Best Guns in Apex Legends + Tier List

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Human Made

Penned by Gibson Vasela

My name is Gibson Vasela. I am a freelance writer who has been playing video games for almost 20 years now. I play all kinds of games, but I especially love immersive sims and RPGs.

Reviewed by Benjamin Barr

Apex Legends is one of the best first-person shooters in the industry. Not only is it fast-paced, tactical, and engaging, but it has some of the best gunplay out of any FPS on the market. Every weapon, be it a pistol, rifle, or shotgun, is satisfying to use in its own way. But out of the 25+ weapons in Apex Legends, which ones are the best to start practicing with and use for the long haul? Below, we’ve started out with our weapon tier list (with every weapon in Apex) and then we’re on to ranking and diving into the pros and cons of the 10 best guns in Apex Legends.

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Tier List For Every Weapon in Apex Legends

Before we count down our top ten favorite weapons, how about we take a look at the full arsenal Apex Legends has to offer? Not every weapon can make the list, and sometimes you’ll find yourself needing to make do with what you have.

Let’s take a quick peek at what other weapons may be worth your time, and what you should ping for your teammates.

S-Tier Weapons

The S-Tier weapons are the best of the best and should be considered must-haves for any wannabe champions. Whether it’s the shield-shredding Alternator or the hard-hitting Peacekeeper, each gun is deadly in its own unique way.

A-Tier Weapons

While not as effective as their S-Tier counterparts, A-Tier weapons pack more than enough firepower to give you and your squad a winning match. The Flatline is one of the best ARs in the game and hits harder than the R-301 (although it isn’t as versatile or as good at longer ranges). The sentential is the most satisfying weapon in the game, and can instantly wreck an opponent’s shields if you amp it up with a few shield cells.

B-Tier Weapons

The B-Tier firearms are all effective in the right hands, but they just don’t hold up when going against the other guns in the sandbox. The HAVOC AR displays an excellent DPS, but the time it takes to charge up can put you at a major disadvantage if you are in the middle of a fight. You can always use a turbocharger, but this hop-up is incredibly rare to find in battle royale.

C-Tier Weapons

The C-Tier weapons are where things start to go downhill. None of these guns are bad per se, but you’d be a fool to pick them over the other guns in the game. The Charge Rifle — despite its outstanding range and lack of bullet drop — is the weakest sniper rifle in the arena. The RE-45 is a decent pistol, but there is really no reason to keep it once you find an R-99 or an R-301.

D-Tier Weapons

What’s there to say? D-Tier weapons are pretty self-explanatory, but I’ll go over them anyway. The mozambique received quite the buff back in Season 9. Respawn increased its magazine size to six shots and put it on par with its Titanfall 2 counterpart. The problem is, the mozambique in Titanfall 2 was not that great either. Last and most certainly least, we have the P2020. This is less of a military-grade firearm, and more like a peashooter for shattering glass bottles. Low damage, low fire rate, no hop-ups to speak of…I mean, it’s got some pretty sweet-looking legendary skins, I guess.

10 Best Weapons in Apex Legends Overall, Ranked Worst to Best

Now that we’ve got our tier list, let’s break down the top ten guns in Apex Legends!

10. C.A.R. SMG

First up on our best Apex guns list, we have the newly added C.A.R. SMG. This versatile and powerful weapon is the latest firearm to be added to the Apex Games, arriving alongside Season 11. How does this weapon hold up compared to the other guns in the Apex Games? Is it as strong as its Titanfall 2 counterpart?

What are the pros? The C.A.R. SMG has a similar fire rate to the R-99, which is one of the fastest firing guns in the game. It also does 13 damage when hitting the torso, which combined with its fire rate, gives it a solid DPS. Since it can take both heavy and light ammo, as well as use heavy and light mags, this firearm is very versatile when used in battle royale.

What are the cons? Although this is a very strong SMG, it has one of the most inconsistent and difficult to control recoil patterns out of any gun in the game. Unlike the R-99 which can be effectively fired at medium ranges with practice, firing the C.A.R. at similar ranges is very difficult, making this gun less effective for the average player.

9. Kraber

Now at number nine, we have the Kraber sniper rifle. This is a rare care package weapon returning from the Titanfall franchise, keeping more or less the same high damage and slow fire rate. Any player who gets their hands on this beast of a sniper rifle should know how to land their shots, as this is a very punishing weapon to miss with.

What are the pros? The Kraber does the highest damage per hit out of any gun in Apex Legends. It has the ability to penetrate opponents with every shot. It also comes ready with a sniper scope and a decent amount of ammo. Overall, it is one of the best long-range guns in the game.

What are the cons? This is a bolt-action rifle, meaning players will have to chamber every shot after firing it. It can only hold four rounds per magazine, and its reload time is painfully slow. Because of its difficulty to use and lack of versatility, it is not recommended for the average champion.

8. R-301

Taking eighth place on our ranking, here we have the R-301 Carbine. This reliable light ammo AR is the next generation of infantry weapons, taking inspiration from its predecessor the R-201. It has been in Apex Legends since Season 0, and to this day it remains one of the best ARs in the game.

What are the pros? Very high accuracy and good range. Recoil is very easy to control, making it great for beginners. Overall, the R-301 is an excellent medium to long-range automatic rifle that deals consistent damage, allowing it to beam enemies from far away distances with ease.

What are the cons? Not much to say here. Each shot does low damage on impact, but its fire rate is enough to make up for that. The R-301 does have a lower magazine capacity than one would like, meaning that killing an enemy in one clip can be tricky unless you consistently land all of your shots.

7. Peacekeeper

Here at number seven is everyone’s favorite lever-action shotgun: the Peacekeeper. This is one of Apex Legend’s most iconic weapons. It is the weapon of choice for many pro players, and it has made a name for itself as one of the most popular weapons in the arena since its debut in Season 0.

