Mosin Nagant M91/30

Cartridge: 7.62x54mmR

Reload Speed:

• Empty: 3.22
  
• Each round
  
  • Open: 0.93
    
  • Insert: 0.73
    
  • Close: 1.1

Upgrade:

• Lv 25: Bayonet
  
• Lv 50: None

Karabiner 98 kurz

Cartridge: 7.92×57mm Mauser

Reload Speed:

• Empty: 4.28
  
• Each round
  
  • Open: 0.93
    
  • Insert: 0.73
    
  • Close: 0.9

Upgrade:

• Lv 25: Bayonet
  
• Lv 50: Remove Sight Hood

Some personal thought:
The Mosin Nagant and the German Kar98k are quite similar in term of stats. Most differences are quite neglectable, except:

• The Mosin Nagant has 3 more clips than the Kar98k. Though it's actually quite hard to run out of ammo with a bolt action rifle, so those extra ammo aren't as advantageous as it may sound.
  
• The Mosin also reload faster.
  
  • This might be considered as a bug as it's supposed to have slower reload speed than the Kar98k. I will explain more in the last section down below.

But regardless of what gun you chose, manual bolting should always be turned on. It may feel awkward at first, but gives you a huge advantage in term of speed (also explained below).

Some people also said that the Mosin Nagant has longer melee attack range than the Kar98k, but they are both the same (1.4m) and deal the same amount of damage (110 poke, 200 charge).

SVT-40

Cartridge: 7.62x54mmR

Reload Speed:

• Empty: 3.84
  
• Half: 2.67
  
• Stripper Clip: 4.14

Upgrade:

• Lv 25: Bayonet
  
• Lv 50: High Quality Muzzle Brake

Gewehr 41 (Walther)

Cartridge: 7.62x54mmR

Reload Speed:

• Empty: 6.04
  
• Each round
  
  • Open: 0.93
    
  • Insert: 1.07
    
  • Close: 1.27
• Stripper Clip: 4.28

Upgrade:

• Lv 25: Bayonet
  
• Lv 50: None

Some personal thought:
Just like the two above, there aren't many differences between the SVT40 and the G41. The Russian gun still have the weird advantage of having more ammo, but this time, it's actually quite significant.

• The G41 has 7 stripper clips (7 x 5 = 35 rounds) while the SVT-40 has 7 magazines (7 x 10 = 70 rounds).
  
• On top of that, you also waste one round when reloading a G41 without an empty magazine.
  For example, if you fired two shoot then reload, you will have to add three rounds to the magazine. The round that is already loaded in the chamber will be ejected when you pull the bolt back.
  
  • That problem won't happen to the SVT because it has a detachable magazine. And because the round in the chamber isn't ejected, you even have one additional round (10+1).
• Since these guns are the main long-range weapon for SL class, which need to stay alive for as long as possible, having more ammo to spend is certainly a great help.

Another advantage of SVT40 is the reload speed.

• If you empty the magazine with a SVT40, you will simply have to replace it with a new one (~4s), while a G41 needs two stripper clips (~6s).
  
  • Although if you fired 3 rounds or more but there are still some left in the magazine, both guns use stripper clip (and both lose 1 round, as explained above), reload speed are pretty much the same (~4s).

TL;DR: G41 is by no means a bad gun, but SVT40 is clearly a better choice.

Both guns get bayonet at lv25.

Lv50 SVT 40 with a high-quality muzzle brake is said to have "improved recoil" but I can't find any clue about it in the game files (other guns like PPS 42 does).

PPSh 41

Cartridge: 7.62×25mm Tokarev

Reload Speed:

• Empty: 4
  
• Half: 3

Upgrade:

• Lv 25: Drum Mag
  
• Lv 50: Select Fire Capability

PPS 42

Cartridge: 7.62×25mm Tokarev

Reload Speed:

• Empty: 3.71
  
• Half: 2.72

Upgrade:

• Lv 25: Shoulder Stock
  
• Lv 50: Extra Magazines (8 Initial magazines)

MP 40

Cartridge: 9×19mm Parabellum

Reload Speed:

• Empty: 3.78
  
• Half: 2.58 (3.18 - dual mag)
  
• Switch mag: 0.63

Upgrade:

• Lv 25: Dual 32 Round Mag (press 6 to switch)
  
• Lv 50: None

Some personal thought:
Unlike rifles, each SMG has its own distinctive characteristics.

• The MP 40 has a low recoil and slow rate of fire (500 round per minute), therefore very controllable. It's also more accurate but might lose to other SMGs in a 1v1 situation due to the lack of firepower. I've always found this thing quite underpowered.
  
  • It also comes with a secondary magazine at lv 25, but that thing is quite finicky to use IMO.
• The PPSh 41 is arguably the best SMG in the game thanks to the exceptional damage output. But because it starts with a low capacity box magazine and an insane recoil due to the rate of fire, some newer player might find this gun quite unmanageable.
  
• The PPS 42 is somewhat in between. It's light and versatile, but I'm not a big fan of mediocrity.

In term of raw fire power: PPSh > PPS > MP40.

