Opening guidance: plan a cohesive weapon collection path from Dying Night to Konpeki Plaza trio, Lizzie, Panam’s Widow Maker/Overwatch, and Her Majesty for Phantom Liberty, then align quests and locations to your chosen armament for optimal access.

Upgrade strategy and recovery: iconic weapons require crafting materials for upgrades and cannot be disassembled; store unused items and use Dogtown’s recovery option via the Black Market Vendor after completing a quest to reclaim missed weapons.

Ending-route dependencies: Amnesty, Prejudice, and Pride routes shape access to certain weapons and their pickup methods, with specific conditions such as bottle challenges, Johnny control, and Rogue’s remains influencing availability.

Melee and mod guidance: follow Katana-focused paths (Scalpel, Errata, Jinchu-Maru, Byakko, Tsumetogi) and Lexington x-MOD2 for weapon mods, detailing how to obtain them and their practical use cases.

Panam questline rewards: obtain Widow Maker from Nash in Ghost Town, Overwatch in Riders on the Storm, and Problem Solver from a Raffen Shiv encounter; Stinger can be acquired via Mitch’s quest line if followed.

Phantom Liberty picks: prefer Her Majesty with Optical Camo for stealth builds, with Hawk as an alternative; consider Order or Rasetsu for charged attacks, and Ol’ Reliable for headshots via Dante.

Early-game options and timing: Dying Night can be obtained at no cost from Megabuilding H10, Fenrir from Maelstrom hideout near NID: Docks, plus three Heist weapons (Kongou, Nehan, Satori) from Konpeki Plaza, noting when they become accessible.

Weapons by playstyle: Lizzie excels for charged handgun volleys, Widow Maker penetrates cover and applies poison, and Overwatch serves as a silenced long-range sniper; choose based on style rather than collecting every Iconic weapon.

Overview and updates: the guide inventories top weapon picks, how to obtain them, and updates through 2.5 Coronation, organized by acquisition timing and related quests.