Far Cry New Dawn is an offshoot standalone sequel to Far Cry 5 released in early 2019. It is set seventeen years after the (non-canonical) armageddon ending of Far Cry 5 in the vastly Hope County, Montana setting, albeit the county has been vastly reshaped and changed after the better part of two decades of nuclear winter. By 2035, the winter and fallout recedes to the point that survivors have emerged and are attempting to rebuild and restart again.
As with its predecessor, the protagonist of New Dawn is formally unnamed and their appearance is player-determined. The player character is a member of a group of post-apocalyptic survivors that have set about to help rebuild the continental United States. Their role is as a Captain of Security and are referred to in-game as "Captain" or simply "Cap." This group of surviving specialists has been called to aid rebuilding efforts in Hope County, but are ambushed during the train ride into the valley by the local chapter of the Highwaymen, a roving band of Mad Max style post-apoc bandits. The Captain is able to escape, but has to join forces with the resisting survivors to rescue fellow specialist leader Thomas Rush and deal with the Highwayman, led by sadistic twin sisters Mickey and Lou. Additionally, the Captain must also deal with the surviving cultists of the Project at Eden's Gate, who have reemerged as an independent, technology-rejecting primitive community in the northern sector near Joseph Seed's old compound.
Gameplay has generally carried over from 5 with some changes, most notably that weapons are now tiered RPG-style (akin to The Division series). Additionally, due to the lack of currency in the post-civilization world, everything must be crafted from raw materials scavenged and looted in-world. The resisting Hope County survivors have headquartered themselves in a large compound named "Prosperity," lead by the Rye family. This settlement has its own upgrade system that requires the player to acquire ethanol, either through stealing Highwaymen supplies and tanker trucks, or as an added reward acquired through taking over the Highwaymen's outposts in typical post Far Cry 3 fashion. Another new feature is "Expeditions," where a surviving Quebecois helicopter pilot that resides in Prosperity will take the Captain to locations across post-apocalyptic America in order to steal from particularly lucrative supply stashes kept by roving gangs of Highwaymen. New Dawn has the same coop and AI allied character system from 5.
The following weapons appear in the video game Far Cry New Dawn:
Far Cry New Dawn carries over the same style of loadout from its immediate predecessor. The Captain begins with a sidearm-exclusive slot and one standard slot; two more slots can be unlocked via perk points.
All firearms are grouped into an RPG-style tier system, with a Rank 1 (gray), Rank 2 (blue) Rank 3 (purple), and Elite (gold) tiers. As the Highwaymen are grouped into similar tier levels, the player will need to acquire ethanol to level up the Gun Bench in Prosperity in order to unlock each successive tier to Elite, and also have the needed materials to craft each weapon. Paid currency can be used to buy higher tier weapons if one desires to do so.
Ammunition is again determined by weapon subtypes, with generic "Handgun," "SMG," "Rifle," etc. types. It can either be found in-game or crafted from a weapons station or trader simply with the Copper raw material. Special ammo types can also be unlocked through upgrading Prosperity's Explosives Lab. These again are simply crafted from copper, but include AP rounds, incendiary, and explosive rounds. The lower tier weapons cannot change ammo types; unfortunately, the feature is limited to the purple and gold tiers. While roving tradesman will be found in the game world, they no longer can give the player weapons, only supplies and tradeable maps.
As with Far Cry 5's DLC, weapon customization is completely absent in New Dawn. Some low-tier firearms have upgraded variants in the higher tiers, and some weapons only exist kitted-out as late-game power weapon rewards. Once the Weapons Workbench is upgraded to level 3, the ability to upgrade weapons for a certain amount of resources is unlocked. This allows lower tier weapons to receive an increase in damage potential and be viable against higher-tier enemies, though the resource cost may become a bit prohibitive.
Pistols
Beretta 92FS
A rather worn Beretta 92FS is unlocked at the Weapon Workbench's second tier, and serves as a straight upgrade over the dilapidated SW1911. It features a hastily put together reflex sight affixed over the front of slide, and is unfortunately stuck with a 10-round magazine thanks to New Dawn lacking weapon customization.
Beretta 93R "Auto 9"
Properly returning from Far Cry 4, the Beretta 93R "Auto 9" appears again under the "A.J.M.9" moniker. It has two variants - the first, lower quality variant is unlocked in the third tier, and a properly suppressed Rex Power Colt variant is available in the final fourth tier. Both come in full-auto by default, but can use the fire selector ability to fire in semiauto and bursts. They also both use flush-fitting 20-round magazines.