AVT-40

Cartridge: 7.62x54mmR

Reload Speed:

• Empty: 3.58
  
• Half: 2.49
  
• Stripper Clip: 3.85

Upgrade:

• Lv 25: Bayonet
  
• Lv 50: High Quality Muzzle Brake, 3.5x PU Scope

MkB-42 (H)

Cartridge: 7.92×33mm Kurz

Reload Speed:

• Empty: 3.7
  
• Half: 2.96

Upgrade:

• Lv 25: Bayonet
  
• Lv 50: 1.5x ZF 41 Scope

Some personal thought:
Despite being in the same category, these two don't have much in common.

• The AVT 40 has a lot more stopping power and notably better accuracy than the MkB 42. But it also comes with the cost of having substantially more recoil and much lower magazine capacity.
  
• The MkB is actually more akin to SMGs (and arguably better), while AVT is simply an SVT with panic mode.
  
  • And that panic mode is quite overkill. 705 rounds per minute means it takes less than a second to empty the 10 rounds magazine. The massive recoil doesn't really help either.
• While don't possess such ridiculous firepower, the MkB is still on par with PPSh in term of firepower and considerably better at range (than PPSh).

You can reload them while there is still more than one rounds left in the magazine to get an additional round. It isn't historically accurate because MkB 42 is an open bolt gun.

They both get bayonet at Lv25 and scope at Lv50.

• AVT gets the standard 3.5x PU sniper scope which makes it an effective pseudo marksman rifle.
  
  • You can press 6 when aiming down the sight to switch between scope and ironsight. Otherwise, it will switch fire mode.
• Meanwhile, the only thing the ZF-41 on MkB excel at is obstructing your view.
  
  • Do yourself a favour and don't put that thing on MkB.

Light Machine Guns have a Role Encumbrance Modifier of 0.35 which mean they're 3 times lighter when carried by Machine Gunners.

DP 28

Cartridge: 7.62x54mmR

Reload Speed:

• Empty: 3.4
  
• Half: 2.88

Upgrade: None

MG 34

Cartridge: 7.92×57mm Mauser

Reload Speed:

• Empty: 5.02 (4.72 with double drum, 4.58 with ammo belt)
  
• Half: 5.02 (4.05 with double drum, 3.84 with ammo belt)

Upgrade:

• Lv 25: Double Drum Mag - 75 Rounds
  
• Lv 50: Belt Feed - 250 Rounds (It's misleading, you got 2 x 150-round belt instead)

MG 42


Cartridge: 7.92×57mm Mauser

Reload Speed:

• Empty: 4.99 (4.55 with ammo belt)
  
• Half: 4.99 (3.81 with ammo belt)

Upgrade:

• Lv 25: Belt Feed - 250 Rounds (It's also misleading, you got 2 x 100-round belt instead)
  
• Lv 50:1 Extra Magazine (Finally, you have the real 250-round belt)

Some personal thought:
Although not a bad gun, the Russian DP is inferior in pretty much every way. "I'm not defending German technical superiority, I'm stating the f**** obvious."

• MG 34 and DP 28 deal the same amount of damage each shot but the German MG fires faster and has more ammo (after upgrade) which make it better for covering fire and area denial.
  
• When ammo is hard to come by, DP with its low firing rate might become somewhat useful. But MG 34 also has the semi-auto fire mode to get the job done as well.
  
• It does, in fact, reload slightly faster though.

That is why people should reserve the Hero slots for machine gunner on Russian team, giving how important a good MGer is.

Even if the Russian can manage to get their hand on the MG 34, the German still have a distinctive edge on the machine gun department with exclusive access to the MG 42. With the firing rate of 1200, it's a true monster. As long as your teammate keep feeding you with ammo. Otherwise, most of the time, you will find yourself running to the ammo box instead of shooting at the enemies.

Keep in mind that the MG barrel heats up over time and can break down entirely. Since it cools down to ambient temperature, you may have slightly more trigger time on winter maps. Probably not a game changer, but still worth noting.

In the video on the side, I fired an MG 42 until it failed in 4 different maps. You can see the barrel breaks slightly faster in the summer one. And do note that nobody fires MG like that in a real match. With short bursts, you can keep your gun working for a considerable amount of time.

Speaking of barrel failure, German MGs have a spare one in case you break the initial barrel, while DP 28 doesn't.

Some more detail about the temperature (in Celsius) on default maps:

• Red October Factory: -20
  
• Stalingradkessel: -20
  
• Myshkova River: -20
  
• Gumrak: -20
  
• Fallen Fighters: -17
  
• Mamayev Kurgan: -15
  
• Winterwald: -15
  
• Rakowice: -10
  
• Tula Outskirts: -10
  
• Bridges of Druzhina: -10
  
• Commissar's House: -7
  
• Pavlov House: 4
  
• Coldsteel: 12
  
• Barracks: 16
  
• Apartment: 18
  
• Demyansk: 20
  
• Gumrak Station: 20
  
• Barashka: 21
  
• Arad: 22
  
• Grain Elevator: 25
  
• Station: 25
  
• Spartanovka: 35

Nagant M1895

Cartridge: 7.62×38mmR

Reload Speed:

• Each round:
  
  • Open: 0.7
    
  • Insert: 0.6
    
  • Close: 1.1

Upgrade:

