Last Of Us Part 1 Best Weapon Upgrades [All Guns]

our Last Of Us Part 1 Best Weapon Upgrades detailed guide lists all important upgrades for the weapons you will find in the game.

The Last of Us Part I has a variety of different weapons that may be used in fights against humans and infected NPCs equally. You’ll need to be quick on your feet to get out of these predicaments alive, especially if you do not wish to see Ellie or Joel being cruelly killed. That is why our The Last of Us Part 1 best weapon upgrades guide lists top-tier weapon mods you should install first. 

Key Highlights
  • Last Of Us Part 1 has various types of weapons that players can use to eliminate clickers and enemies, however, having the weapons at your disposal fully upgraded would aid you to destroy anyone who comes in your way with ease.
  • Firstly, investing in Weapon Holster would prove very beneficial because it provides you with extra capacity to store more weapons.
  • Increasing the Rate of Fire of the 9mm Pistol would prove fatal to enemies and clickers, as it will help you escape dangerous situations quickly.
  • The El Diablo is a high-damage revolver with a sight, upgrading its bullets to Armor piercing would make this weapon the most dangerous.
  • You can also upgrade the reload speed and fire rate of the Revolver which will cost a player 300-500 parts.
  • Shorty is the most popular gun in Last Of Us Part 1, as it demolishes foes at short ranges, upgrading its components like increasing the spread of bullets and the fire rate would make this shotgun the deadliest.
  • You can also upgrade to increase the range of the bow would be beneficial as you can terminate foes at a great distance quietly.
  • The Hunting Rifle is high damage with a low firing rate and low reload time, upgrading the scope and armor-piercing capabilities of this gun would prove lethal to opponents at every range.

Related: Last Of Us Part 1 Weapon Tier List

Our video guide will also help you grasp the overall weapon upgrades faster, so consider watching it as well:

Weapon Holsters

Holster Upgrade Last of us Part 1 best weapon upgrades

First things first, let’s talk about the holsters. Investing in holster modifications is essential since doing so enables you to store more weapons in the quick slots of your holster and makes it much simpler to use those weapons. In the latter part of the game, when you may need to switch from using a shotgun, a rifle, and El Diablo all inside the same encounter, knowing how to do this well is essential to your success.

It would help if you prioritized getting this update as soon as possible. Holsters expand the capacity of either your pistol or long gun carry, allowing you to quickly switch between two of each kind of weapon while you’re on the go. Even though you may switch to any weapon you own, unless it is on your fast menu, doing so is a laborious procedure. This is particularly true when you are in the midst of a gunfight or when a horde of Clickers is racing you down the corridor.

Because you will virtually never feel entirely at ease with the quantity of ammunition you have for any one gun, or maybe even two guns, the more firearms you have access to that can be switched out quickly, the better off you will be.

9MM Pistol

9mm Pistol Last of us Part 1 weapon mods
NameLocationMaximum AmmoWeapon UpgradeClip Capacity
9mm PistolThe Quarantine Zone20 bullets(base)

14 bullets (upgraded)

Reload Speed (3)

Fire Rate (3)

Clip Capacity (4)

6 bullets (base)

14 bullets (upgraded)

The 9mm pistol needs to be the next one on your list of The Last of Us best weapon upgrades when it has been completed. Although it is not necessarily required, it might be of great assistance when playing in the early stages. Increasing the weapon’s rate of fire will be beneficial against a large number of foes. Especially in situations when they swarm, and you are pressed up against a corner.

Even though it is the most simple gun in the game, it is important to upgrade it as soon as possible so that you can keep up with the ever-increasing challenge of the foes. The ability to fire more swiftly may help players escape dangerous situations quickly, particularly when several foes are assaulting at the same time.

There isn’t much of a distinct ranking in the pistol modifications, but given that its advantages lay in dealing with swarms of weak infected and human NPCs, these two specializations will definitely aid with that aspect of the game the most.

El Diablo

El Diablo Last of us Part 1 weapon upgrades
NameLocationMaximum AmmoWeapon UpgradeClip Capacity
EI DiabloTommy’s Dam7 bullets (base)

9 bullets (upgraded)

Reload Speed (3)

Fire Rate (3)

Clip Capacity (2)

Armor Piercing (2)

1 bullet (base)

3 bullets (upgraded)

In The Last of Us Part 1, El Diablo is, without a doubt, the strongest sidearm in terms of its overall performance. It just takes one or two bullets from this beast to take down an opponent, and it even has sight so that it can function almost exactly like a portable rifle.

