charge Compressor
Knockback Detonator Heavy Survey Charge Rail Accelerator
Incendiary Grenade Heavy Survey Charge Diffraction Torus
Rocket Launcher Heavy Survey Charge Directed Suspension Field
Javelin Gun Heavy Telemetry Spike Default
Javelin Repeater Heavy Telemetry Spike Repeater
Rivet Shotgun Heavy Telemetry Spike Conic Dispersal
Chain Gun Heavy Telemetry Spike Diffraction Torus
Line Gun Heavy Tesla Core Default
Tesla Beam Heavy Tesla Core Precision Tip
Bouncing Bolas Heavy Tesla Core Compressor
Anchored Bolas Heavy Tesla Core Directed Suspension Field
Bolas Cutter Heavy Tesla Core Repeater
Chain Lightning Gun Heavy Tesla Core Diffraction Torus
Hydraulic Eviscerator Heavy/Lower Slot Hydraulic Engine Default
Hydraulic Hammer Heavy/Lower Slot Hydraulic Engine Conic Dispersal
Ground Diffractor Heavy/Lower Slot Plasma Core Diffraction Torus
Hydraulic Knife Compact/Lower Slot Hydraulic Engine Default

Strapped

Craft a weapon to earn this award.

Circuit’s Edge

Earn this award when you add a circuit to a weapon.

Initial Weapons

Submachine Gun

This weapon is given to Isaac by Carver when they first meet. It is also the weapon that the soldier in the Prologue uses.

It is a small, rapid-fire weapon. While each round does not inflict much damage, the high rate of fire makes up for this. While it is effective against soldiers, it takes a lot of ammo to kill a Necromorph with one of these.

Isaac’s Log

While I had a submachine gun while on the Lunar Colony, as soon as I got to the Roanoke, I upgraded it.

I still kept the submachine gun weapon tool, but placed it in the second weapon slot under my line gun. This gave me some extra firepower for Necromorphs that got in close or for when my line gun clip was empty and I did not have time to reload.

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