• Lv 25: Suppressor (25% of normal loudness)
  
• Lv 50: None

Tokarev TT-33

Cartridge: 7.62×25mm Tokarev

Reload Speed:

• Empty: 3.02
  
• Half: 2.52

Upgrade: None

Walther P 38

Cartridge: 9×19mm Parabellum

Reload Speed:

• Empty: 3.21
  
• Half: 2.32

Upgrade:

• Lv 25: Black Hand Grip
  
• Lv 50: None

Mauser C 96

Cartridge: 7.63×25mm Mauser

Reload Speed:

• Empty (Stripper clip): 4.13
  
• Empty (Magazine): 3.52
  
• Half: 2.46

Upgrade:

• Lv 25: 20 Round Magazine
  
• Lv 50: Shoulder Stock, Full Auto Fire

Some personal thought:
P-38 and M1895 have similar stats and both are weak. They usually need 3 hits or more to kill an enemy.

• The Russian revolver get a suppressor at lv 25 which may or may not be useful.
  
  • It reduces 25% of normal loudness and sound from a suppressed M1895 is relatively small, which may come handy in some sneaky situation, but doesn't serve you much as an emergency sidearm.

C-96 is arguably the best handgun in this game.

• After unlocking full auto fire mode at lv 50, it technically becomes an M712 Schnellfeuer with an insane ROF of 1000 RPM.
  
  • Not even SMGs can compete with that, let alone other pistols. The trade off is a ridiculous recoil. Hold left mouse for more than 1 second and you will have an anti-aircraft pistol.

TT-33 isn't as powerful as C-96 but still a heavy hitter. I don't really like it though.

Scoped Mosin Nagant M91/30

Cartridge: 7.62x54mmR

Reload Speed:

• Each round:
  
  • Open: 0.93
    
  • Insert: 1.07
    
  • Close: 1.1

Upgrade:

• Lv 25: 4x PEM Scope Top Mount
  
• Lv 50: 4x PEM Scope Side Mount, Bayonet

Scoped SVT-40

Cartridge: 7.62x54mmR

Reload Speed:

• Empty: 3.84
  
• Half: 2.67
  
• Striper Clip: 4.14

Upgrade:

• Lv 25: 6x PEM Scope
  
• Lv 50: High Quality Muzzle Brake, Bayonet

Scoped Karabiner 98 kurz

Cartridge: 7.92×57mm Mauser

Reload Speed:

• Each round:
  
  • Open: 0.93
    
  • Insert: 0.73
    
  • Close: 0.9

Upgrade:

• Lv 25: 6x Zielsechs Scope
  
• Lv 50: Bayonet

Scoped Gewehr 41 (Walther)

Cartridge: 7.62x54mmR

Reload Speed:

• Empty: 6.04
  
• Each round:
  
  • Open: 0.93
    
  • Insert: 1.07
    
  • Close: 1.27
• Striper Clip: 4.28

Upgrade:

• Lv 25: 4x ZF-4 Scope
  
• Lv 50: Bayonet

Some personal thought:
Sniper rifles are slightly more accurate than those used by regular infantry and a big ass telescopic sight on top makes these guns very deadly at range.

Bolt action sniper rifles can't be reloaded from a stripper clip because the scope is in the way, so ammo has to be inserted one by one.

• SVT 40 is the only sniper rifle that reloads with stripper clips and magazines
  
  • G 41 changes from using stripper clips to loading rounds one by one after upgraded.

I don't have much experience with sniper rifles (my G 41 isn't maxed out yet), so I will leave it for you to decide which is better.

PTRS-1941

Cartridge: 14.5x114mm


Reload Speed:

• Empty: 4.17

Upgrade: None

Some personal thought:
The PTRS always guarantees a kill and cause some bloody mess, regardless of where you hit. It makes shooting infantry with this gun very satisfying, but you shouldn't do that. Not only due to its massive recoil but also because you have a different job to do.
It is called anti-tank rifle for a reason. Your main prey should be tanks and other vehicles. AT rifle doesn't come with a lot of ammo, wasting them on human targets isn't a good idea.
To know where to shot with PTRS, I highly recommend you to watch this video.

If you are wondering where is the German AT rifle. I'm sorry to inform you that the PzB 784(r) in this game is just a captured PTRS. They are completely the same gun.

Some personal thought:
HMG has no recoil at all and both MG 34 and Maxim deal the same amount of damage, but the German one has better rate of fire, accuracy and reload speed. But the thing is, you don't really have a choice since these guns are fixed on the map. There is no point in comparing them.

Grenade

Some personal thought:
As you can see, Russian and German grenades are identical in term of damage.

• The most notable difference is that M1939 is slightly faster which means it can travel a farther distance (parabolic motion, basic high school physics).
  
• It also has a longer fuse length and a bit heavier.
  
• Note that the fuse on German grenade start burning as soon as you pull down the string at the bottom.
  
  • It means you will kill yourself and a bunch of guys next to you if you hold it for too long.
    
  • Meanwhile, the F1 Hand Grenade only triggered after release LMB (it can be cooked by pressing melee button, MMB by default) gives you plenty of time to aim.

