If a shot with a weapon causes a saving throw (such as with a Payload weapon), the DC is 8 + your proficiency bonus (if proficient) + the ability modifier you add to the weapon’s damage roll. As an example, if you are proficient with the weapon and would add your Strength modifier to its damage roll, the weapon save DC is 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Strength modifier.

Your weapon’s grip type determines how many hands you need to wield it effectively, as well as whether the weapon may be used for dual-wielding (see Dual-Wielding Weapons for more details). There are three types of weapon grips: Agile, Main-Handed, or Two-Handed. Every weapon has one of these grip types. Though you may physically hold a weapon in different ways, i.e. choosing to hold a Two-Handed weapon with only one hand, doing so does not change its grip type.

• Agile: Small and easy to handle, making it ideal for use when dual-wielding. An Agile weapon only needs to be held in one hand to be effective.
• Main-Handed: Though it only requires one hand to wield properly, it must be held in your dominant hand. A Main-Handed weapon can’t be used for an offhand weapon attack unless a perk, class feature, or other source allows you to.
• Two-Handed: This weapon requires you to hold it in at least two hands when you attack with it, and it can’t be used for offhand weapon attacks unless a perk, class feature, or other source allows you to.

You can use a weapon that has the ammunition property to make a ranged attack only if you have ammunition to fire from the weapon. Each time you attack with the weapon, you expend one piece of ammunition. Drawing the ammunition from a quiver, case, or other container is part of the attack (you need a free hand to load a one-handed weapon). At the end of the battle, you can recover half your expended ammunition by taking a minute to search the battlefield. 

If you use a weapon that has the ammunition property to make a melee attack, you treat the weapon as an improvised weapon.

This weapon fires multiple rounds per shot, granting it a higher than average chance of dealing damage in its upper ranges. When you deal damage with this weapon, roll an additional damage die and drop the lowest roll from your total for that attack. This additional die isn’t affected by critical hits.

It is an action to begin wielding a Cumbersome weapon, even if it is transmatted to you (you still have to grab it out of the air after transmat). Furthermore, it is an action to reload this weapon, if it has ammunition or a shot capacity.

This weapon’s damage type is your choice of arc, solar, stasis, strand, or void. Once you’ve made your choice, you can’t change it. Adding the Elemental property to a weapon that already has Elemental does nothing to the weapon.

This weapon uses beams, waves, or shockwaves of energy. Shots with it are not considered projectiles.

When making an attack with a finesse weapon, you use your choice of your Strength or Dexterity modifier for the attack and damage rolls. You must use the same modifier for both rolls.

You must use your Strength modifier to determine the attack and damage rolls of this weapon, as well as for determining its weapon save DC. If this weapon has both the High Recoil and Finesse properties, treat it as if it only has the High Recoil property.

A Heavy weapon’s size requires its wielder to have a minimum Strength score to wield it properly, indicated in parentheses. A creature who fails to meet this prerequisite makes their attacks at disadvantage.

When you take a shot with a Line Fire weapon, your shot must always be against the first target in the line of your attack. In other words, you cannot shoot past one creature to hit a different creature behind them.

Ranged attacks from this weapon travel in an upward arc, allowing you to indirectly attack targets above or behind obstacles such as over walls or atop cliffs. When you shoot a weapon in this way, treat the ranges of the weapon as reduced by twice the height of the obstruction. 

For example, if you attempt to shoot over a 10-foot wall, treat all ranges of the weapon as reduced by 20 feet for that shot. Another example: imagine there’s a target behind a 10-foot tall wall on top of a 20-foot high cliff. The total height you want to shoot over is 30 feet, which effectively reduces all ranges of your mortar weapon by 60 feet for that shot.

If, after adjusting the ranges to account for the obstruction, the target is calculated as being beyond the weapon’s maximum range, you can’t hit them. The round will prematurely detonate, fizzle out, fall off, or otherwise fail to reach its target or do any damage. However, if the target is still within range, take and resolve your shot as normal.

Like normal, if you can’t see your target, you have disadvantage on your attack against it.

These weapons fire explosive or high-yield rounds with an impact area, indicated in parentheses. The origin point of the area is always the solid surface where the round impacts after being fired from the weapon. 

When you take a shot with this type of weapon, instead of making an attack roll, choose your impact point, which must be a hard surface within range. All targets within the impact area must make a saving throw against the weapon’s save DC. Targets take the damage of the weapon on a failed save, or half as much damage on a success.

