The graviton gun is a rare Imperial weapon that messes with gravity instead of firing bullets. It’s a leftover from humanity’s Dark Age of Technology, and the Adeptus Mechanicus guards the few that survive like treasure.
What the graviton gun actually does
It fires a stream of particles that distorts the local gravitational field around a target. Flip the setting and you can make something crushingly heavy or almost weightless.
The gun hums with a deep bass rumble as those waves shake the air. It’s eerie, and everyone nearby feels it in their chest.
The effect usually isn’t lethal. It’s built to slow, pin down, or completely immobilise a target, which makes it perfect for taking prisoners alive.
- Cranked to maximum, it can rupture organs and crack bones right through armour.
- Big creatures can be crushed outright by their own amplified weight.
- It’s devastating against bunkers and fortifications, since a building’s own mass can be turned against it.
- In null gravity or aboard a starship, it’s one of the best tools you can carry.
Where it came from, and who gets to use one
The graviton gun started life as a non-military tool for low gravity work, designed to make objects heavier. It runs on the same gravitic reaction principle that powers grav-vehicles like the Land Speeder.
Every surviving gun is a relic of the Dark Age of Technology. The Adeptus Mechanicus keeps them locked in their armouries and almost never lets one go.
A handful of Space Marine Chapters still field a few, but that’s the exception. Most Imperial forces will never see one.
| Pattern | Notes |
|---|---|
| Autotellurian | Heresy-era pattern |
| Hystrar Mk.XII | House Van Saar pattern on Necromunda |
| Wrath | Highly modifiable gravgun popular with Necromunda gangers and hired guns |
How it fits into the wider lore
The graviton gun sits alongside the graviton cannon and the Deathwatch’s graviton cannon as part of the Imperium’s small family of grav-weapons. They all share that same gravity-warping trick.
On Necromunda, the Wrath pattern shows up in the hands of gangers and hired guns, which is a rare case of grav-tech slipping out of Mechanicus control. House Van Saar builds its own Hystrar Mk.XII too, so the technology isn’t quite as extinct as the Imperium likes to pretend.
Key facts
- The graviton gun is a medium-sized grav-weapon that manipulates local gravity.
- Each one is a Dark Age of Technology relic, guarded by the Adeptus Mechanicus.
- It was originally a non-military tool for low gravity environments.
- Its effects are usually non-lethal, but max settings can kill through armour.
- It’s especially effective against starships, null gravity, bunkers, and fortifications.
FAQ
Is the graviton gun lethal?
Usually no. Its normal job is to slow or immobilise targets so they can be captured. At its highest settings though, it can rupture organs and break bones through armour.
Who uses the graviton gun in Warhammer 40k?
The Adeptus Mechanicus hoards them, and a few Space Marine Chapters still carry a handful. On Necromunda, gangers and hired guns get their hands on Wrath-pattern gravguns.
What’s the difference between a graviton gun and a graviton cannon?
They share the same gravity-warping principle, but the cannon is a heavier weapon. The graviton gun is the medium-sized version, and the Deathwatch fields its own variant of the cannon.