And don't throw grenade at tanks, it isn't going to help anyone.

• Tank doesn't take damage from normal grenade.
  
• The only thing that is likely to happens is you tk a friendly AT gunner/engineer trying to kill the tank.

There is a guide claims that F1 grenade has "28 Fragments Thrown out with same damages as TT-33 Pistol shot to respective parts of the body, self deleting after 30m, at which chance of hitting a human sized target are negligable anyway" and "Stielhandgranate 24: Easily farthest throw, nearly twice as far as F-1 in select situations".
It's totally rubbish.
I don't know where did he got those statements, but I have checked game data of both current version (2018) and release version (2011), the damage was a bit lower back then, but there is no such thing as fragmentation.
You stay within the damage radius, you take damage, that's all. There is no chance in hell a grenade could hurt anybody 30m away from the explosion, and Stielhandgranate do fly farther but nowhere "nearly twice as far as F-1 in select situations". The longer you hold left mouse, the faster your grenade, the farther it goes.

Here is a small range comparison. I threw them at the same angle and only click the left mouse without holding it. As you can see, the difference is very subtle.

Satchel Charge

Some personal thought:
There is no difference between German and Russian satchel.
Almost every destructible object (wall, door, etc) within damage radius will be destroyed (players also receive damage as well), except bunkers and object tied to capture zone (Rakowice C, Red October Factory F, etc). It might take several satchels to blow them up unless the charge is placed directly on the target.

Anti-tank Grenade

Some personal thought:
German AT Grenade is heavier but more powerful than its Russian counterpart. They all have a small radius and low blast damage. You are not likely to kill anyone with those, unless you manage to throw them right in their face. However, they deal 4 times higher damage to vehicles and exploding on impact make them very effective for destroying tanks (which is what they are meant for).

Sometimes, even if you directly hit a tank, one AT grenade may not be enough to destroy it which means you have to throw one more to finish it off.

• That makes satchel sometimes a better choice because it constantly deals 500x1.25 dmg (roughly 600, just enough to blow up a tank).

IRL, Hafthohlladung (HHL) can't be thrown and detonate on impact like it does in-game. It must be placed directly on the tank then pull the igniter on the rear of the mine to activate the 4.5-second delay fuse.

Smoke Grenade

Some personal thought:
They are grenade and they make smoke. What else can I say about them.

Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausführung G

Hull Armor:

Turret Armor:

Main Gun: 7.5 cm KwK 40 L/43 (Reload: 5s), 2.4x Optical Sight

Hull & Coaxial MG: MG 34, 2.4x Optical Sight

T-34/76 Mod 1942

Hull Armor:

Turret Armor:

Main Gun: 76.2 mm F-34 (Reload: 6s), 2.5x Optical Sight

Hull & Coaxial MG: DT, 2.5x Optical Sight (Coaxial MG)

Some personal thought:

• Armour thickness, penetration and main gun damage are for comparison purposes only.
  
• Penetration > Amour thickness doesn't always mean the shell can punch through the amour.
  
  • The actual penetration mechanism is quite complex, it depends on the angle of impact and various factors.
• Armour hardness increase penetration resistance. It will be ignored if the incoming projectile is HEAT (currently there are only AT Grenades).

And as you can see, the T-34 has superior armour (slightly thinner but sloped and hardened). Thus many people consider it to be better than Panzer IV, which is somewhat correct.
In fact, T-34 has the upper hand in tank vs tank combat, but Panzer IV is a better infantry support vehicle.

• It got better hull MG, better gun sight and a commander cupola which greatly increases your vision without exposing yourself to sniper fire.
  
• Unfortunately, you can only make use of its full potential with a good crew, which is unlikely to happens in a random match.

Panzer IV is also much more vulnerable to AT rifle since it has weak spots on every side some people even call it "moving coffin".

Panzerkampfwagen III Ausführung M

Hull Armor:

Turret Armor:

Main Gun: 5 cm KwK 39 (Reload: 5s), 2.4x Optical Sight

Hull & Coaxial MG: MG 34, 2.4x Optical Sight

T-70

Hull Armor:

Turret Armor:

Main Gun: 45 mm M1932/38 20-K (Reload: 5s), 2.5x Optical Sight

Hull & Coaxial MG: DT, 2.5x Optical Sight (Coaxial MG)

Vehicle MG

Some personal thought:
Just like tanks, those things do have a bit of armour. They are very thin though, an AT rifle could pierce through them like a hot knife through butter.

Despite having toilet paper armour, these vehicles can still protect you from regular firearms, and they actually have more HP than tanks. A single satchel won't be enough to destroy them, and they can endure several AT rifle rounds before turned into a pile of scrap iron.
Therefore, when facing them, aim for the passengers, don't try to destroy the vehicles themself.

