Star Trek: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Phasers

Handheld Starfleet phasers can be generally classified into three main types.

Type 1 phasers are the smallest variants, resembling remote controls, and are referred to as 'cricket phasers' in the Trek community. Type 2 phasers on the other hand more closely resemble the design of a pistol, and type 3s were like rifles in appearance. Different phaser types have different power levels and firing modes, but all were capable of both stunning and disintegrating targets. In addition, all types could fire either a steady beam or concentrated blasts.

The 'TV remote' design of type 1s reinforces the idea that these devices are tools as well as weapons, and the type 2s are apparently more combat-focused, explaining the gun-like look. In The Original Series era, type 1 phasers could actually be slotted into type 2s for… Some reason. Type 3 rifles seem to be employed mostly in times of war. They showed heavy use both during the Dominion War and the Federation's engagements with the Borg. All three types of hand phasers have been redesigned countless times in Trek history, but they usually stick to these categories.

A 'phaser bazooka' also appeared in a holodeck program in the Lower Decks episode Crisis Point, but these probably aren't a real thing, despite how cool they'd be, although there was that shoulder-canon that Worf sported in Star Trek: Insurrection!