IWI Desert Eagle Mark XIX
A Desert Eagle Mark XIX is available in the final Weapon Workbench tier. This time it still deals a ridiculous amount of damage but doesn't share ammo with the ".50 Cal" category.
Luger Carbine
Also available as a gold-tier handgun, the same stubby Luger Carbine appears as the only Luger variant in New Dawn, having somehow soldiered on into 2035.
SIG-Sauer P226R
The SIG-Sauer P226 returns, this time fulfilling the niche as a suppressed pistol thanks to the lack of an ability to customize other pistols with a can. Unfortunately, this also means the P226 is restricted to using 10-rounder mags.
Smith & Wesson Model 29
The 4" Smith & Wesson Model 29 appears as an alternative to the SW1911 in the starting low weapons tier. Its 6" counterpart is absent, perhaps having not survived the apocalypse.
Smith & Wesson Model 629
The Smith & Wesson Model 629 again returns, using the same style of barrel as the "Cannon" variant from the previous game. It is available as a fourth-tier unlock.
Smith & Wesson SW1911
As in 5, the first firearm acquired is the Smith & Wesson SW1911 .45 caliber handgun. It only appears as a low quality tiered sidearm, without any advanced variants.
Submachine Guns
Cobray M11/9
The same Cobray M11/9 is still around in 2035, still under Ubisoft's signature "SMG-11" designation. It is the first SMG unlocked and only appears in the gray tier. Lower-end Highwaymen specialists keep Cobrays as backups in case the Captain gets close. It is also stuck with a paltry 24-round capacity.
CZ Skorpion vz. 61
Another recent series staple, the vz. 61 Skorpion is available as a higher-tier machine pistol. It still has a functioning selector and has 30 rounds in standard 20-round vz. 61 magazines.
Heckler & Koch MP5A3
The longtime standard Heckler & Koch MP5A3 of the series again returns in New Dawn. It also has the fire selector functionality despite the S-E-F lower, and is a fairly bog standard SMG held back by the lack of attachments. The MP5K from the original game is not present in this game.
Heckler & Koch MP5SD3
Additionally, the Heckler & Koch MP5SD3 is available as the higher-tier counterpart of the MP5A3. As the base MP5 can't be suppressed and is locked into the lowest tier, the MP5SD has a bit more of a fulfilled niche.
Intratec TEC-9
The last machine pistol unlocked, the Intratec TEC-9 returns from 5 as an SMG grouped in the gold tier. It has been embellished with various visual tidbits, and has an oil filter suppressor and a similarly-improvised optical sight.
Izhmash PP-19 Bizon-2
The PP-19 Bizon-2 reappears from 5's zombie DLC, as an Elite tier SMG this time around. It is still a classic Far Cry mirrored model and comes with a rudimentary scope. It also gets a near-LMG level capacity of 84 rounds in the standard helical magazine.
MP34
The Steyr MP34 again returns, this time as a 101-year-old design that has somehow endured into the 2030s. It is a decent tier-two SMG and features a simple reflex sight and has a correct 32-round capacity.
MP40
Another Wehrmacht holdover that has somehow endured the end of days, the Schmeisser MP40 can be unlocked as a blue tier SMG in New Dawn. As with its side-feeding analogue above, it gets a hasty reflex sight as per many of the second tier weapons. It holds 48 rounds in standard 32-round magazines.
TDI Vector
Another modern modern Far Cry staple, the KRISS Vector appears in game as the usual "Vector .45ACP" with two variations. The first is the "Space Force" Vector, unlocked either as a tier-II reward or from the Uplay/Ubisoft Connect store. The latter is in the third tier despite appearing to be far more worn and improvised, as the "Optimized" Vector.
Shotguns
Baikal MP-133
The same alleged Baikal MP-133 (with a lot of elements from the more fitting Remington 870) is available in New Dawn as per most of Ubisoft's recent modern games. Both the default full length and shortened configurations are available.
Double Barrel Shotgun
Appearing as a fitting post-apoc staple, a Double Barrel Shotgun is unlocked in the second tier. It offers a bit more damage potential over its counterparts, but at the obvious expense of having to reload a lot.