Arisaka Type 38

Bayonet:

Cartridge: 6.5×50mm Arisaka

Reload Speed:

• Empty: 4.72
  
• Each round:
  
  • Open: 0.9
    
  • Insert: 0.77
    
  • Close: 1.1

Upgrade:

• Lv 25: None
  
• Lv 50: 3 Extra Clips

Arisaka Type 99

Bayonet:

Cartridge: 7.7×58mm Arisaka

Reload Speed:

• Empty: 4.72
  
• Each round:
  
  • Open: 0.9
    
  • Insert: 0.77
    
  • Close: 1.1

Upgrade:

• Lv 25: None
  
• Lv 50: Monopod

Springfield M1903

Cartridge: .30-06 Springfield (7.62x63mm)

Reload Speed:

• Empty: 4.08
  
• Each round:
  
  • Open: 0.9
    
  • Insert: 0.77
    
  • Close: 0.93

Upgrade:

• Lv 25: M1 10 Inch Bayonet
  
• Lv 50: M1905 16 Inch Bayonet

Some personal thought:
People often have a hard time choosing between the Type 38 and Type 99. They feel pretty similar in term of performance, but there are still some differences that define the characteristic of each gun.

• First and the most obvious is the rear sight, Type 38 is simpler, less obstructive and easier to use.
  
• It also has a higher ballistic coefficient (less drop), smaller spread and somewhat less recoil, making it more accurate at range.
  
• Type 38 uses the same muzzle flash as pistols which is smaller than other rifles, therefore, harder to be detected.
  
• And another advantage of Type 38 is melee range. Unlike the case of Mosin vs K98k mentioned above, Type 38 is actually longer than the Type 99 (Video).

The later model has its own strong point as well.

• With more powerful cartridges, Type 99 often guarantee 1 hit kill while Type 38 sometime has to rely on bleed out and headshot.
  
• It also gets a monopod at lv 50 that makes it easier to rest this gun on a surface.
  
  • Bigger rest deployed check, especially in the down direction.
    
  • Unlike common belief, monopod doesn't have anything to do with recoil and sway although resting your gun certainly does.

Of course, there is always a way around. If you want a gun with the accuracy of Type 38 but hit as hard as Type 99, then Springfield M1903 is your rifle.

• The rear sight isn't as clear as that of the Type 38 but arguably better than Type 99.
  
  • Although the front sight is quite small, sometimes makes it's a bit confusing when acquiring a target.
• Spread and ballistic coefficient still can't compare to Type 38, but higher muzzle velocity helps hitting moving targets easier.
  
• M1903 (fully upgraded) also has the same melee range and melee damage as Type 99.
  
• The only downside of this gun is that it has a noticeably longer bolt speed => slower rate of fire.

Although I may make it sounds like M1903 is the best bolt action rifle in RS, I actually always drop it whenever I saw a Type 38 on the ground.

M1 Garand

Cartridge: .30-06 Springfield (7.62x63mm)

Reload Speed:

• Empty: 2.32
  
• Half: 2.64

Upgrade:

• Lv 25: M1 10 Inch Bayonet
  
• Lv 50: M1905 16 Inch Bayonet, Ping Trick (press 6)

M1 Carbine

Cartridge: .30 Carbine (7.62×33mm)

Reload Speed:

• Empty: 3.84 (2.82 from pouch)
  
• Half: 3.26 (2.35 from pouch)

Upgrade:

• Lv 25: Stock Mounted Ammo Pouch - 10 initial magazine, faster reload from pouch (2 magazine).
  
• Lv 50: Bayonet

Some personal thought:
The M1 Garand gives the American a huge advantage in term of firepower. And since it's the only full-powered semi-auto rifle in Rising Storm, American Rifleman seems to be superior to the Japanese counterpart.

• However, it is only effective at close to mid range. Beyond that distance, the Garand hardly maintains its superiority.
  
  • M1 Garand is less accurate than other rifles, its spread 5 times bigger than the Type 38. And despite having less recoil, firing in semi-automatic makes it harder to control, especially for an inexperienced player.
    
  • The obstructive iron sight doesn't help either (Aperture sights work great in real life but in game.... not so much)

The M1 Carbine, on the other hand, is a complete disaster.

• Better than a pistol but too underpowered for a main weapon.
  
• Big spread, slow muzzle velocity and low damage make this gun utterly useless at long range.
  
• Not to mention the toy bayonet which is only good for decoration.
  
• The rear sight is also obstructive like the Garand, or arguably worse.
  
  • But since this gun mainly used for CQC, it may not be that a big of a deal because you can simply line the ring up with your target.

The only good thing about the M1 Carbine is that it's extremely light. With a role encumbrance modifier of 0.25, this gun weighs almost nothing if you spawn with it.

• Therefore, it's quite useful for flamethrower. Despite being the worst main arm, it substantially better than a 1911.
  
  • Other than that, don't use this gun. It just makes your life harder.

Type 100

Cartridge: 8×22mm Nambu

Reload Speed:

• Empty: 3.55
  
• Half: 2.82

Upgrage:

• Lv 25: Reduced Recoil, "Improved" Sights
  
• Lv 50: Bayonet

Thompson M1928

Cartridge: .45 ACP (11.43×23mm)

Reload Speed:

• Empty: 3.81
  
• Half: 2.96

Upgrage:

• Lv 25: 30 Round Magazines, Cutts Recoil Compensator
  
• Lv 50: 50 Round Drum Magazines, Foregrip

Some personal thought:
From the get-go, the Type 100 is slightly better than the M1928. It fires faster, weighs less and has lower recoil.