What are the pros? The Peacekeeper features one of the highest damage outputs in the game. If a person can repeatedly nail their shots, opponents will be knocked in only a few hits to the chest. The Peacekeeper also comes with a built-in precision choke, meaning that the longer you aim down the sights, the more accurate the gun becomes at longer ranges.

What are the cons? A slow rate of fire and long reload times keep this shotgun in check. They are not dealbreakers by any means, but if you want to make the most out of this gun you’ll need to be very accurate and hit most of your shots. Not a weapon for bots.

6. Rampage

Sitting at spot number six, let’s take a look at the Rampage LMG. Respawn added this slow-firing, but powerful LMG back in Season 10, and ever since it has dominated the arena and become one of the best LMG’s on the battlefield.

What are the pros? This gun has one of the highest damage outputs out of any LMG in the game. The Rampage features good recoil and excellent accuracy as well. It is a great automatic weapon for medium and long ranges. If all that wasn’t enough, the Rampage can be revved up with a thermite grenade to temporarily increase its firing rate, allowing it to spit deadly lead at its opponents with incredible speeds.

What are the cons? Despite being fully automatic, the Rampage sports a very slow firing rate. This means that you cannot spray-and-pray the weapon, and will have to have good control of its recoil and decent aiming in order to hit all of your shots and get the kill.

5. EVA-8

Halfway down our list for the best guns in Apex Legends, we arrive at one of my all-time favorite weapons: the EVA-8 shotgun. Returning from Titanfall 1 and 2, this is a fully-automatic shotgun that can easily shred through any and all opponents in close-range engagements.

What are the pros? Very good DPS thanks to its high rate of fire and decent damage per shot. Firing from the hip with this gun is very effective, and does not require you to aim down the sights to be accurate. Aside from the Mozambique, this is the only full-auto shotgun in Apex Legends.

What are the cons? Like with many shotguns, the EVA-8 loses much of its effectiveness at longer ranges due to its pellet spread. While the fire rate is very high with shotgun bolts, when found on its own it has a much lower DPS, making it less effective in the earlier rounds of a match.

4. R-99

Sitting pretty in number four, we have everyone’s favorite SMG, the R-99. Another iconic weapon of Apex Legends, the R-99 has remained as one of the meta weapons since the game first launched back in 2019. Inspired by Titanfall’s R-97 Compact SMG, this fast-firing lead slinger maintains everything that made its predecessor so great.

What are the pros? The DPS on this SMG is one of, if not the highest in the entire game. This is in no small part thanks to its incredibly high rate of fire, which is also the highest in all of Apex Legends. Being an SMG, it is also very easy to strafe with this gun when looking down the sights.

What are the cons? The R-99 has quite the kick to it and sports a poor recoil. While it can be fired from a distance with practice, newer players may struggle to land their shots when shooting at a target that isn’t all that close to them. If you’ve never used the R-99 before, you might want to spend a few minutes in the firing range, first.

3. Spitfire

Kicking off the top three on our list is the Spitfire. This heavy LMG is a very divisive gun, and if you’ve been playing the game for very long, you’ll either love or hate this weapon. It can be very annoying to play against someone wielding this powerful and enduring firearm, but once it lands in your hands, it becomes one of the most satisfying guns to use on this side of the Outlands.

What are the pros? The Spitfire has a good DPS, high accuracy, and very good range. With its excellent hip-fire accuracy, the Spitfire is deadly at nearly every distance. This LMG sports one of the highest magazine capacities out of any gun in the game, which can be useful when fighting multiple opponents at once.

What are the cons? Despite its many pros, the spitfire suffers from being one of the slowest moving guns when aiming down the sights. This makes it difficult to strafe with, meaning that if you use this you’ll need to be prepared to tank loads of damage or stay very close to cover. It also has a slow reload speed, which can be deadly if you are cornered and need to reload in the middle of a fight

2. Alternator

Taking the silver medal on our list, we have the Alternator. This weapon has gone through many ups and downs throughout its lifecycle. It began as the worst SMG in the game, before becoming one of the most feared weapons in the arena at the start of Season 2. This is thanks to the use of its disrupter rounds, which can easily cut through shields like butter.

What are the pros? This is arguably one of the best care package weapons in the game. It has a very good time to kill with minimal recoil and very good mobility. It comes with disrupter rounds, which make it absolutely shred any shields it comes across!

What are the cons? Although its DPS is great against shields, when hitting unarmored targets it takes longer than other weapons. This isn’t a major downside, but it is still something to consider when choosing to pick it up or not. Being an SMG, it is generally only useful at closer ranges and becomes less effective when attacking targets that are farther away.

1. Wingman

And finally, taking the gold medal for the #1 best gun in Apex Legends, we have the wingman. Was this really a surprise? The wingman has been the pro player’s weapon of choice since Season 0. It is one of the most iconic weapons in the game, and that isn’t for no reason.

What are the pros? The Wingman does 45 damage for every shot to the chest. This, combined with its decent fire rate, gives it a solid and reliable DPS at nearly every range. When aiming down the sights, players have the same movement speed as when they are firing from the hip, allowing them to strafe back and forth while taking shots. This is crucial, as mobility is one of the most important components in Apex Legends.

What are the cons? While its DPS may be solid and consistent at any range, it has a noticeably worse time to kill than other weapons in the game. It also has a small magazine capacity, which makes missing your shots more punishing than other weapons.

Join the High Ground

Shoutout to the volunteers at the Apex Legends Wiki for providing us with the statistics of every weapon. We hope you enjoyed this list of the best guns in Apex Legends. What did you think of our top picks? Let us know what your favorite guns are in the comments below!

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Happy gaming!