Sawed-Off Double Barrel Shotgun
The staple "D2" Sawed-Off Double Barrel Shotgun is again available with a few variants. It is classified as a sidearm and can be used while piloting vehicles and with the improvised shield. The first variant, the "Sin Eater" from 5 is unlocked in tier II and is available early on to those who have played the previous game. Two more variants are available in the Elite tier, featuring fairly ludicrous damage potential.
Franchi SPAS-12
The classic left-handed Franchi SPAS-12 is again available in New Dawn as a final-tier shotgun. It has the same monocle sight as the shorty MP-133s, and has an oil filter suppressor for the discerning stealth shotgunner.
Winchester Model 1887
Far Cry 5's live-service reward Winchester Model 1887 is unlocked as a purple-tier reward. It features some kind of scope, a kitchen knife affixed to the barrel as a usable bayonet, and an extended 9-round magazine tube made somehow made from piping parts. The sawn-off variant is absent.
Assault & Battle Rifles
"AR-C"
The exact same franken Mega Arms MATEN-Daniel Defense Armalite AR-15 type carbine returns as the bog standard assault rifle wielded by survivors and Highwaymen alike in New Dawn, the latter have a corresponding paint scheme depending on their rank (usually red as seen with standard mooks). It is fairly beat up and held together with various improvised elements, and is rather held back compared to it's previous iteration due to the lack of attachments to kit the carbine out with. It also has the same multiple firemode functions, and fires at a rather fast 900RPM.
A significantly improved variant is available in the Elite tier, featuring something of an actual scope and something of a bayonet. The "AR-CL" sniper variant is not found in New Dawn.
AKM
As with 5, several AKM variants are available in New Dawn. The classic model is unlocked in the blue tier, the "Optimized AKMS" variant comes next in the purple tier, and lastly "Radiation Pink" is unlocked in the gold tier. In true communist fashion, all three feature bayonets, and in true capitalist fashion, they all somehow hold 40 rounds in 30-rounder-sized magazines.
Colt M16A1
Hours of Darkness's M16A1 appears as one of the gold-tier assault rifle unlocks. It has various embellishments, including a permanently-affixed optic atop the carry handle, and a screwdriver bayonet affixed at the seven-o'clock of the front sight/gas block. It still feeds from standard thirty-round STANAGs and has an overgassed 900RPM rate-of-fire.
HS Produkt VHS-D2
Once a live service reward in the previous game, the HS Produkt VHS-D2 is available in this game as an Elite tier reward. It fulfills a niche as serving as the suppressed, scoped assault rifle. The VHS gets 40 rounds in thirty round mags, and has the full fire selector functionality.
Marlin Model 1894
The Marlin Model 1894, specifically the "45/70-T" variant from the last game, is available as a rifle in the blue tier. It features a primitive optical sight made from some sort of threaded valve, and a similarly ghetto sound suppressor. Given its early unlock status, it is especially handy for stealth raids on Highwaymen bases, Expeditions, and some story missions.
M14 Rifle
The M14 is available in the third tier as a suppressed DMR-style rifle. As with the last game, it is restricted to semi-auto and only holds fifteen shots in standard twenty-rounders. The M1A SOCOM 16 variant is not found in this game.
Sniper Rifles
CZ 527
The same CZ 527 "308 Carbine" is present in New Dawn as a tier II sniper rifle, this time with some actual statistical value over the starting SVD. It only appears with a sniper scope, and still has a five shot capacity.
Desert Tech Hard Target Interdiction
The Desert Tech Hard Target Interdiction is again available in two forms, the first as the "Optimized MBP .50" in the purple tier, and the "Guerilla-Gear MBP .50" in the gold tier. Both exclusively feature sniper scopes and suppressors.
Gepard GM6 Lynx
The Hungarian Gepard GM6 Lynx is once again found in New Dawn, and again as the penultimate sniper rifle. Two variants are present in the Elite tier, the "Length of Pipe SA-50" and the "Space Force SA-50." They have distinct advantages over the HTI in terms of semi-automatic function, though both have the same ten-shot magazine capacity.
SVD Dragunov
The SVD Dragunov from Hours of Darkness appears right off the bat as the default marksmen's rifle in post-apocalyptic Hope County, having replaced the odd "AR-CL" variant from the previous game. It again uses a mirrored model, but more notably has been cut down into practically some sort of close-quarters carbine despite its role as a sniper. Additionally, the pseudo PSO-1-style scope is again victim to the end of days, and is instead replaced with some attempt at putting together a combat optic with salvaged wares. It is also again unfortunately stuck with ten-round magazines half loaded to five shots.
