Into The Hive weapon guide: types and firing mechanics

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Choose weapons by how they deliver damage and handle pressure. Compare rifle stats, close-range bonuses, explosive magazines, electric attacks and melee protection, then use the controls that keep each weapon effective.

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AR-01 has the highest nominal base firing damage among the three rifles; AR-02 offers faster fire and more rounds, while AR-03 hits harder per shot. Choose MG-02 for firing speed or MG-03 for heavier hits, and move or switch weapons during MG-03 cooling. Hold EL-02 to combine rounds into an overcharged beam. Hold EL-01 and flamethrower triggers for sustained fire. For melee specials, use SW-01's aim action to dash with brief invulnerability or AX-01's aim action for a spinning slam with knockback immunity.

Unlock and equip a weapon

  1. Open Equipment → Gear → Weapon. Select a weapon category, then a model.
  2. For a locked weapon, choose one payment option and pay with that currency. GL-01 offers 5,000 Cash, 1 Equipment Token or 119 Robux. Spending one Equipment Token unlocks it without paying the Cash or Robux option.
  3. Select Equip after unlocking the weapon. Its status changes to Equipped.

The status labels distinguish ownership from your current selection:

Status Meaning
Locked Unlock payment required
Owned Unlocked
Equipped Selected for its slot

For example, buying AR-03 for 5,000 Cash changes it to Owned and makes Equip available. Unlocking permanently adds the weapon to your equipment choices; equipping selects it for your loadout.

You can also open Loadout and select the Primary or Secondary slot. Choose an owned weapon to change that slot, or select a locked choice to see its unlock options.

GL-01 unlock screen with Cash, Equipment Token and Robux payment options.
GL-01 marked Equipped in the Equipment weapon menu.

Rifles, SMGs, pistols and shotguns

AR-01 vs. AR-02 vs. AR-03

Compare these base values before upgrades, Augments and other modifiers.

Rifle Damage per shot Fire rate Magazine Reload Nominal damage/s
AR-01 8 600 RPM 30 rounds 2 seconds 80
AR-02 6 720 RPM 36 rounds 2 seconds 72
AR-03 10 450 RPM 23 rounds 2 seconds 75

Nominal damage per second is damage per shot × RPM ÷ 60. These figures assume every shot hits for base damage and exclude reloads, weak spots, enemy defenses and other modifiers.

  • Choose AR-01 for its base damage rate: it leads this calculation while retaining a 30-round magazine.
  • Choose AR-02 for faster fire and capacity: its 720 RPM and 36 rounds favor frequent shots over larger individual hits.
  • Choose AR-03 for stronger individual hits: its 10 damage per shot comes with the slowest firing rate and smallest magazine of the three.

SMG close-range damage

SMG-01, SMG-02 and SMG-03 gain 50% damage at close range, with the bonus falling off to base damage at longer range. Within the full bonus, multiply base damage by 1.5 before other modifiers: a base hit of 4 becomes 6.

Stay close to the target to use this bonus. Distance is measured from the edge of the bug's body, so use the nearest body edge when judging your position against a large bug. The November 14, 2026 update extended the bonus's reach by 20%.

Shotgun spread and SG-03 firing speed

SG-01, SG-02 and SG-03 have 30% less spread than before the November 7, 2026 update. The tighter spread helps keep shots concentrated on your target.

SG-03 received a separate change on November 14: twice the firing rate and 11% less damage per shot compared with its previous values. Its tradeoff is faster follow-up fire with smaller individual hits.

Pistols and Marksman weapons

PI-01 is a starting secondary with a 12-round magazine, giving you a backup weapon when you switch away from your primary. Browse PI-02, PI-03 and the Marksman models in the weapon directory for their unlock options and individual records.

Miniguns and MG-03 cooling

Minigun Damage per shot Fire rate
MG-01 6 720 RPM
MG-02 4 1,200 RPM
MG-03 8 600 RPM

MG-02 fires twice as fast as MG-03; MG-03 deals twice as much damage per shot. Choose MG-02 when you want rapid fire, or MG-03 when you prefer larger individual hits. Both unlock for 20,000 Cash, 3 Equipment Tokens or 349 Robux, using one payment option.

Keep fighting through MG-03 cooling

  1. Fire MG-03 while watching the HEAT bar.
  2. When the bar fills and the display changes to COOLING, move away from approaching bugs. If you also carry FT-03, switch to it to continue attacking.
  3. Resume MG-03 fire after cooling finishes and the display returns to HEAT.

Leave yourself room to retreat before the bar fills. Against an approaching Shieldback and smaller bugs, movement during cooling creates space for your next firing interval; FT-03 gives you another attack option when nearby bugs close in.

MG-03 displays a full red heat bar and COOLING as bugs approach.

Grenade launchers

Launcher Shell damage Fire rate Magazine Reload
GL-01 120 60 RPM 1 round 1.6 seconds
GL-03 40 180 RPM 8 rounds 2.6 seconds

Choose GL-01 for a larger individual shell hit, or GL-03 for repeated explosions before reloading. GL-01's one-round chamber means every shot is followed by a reload. GL-03 trades shell damage for an eight-round magazine, making it better suited to successive attacks against groups without a reload after each shot.

