Reskinning weapons within weapon category always works fine, e.g. a conventional pistol into a beam one.

Reskinning primary weapons into other primary weapons usually works fine, e.g. a sniper rifle into a vektor rifle.

Reskinning grenades into other grenades or thrown items, like battle scanners, generally works fine. Chosen Grenades are an unfortunate exception; they use Chosen skeletons for their throwing animations, distorting soldiers' skeletons horribly, so they have been added to the exclusion list.


The game has a number of paired weapons. Each pair has a "main" and "subordinate" component. When you equip the "main" component, the "subordinate" one is equipped automatically into a hidden slot in the soldier's inventory.

Common examples are Templar Gauntlets (main right and subordinate cosmetic left), Skirmisher Ripjack (main melee right and cosmetic subordinate left) and Alien Hunters' Axes (main melee one and subordinate throwing one).

1) If you attempt to reskin a non-paired weapon into a paired weapon, your weapon will be reskinned into the "main" part of the pair. E.g. if you reskin a sword into a ripjack, the weapon will appear as a "melee" ripjack, but you will not get the cosmetic left gauntlet.

2) If you attempt to reskin a paired weapon into a non-paired weapon, then the "main" part of the paired weapon will be reskinned, while the "subordinate" part of the pair will remain unchanged. E.g. if you reskin templar gauntlets into a sword, the right gauntlet will be reskinned into a sword, while the left one will remain unchanged.

3) If you attempt to reskin a paired weapon into another paired weapon, then both "main" and "subordinate" parts of the pair will be reskinned into their respective counterparts. E.g. if you reskin a Ripjack into Alien Hunters' Axes, the melee ripjack will transform into melee axe and it will be used by the soldier for their melee attacks, while the cosmetic left arm gauntlet will transform into throwing axe, which will sit idly on the soldier's back, while the grapple will be shooting out of the naked soldier's arm.

Alien Hunters' Axes appear in the skin list twice. The first appearance is of the main "melee" Axe, and the second is of the subordinate "throwing" Axe.

Typically "Melee" Axes work fine as skins for melee weapons.

"Thrown" Axes can be used as skins for ranged secondary weapons, like pistols. The axe will magically reappear on the soldier right after being thrown. Fan Fire may or may not look correctly, though.

If you reskin a Ripjack or Templar Gauntlets into "melee" Axe, you will have both Axes appear on the soldier, but you will be able to use only one.

Alien Hunters' Axes themselves can be reskinned into swords, but the thrown Axe will still hang around on the soldier.

If you reskin Alien Hunters' Axes into Ripjack, you will lose the Thrown Axe completely, and the Throw Axe animation will be broken.

Reskinning Ripjacks into Templar Gauntlets works fine.

Templar Gauntlets generally don't work as skins for primary melee weapons, because the soldier will not get Templar idle/running animations, so they will still hold an invisible melee weapon.

Reskinning Templar Gauntlets into a Ripjack works for the purposes of regular melee attacks, but some of the Templar abilities will be missing animations and cause a T-pose.


You can't reskin a Ripjack into a Skulljack, but you kinda can reskin a Skulljack into a Ripjack. Make sure to put the Skulljack into the first utility slot so it's visible in tactical. There will be no hacking UI, so you will have to hack blindly by hitting spacebar.

Reskinning a Grenade Launcher into other secondary weapons works surprisingly well. Even into swords, though there will not be a launched projectile.

Similarly, you can reskin secondary weapons, like pistols, into Grenade Launchers, but there's no projectile fired.


Reskinning GREMLINs / BITs doesn't work, even between each other, so the mod will not let you do it. This may or may not be fixed in the future.

Reskinning secondary weapons into Autopistols on soldiers that normally carry a primary weapon in their hands will result in them still holding their primary weapon in their hands while using their autopistol-looking reskinned secondary weapon.

SPARK weapons reskinned into infantry weapons and vice versa, unsurprisingly, look very janky, particularly when fired.

Reskinning Claymores doesn't work and never will, because Claymores are fake weapons, the Throw Claymore ability is what does all the magic.

Reskinning weapons added by Utility Slot Sidearms and Utility Slot Sidearms Extended doesn't work and never well.