Valorant Weapon Tier List (Best Guns)

Welcome to our Valorant Gun Tier List (Last Updated Patch 8.08)

Looking for the best guns in Valorant? You’ve come to the right place.

In our Valorant weapon tier list, our experts (Immortal-Radiant) rank every gun based on their strength in the current ranked meta.

We’ll be updating this list every patch or so so be sure to check back!

To learn more about every gun, from their spray patterns to their stats, head to our dedicated Valorant Weapons page.

If you’re looking for the best agents in the current meta (including team comp recommendations by map) head to our Valorant Agent Tier List.

The Best Guns in Valorant

Patch 8.08 Valorant Weapon Tier List

Methodology

Our experts (ranked Immortal – Radiant) will be ranking weapons from S/A/B/C based on how strong they are in the ranked meta.

This list aims to apply to the general meta so it should be useful for more elos.

Overall, the criteria for S/A/B/C are as follows:

S-tier

These are weapons that have an optimal cost/effectiveness ratio. They are typically the most commonly used guns for most maps on both offense/defense and the least situational weapons.

A-tier

These are weapons that are very powerful but a little more situational than S-Tier. They usually have a slightly lower cost/effectiveness ratio and may not work too well on either offense or defense on certain maps.

B-tier

These are weapons that can be strong in certain situations but also tend to have a disadvantage against their competitors in many situations. You usually only run them at very specific parts of the map and they can vary in performance based on attacking or defending.

C-tier

These are weapons that are very situational and rarely worth picking up. They are they rarely offer an advantage over their competition.

Weapon Commentary

Here are some insights for each gun from our experts with explanations for why they’re ranked where they are.

S-tier Weapons (Optimal)

Vandal

Type: Assault Rifle – Creds: ¤ 2,900 – Magazine: 25 / 75 – Wall Penetration: Medium

• The Vandal is universally good on all maps due to being able to one-shot to the head at all ranges.
• It is best used when tap firing due to its quicker spray reset when compared to the Phantom.
• The Vandal has a slower fire rate (9.75 rounds/sec, 585 RPM) and a slightly smaller magazine in comparison to the Phantom.

Phantom

Type: Assault Rifle – Creds: ¤ 2,900 – Magazine: 30 / 90 – Wall Penetration: Medium

• The primary advantages of the Phantom are its fire rate and silenced barrel which prevents enemies from seeing your bullet tracers. This makes it a great option for spamming smokes and when getting in a fight up close.
• The Phantom is easier to use as a newer player because of its more forgiving nature.
• The reserves ammo nerf did hurt the Phantom more than the Vandal due to not being able to spam as much.

Operator

Type: Sniper Rifle – Creds: ¤ 4700 – Magazine: 5 – Wall Penetration: High

• Priced at 4700 it is quite expensive but its price is justified. One shot to the body at any range will kill an enemy. This weapon is very strong at grabbing early picks in the round whilst holding the site as a defender.
• It is best suited on Jett and Chamber who can play in an aggressive position, use Tailwind or Rendezvous to get to safety, and then post up on another angle.
• The Operator is strong on all maps, even small maps due to how its primary agents can play up close and aggressively for an early pick.

Judge

Type: Shotgun – Creds: ¤ 1,850 – Magazine: 5 – Wall Penetration: Medium

• Its existence dictates how the game is played and forces teams to clear close areas with utility.
• The map design in Valorant has many tight chokes and smaller spaces which allows this weapon to excel on essentially all maps.
• There are a lot of Agents who can effectively use the Judge as they can close gaps with movement or vision-blocking utility.
• The fire rate, ability to strafe and stay fairly accurate, and minimal spread of the Judge allow the user to take down multiple enemies rushing them and make trading difficult for enemies.

A-tier

Odin

Type: Heavy – Creds: ¤ 3,200 – Magazine: 100 – Wall Penetration: High

• On certain locations of multiple maps the Odin is able to be extremely oppressive with its ability to get wall-bang kills.
• Even in long-range fights, it is fairly effective due to its accuracy when ADS. If an opponent misses their initial shots, it’s an easy kill for an Odin.
• With proper utility and support, it is oppressive in mid to high ranks. In low ranks, its margin of error and lack of precision required make it capable of dueling rifles with ease.

Outlaw

Type: Sidearm – Creds: ¤ 2,400 – Magazine: 2 – Wall Penetration: High

• A fantastic weapon to kill those with light armor and/or those on a light buy with dealing 140 to the body. Even tagging a player with full armor is very impactful as they are one-shot to anything.
• The very fast fire rate and second-shot accuracy allow it to quickly fire two shots off to get multiple kills, kill an enemy with full armor, or make up for a missed shot
• Is similar to the Judge in that it always needs to be considered as a possibility, and enemies must play around it.
• Reloading both shots is very slow, but Jett and Chamber are very good with the weapon for the same reasons they are with the Operator and because they can fall back to give themselves time for the long reload.

Sheriff

Type: Sidearm – Creds: ¤ 800 – Magazine: 6 – Wall Penetration: High

• The Sheriff is the pistol that deals by far the most damage of all sidearms
• In contrast to its silenced counterpart, the Ghost, the Sheriff is more commonly used on half-buy rounds or as a sidearm to the Operator instead of pistol rounds.
• In 90% of times the Sheriff will one-shot opponents when hitting the head, but watch out:
  • From 30m distance and further, this weapon will only bring your opponent down to 5 hp.
• Its bullet penetration allows for you to secure wallbang kills that you most likely wouldn’t be able to with other pistols.
• At long ranges, the Marshall is the better weapon of choice since it is one shot to the head, unlike the 145 damage the Sheriff deals. The Marshall also only costs 150 more.
  • The Sheriff is not a great pick for pistol rounds since it means you won’t be able to purchase any utility. Knowing this, it is mostly used by Jett players on pistol rounds since they can survive the round mostly unaffected without their Updraft and Cloudburst.
• This weapon is most effective at medium range. At point blank range and at very long ranges it is sub-optimal.