Even a bloater may be knocked back in only two, and occasionally even three, shots. The drawback is that you won’t find it until a considerable story progression into the game, and when you do, its ammunition is quite uncommon.

Upgrading your weapon’s armor-piercing capabilities will allow you to make the most of every round you do have by ensuring that any foe you deem worthy of a bullet won’t be able to get back up again. You have the option of upgrading this item twice, each time at the cost of 75 scraps and needing a tool of level four or level five, respectively.

You’re likely to really want every shot that El Diablo fires to land since it is one of the most dangerous guns in The Last of Us Part 1, and you can only use it once. Because the sight on this revolver enables you to make precise shots, it is all the more aggravating when armored foes are able to shrug off a strike that, under any other circumstance, would have been fatal to them.

By making an investment in armor piercing, you ensure that the Diablo will continue to be lethal regardless of who or what you are up against.

When using this weapon, increasing your capacity is a worthwhile choice since, despite the fact that it does incredible damage, the excruciatingly long reload time might leave you open to assault. Because of Diablo’s sluggish reloads, obtaining more out of a single clip is quite essential, and piercing ensures that your rounds always kill as they ought to instead of ricocheting off of armor.

Revolver

Revolver Last of us Part 1 weapons
NameLocationMaximum AmmoWeapon UpgradeClip Capacity
RevolverThe Outskirts18 bulletsReload Speed (3)

Fire Rate (3)

6 bullets

When it comes to pistols, the improvement that you should prioritize for the standard pistol is capacity improvement. However, the upgrades that you should prioritize for the revolver are the reload speed improvement and the firing rate upgrade. This is the sidearm that you will depend on the most and use the most of the time!

There are just two sorts of upgrades that can be purchased for this six-shooter, but the ability to rapidly reload a gun once it has run out of ammunition is more significant than gradually increasing the rate of fire.

The cost of upgrading the revolver starts off at 300 parts but jumps up to 500 once the first upgrade has been completed. When an upgrade is applied, the reload speed, rate of fire, beginning ammunition, and accuracy are all improved, while recoil is decreased.

Due to its low starting cost, plentiful availability of affordable upgrades, and overall lethality, many players may even choose to utilize this as their sole weapon. One might use it as their sole weapon since doing so allows them to have points for armor throughout the majority of the game, which ensures that they are never vulnerable while confronting adversaries and also makes it much easier to upgrade their equipment.

Shorty

Shorty Last of us Part 1 weapon upgrades
NameLocationMaximum AmmoWeapon UpgradeClip Capacity
ShortyThe Suburbs6 shells (base)

10 shells (upgraded)

Reload Speed (2)

Fire Rate (3)

Clip Capacity (4)

Recoil (2)

Spread (2)

2 shells (base)

6 shells (upgraded)

Since this sawed-off shotgun will never become a long-range weapon, why not focus on what it does well instead? Anyone who tries to go near to you once you’ve upgraded the spread of your shots is going to become a tangled mass of blood and body pieces quickly.

This sawed-off should be turned into a short-range weapon by the players by increasing its capacity to knock down several targets in a short amount of time in rapid succession.

Even with all of its benefits, the Shorty is still a weapon that relies heavily on the situation. At medium to long range, it has a relatively low level of effectiveness. In addition, the revolver, which does not require any loadout points and is highly useful at all ranges, is only slightly more powerful than this weapon.

Shorty users are rendered useless at range unless they additionally possess a weapon with a larger effective range. The Shorty, much like the other shotguns, does not provide any extra damage for hitting an opponent in the head.

Finally, although having the ability to fire in a semi-automatic mode, the Shorty has a slow firing rate, and when combined with its short magazine, this makes it considerably more difficult to recover from missed rounds than when using a 9mm or revolver.

Bow

Bow Last of us Part 1 weapon upgrades
NameLocationMaximum AmmoWeapon UpgradeClip Capacity
BowBill’s Town9 arrowsReload Speed (1)

Range (3)

Draw Speed (3)

1 arrow

In The Last of Us Part 1, the bow is the unheralded weapon for Joel & Ellie. This is the only weapon in the game that allows you to sneak up on enemies from a distance, and it even has a possibility of allowing you to take arrows from enemies you kill.

You shouldn’t pull this out while things are heating up and gunshots have already been flying at you, but if you use the bow strategically, it gives you the ability to eliminate whole fights without ever revealing your presence to the rest of the party.

First and foremost, you should improve the Bow’s range. The Bow is one of the strongest alternatives for stealth and ranged combat in the game since it gives you the potential to hit headshots on foes that are quite a distance away while remaining silent. It will take some time and effort to become proficient with the Bow, but once you do, it will make it much simpler to eliminate adversaries, particularly when you are at a distance.