The default saving throw type is Dexterity. Some Payload weapons may have a different Payload saving throw type, as indicated by the weapon.

Though you don’t make an attack roll with a Payload weapon, it is still considered to be a weapon attack. Sources that generally target weapon attacks also target Payload weapon attacks.

Still, if a source specifically targets a weapon attack roll, it would not affect a Payload weapon, because you still don’t make an attack roll. The only exception is the terms advantage and disadvantage: if you would normally have advantage on an attack with a Payload weapon, the targets instead have disadvantage on their Payload saving throw. Similarly, if you would normally have disadvantage, the target has advantage.

Damage from this weapon can possibly affect multiple targets in a straight line, up to the weapon’s effective range (or extended range, if it’s benefiting from the Aiming condition when you roll damage). In order to do this, damage from your attack must have killed the previous target, and the line of fire must not be blocked by 1 inch of metal, 2 inches of stone, or 3 feet of wood or dirt. You make an additional attack against each qualifying subsequent target, but the damage is always whatever is remaining after killing the previous target.

This weapon adds 5 feet to your reach when you attack with it, as well as when determining your reach for opportunity attacks with it. 

A weapon that can be used to make a standard ranged attack has a range in parentheses after the Ammunition or Thrown property. The range lists two numbers. The first is the weapon’s effective range, and the second indicates the weapon’s extended range. When attacking a target beyond a weapon’s effective range, you have disadvantage on the attack roll. You can’t attack a target beyond the weapon’s extended range. Furthermore, if the target of your ranged attack is within 5 feet of you, you have disadvantage on the attack regardless of the effective range. A weapon with a standard range cannot benefit from the Aiming condition.

Some weapons, including most firearms, have a special type of range called Scope. There are three values listed for a Scope, which are (in order): the effective range, the extended range, and the maximum range. 

While not Aiming, you make your attacks normally if the target is within your effective range, or at disadvantage if the target is within your extended range. You cannot make an attack against a target beyond your extended range. 

If you are Aiming, you make your attacks normally against targets within the weapon’s effective or extended ranges. You can also now make an attack against a target within the maximum range of the weapon, but the attack does have disadvantage. You can’t shoot beyond the maximum range. 

Some weapons hold their ammunition in an attached magazine. The amount of ammunition a weapon’s magazine can hold determines the number of shots, or ranged attacks, you can make with that weapon before you have to reload it with a new magazine of ammunition. That number is indicated in parentheses. If you are proficient with the weapon you can reload it using a free action on your turn, otherwise it will cost your action to reload the weapon.

Some weapons have unique properties which have no specific name, but are intrinsic to the weapon itself. These are described under the Special Weapons section. Other weapons, perks, features, or other sources, particularly with regards to exotic weapons, might reference these special properties using the syntax of Special (weapon class), such as Special (combat bow) or Special (lance).

If a weapon has the thrown property, you can throw the weapon to make a ranged attack. If the weapon is a melee weapon, you use the same ability modifier for that attack roll and damage roll that you would use for a melee attack with the weapon. For example, if you throw a handaxe, you use your Strength, but if you throw a dagger, you can use either your Strength or your Dexterity, since the dagger has the Finesse property.

Weapons with a Scope range also come with a range band listed in parentheses after the Scope values. There are three range bands: close, medium, and long. Your weapon’s range band determines its close-quarters penalty when making a ranged attack with it.

• Close: These weapons are designed for close-quarters combat and thus suffer no close-quarters penalty. Make your attacks as described by the Scope property.
• Medium: Whether or not you’re Aiming, if you make a ranged attack with a Medium-range weapon against a target within 5 feet of you, your attack is made with disadvantage. 
• Long: Ranged attacks from a Long-range weapon are always made with disadvantage if the target is within 10 feet of you. 

Some weapons are large, ungainly to hold, or take longer to perform their attacks than normal, such as weapons that charge up for their attacks, or those that must have ammunition loaded into it each time an attack is made with it. When you use an action, bonus action, or reaction to make an attack with an Unwieldy weapon, you can only attack with it once, and that attack must be the only attack you make for that turn.

For example, you could not benefit from the Extra Attack feature if you make an attack with this property. You also could not make an attack with a Unwieldy weapon as part of the Extra Attack feature if you already made an attack for that action.

You may choose to wield this weapon with one or two hands. Increase the weapon’s damage die size by one when the weapon is used with two hands to make an attack. Holding a weapon in two hands does not change its bulk property, i.e. the weapon doesn’t gain the Two-Handed property just because you’re holding it in two hands.