Top Weapons in Mina the Hollower Revealed

In Mina the Hollower, players can choose from five distinct weapons, each boasting its own moveset, upgrade path, and aesthetic flair. While swapping between them becomes effortless once you’ve unlocked them, the early stages of the game keep them gated behind pivotal choices, exploratory rewards, and in-game merchants.

Below, I’ll highlight three weapons that I recommend tackling first, allowing you to conserve early‑game funds for vital health and stat upgrades. Though every weapon in Mina’s arsenal shines, I’ll also explain why holding onto two others for a subsequent playthrough can be a smart strategy.

The Nightstar, prominently featured on Mina’s cover art, is more than just a stylish whip‑flail hybrid. Its design is intentionally user‑friendly: when you strike, the flail arcs forward, striking every enemy in its path.

The Nightstart can be upgraded by purchasing it from the town’s blacksmith once obtained, and by discovering it within one of the red weapon chests scattered throughout the world. The first upgrade enhances damage dealt to enemies when striking them with the flail’s tip, while the second allows for holding down the attack button to control the whip, which can then be swung at enemies.

My personal preference among Mina the Hollower’s arsenal is the Battery Buster, owing to its versatility. However, it’s not part of the initial selection of weapons at the game’s outset; instead, it must be purchased in town or discovered in the open world before it can be utilized.

The Battery Buster is a hybrid weapon, allowing for a smooth transition between an electric ball-firing gun and a melee club attack. To fully leverage this weapon’s potential, both modes must be employed strategically during combat, as the gun’s ammo is limited but can be replenished through club attacks.

In Mina the Hollower, the Battery Buster stands out as the sole weapon capable of true ranged combat, enabling players to exploit the game in ways that feel decidedly unbalanced. While the title presents itself as a classic 2‑D adventure, it is heavily infused with Dark Souls and Bloodborne influences, which means many enemies are engineered to force a retreat back to the safety of your home base. Traditionally, confronting these foes requires a risky, close‑quarters dance that can cost you dearly. With the Battery Buster, however, you can dispatch even the toughest adversaries from a safe distance by unleashing a torrent of ammo, then simply reloading on a weaker target.

From my experience, the Battery Buster offers the greatest margin for error, allowing you to recover from mistakes and still succeed—an essential advantage for a first‑time run.

Upgrading the Battery Buster is straightforward: you can purchase enhancements from the in‑game shop after initially acquiring the weapon, or discover it elsewhere in the world once you’ve already bought it. Each upgrade unlocks a charge mechanic, letting you hold the attack to build power for either the club or the gun, thereby amplifying its effectiveness.

The Guardian Casket, a massive shield, introduces a defensive strategy to Mina the Hollower. Unlike the other two weapons, it suffers from significant drawbacks—most notably, a negligible melee range that makes striking anything not directly above you challenging. Nevertheless, its defensive prowess and potent counter‑attack capabilities make it a compelling choice for players who prefer a more cautious approach.

In Mina the Hollower, many foes unleash devastating ranged assaults, but the Guardian Casket stands out as the sole gear that truly counters them. Beyond its primary bash, the shield lets you hold the attack button to maintain a block that absorbs any incoming projectile or strike. By striking while blocking, you can shove enemies back, and with precise timing you can even collide with them, halting their attack and delivering a counter blow that outmatches the standard block in both range and damage.

As I’ve noted before, Mina carries that unmistakable FromSoftware grit, and its difficulty can feel deliberately unforgiving. Yet the appeal of shield builds in titles like Dark Souls lies in how they reward patience with safety. If you thrive on a measured, defensive playstyle, the Guardian Casket will serve you exceptionally well. It may slow the pace of combat, but that simply translates to fewer frantic restarts.

Like the Battery Buster, the Guardian Casket isn’t available at the start; you must locate it in the open world or purchase it from the blacksmith. Once acquired, you can upgrade it twice by finding or buying a duplicate. The first upgrade unlocks a tossable shield via a double‑tap attack, dealing damage and providing a traversal aid. The second upgrade refines the parry, tightening the timing window and amplifying the damage output.

As I mentioned earlier, both of these weapons are excellent. The more time I spent in Mina, the more I relished experimenting with them for this guide—especially the Blaststrike Maul.