The bow should be the next thing on your weapon upgrade list after the pistols and small guns. Either you want to be completely covert or, at the very least, attempt to escape without drawing attention to yourself from any of the Infected.

The next on our list of weapon improvements for The Last of Us that you should purchase for the bow is an increase in its range. Increasing the distance of the bow arrows will be of great assistance to you while taking out individual targets one at a time.

In The Last of Us Part 1, there are occasions when ammo might be a source of anxiety. It is possible for you to find yourself in a situation where you are badly weakened if you are not diligent about preserving your ammunition. Due to the fact that you can retrieve fired arrows from the Bow, this concern is significantly reduced.

The Bow is a more stealthy alternative than conventional weaponry, yet it is just as lethal in its own right. By increasing the Bow’s range, you may eliminate adversaries stealthily and at a longer distance than before, transforming this simple piece of hunting equipment into a low-tech sniper weapon.

The bow must always be a sneaky weapon; thus, your primary emphasis should be on getting precise headshots and compensating for the drop-off in range with all of the available weapon upgrades.

Pump Shotgun

Pump Shotgun Last of us Part 1 weapon improvements
NameLocationMaximum AmmoWeapon UpgradeClip Capacity
ShotgunBill’s Town14 shells (base)

18 shells (fully upgraded)

Reload Speed

Fire Rate

Clip Capacity

Recoil

Range

4 shells (base)

18 shells (fully upgraded)

You are going to need to make improvements to all three of these aspects of the Shotgun: its range, its capacity, and its recoil. Since this will be one of the weapons you use the most, it is in your best interest to invest in its modifications.

The shotgun is already a lethal weapon, and therefore in order to bring its rounds under control, you need to concentrate on their precision and where they should be placed.

What would the point be of playing a zombie game if you didn’t have a nice shotgun? In The Last of Us Part 1, the pump shotgun is your go-to, tried-and-true option for solving problems at close and medium ranges. If you are near enough, you won’t even need to upgrade this rifle in order to kill both humans and Clickers with a single shot from this weapon.

Having said that, the more away you are, the more quickly the damage will decrease, so choose your opportunities to draw and fire with caution.

When things have gone from bad to worse, and your attackers are standing in front of you, the odds are high that a shotgun will be brought out. When something like this occurs, the very last thing you need is for your rounds to go wide since the pistol has such a powerful kick.

You have the ability to reduce the recoil by two levels, each of which will cost you 15 and 40 scraps, accordingly. Your next best choice is the range in this situation. Certainly, you won’t be using this pistol for sniping, but giving it some range will make it feel less like you have to do that. The costs for these two tiers are thirty and fifty scraps, respectively.

Hunting Rifle

Hunting Rifle Last of us Part 1 weapon upgrades
NameLocationMaximum AmmoWeapon UpgradeClip Capacity
Hunting RifleThe Outskirts7 bullets (base)

9 bullets (upgraded)

Reload Speed (2)

Clip Capacity (2)

Scope (2)

Armor Piercing (2)

Power (1)

1 bullet (base)

 

3 bullets (upgraded)

There is no question that this firearm comes with a number of highly pricey upgrades, but it is in everyone’s best interest to get all of them. The sight is the essential The Last of Us weapon modification that should be acquired as soon as possible for the rifle.

This will be of great assistance, in particular for the portions of the game that take place in open locations. Following that, you have to put some of your money into Power and Armor-piercing.

Your go-to, dependable, long gun is the hunting rifle with all its stripped-down features. This is a solid option to draw out for most scenarios, provided that your attackers are not directly in front of you. This firearm has a relatively low firing rate and a slow reload time to make up for its very high base damage, yet, it does a lot of damage.

Without any enhancements, it is somewhat comparable to El Diablo, with the exception that headshots on humans would always result in their death.

The gun cannot function properly without the scope and armor-piercing capability. A clear understanding of the scope is expected. When you gain a clearer perspective of the target, setting up those key headshots will be much simpler, which is important since this rifle is all about nailing those headshots.

The first level will cost you 25 scrap, while the second level will cost you 35; both of these prices are fairly reasonable. Get the armor-piercing enhancement initially so that you may blow off both of Clicker’s heads with a single bullet and tear through armored people.

This is another low-cost investment option, with the first level costing only 15 scraps and the second level increasing that to 40 scraps. If you have all of the unlockables, even a body shot will be enough to finish out an armored foe in one shot. It is the sight that makes the Hunting Rifle effective as a long-range weapon; after that, it is all about improving the rifle’s killing power.

