007 First Light Guide: The Ultimate Gadget Tier List
Walking into a heavily guarded compound with the wrong tech is a fantastic way to end up in a body bag.
007 First Light gives you a decent arsenal of MI6 toys to play with, but you cannot carry all of them at once. The game locks two items permanently to your wrists and gives you two optional gadget slots to start (with a third unlocking later in the campaign). Before you waste those precious slots on hardware that gets you killed, I ranked everything available. Depending on your chosen difficulty setting, picking the right tool for the job is the difference between ghosting a level and triggering a massive firefight.
The Mandatory Hardware
You do not get a choice with these two. Q-Branch permanently slaps them onto your character during Mission 2, "A New Home", so they sit completely outside the tier list rankings.
Q-Lens
This is your standard detective vision. It lets you see enemies, points of interest, and interactable distractions through solid walls. You will basically spend half the game staring through this filter to plan your routes.
Q-Watch
Your primary hacking tool. You use this to disable surveillance cameras, trigger environmental hazards, and unlock electronic doors. It is your bread and butter for bypassing security without firing a shot.
The Loadout Tier List
This is where your actual choices matter. I ranked the six optional gadgets based on how often they actually save your life in the field.
S-Tier: The Dart Phone
I refuse to load into a stealth mission without this. It fires a toxin-laced chemical dart that forces stubborn guards to abandon their posts so they can go find a quiet corner to throw up. (Nothing screams elite espionage quite like giving a henchman sudden food poisoning.) It also completely disorients targets so you can pickpocket them easily. It unlocks in Mission 2 and stays relevant the entire game.
S-Tier: Smoke Pods
Unlocking in Mission 3, "All the Time in the World", this is your ultimate escape tool. It acts as a portable, close-range smoke bomb. When you accidentally alert a massive group of guards, dropping one of these lets you vanish completely undetected. It consumes barely any chemical resources to use, making it incredibly cheap to spam.
A-Tier: Laser Strap
You get this electric tool in Mission 4, "The Past Never Dies", and it is incredibly versatile. You can use it to slice through physical locks, cut wires, and melt metal barrels. In combat, you can blind enemies temporarily, opening them up for brutal finishing moves. If you are sneaking into restricted areas like the manager's office, having a lock-cutter is never a bad idea.
A-Tier: Missile Pen
You do not get this until Mission 6, "Knightfall". It fires explosive projectiles that completely obliterate structures and instantly kill enemies. It is absolutely useless for stealth, but when things go loud, this is the strongest piece of hardware in your arsenal.
B-Tier: Shockwave Camera
Unlocked in Mission 3, this gadget emits a blast that staggers enemies, breaks their body armor, and pushes them back. You can also use it to blast open locked doors and destroy breakable cover. It is solid for crowd control, but I usually prefer tools that keep me hidden in the first place.
C-Tier: Flash Mine
You find this in Mission 4. It is a sticky proximity mine that blinds and damages enemies when they walk past it. It is fine for setting up traps if you know you are about to be ambushed, but it requires way too much setup compared to just dropping a smoke pod and running away.
