Valorant Gun Tier List – Discover & Use The Best Weapons in Valorant
6 minutes
Last Updated: May 29, 2024
Valorant belongs to the tactical hero shooter genre and was released in June 2020. The game was heavily influenced by CS:GO and Overwatch, and, as a result, it features lots of guns.
These guns don’t occupy such an important place as in these other two shooters, but they still represent a core aspect of the game.
Valorant guns can be quite powerful and they greatly enhance your Agent’s natural abilities. Therefore, becoming familiar with all of them and knowing how to use them will make you a much stronger player.
In this guide, you will learn more about the best guns in Valorant and what they’re good for.
A Quick Introduction to Valorant Guns
In total, there are 18 Valorant weapons available at the moment and each of them can be useful under specific circumstances.
However, the most powerful tend to be the rifles and in particular, Vandal and Phantom. These two guns deal a lot of damage and can kill an enemy with just several shots.
Some guns work well at close range while others excel at long range. A small number of them are good in every situation but tend to cost a lot of credits.
Whenever you win a round, you get 3,000 credits and the best guns cost around 2900. But the problem is that you don’t always win the round and you also need to buy the other equipment, too.
This means that you will not always be able to afford to buy the best guns in the game. Such guns are usually offered to the players who play carry Agents and are expected to get most of the kills.
Guns fall into multiple categories. These categories are listed below:
- Pistols
- SMGs
- Rifles
- Sniper Rifles
- Shotguns
- Machine Guns
Apart from these, you can also use your Tactical Knife. But that’s not exactly a good idea in most cases.
A List of Valorant Guns
Before we start talking about how good Valorant weapons are and the Valorant weapon tier list, let’s talk about the guns themselves and introduce them one by one.
Tactical Knife
This is the most basic Valorant weapon that you can use and you’ll often find yourself carrying it. However, knife kills are quite rare in this game.
Classic
This is your default pistol and you can use in two modes: normal left-click fire and burst-fire. Most pro players prefer the first option because it gives them the ability to hit more headshots.
Frenzy
This fully automated pistol will deal great damage and works well at close and medium range. When you can’t afford a better weapon, this gun will get the job done if you have the necessary skills.
Sheriff
With just 6 bullets per magazine, Sheriff is a risky pistol that costs 800 credits. Its great strength is that it kills with one bullet if you can hit a headshot.
This makes it an excellent choice for those who take pride in their formidable ability to aim well from any distance.
Judge
This is a powerful shotgun that does wonders at close range. But the problem is that you will rarely get to fight the enemy under ideal conditions. From a long range, this gun does absolutely nothing, which is why most players avoid it.
Shorty
This gun costs just 150 credits but, like Judge, it’s a shotgun. You’ll have a hard time killing enemies with it.
However, if you can surprise them and the range is small enough, you might get the job done with a single shot as the damage it does is impressive.
Ghost
This is the perfect pistol to buy in situations where you expect the enemy to have no armor because it deals a lot of damage against unarmored targets.
Its magazine size is 15, which means that you can kill several enemies without having to reload.
Stinger
At the price of 950 credits, Stinger is an excellent anti-eco gun that can kill multiple enemies in just a few seconds.
If you know how to control its spray pattern, you can use this weapon at medium range without any problems and it will work surprisingly well.
Bucky
Like other shotguns, this gun deals a lot of damage at close range. But it’s almost completely useless in every other scenario. Because of that, top players tend to avoid it.
Bulldog
If you can’t afford a top gun that costs nearly 3000 credits, this is your second-best option. It costs 2050 credits and will deal a lot of damage, even from a medium and long range.
Bulldog can kill with just a few weapons if you aim correctly and will not put you at a severe disadvantage regardless of what the opponent is using.
Guardian
This is the only semi-automatic gun in the game. Its magazine size is quite low (12) but everything else about this gun is amazing. It deals lots of damage, works well from any range, and is quite affordable, costing 2250 credits.
Vandal
Vandal is every pro player’s weapon of choice. It costs 2900 credits but can kill with one shot from afar. Even if you don’t hit a headshot, you won’t need more than 3 bullets to get the job done.
The reload time is just 2.5s and the fire rate is impressive: almost 10 rounds per second.
Operator
This sniper rifle excels at long range and especially in defensive scenarios. It kills with a single shot and it’s the weapon of choice for anyone who specializes in the sniper role.
Odin
This weapon gives you impressive fire power but it’s not very practical. It costs 3200 credits and is difficult to control. Because of this, players would much rather invest in a different Valorant gun.
Phantom
This is one of the best weapons in the game and many have come to regard it as the best gun in Valorant. It deals lethal damage if you hit a headshot and costs 2900 credits.
Its fire rate is one of the best (11 rps) and its recoil is quite low. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced player, Phantom should be sitting at the top of your list.
Marshal
This is Valorant’s budget sniper rifle. It costs just 950 credits and will kill with just two bullets. However, if you can hit a headshot, it will kill with one.
For confident sniper players, this is an excellent choice when they don’t have the credits to buy the Operator.
Ares
This is the cheap version of Odin but it’s simply not worth it. In professional matches, you will rarely see it used.
Valorant Gun Tier List
If you want to buy the best guns in Valorant, these options should be the first that come to your mind. And depending on the situation, pick the one that’s most appropriate:
- Vandal / Phantom
- Operator / Marshal
- Stinger
- Bulldog / Guardian
- Ghost / Frenzy
The Valorant guns that you should buy depend on the specifics of the situation you are in. Before you purchase a weapon, ask yourself what the objective of your team is for the round and what role you’ll have to play in attaining that objective.
Always buy the guns that will give you the best chance of making an impact but don’t neglect other considerations.
For example, from time to time a team may decide to not buy anything at the start of a round and just wait until the next round.
If you’re the only one who buys a rifle, you’ll likely lose it, because you’ll receive no help from the rest of your team.
When you purchase expensive guns, make sure that your team is also well equipped and capable of helping you win the round.
If the round cannot be realistically won, it’s often a good idea to keep your credits for the next one and make a proper buy when your entire team decides to buy.
The goal of investing in high-quality equipment is to give yourself the best chance of winning the round and the 3000 credits that come with it. When you can’t win, don’t half-buy because it’s usually a waste of resources.