The Flamethrower

Flamethrower Last of us Part 1 best weapon upgrades
NameLocationMaximum AmmoWeapon UpgradeClip Capacity
Flame ThrowerThe University200 FuelReload Speed (2)

Range (1)

Power (1)

100 Fuel

Last but not least, you should invest your components in the flamethrower so that you may extend its range and increase the intensity of its flames. Due to the fact that the Flamethrower does damage over time, it is imperative that you eliminate all foes before they can reach you.

After that, you should increase the strength of the Flamethrower. The primary purpose of flamethrowers is to dispatch of Bloaters, who are gigantic boss-like zombies that can swiftly inflict a significant amount of damage.

The already vulnerable to fire Bloaters in The Last of Us: Part I will be destroyed quickly with a power-upgraded Flamethrower, relieving the player of the stress that comes from having to combat them.

The Flamethrower is a late-game weapon that may do significant damage. After being harassed by the infected throughout the whole of The Last of Us Part 1, putting an end to their threat is an extremely gratifying experience.

The flamethrower is equally effective when used on human beings. The enemy’s assaults are stopped by a blast from the flamethrower because they are immediately confronted with more urgent concerns to cope with, namely the fact that they are rapidly being reduced to cinders.

If you increase the damage potential of the Flamethrower, foes will fall even more quickly, which will enable you to preserve ammunition for dangers that are farther down the line. When you are armed with a flamethrower, there is virtually nothing that can stop you from accomplishing your goals.

Ammo Capacity/Clip Sizes

Last but not least, whether you’re utilizing any of these firearms or not, you should consider upgrading any of them with a larger clip capacity if it’s at all feasible. Because of these two factors, this is of the utmost significance.

It goes without saying that you don’t want to have to reload your weapon in the middle of a crucial situation because you ran out of ammunition. Second, there is the additional advantage of just being able to have a larger supply of ammunition in stock.

It is quite unlikely that you will have a surplus of ammunition, but even if you do, it is impossible to store a significant number of rounds for any one gun in reserve. However, the larger your clips are, the more ammunition you are able to store in the rifle, and thus, the more ammunition your character has overall.

How To Upgrade Weapons In The Last Of Us Part 1

For the most part, in order to improve your weaponry in The Last of Us Part I, you will need three different items. The first one is a workbench, which provides the player with the opportunity to improve various objects in their inventory.

The second element of the game is the tools, which are collectible items that are in short supply and can only be obtained in certain areas of the game. The tool level of the player is increased when they are collected, which means that as your tool level rises, you will have access to a greater number of upgraded weapons.

The player has the opportunity to acquire a total of five different tools during the course of the game, the first of which may be found in Bill’s Town.

Parts are the last component that must be present in order to upgrade weapons. The player may scour the game environment for these itty-bitty gears, nuts, and bolts. Parts are created at random, and the best way to locate as many as possible is to completely explore each level, looking in every crevice and crannies for goodies. This is the greatest approach to maximizing your chances of success.

In The Last of Us Part 1, it is possible to upgrade each and every weapon completely; however, this cannot be done in a single playing since there are not nearly enough of the necessary components strewn throughout the game.

To completely upgrade any weapon, after finishing the main storyline of the game, you will need to choose the New Game Plus option and start collecting new Parts from the beginning. Before then, you should give some thought to the order in which the most significant upgrades should be completed; in addition, there may be times when you do not want to spend all of the Parts that you have discovered on upgrades, given that you can always save them for better ones in the future.

Verdict

The Last of Us: Part I provides players with the same upgrades to their arsenal that were available in the PS3 version of the game. These weapons are able to get upgrades at certain workbenches at specific intervals during the course of the game.

In order for players to completely improve each weapon, they will need to go through The Last of Us: Part I many times. Therefore, if you want an edge over your adversaries, it is advisable to use discretion while deciding which improvements to finish.

To improve your weaponry, you must first collect the necessary components by either exploring the levels in a secure manner after you have slain all of the enemies or by slipping past them to reach secret locations. The Shiv is the sole tool that can be used to open the locked doors that conceal enormous numbers of components.

After then, players may utilize these components to enhance their workbench stations by combining them with other components. In addition, some improvements will need the use of a different hidden item, which is a toolbox. Toolboxes increase the extent of customization that players are permitted to create.

That is all we had to discuss about The last of us part 1 best weapon upgrades. What upgrades do you consider best? Share more about it in the comments section below.

Also, consider going through our following guides as well:

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Irfan Ansari


With four years of Video Game Journalism and Tremendous love for Gaming, Irfan loves chatting and writing everything about video games.

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