The 10 most rage-inducing weapons in multiplayer history

Video game weapons piss us off. It’s inevitable, really. Gamers are extremely prideful and there’s just no way we will ever admit that someone is better at something than we are. This presents an interesting problem when we are “killed” in a multiplayer game. We begin to blame a multitude of different things such as lag, the controllers, or the cheating bastard on the other team who was probably hacking anyway. But, in my experience, I’ve found myself lashing out at something different: the weapons in the games themselves. Whether they have the ability to kill in one shot, cause a huge explosion, or are simply impossible to avoid, certain weapons can elicit anger in gamers like nothing else.

You’ve built up your skills playing for countless hours, you’ve mastered every strategy the game has to offer, and just when you’re about to seal the fate of the other team, you get killed by a camping noob. How does it happen? Well, it’s all in the weapons. Call them unfair, call them overused, call them awesome. Whatever you call them, you have to agree that they can be very, very frustrating. So let’s take a look at the 10 most rage-inducing weapons in multiplayer history.

10. Flashbang Grenade (Counter-Strike)

The flashbang grenade from Counter-Strike is a very hard weapon to successfully utilize. One of the main reasons it’s on this list is because it could easily be just as fatal to your team as it is to the opposing team. The flashbang does just what it says. It flashes and bangs. It takes out your opponent’s sight and hearing, making them easy pickings. But wait, one false move, one hesitant throw, and you’ve accidentally blinded your team and incurred the wrath of your teammates in the lobby once you’ve all been massacred. “My bad, guys.” is almost always how this story ends.

 

9. ASMD Shock Rifle (Unreal Tournament)

Not many people realize the potential of the Shock Rifle when they first play Unreal Tournament. Sure, it looks cool (come on, it’s a laser!), but it was seen as far too weak for most players. However, in the hands of truly experienced gamers, this weapon became one of the most rage-inducing in history. With its crazy-good accuracy and high firing speed, the Shock Rifle can be used as an extremely deadly weapon. It also has a secondary fire option that shoots a giant electric orb that blows up when you shoot that orb with the primary fire. It’s like a laser and a bomb packed into one gun. While this weapon was initially laughed at, it now turns those laughs into phrases such as “What the hell?” and “Did I just get killed by a Shock Rifle?”

8. Chainsaw (Gears of War)

This weapon is rage-inducing for a different reason than the two mentioned above. The chainsaw in Gears of War isn’t a game-changer, and it doesn’t win the match for your team, but there is no better confidence booster than surprising an opponent by churning his body into little bloody bits while he screams in agony. Getting killed by this weapon is almost always followed by the person who killed you trash talking right into your ears about it. Yeah, I saw it, and I’ll have nightmares for a week. Please shut up. While there’s no better feeling than destroying someone with a chainsaw, the feeling you get watching as your character becomes an unrecognizable heap of flesh is the worst.

7. The Hammer (Super Smash Bros.)

The Hammer might be the closest thing to an unstoppable weapon on this list. It is just way too powerful. Some gamers even turn items completely off just to get away from it. What does it do? It turns you into a death machine for about 15 seconds. Even if you have taken no damage, all it takes is two hits from The Hammer and kiss your character goodbye as he flies off the screen never to be seen again (at least until he respawns). The only strategy I’ve come up with to stop this terribly frustrating weapon is to run the hell away. 

6. Gravity Hammer (Halo 3)

Speaking of hammers, the Gravity Hammer from Halo 3 is one of the most embarrassing ways to get killed in any video game. Super-powerful and huge (it even has the ability to deflect projectiles and transport crafts), this weapon isn’t known for its subtlety. That’s why it’s so embarrassing to be killed with it. It’s so big that even when it’s not in use it can still be seen from a mile away on the player’s back. There’s not much that’s more rage-inducing than turning a corner, getting hammered right in the face, and watching as your character gets thrown about 800 feet. It’s almost always followed by a groan and a swear.

5. RCP90 (GoldenEye 007)

Probably the only weapon on this list that doesn’t require at least a little bit of skill, the RCP90 is the definition of “spray and pray.” The amount of ammo this gun holds is staggering and the fire rate is so fast it would make Usain Bolt blush. Stealth? What’s that? With this gun you don’t need it. What makes it so rage-inducing is that even if my friend’s little sister got her hands on it, she could kill me. All you have to do is hold down the fire button, aim in your opponent’s general direction, and there’s a good chance you’ll end up with a kill. Did you deserve the kill? Probably not. Does it matter? Not to my friend’s little sister. No matter how much I yell in her face afterwards.

4. Energy Sword (Halo 2)

One of the most unique and powerful melee weapons in any game, the Energy Sword is a force to be reckoned with. It isn’t strictly a close-quarters weapon either, as it also allows you to lunge at your opponent from a decent distance away and kill them in one hit. I don’t know what it is about the sword that inspires so much confidence, but I’ve never seen anyone use it who didn’t trash talk/tea bag their opponent after it was all said and done. Maybe it’s the camping, or maybe it’s the fact that it takes little skill to use, but for whatever reason this is definitely a rage-inducing weapon. Thank you for inspiring so much douchebag-ness, Energy Sword.

 

3. Red Shell (Mario Kart)

There aren’t many weapons in multiplayer history that inspire as much controller-hurling rage as the red shells from Mario Kart. The thing about red shells is that they have auto aim. All your opponent has to do is fire and that red bastard flies straight at you. In this series, it doesn’t take much to go from first to last, and the red shell is the most frustrating way for it to happen. Why? Because there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. This weapon has undoubtedly cost me more controllers than any other, and no matter how hard I try to stop it, it still gets the anger boiling inside of me.

2. AWP (Counter-Strike)

Maybe it’s because this gun is extremely powerful, or maybe it’s because Counter-Strike players seem to get much more upset about death than most other gamers. Whatever causes it, this weapon is one of the most infamous in gaming history. A sniper rifle that kills in one shot no matter where you get hit on the body, they even tried to make it less powerful in subsequent games. It didn’t work. Not only is this weapon so deadly that you can find multiple servers that ban it all together, but the ability to pair it with the Desert Eagle pistol for maximum rage-inducement borders on the ridiculous. Look pal, you shot me in the toe when you were aiming for my head. Just because I’m dead anyway doesn’t make you “legit.”

1. Headset (any online multiplayer)

While this technically isn’t a weapon in a game, it’s still a weapon…and it can be a devastating one at that. Whether you’re 13 and just starting out your gaming career or 50 and showing all these young bucks how they did it in your day, the ability to finally talk as much trash as you want to a random opponent changed multiplayer games forever. It’s kind of hard to focus on playing a video game when a kid that sounds like your little brother is talking about all the creative and incredibly offensive ways he’s going to have sex with your mother. And yeah, that is as bad as it sounds.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a TV and an Xbox to repair and some images to try and get out of my head.