Aim at a bug or nest and fire. With GL-01, press R to reload before your next shot. You can also aim GL-01 at flying bugs and hit them with an explosive shell.

GL-01, GL-02 and GL-03 shells all explode on nests, following the November 7, 2026 update. Use that interaction when choosing an explosive weapon for nest attacks.

Electric weapons and overcharge

EL-01: sustained fire

Aim and hold the trigger to maintain EL-01 fire. Tapping does not fire faster than holding it under the November 14, 2026 rules.

EL-01 deals its full damage to nests. Its range doubled in the November 7 update, giving it more reach than its previous version.

EL-02: combine rounds into one beam

The November 14, 2026 rework gives EL-02 an overcharge attack:

  1. Aim along the bugs you want to hit. To attack a nest through them, line up the nest behind the bugs.
  2. Hold the trigger to overcharge. Each charge step loads one more round, up to the entire magazine.
  3. Send the combined beam through your targets. More loaded rounds produce a larger beam with greater damage and reach, and the beam damages nests behind the bugs it passes through.

Choose EL-02 when lining up bugs and a nest lets one beam reach multiple targets along its path.

EL-03: continuing damage, stuns and Ricochet

EL-03 fires an electric ball that deals 10 damage per tick over time. The ball itself slows near bugs and briefly stuns each bug it reaches. Choose it when you can keep targets exposed to continuing damage rather than relying on an immediate hit.

The November 7, 2026 update increased projectile speed by 30%, increased slowing near bugs by a further 48%, and increased explosion radius by 75% relative to the previous values. The ball also damages nests and explodes on the Escort Drill.

With Ricochet installed, EL-03's ball explodes on rock, then can bounce and explode again. Aim toward a useful rock surface to use this interaction, available from the November 14 update.

Flamethrowers and sticky flames

Hold the trigger with FT-01, FT-02 or FT-03 to maintain the flame stream. Since the November 14, 2026 update, tapping does not fire faster than holding it.

Direct the stream at nearby bugs or a nest. Flamethrowers leave sticky flames, and burning damages nests as well as bugs. This makes fire useful when attacking a nest while also fighting bugs around it.

Range and sticky-flame changes

Model Range change Sticky-flame size change
FT-01 +100% +50%
FT-02 +100% +50%
FT-03 +50% +50%

These changes compare each model with its own values before November 7, 2026. FT-01 and FT-02 doubled their previous range; FT-03 gained half of its previous range. The percentages do not establish equal absolute reach across the three models.

Ammunition and reloading

The three flamethrowers share 6 base damage and 100-round magazines. Their reload time is 2.4 seconds.

Watch FT-03's ammunition while advancing or fighting around a nest. Press R to reload; you can refill a partially used magazine without emptying it first. Reload during a gap in the attack so you have ammunition ready when another group approaches.

FT-03 fires at a glowing nest with its health bar visible.
FT-03 reloads with 31 rounds remaining in its 100-round magazine.

Secondary control and sticky shots

Secondary Attack Main use
MP-01 Fully automatic fire Continuous shooting
PS-01 Short, wide pulse Close-range control
SL-01 Straight sticky shells Delayed explosions
  • MP-01: choose this machine pistol when you want fully automatic secondary fire.
  • PS-01: fire its short, wide pulse at nearby enemies. It knocks small bugs back and stuns large bugs, making it the control choice when enemies close in.
  • SL-01: aim at the bug or rock surface where you want the shell to stick. Its shells travel straight, attach to the target and explode a moment later. Account for that delay when placing your shot.

Katana and axe special attacks

Weapon Normal attack Aim action Protection during special
SW-01 Katana Quick slashes Dash through bugs Brief invulnerability
AX-01 Axe Heavy, wide chops Two spins and ground slam Knockback immunity

SW-01: dash through bugs

Equip SW-01 and use the attack action for quick katana slashes. Use its aim action to dash through bugs and become briefly untouchable. Choose this special when you need movement through enemies with a short window of invulnerability.

AX-01: clear the area around you

Equip AX-01 and use the attack action for heavy, wide chops. Use its aim action to spin twice and slam the ground, attacking enemies around your position. You cannot be knocked back throughout this move; that protection is knockback immunity, not damage immunity.

Melee weapons automatically switch you to third person. Turn off that automatic camera switch in Settings if you want to retain your chosen view.

Weapon and armor bundles

The Tech Ninja game pass costs 399 Robux and includes the SW-01 Katana unlock plus the permanent Tech Ninja armor set. Tech Viking also costs 399 Robux and includes the AX-01 Axe unlock plus the permanent Tech Viking armor set. Each price covers its whole bundle, with no additional weapon unlock payment within that bundle. Compare the game-pass benefits when choosing between them.

Stats, prices and loadouts