But after receiving upgrade, Tommy gun become better and better while Type 100 goes downhill.

• It literately got downgraded at Lv 25. From a Type 100/44, it becomes Type 100/40 which is an earlier version with a slower rate of fire and an obstructive rear sight.
  
  • Despite being more controllable, it reduces the damage output by almost half.

I have never seen anyone remotely competent with the game use the "upgraded" Type 100.

Winchester Model 1912 "Trench Gun"

Cartridge: 12 Gauge (00 buck shell)

Reload Speed:

• Each round:
  
  • Open: 0.53 (0.9 - empty)
    
  • Insert: 0.8
    
  • Close: 1.23 (1.47 - empty)

Upgrade:

• Lv 25: M1917 Bayonet
  
• Lv 50: 5 Extra Shells

Some personal thought:
M12 is the only shotgun in this game. It's tremendously powerful at close and even mid-range. You don't have to take a proper aim with this gun, just point it at enemy's general direction and let the magic do the trick.
Unlike many video games, shotgun in Rising Storm has a considerable range but anything beyond 50m may require some luck to hit.
This gun also benefits from Manual Bolting.

Type 96 LMG

Cartridge: 6.5x50mm Arisaka

Reload Speed:

• Empty: 4.14
  
• Half: 3.11

Upgrade:

• Lv 25: Bayonet
  
• Lv 50: 2.5x Scope

Type 99 LMG

Cartridge: 7.7x58mm Arisaka

Reload Speed:

• Empty: 4.14
  
• Half: 3.11

Upgrade:

• Lv 25: Bayonet
  
• Lv 50: 2.5x Scope

Browning M1919

Reload Speed:

• Empty: 5.02
  
• Half: 4.43

Cartridge: .30-06 Springfield (7.62×63mm)

Upgrade: None

Browning Automatic Rifle M1918

Cartridge: .30-06 Springfield (7.62×63mm)

Reload Speed:

• Empty: 3.7
  
• Half: 2.67

Upgrade:

• Lv 25: Field Modified Handgrip
  
• Lv 50: Bipod

Some personal thought:
The M1919 is the best MG for sustained firepower in RS.

• Being a belt-fed machine gun and having a slow rate of fire allow it to have a fairly long trigger time, ideal for providing covering fire.

But the poor accuracy make it falls short when you actually want to kill something. And, that's where the Japanese Type 96 and Type 99 shine. Despite of the limited magazine capacity and the top mounted magazine obstructs a big portion of the screen, they are very deadly at range.

• The Type 96 is fairly accurate (for a MG). With the scope upgrade at lv 50, it's capable of providing precise burst fire at long range.
  
  • Using the same round as the Type 38 (6.5mm), it suffers from the same problem of having inadequate hitting power.
• The Type 99 is basically a scale up version of the Type 96 to fit 7.7mm cartridge. It has a significantly faster rate of fire but somewhat less accurate.
  
  • Faster firing rate and bigger round mean it has considerably more firepower compared to Type 96.
    
  • And despite each round being less accurate, being able to fire faster actually makes this gun has higher hit probability than the Type 96.
    
    • But the magazine capacity remains the same mean you'll have to reload more often.
• The scope at lv50 can be a double edged sword.
  
  • It helps acquire targets at a distance but also limits your already tunnelled vision.
• And the Japanese are also the only nation in the WW2 that had a bayonet attached on LMG which is unlocked at lv 25 they put bayonets on pretty much everything
  (Though it is very unlikely that you would make any use of them).

And finally, the BAR which is arguably the most powerful weapon in this game.

• It is the only LMG capable of firing from shoulder (in fact, it is categorised as Automatic Rifle).
  
• It fires full-powered cartridge but unlike the AVT on the Eastern Front, BAR is still controllable and deadly in both close and long ranges.
  
  • Attachments make it even more powerful by reducing the recoil.
• Keep in mind that it also heat up over time like other MGs but doesn't have a spare barrel.

Nambu Type 14

Cartridge: 8×12mm Nambu

Reload Speed:

• Empty: 3.24
  
• Half: 2.57

Upgrade:

• Lv 25: 1 Extra Magazine
  
• Lv 50: 2 Extra Magazine

Colt M1911A1

Cartridge: .45 ACP (11.43×23mm)

Reload Speed:

• Empty: 3.29
  
• Half: 2.3

Upgrade:

• Lv 25: 1 Extra Magazine
  
• Lv 50: 2 Extra Magazine

Some personal thought:
Both Type 14 and M1911 are 2 hit kill. But with a damage of 50, Type 14 sometime need 3 hit or more to take down an enemy while M1911 have more "spare" damage. At long distance, M1911 is slightly better thanks to the high ballistic coefficient, but Nambu round is faster which is more suitable for hitting a moving target but why would you want to use a pistol at long range

Arisaka Type 97 Sniper

Cartridge: 6.5×50mm Arisaka

Reload Speed:

• Empty: 4.72
  
• Each round:
  
  • Open: 0.9
    
  • Insert: 0.77
    
  • Close: 1.1

Upgrade:

• Lv 25: Bayonet
  
• Lv 50: 4x Fixed Scope, Monopod

Arisaka Type 99 Sniper

Cartridge: 7.7×58mm Arisaka

Reload Speed:

