The Beam Rifle from the original Remnant: From The Ashes makes a triumphant return in Remnant 2 as the Plasma Cutter, a similarly high-tech weapon found in a similarly high-tech world. It retains its identity as a fast-firing Long Gun with the potential to be the best weapon for critical hit builds.
However, getting the Beam Rifle's counterpart in Remnant 2 is a little more complicated than before. It involves a few disjointed steps as well as a ton of luck, so players will need to know everything they need to get before they even bother looking for this gun. Here are all the steps needed for it.
Remnant 2: Plasma Cutter Location
The Plasma Cutter is located in N'Erud — specifically, the Timeless Horizon, which is one of the possible open hub-style maps found after finishing the first main dungeon in the desolate, doomed planet. Players can find this weapon tucked away behind a large blast door aboard a crashed ship near the Titan's Reach checkpoint, though this may vary between map instances.
In front of the crashed ship's locked door is a scanner that checks if the players have access to its contents. The only known way to pass the scanner check is to equip the Navigator's Helm, a special armor piece that seems to be designed specifically for this encounter. It can be found in the Extraction Hub, an open-world area that may or may not spawn in the Timeless Horizon or Eon Vault. Find a hole in the middle of the large ground pounders and explore the tunnels to potentially find the Navigator's Helm on one of the zombies inside.
Equip the Navigator's Helm
After acquiring the helmet, return to the crashed ship. Wear it and stand in front of the scanner again. The door will open, revealing the Plasma Cutter.
There are a few differences between the Plasma Cutter and the Beam Rifle. First, the Plasma Cutter is counted as a boss weapon, which means it needs Lumenite Crystals in order to be upgraded. It also comes with the unique mod Heatsink, which increases the weapon's ramping damage effect by 300% while also reducing its heat buildup as it now uses the same Overheat mechanic as some other weapons.
The Plasma still works extremely well with the Momentum Mutator, which greatly increases its critical hit chance and crit damage. The Overheat mechanic and static Mod choice does make it weaker than its previous incarnation, but it's a small price to pay for the raw power it provides for the Gunslinger and Hunter Archetypes.
Remnant 2 is available now on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.