Machine Guns
M249 SAW
Far Cry 5's M249 SAW variant is available in New Dawn under a few variants. The technically-first variant found in the blue tier is "Hurk's Wrath M249," unlocked as part of Hurk's bundle. The later two are unlocked in the purple tier and don't really have any significant differences. All use an improvised gunsight, collapsed paratrooper stocks, and have 160-round belts in classic 200-round Minimi drums.
M60
Hours of Darkness's classic M60 appears as a second tier unlock, and functions as a higher-quality upgrade over the E4 variant seen below. It features the same homemade reflex sight that's found in many of the other blue tier weapons, and feeds from 100-round loose belts.
M60E4
The same foregrip-less M60E4 appears again as the default machine gun in New Dawn. It is available in the gray tier, and is stuck with rather paltry 50-round belts and deals similarly meager damage. Highwaymen machine gunners carry M60E4s with a red paint scheme as their default MG.
MG42
An MG42 is unlocked in the Elite tier as the final machine gun and serves as an awesome power weapon given its fairly ludicrous damage output and 200-round belts. It is the same oddball model originally from Far Cry 4, with the chainsaw foregrip and removed stock.
Launchers
RPG-7
The old school RPG variant that was leftover in 5 and formally included as part of Hours of Darkness appears in this game and is the only RPG variant left in Hope County - the Airtronic model must have been lost to the apocalypse. It is the lowest tier explosive launcher available in-game.
Carl Gustav M4
The same truncated and stylized Carl Gustav M4 returns from 5, and appears under a couple of variants in New Dawn. The "Makeshift RAT4" and "Blast-Off RAT4" appear in the second tier - the latter is part of the paid Hurk content pack. Lastly, an "Optimized" variant is unlocked in the third tier.
LPO-50 Flamethrower
Enduring the fires of the apocalypse, the same stylized LPO-50 flamethrower is present in New Dawn again as the primary means of setting fire to the superblooming vegetation in Hope County. It has four variants, with an initial "Rusty" model in the first tier that is also carried by Highwaymen pyros. The "Optimized" variant isn't unlocked until the third tier, and two final "Weedkiller" and "Unicorn" versions are a part of the Elite gold tier.
M79 Grenade Launcher
The sawn-down M79 grenade launcher "pirate pistol" returns from previous titles, having soldiered on through the apocalypse. Two variants are exclusively available in the gold tier, one being the "Bison Burger M-79" that requires a pelt from an elite buffalo to craft, and a "Color Spray" version that's instead a lot more resource intensive to craft and will probably require the Captain to pursue a few extra Expedition runs. They both use the "40mm" ammo found in game, and can load an incendiary round unlocked from the fully upgraded Explosives Lab.
Explosives
C4
The same two C4 variations from 5 can be found and crafted in-game.
Dynamite
The same 8oz sticks of dynamite from the previous game appear as the standard throwable explosive grenade in this game.
M18 Smoke Grenade
M18 smoke grenades are still found after the apocalypse, and perform identically to the last game.
M26 Hand Grenade
While not normally available in game, M26 Hand Grenades are present in a cutscene early in the game's story.
Pipe Bomb
Lastly, the same pipe bomb type grenades are unlocked after maxing out the Explosives Lab in prosperity, and are actually crafted in this game.
Mounted Weapons
Browning M2HB
Browning M2HBs are still around and used in surprising numbers in Hope County after the nuclear holocaust.
Browning M2 Aircraft
While fixed wing aircraft are all but gone in 2035, some Browning M2 Aircraft guns are still found on ground vehicles and the "Lammergeier" helicopter.
Fictional rotary gun
Nick Rye's "Carmina" has still lived on into New Dawn, this time without wings and instead as a kind of amphibious airboat. Its M134 Minigun has been relocated into the nose where the original propeller and engine were.
Mounted M60E4
Lower-tier Highwaymen patrol vehicles come equipped with the same M60E4/M60D hybrid GPMG from the last game.
M120 Mortar
M120 mortars are somehow still around in 2035, and can be found in a few stronghold outposts. The same geosynchronous satellite-powered aiming system is also still in working order.