Star Wars Blasters List: Every Major Blaster, Ranked Best to Worst
Jeff WilsonShare
Blasters are as recognizable as the characters who carry them. Some are legendary. Some are gorgeous but useless. And a few are so bad they've become a running joke among fans. This is a complete list of Star Wars blasters — pistols, rifles, and heavy blasters — ranked from best to worst.
A note on the rankings: we build screen-accurate replicas for a living, so "worst" here means worst in-universe performer, not worst prop. Some of the weakest blasters in the galaxy make some of the most beautiful pieces on a shelf. We'll flag those as we go.
How these blasters were ranked
- Design and silhouette — does it read instantly, even at a distance?
- Lore significance — how much does it matter to the story?
- In-universe effectiveness — does it actually hit anything on screen?
- Fan appeal — how badly do collectors want one?
The best Star Wars blasters
1. DL-44 Heavy Blaster Pistol — Han Solo
The king. Sleek, powerful, and the only blaster in the galaxy with a body count that includes a bounty hunter under a cantina table. Built from a real Mauser C96 with an MG 34 scope, the DL-44 is the most requested piece in the collector market and the benchmark every other heavy blaster pistol gets measured against. If you own one blaster, it's this one.
2. A-180 Blaster Pistol — Jyn Erso
Modular, practical, and unglamorous in exactly the right way. The A-180 converts between pistol and sniper configurations, which fits a character who improvised her way through the theft of the Death Star plans. One of the most interesting silhouettes in the modern era.
3. WESTAR-35 Blaster Pistols — Bo-Katan Kryze
Twin Mandalorian sidearms, dual-wielded, rapid-fire, and beautifully machined. They match Bo-Katan's fighting style perfectly — aggressive, precise, no wasted motion. Buy the pair or don't bother.
4. EE-3 Carbine Rifle — Boba Fett
Rugged, sawed-off, and instantly readable as bounty hunter hardware. Built from a Webley & Scott flare gun with a scratch-built stock and shroud. It has survived a Sarlacc, two trilogies, and a spinoff series without ever looking dated.
5. IB-94 Blaster Pistol — Din Djarin
The Mandalorian's sidearm is clean, compact, and distinctly post-Imperial. It's the rare modern-era design that earns its place next to original trilogy hardware rather than borrowing from it.
6. DC-17 Hand Blasters — Captain Rex
Clone commanders deserve better than standard issue, and the DC-17s deliver: accurate, reliable, and built for close quarters. Dual-wielded by the most beloved clone in the franchise.
7. DH-17 Blaster Pistol — Rebel Troopers
The most underrated blaster in the original trilogy. Blocky, utilitarian, and carried by the soldiers who actually held the line on the Tantive IV and at Hoth. It's not a hero weapon — that's the appeal.
Star Wars heavy blaster pistols, specifically
Heavy blaster pistols are the sidearms built to punch above their size class — more stopping power than a standard pistol, more portable than a rifle. The category is small and the standouts are obvious:
- DL-44 — the definitive heavy blaster pistol, and the one everyone else copies.
- DT-12 — Greedo's oversized Rodian sidearm. Famously slow on the draw.
- LL-30 — Cad Bane's twin pistols, the most stylish hardware in the bounty hunting trade.
- X-8 Night Sniper — rare, precise, and built for people who prefer not to be seen.
The most overrated Star Wars blasters
These are the blasters with reputations bigger than their results. Worth saying plainly: every one of them makes a superb display piece. In-universe performance and prop quality are entirely different scoreboards.
1. E-11 Blaster Rifle — Stormtroopers
The most recognizable blaster in the galaxy and statistically the least effective. Thousands of shots fired across nine films; the hit rate does not bear examination. In fairness, the E-11 was built from a Sterling submachine gun and looks phenomenal — which is exactly why it's the most-requested rifle we make, and why the marksmanship jokes have never dented its popularity.
2. SE-14r Light Repeating Blaster — Imperial Officers
Compact, rapid-fire, and consistently wielded by officers who are about to have a very bad day. The SE-14r's reputation suffers from the company it keeps. As a piece of design, though, it's one of the sharpest small blasters in the Imperial arsenal.
3. DLT-19 Heavy Blaster Rifle — Sandtroopers
It looks like it should level a building. On screen it mostly gets carried around Mos Eisley looking intimidating. Heavy, slow-firing, and rarely decisive — but a genuinely imposing silhouette.
4. Defender Sporting Blaster — Princess Leia
Underpowered by design; it's a sporting blaster, not a combat weapon. Leia still managed to drop more stormtroopers with it than most troopers managed with an E-11, which says more about the E-11 than the Defender.
The complete Star Wars blaster list
Every major blaster covered above, at a glance:
| Blaster | Wielder | Type | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| DL-44 | Han Solo | Heavy blaster pistol | Best in the galaxy |
| A-180 | Jyn Erso | Modular pistol | Excellent |
| WESTAR-35 | Bo-Katan Kryze | Pistol (pair) | Excellent |
| EE-3 | Boba Fett | Carbine rifle | Excellent |
| IB-94 | Din Djarin | Blaster pistol | Excellent |
| DC-17 | Captain Rex | Hand blaster (pair) | Very good |
| DH-17 | Rebel troopers | Blaster pistol | Underrated |
| DT-12 | Greedo | Heavy blaster pistol | Too slow |
| LL-30 | Cad Bane | Heavy blaster pistol | Stylish and lethal |
| E-11 | Stormtroopers | Blaster rifle | Iconic, ineffective |
| SE-14r | Imperial officers | Light repeater | Overrated |
| DLT-19 | Sandtroopers | Heavy rifle | All bark |
| Defender | Princess Leia | Sporting blaster | Punches above its class |
Want the full breakdown?
This list ranks them. If you want the deeper dive — where each blaster's real-world donor firearm came from, what separates a screen-accurate replica from a knockoff, convention rules, and how to build your own — read The Ultimate Guide to Star Wars Blasters.
Own the ones that made the list
Outer Rim Props builds hand-finished, screen-accurate blaster replicas — best, worst, and everything in between. Cast in resin and finished one at a time in Molalla, Oregon.
Shop Blaster Replicas →Free shipping on US orders over $175. Handcrafted in the Outer Rim.
May your aim be true, and your blaster never jam.
Jeff Wilson — Outer Rim Props
Jeff is the founder of Outer Rim Props and a longtime 501st Legion member. He has been building and collecting Star Wars props for over two decades and runs one of the few specialty shops focused entirely on screen-accurate, hand-finished replicas for fans who take the craft seriously.