• Empty: 4.72
  
• Each round:
  
  • Open: 0.9
    
  • Insert: 0.77
    
  • Close: 1.1

Upgrade:

• Lv 25: 4x Fixed Scope
  
• Lv 50: 4x Adjustable Scope + Monopod & Bayonet

Springfield M1903A4

Cartridge: .30-06 Springfield (7.62x63mm)

Reload Speed:

• Empty: 4.08
  
• Each round:
  
  • Open: 0.9
    
  • Insert: 0.77
    
  • Close: 0.93

Upgrade:

• Lv 25: M73B1 2.5X Crosshair Reticle (0.3 kg)
  
• Lv 50: A1 Marine Variant, Unertl 8X scope (0.6 kg)

Some personal thought:
Japanese sniper rifles have quite a complex sight. You can learn how to use them here.

• They also have offset scope mount which allows them to use a stripper clip.

The M1903, on the other hand, has an adjustable sight like sniper rifles in the Eastern Front and has much more magnification ratio than the Japanese's, but ammo have to be inserted one by one because of the top-mounted scope.

M2-2 Flamethrower

Some personal thought:
The most devastating and feared weapon in Rising Storm.

• I think you know what a flamethrower is, so I'm not going to insult your intelligent.
  
  • Keep in mind that your flame can't go through obstacle, but it can bounce off walls to send your regards to enemies hiding in the corner.
    
    • Be careful with tk.
• A flamethrower has a maximum range of 25m. But to reach that distance, you have to hold left mouse for some seconds.
  
• Flamethrower can't be dropped, and you can't pick it up from dead soldiers, so it is exclusive for the Allies.
  
• Despite of not being mentioned anywhere in the game UI, there is also a thing called "ignition cartridge", and as the name implies, is required for igniting the fuel. If you run out of them, you won't be able to start a fire. No matter how much fuel is left on your tank. They can be refill in the ammo cache along with fuel.

Type 89 Grenade Discharger

Some personal thought:
Also known as "Knee Mortar".
Type 89 is a remarkably useful weapon and often seen as the counterweight for the US Flamethrower. But unlike the flamethrower, knee mortar is capable of rain death and despair to enemies from a completely safe distance.

There are two fire modes.

• Direct Fire: the default fire mode. There isn't much to say, it's basically a noob tube. All you need to do is point at the enemy direction and click the left mouse.
  
• Indirect Fire: and this is where things become interesting.
  
  • To enter this mode, you have to aim down sight and scroll your mouse wheel. The little number at the bottom right is how far your shell will travel.
    
    • You may find a guide on Steam said the range of the mortar is incorrect. Well, it was. But that problem was already fixed in April 2014.
      
    • As of now, "the exact position of impact will still vary slightly (up to around 2 or 3 metres in any direction) due to the projectile's inherent inaccuracy. Additionally, remember that changing your view pitch while using the mortar will change the launch angle of the projectile and therefore its trajectory, which will also impact the effective range."
  • To use mortar in indirect fire mode effectively, you must have a good understanding of the map and current situation.
    
    • I highly recommend you use the overhead map to estimate your distance to targets and wait for your commander's recon.
      When in doubt, just spam nade 20m behind (as attacker) or in front (as defender) of the object.
  
  Sword
  
  Weight

  Melee Swing Range

  Melee Swing Damage

  Melee Swing Charge Damage

  Banzai Radius Modifier

  1kg

  1.2m

  70

  200

  1.2
  
  Some personal thought:
  This weapon is available for Japanese Squad Leader (SL) and Commander (TL).
  
  • Yes, it deals less damage than a bayonet, but katana deal swing damage that cut through targets (plural) which makes it very easy to hit multiple hitzones at the same time.
    
  • It also capable of cut off limbs or decapitate people.
    
  • Another merit of bringing a sword to a gun fight is banzai charge bonus (by the way, I'll also explain how banzai charge work).
    
    • When a Japanese soldier sprinting while holding melee attack, it will trigger a banzai charge.
      
    • It has a radius of 5m at which banzai charge is effective, multiplied by the number of banzai chargers (5 maximum).
      
    • If there is any player wielding a katana, the banzai radius will be multiplied furthermore by 1.2.
      
      • It means the maximum range of effect is 5x5x1.2=30m, achieved when there are 5 banzai chargers and at least 1 holding a katana.
        
      • Note that more katana won't give you more bonus.
    • While charging, banzai chargers have a Stamina Modifier of 0.75 and Damage Modifier of 0.25 which means your stamina loss rate is 25% slower and receive 75% less damage on non-critical hit zones.
      
    • Banzai chargers also suppress nearby American soldier.
      
    • If your legs are damaged while in banzai, negative effects only applied after you get out of banzai.
      
      • So, shooting at their legs isn't a good idea to stop a banzai charge.
  
  Therefore, according to the scripting (ROGame\BrewedPC\RSGame.u\RSPawn, if you ask me where), having more teammates banzai with you only multiply the area of effect, your damage resistance won't be increased.
  And as mentioned before, in theory, banzai charge only reduce damage on non-critical zones. But there are many reported cases of surviving a headshot while charging (I also have experienced it myself).
  Because of that insane damage reduction, don't try to shoot a banzai charger, unless you have an automatic weapon such as BAR, SMG or shotgun.
  