Stinger

Type: SMG – Creds: ¤ 1100 – Magazine: 20 – Wall Penetration: Low

• The Stinger is very limited in terms of range due to its spread. But up close it is very effective at running and spraying.
• Its running accuracy is solid at close ranges due to the high fire rate and should be taken advantage of when dealt with close corner engagements.
• The fire rate leads to plenty of quick kills, but the spray makes getting those kills very inconsistent.
• The smaller magazine size also limits the weapon to only getting one kill before a reload.
• This weapon is best used during light buys in a pack to try to get close range on a superior weapon in hopes of getting an upgrade.

Bulldog

Type: Assault Rifle – Creds: ¤ 2050 – Magazine: 24 – Wall Penetration: Medium

• The Bulldog has distinct disadvantages to the Phantom and Vandal with its damage output and spread. The weapon cannot one-tap a half-armor player.
• The weapon does struggle up close against cheaper weapons because of its slower fire rate.
• The Bulldog is a safe option with its ADS burst mode to outrange shorter-range weapons like the Spectre or Stinger.
• The ADS burst mode can also result in kills against full armor players as a headshot and body shot in one burst deal exactly 150 damage.

B-tier Weapons (Good)

Spectre

Type: SMG – Creds: ¤ 1,600 – Magazine: 30 – Wall Penetration: Medium

• A safe option after winning pistols and on lighter buys.
• Its fire rate makes it a good way to kill enemies with rifles in close-range fights and secure kills against weaker weapons.
• The running accuracy is still solid and is something to take advantage of in close-range fights.

Marshall

Type: Sniper Rifle – Creds: ¤ 950 – Magazine: 5 – Wall Penetration: Medium

• A fantastic option after winning a pistol due to its ability to body-shot kill an enemy without armor.
• On longer maps, it is a good eco weapon due to its high burst damage. Jiggle peeking around its fire rate is effective from longer ranges against rifles.
• Compared to the other snipers, the Marshall has very good handling, quick reload, and the best hip-fire accuracy.

Guardian

Type: DMR – Creds: ¤ 2,250 – Magazine: 12 – Wall Penetration: High

• Another weapon that is in the awkward space below the Phantom and Vandal. The price and characteristics of the weapon limit it force-buy scenarios where you cannot afford a rifle.
• The pros of this weapon are that two shots to the body kill a half-armor player and it has high penetration.
• The introduction of the Outlaw boxed out the Guardian as a weapon that is good against half-armor and has high penetration. On top of that, the Outlaw is much better against those with full armor and is more consistent overall.

Ghost

Type: Sidearm – Creds: ¤ 500 – Magazine: 15 – Wall Penetration: Medium

• A solid option for pistol rounds depending on the agent played, and the cost of their utility.
• It has enough damage to one-shot a player with no armor with a headshot.
• Outside of pistol rounds the Ghost doesn’t have much use and is outshined by the Sherriff which can headshot full armor players from most ranges.

Classic

Type: Sidearm – Creds: ¤ Free – Magazine: 12 – Wall Penetration: Low

• Always a solid option during pistol rounds as it can be paired with half-armor and leaves more credits for utility when compared to the other pistol options.
• The Classic is free which helps its viability in the list, but ever since its right-click was nerfed it hasn’t been quite as effective.

C-tier Weapons (Situational)

Frenzy

Type: Sidearm – Creds: ¤ 450 – Magazine: 13 – Wall Penetration: Low

• The Frenzy was once a fantastic weapon for pistols and eco rounds, but has fallen off with nerfs via a price increase and in its spread.
• The 450 credit price point puts it in an awkward spot during pistol rounds in that you cannot buy armor and have 350 credits for utility which gives no extra utility for almost all agents compared to the remaining 300 credits when buying a Ghost.

Shorty

Type: Sidearm – Creds: ¤ 300 – Magazine: 2 – Wall Penetration: Low

• Once a menace, the Shorty fell off with nerfs to its price and range.
• The weapon on its own is very inconsistent with getting a kill and its price is hard to justify buying it as a secondary weapon unless your economy is very strong.
• The only pertinent use case is pairing it with an Operator or Outlaw when you are going to max out on credits.

Bucky

Type: Shotgun – Creds: ¤ 850 – Magazine: 5 – Wall Penetration: Low

• The left-click shot of this weapon is strong, but it isn’t as reliable as the Judge, and the slower fire rate usually limits the weapon to only one kill.
• The right-click is essentially useless and should never be used.
• It has some use in playing in a close-range area during a very light buy, but in the vast majority of scenarios, the Judge is superior.

Ares

Type: Heavy – Creds: ¤ 1,600 – Magazine: 50 – Wall Penetration: High

• The intended role of this weapon is to be a light buy Odin. The price of the weapon and its high penetration characteristic are in line with this, but its performance and usability make it a poor option.
• The weapon is fairly inaccurate in ADS, and very inaccurate when firing ADS.

Knife

• If all guns in your arsenal fail you and you find yourself left with nothing else than your knife, you might as well use it
• But considering how poorly implemented the current version of the knife in Valorant is, this should be your absolute last resort when playing to win.
• Knifing through an Astra wall is a good utility use of it.

Thanks for reading! Let us know what you think of our rankings in the comment below. To learn more about every gun, head to our dedicated Valorant Weapons page. For the best agents, head to our Valorant Agent Tier List.