Learning goals
- Understand when to rank a Secondary weapon.
- Understand when to keep or sell a Secondary.
- Understand when to invest resources.
- Avoid common beginner mistakes.
- Prepare for future modding and build courses.
Explanation
Secondary weapons can become extremely useful with the right build, but early players should be careful with rare resources. Rank many secondaries for Mastery, and invest deeply in fewer secondaries you understand and use. Keep sidearms that fill a useful role, support a build, are hard to reacquire, or have long-term value. Consider selling only after ranking and checking crafting use and reacquisition difficulty.
What should I do?
Use this checklist: rank it first, test handling, identify the role, check special mechanics or alt-fire, pair it with your Primary and Melee, decide keep/sell/invest, and spend rare resources only when confident.
How to avoid wasting time
Do not install a Catalyst or use Forma just because a sidearm is a variant. A powerful variant can still be a poor personal investment if you dislike the weapon type or lack the supporting mods.
Common mistakes
Watch for these Secondary weapon habits while testing and investing.
- Ignoring Secondary weapons until late game.
- Investing before testing.
- Selling before rank 30.
- Forgetting crafting use or reacquisition difficulty.
- Copying Kitgun or variant builds without understanding the role.
- Using sidearms only when the Primary runs out of ammo.
- Treating every Secondary as a damage-only weapon.
Practical example
A player loves a beam Secondary because it applies status and helps melee damage. That sidearm may deserve investment. Another player owns a rare hand cannon but hates slow recoil-heavy weapons; keeping it for collection or Mastery may be fine, but deep investment may not be worth it.
Key Takeaways
- Secondaries can be powerful, but smart investment starts with role clarity.
Practical task
This prevents wasted Catalysts, Forma, and slots.
- Pick one Secondary weapon you are considering investing in.
- Answer whether it is fully ranked, enjoyable, role-defined, mechanically understood, supportive of your loadout, easy to replace, and supported by your mods.
- Choose one action: Level first, Keep uninvested, Sell after checking, Invest later, or Invest now.
You can justify your investment decision.