  • The most effective way to counter a banzai charge is to burn them to death with a flamethrower.
    
    • In action mode, targets won't be set on fire unless their health are very low, so flamethrower is utterly useless, but no one plays action mode anyway.
  • If you don't have any of those fancy weapons above, try stabbing back.
    
    • By the time the banzai charger release the melee button to stab you, he loses his banzai bonus.
      
    • And a fully charged melee attack is slower than a simple poke, so with a reasonable timing, you can out melee him.
      
      • Sometimes, it may not work if the enemy is an experienced player or due to latency, but you still stand a better chance than hopelessly shot him with your rifle then got stabbed.

Grenade:

Some personal thought:
Japanese grenades (when used by Japanese soldiers) can be used as booby traps that explode when an enemy treads on them (basically landmines).

• You can plant up to 2 of them by looking at the ground and right click.
  
• Note that they can only be planted on soft terrain.

Type 91 Grenade is only issued for Japanese Light Mortar class.

Satchel Charge:

Some personal thought:
The US M37 Satchel Charge is stronger than the Japanese Type 99.

• It is auto prime which means its fuse starts burning as soon as you... (visually) burn it.
  
• But it can also be defused by approaching and press Use key
  
  • Ctrl by default.

Type 99, like other grenades, can be cooked by pressing the melee button (thanks Stardust Crusader for pointing it out).

• Otherwise, it starts counting down after you release.
  
• Fun fact, in real life, Type 99 can be used as a mine like other Japanese grenades. Unfortunately, TWI didn't allow us to do that in game.

Smoke Grenade

• Proficiency upgrades are not included. Initial number of magazines will increase throughout your levelling progress.
  
• Damage, bullet velocity and penetration reduce over distance.
  
  • Full-powered cartridge (7.62x54mmR, 7.92x57mm Mauser, etc) have less falloff damage until it really gets to a long range.
• Weight doesn't really matter unless you pick up weapons from the ground.
  
  • There are three levels of encumbrance in this game:
    
    • Light (<13 kg): 100% speed, 100% stamina drain rate
      
    • Medium (>13kg): 85% speed, 115% stamina drain rate
      
    • Heavy (>25kg): 70% speed, 150% stamina drain rate
    You always start with less than 13 kg (heavy guns like MGs or AT rifles have a role encumbrance modifier to lower the carry weight if you spawn with it). Dropping your main weapon doesn't make you run faster.
• On recoil - recoil rotation is calculated randomly. The recoil (pitch/yaw) will be a random amount between min and max Recoil (Pitch/Yaw).
  
  • Recoil Rate is time in seconds each recoil should take to be applied.
    
  • Recoil Blend Out Ratio is percentage of the recoil speed it will take to blend recoil out.
• Reload speed is calculated by the following formula:
  
  Reload speed = Reload Animation Length * Weapon Reload Proficiency * Perform Reload Percentage Animation Length = Number of frames / Framerate
  Perform Reload Percentage is an additional factor to give ammo slightly before reload animation is finished, it's 0.88 by default (most guns are "visually" loaded when reload animation is 88% complete) but may vary depending on each gun.
  This is why Mosin Nagant has a "bugged" reload speed (Perform Reload Percentage = 0.6). Even though the reload animation is still playing, the reloading process has finished at 60% of the animation. You can shot, run, aim or do whatever you want. It is already done by the time it shows "New magazine is full".
  In this guide, I will give you calculated reload speed, it may contain some deviation. Original reload animation length will be included in the Excel file above. I would love to record the actual ingame reload time as well but the chronic laziness is kicking in...
  
• Manual bolting slightly increases the rate of fire for bolt-action rifles (and shotgun).
  By default, they have fire interval of 1.1. It means your gun is technically a semi-automatic weapon with long a delay between two shoots.
  If you turn manual bolting on, you will have to tell your character to circle the bolt after each shot by clicking the left mouse one more time. But this time, instead of 1.1 seconds, fire interval is reduced to 0.01 and bolt speed is:
  
  Bolt speed = Bolt Animation Length * Weapon Reload Proficiency * 0.68
  Manual bolting speed benefits from weapon proficiency while auto bolting doesn't. That makes single shoot rifles generally fire faster upon levelling up.
  
  • Even at lv0, they are already slightly faster (0.98s vs 1.1s)
    
  • At lv50, manual bolting is almost twice as fast (0.7s vs 1.1s).
    
    • Although it also depends on how fast your finger is, as you need to click twice with manual bolting.
      
      • So realistically speaking, you aren't going to archive the number of 0.7, unless you are some kind of superhuman (or using macro).
  The only exception is M1903. This gun has a long bolting animation, so turn manual bolting on at low level actually decreases the rate of fire. Even at lv50 it still roughly the same as auto bolting.
  Here is the comparison video:
  

A small note: I occasionally check the comments on Steam mobile app, and sometime miss tapped and accidentally delete some of the comments because there is no warning prompt. As far as I know, there is no way to recover them. I'm sorry if it was yours.