This page will detail all the barrel mods that you can unlock in Weapon Modification in Starfield. We’ll also give a detailed breakdown of each barrel modification, their crafting cost, the research required, and whether we think they’re worth it! And, it’s worth mentioning that not all barrel mods are viable with all gun types, so we’ll also highlight all compatible weapons.

All Barrel Modifications in Starfield¶

Below, you’ll find a full list of all Barrel Modifications, with a list of all compatible weapons, crafting costs, bonuses (and cons!), as well as the research requirement to unlock the mods.

Barrel Mod	Description	Crafting Cost	Research Requirement (Skill)	Compatible Weapons (Inc. Unique Weapons)
Long Barrel	Increases Accuracy, Recoil Control, and Range at the cost of Aim Down Sight speed.	Sealant x1, Iron x1, Nickel x1	None	AA-99, Beowulf, Big Bang, Breach, Bridger, Eternity’s Gate, Feather, Grendel, Hard Target, Head Ranger, Hunterwulf, Justifier, Keelhauler, Kraken, Lawgiver, Maelstrom, Magpulse, Magshear, Magshot, Magsniper, Microgun, Momento Mori, Negotiator, Novablast Disruptor, Novalight, Orion, Peacekeeper, Rapidshot, Rattler, Reflection, Regulator, Shattered Shock, Shotty, Sidestar, Solace, Terror Inflictor, The Zapper, Tombstone, Unmitigated Violence, Unrestrained Vengeance, Urban Eagle, Va’ruun Inflictor, Va’ruun Starshard, X-989 Microgun
Short Barrel	Increases Aim Down Sight speed at the cost of Accuracy and Recoil Control.	Iron x1, Nickel x1	None	Acid Rain, Beowulf, Coachman, Fury, Grendel, Magshear, Old Earth Assault Rifle, Old Earth Shotgun, Razorback, Revenant, Solstice, The Buzzcut, Unfair Advantage
Standard Barrel	Standard issue barrel.	Sealant x1, Iron x1	None	Big Bang, Bridger, Grendel, Hard Target, Kraken, Lawgiver, Maelstrom, Magpulse, Magshear, Magshot, Magsniper, Microgun, Momento Mori, Negotiator, Novablast Disruptor, Novalight, Old Earth Assault Rifle, Old Earth Shotgun, Orion, Rattler, Razorback, Regulator, Shotty, Sidestar, Solstice, Tombstone, Urban Eagle, Va’ruun Inflictor, Va’ruun Starshard
Extended Barrel	Vastly increases Accuracy, Recoil Control, and Range at the cost of Aim Down Sight speed.	Sealant x1, Iron x2, Nickel x2	Barrel Mods 1 (No Skill requirement)	Big Bang, Regulator
Fluted Barrel	A lighter barrel with increased accuracy and recoil control.	Sealant x1, Titanium x2, Nickel x2	Barrel Mods 1 (No Skill requirement)	Hard Target, The Last Breath
Magnetic Rails	Increases the Rate of Fire and Damage at the cost of Aim Down Sights speed.	Cobalt x2, Lubricant x1, Supercooled Magnet x1	Barrel Mods 2 (Weapon Engineering 1★)	Avatar, Magshear, Magshot, Magsniper, Mindtear, Revenant, The Mutineer, Trickshot
Stabilizing Barrel	Specialized, mag-assisted barrels vastly increase Accuracy and Recoil control at the cost of Aim Down Sights speed while standing still.	Tungsten x2, Nickel x2, Lubricant x1	Barrel Mods 2 (Weapon Engineering 1★)	AA-99, Grendel, Hard Target, Magpulse, Magsniper, Marksman’s AA-99, Microgun, Negotiator, Reckless Bombardment, Va’ruun Inflictor
Tech Barrel	Greatly increases Accuracy, Recoil Control, and Range at the cost of Aim Down Sight speed.	Sealant x1, Iron x2, Nickel x2	Barrel Mods 2 (Weapon Engineering 1★)	Grendel
Bull Barrel	A heavier barrel for more increased accuracy and stability.	Sealant x1, Tungsten x2, Nickel x2	Barrel Mods 2 (Weapon Engineering 1★)	Hard Target, Kraken

Best Barrel Mods - Pros and Cons¶

This next section will consider the best barrel mods for each weapon type. As mentioned, not all barrels will be compatible with every weapon, so take this into account when choosing your barrel modification. Naturally, the more research-intensive mods will have more of an edge over some of the base upgrades but we’ll give a more detailed breakdown of the benefits below and include some of the best earlier game barrel mods too.

Long Barrel¶

In the first round of base-tier modifications, you’ve got the Long Barrel, Short Barrel, and Standard Barrel competing against each other. The Short Barrel offers increased Aim Down Sight speed at the cost of Accuracy and Recoil Control, whereas the Long Barrel offers the inverse benefits (slower aim down speed for increased accuracy and recoil control) and extra range as well. In more competitive FPS games, you may want quicker aim-down sight speeds to get an edge on your opposition, however, Starfield isn’t exactly a high-skill ceiling fps game, and you’re only going against NPCs so that isn’t all that necessary here. The Long Barrel offers better accuracy and less recoil (gun movement whilst shooting), which is great for both experienced gamers and those who are new to shooters. The other great thing about the Long Barrel mod is that it’s compatible with a lot of weapons and it doesn’t require any research or skills to unlock.

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The Long Barrel is the best of the three base tier barrel mods.

Stabilizing Barrel¶

The Stabilizing Barrel is a great weapon upgrade as it hugely increases weapon accuracy and reduces recoil, but as with the Long Barrel, this comes at the cost of increasing Aim Down Sights speed. The big con to this mod is that these bonuses are only available when standing still. So, if you like to move around rather than stand behind cover, this upgrade might not be for you. This mod, however, can only be accessed once you’ve unlocked Barrel Mods 2, which requires 1 skill point in Weapon Engineering.

It’s worth mentioning that for the Grendel weapon, the Tech Barrel is the superior upgrade option, as it does all the things that the Stabilizing Barrel does, but you also get increased range. And these bonuses aren’t limited to standing still. The only reason that we don’t consider this one of the “best” weapon mods is that it is only compatible with the Grendel so its use is very limited.

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The Stabilizing Barrel works similarly to the Long Barrel and offers more accuracy and recoil control.

Magnetic Rails¶

Like the Stabilizing Barrel and Tech Barrel, you’re gonna have to research Barrel Mods 2 to get this barrel modification. If you’ve already got great targeting accuracy then this mod might be for you! Rather than increase accuracy and recoil control, this modification will instead offer more damage and increase the rate of fire.

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The Magnetic Rails increase the Rate of Fire and Damage!

So for those of you who are more experienced with shooter games and know how to handle recoil, this modification might be more up your alley if you’re looking for extra damage! It doesn’t have much overlap in compatible weapons with the Stabilizing Barrel, only the Magsniper rifle.