If you're trying to build a combat game, finding the right roblox weapon script is usually the first big hurdle you'll face. It doesn't matter if you're making a fast-paced FPS or a simple sword-fighting arena; the logic behind how a player swings or shoots is what makes or breaks the "feel" of your game. If the weapon feels clunky or the hits don't register, players are going to leave faster than you can hit the publish button.
The thing about scripting weapons in Roblox is that there isn't just one way to do it. You've got the old-school "Touched" event method, the more modern Raycasting approach, and a whole bunch of community-made modules that try to do the heavy lifting for you. But honestly, understanding how to build your own from the ground up is the only way to really have control over your game's mechanics.
Understanding the Tool object
Before you even touch a line of code, you have to understand the Tool object. This is the container for your roblox weapon script. When a player picks up an item, it goes into their Backpacker, and when they equip it, it moves into their character model.
A mistake a lot of beginners make is putting everything into one script. They'll shove the animations, the damage logic, and the sound effects into a single script and hope for the best. That's a recipe for a headache later on. Usually, you want a LocalScript to handle things that happen immediately on the player's screen—like playing a "swing" animation—and a Server Script to handle the actual damage. If you let the client (the player's computer) decide how much damage they do, you're basically inviting hackers to walk around one-shotting everyone in the server.
The bridge between Client and Server
This is where things get a little tricky for new developers. To make a functional roblox weapon script, you have to use RemoteEvents. Think of a RemoteEvent like a walkie-talkie. The player's computer says, "Hey, I just clicked my mouse, and I think I hit something," and the server hears that and says, "Let me check if that's true, and if it is, I'll subtract some health from the enemy."
Without this "bridge," your weapon will only work on your screen and nobody else will see the effects. Or worse, the server won't recognize the damage at all. When you're setting up your weapon folder in the Explorer, make sure you have a RemoteEvent tucked inside. You might name it something simple like "AttackEvent" or "HitRegister."
Writing the LocalScript for input
Your LocalScript is all about responsiveness. You want the player to feel like the weapon is reacting to their clicks instantly. In your roblox weapon script, you'll use the UserInputService or the tool's built-in Activated event.
When the tool is activated, you play the animation. It's always better to load your animations onto the Humanoid or the Animator object early on so there's no delay when the player clicks. Once the animation starts, the LocalScript fires that RemoteEvent we talked about. You don't want to send "100 damage" through the event; you just want to tell the server that the weapon was used. The server should be the one to decide the stats.
Handling damage on the Server
Now, let's talk about the server-side of your roblox weapon script. This is the brain of the operation. The server listens for that "AttackEvent." When it receives the signal, it needs to check what the weapon actually hit.
For a melee weapon, you might use a brief window where the "Touched" event is active on the blade. However, "Touched" can be pretty unreliable. It sometimes misses hits if the animation is too fast. A lot of pro scripters prefer Raycasting or using a library like Raycast Hitbox. This basically draws invisible lines in the air as the sword swings, and if those lines intersect with a character, it counts as a hit. It's much more precise and feels way more professional.
Once a hit is detected, you find the Humanoid of the victim and subtract health. It sounds simple, but you also need to add "debounce" (a cooldown). If you don't, one swing could hit a player fifty times in a single second, instantly killing them. A simple if not coolingDown then check will save your game's balance.
Making the weapon feel "Juicy"
A basic roblox weapon script that just subtracts health is fine, but it's boring. You want "juice." Juice is the extra stuff that makes the combat feel satisfying.
First, think about Sound Effects. You need a "whoosh" for the swing and a "thud" or "clink" for the hit. You can trigger these directly in the server script so everyone nearby hears them.
Second, consider Visual Effects (VFX). Maybe some sparks fly off when a sword hits a wall, or a blood splatter (if your game's age rating allows it) appears on a successful hit. You can use ParticleEmitters for this. A good trick is to keep these emitters inside the weapon's handle and just use Emit() whenever a hit is confirmed.
Third, don't forget about Camera Shake. A tiny bit of screen shake when you land a heavy hit makes the weapon feel powerful. This usually has to be done back on the LocalScript, because the server shouldn't be messing with a player's camera directly.
Common pitfalls to avoid
I've seen a lot of people struggle with their first roblox weapon script, and usually, it's because of a few common mistakes.
One big one is failing to verify the distance. If a player fires a RemoteEvent saying they hit someone, the server should check if the player and the victim are actually close to each other. If they're on opposite sides of the map and the server still processes the hit, you've got a major exploit on your hands. Always check the Magnitude between the two players.
Another issue is memory leaks. If you're creating new connections every time a player swings and never disconnecting them, your server will eventually slow to a crawl. Make sure you're being clean with your code. Use task.wait() instead of the old wait(), as it's more efficient and plays nicer with the Roblox task scheduler.
Testing and iteration
The first version of your roblox weapon script is probably going to be a bit janky. That's totally normal. The best way to fix it is to grab a friend or open a local server with two players in Roblox Studio.
Watch how the weapon behaves on the "dummy" player. Is the hit detection too generous? Is it too hard to land a hit? Sometimes you have to tweak the size of the hitbox or the speed of the animation. It's a balancing act. You want the weapon to be fun to use, but not so overpowered that it ruins the game for everyone else.
Don't be afraid to look at how other people do it, either. The Roblox Developer Forum is a goldmine for snippets of logic. You don't have to copy a whole roblox weapon script word-for-word, but looking at how someone else handled a combo system or a parry mechanic can give you the inspiration you need to finish your own.
Final thoughts on scripting
At the end of the day, a roblox weapon script is just a way to translate a player's intent into an action in the game world. It takes time to get the timing and the networking right. But once you have that core loop working—click, animate, detect, damage—you have the foundation for almost any kind of game.
Keep your code organized, use folders for your assets, and always keep security in mind. Coding in Luau is actually pretty fun once you get past the initial learning curve, and there's nothing quite like the feeling of seeing your custom-scripted weapon work perfectly for the first time. Just keep tweaking, keep testing, and don't get discouraged by a few red errors in the Output window. We've all been there.