Saros: Every Weapon and Power Explained

In Housemark's roguelike, SOS, players control Arjun, navigating the Eclipsed world to uncover the fate of previous expeditions. Success hinges on dodging bullet hell and equipping the best weapons and alien powers. The game features five weapon classes, each with three distinct variants offering unique alternate fires and perks. Rifles, the first class, include the Tactical, Onslaught, and Smart Rifles. Tactical Rifles are balanced, with an alternate fire that increases rate of fire when held. Smart Rifles boast aggressive auto-aim and a split-round alternate fire that seeks out enemies. Onslaught Rifles excel at heavy damage with steady aim, requiring manual targeting. Their alternate fire, Heavy Rounds, deals bonus damage to weak points but slows fire rate. Rifles are effective against both mobs and single targets, especially bosses. Hand Cannons offer a sweet spot between rifles and shotguns in range. The Erupter and Marksman Hand Cannons share a triple-shot primary fire. The Erupter's alt fire unleashes its entire clip at once after a charge, while the Marksman's alt fire shoots a single, large projectile that marks enemies for auto-targeting if they survive. The Ricochet Hand Cannon's bullets bounce off surfaces, with an alternate fire that allows rapid trigger pulls but has a small clip size, demanding precise reloads. Shotguns deliver high damage at close range. The Horde Shotgun is traditional, with a spread primary and a tighter vertical alternate fire. The Annihilator Shotgun adds a grenade launcher as its alternate fire, dealing significant damage and building enemy stagger. The Stalwart Shotgun’s alt fire suspends pellets in the air, which can be detonated for damage, ideal for setting traps. Shotguns have a six-round clip, and alternate fire modes consume more ammo. Crossbows are unique as they don't use traditional ammo, relying on charge meters. The Repeater Crossbow fires bolts in a horizontal line, with an alternate fire that splits into homing projectiles. The Impactor Crossbow allows faster firing at the cost of fewer bolts, and its alternate fire requires hitting a weak point to trigger homing bolts. The Bifurcator Crossbow's primary fire splits as it flies, and its alternate fire is similar to the Repeater's but also requires hitting a weak point. Chakrums, or saw guns, also bypass traditional ammo. The Ripsaw Chakrum’s alternate fire adds a damage-over-time effect to enemies hit by its blades. The Reaping Chakrum is for close-quarters combat, with its primary fire launching a blade that must be recalled via alternate fire, dealing damage to nearby enemies while spinning. The Myriad Chakrum focuses on rapid-fire saw blades, with its alternate fire deactivating auto-aim but returning blades instantly on weak point hits. Special Carcosin power weapons act as secondary abilities, fueled by a power resource gained from absorbing bullets. Prominence is a reliable fireball attack, good for small groups and single-target burst damage. Despirator sprays enemies with damage-over-time lights and spawns turrets upon kills, excellent for large mobs. Novalance is a precise, powerful shot that pierces enemies, with massive weak point damage bonuses, ideal for bosses. Illumin fires a continuous beam that auto-targets, effective against weaker enemies and solid against single targets. Adapting to available gear is crucial for success in SOS.