Forgot password
Enter the email address you used when you joined and we'll send you instructions to reset your password.
If you used Apple or Google to create your account, this process will create a password for your existing account.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Reset password instructions sent. If you have an account with us, you will receive an email within a few minutes.
Something went wrong. Try again or contact support if the problem persists.
Looking for the best guns in Apex Legends? This tier list ranks the game's weapons from best to worst, while showcasing their strengths and weaknesses.

Apex Legends Gun Tier List: From Best to Worst

Looking for the best guns in Apex Legends? This tier list ranks the game's weapons from best to worst, while showcasing their strengths and weaknesses.
This article is over 5 years old and may contain outdated information

Currently, there are 20 weapons in total in Apex Legends, excluding various grenade types. As expected, you have at your disposal guns like sniper rifles, assault rifles, shotguns, LMGs or SMGs, and even with pistols, if that's what your gameplay style requires.

In any case, there's a perfect weapon for each player, so we're here to help you make that choice with a few tips. Follow our tier list of all available weapons in Apex Legends, which are sorted in descending order from best to worst.

Remember that each gun can be improved with different attachments, so be sure to consider that when making your selection.

Recommended Videos

Kraber .50-cal Sniper Rifle

  • Base Damage: 125
  • Headshot Damage: 250 (2x)
  • Magazine: 4
  • Ammo Type: 8 (4+4)

Kraber is hands down the best sniper rifle in Apex Legends and the best weapon in general. This weapon delivers high levels of damage and has great accuracy, which will let you perform quick and exact kills.

However, it's not easy to obtain the Kraber sniper rifle, as it can be found only in airdrops. But if you manage to get one of these guns, you will be practically unbeatable.


Mastiff Shotgun

  • Base Damage: 144 (8x18)
  • Headshot Damage: 288 (8x36)
  • Magazine: 4
  • Ammo Type: 20 (4+16)

The Mastiff shotgun is an exceptional weapon. It has the highest DPS of all of guns in Apex Legends; it's also very accurate for a shotgun.

However, since it's obviously not as precise as the Kraber rifle, the Mastiff gets the second place in our tier list.

Just like the Kraber can only be obtained from airdrops, so is the case with Mastiff, so be on the lookout for this amazing weapon as you make your way around the map.


R-301 Carbine Assault Rifle

  • Base Damage: 14
  • Headshot Damage: 28 (2x)
  • Magazine: 18
  • Ammo Type: Light Rounds

Although this assault rifle has a small magazine and low DPS, you will not find a more accurate rifle in the game. More than that, its high level of accuracy remains almost equal for all three types of combat range: close, mid, and long.

This makes the R-301 the most versatile weapon in the game, and if you like to play with assault rifles, then you will find plenty of useful attachments for it as well.


Devotion LMG

  • Base Damage: 17
  • Headshot Damage: 34 (2x)
  • Magazine: 44
  • Ammo Type: Energy Ammo

Light machine guns have always been the number one choice for players who are looking for a high fire rate. If you're one of those, then you should consider nabbing one of the two energy weapons in Apex Legends The Devotion LMG.

This light machine gun has a unique spin-up mechanism that increases its fire rate the longer you shoot. This means that Devotion is basically a meatgrinder of a weapon, giving you more bang for your gameplay buck. 


Longbow DMR Sniper Rifle

  • Base Damage: 55
  • Headshot Damage: 110 (2x)
  • Magazine: 5
  • Ammo Type: Heavy Rounds

Longbow has the lowest DPS of all sniper rifles in the game. So why is it considered to be one of the best? It all comes down to the speed of the bullet; the Longbow helps players reach their targets much quicker than any other rifle.

This gun also has great range, so you can take out enemies from great distances. Lastly, it's a lot easier to find the Longbow than the famous Kraber rifle.


Peacekeeper Shotgun

  • Base Damage: 110 (11x10)
  • Headshot Damage: 165 (11x15)
  • Magazine: 6
  • Ammo Type: Shotgun Shells

By no means is the Peacekeeper shotgun a powerful weapon in terms of DPS. Actually, this weapon has quite low base damage in comparison to other shotguns in the game.

But this beast of a gun has a high fire rate and quick reload speed, which is much better than a slow but heavy-damaging shotgun in a battle royale.

If you are looking for a surefire close range weapon that can quickly deal a lot of damage, then be sure to check out this little buddy.


M600 Spitfire LMG

  • Base Damage: 20
  • Headshot Damage: 40 (2x)
  • Magazine: 35
  • Ammo Type: Heavy Rounds

Spitfire is a peculiar weapon choice. It has a somewhat bad recoil, especially as soon as you start shooting. However, it stabilizes the more you shoot, and you can clearly put in a couple dozen bullets in your enemy at some of the highest fire rate in the game.

Unlike the Devotion LMG, this gun uses normal heavy rounds, so you will have no trouble finding more ammo.


Triple Take Sniper Rifle

  • Base Damage: 69
  • Headshot Damage: 138
  • Magazine: 5
  • Ammo Type: Energy Ammo

Triple Take is the second energy weapon in Apex Legends, but instead of an LMG it's a sniper rifle.

The name of the weapon comes from its triple barrel, which shoots three projectiles at the same time.

This sounds cool on paper, but in reality, it's not very practical because of the possible spread of projectiles. The solution would be to attach the Precision Choke Hop-Up on the Triple Take, which should be able to significantly reduce spread.


VK-47 Flatline Assault Rifle

  • Base Damage: 16
  • Headshot Damage: 32 (2x)
  • Magazine: 20
  • Ammo Type: Heavy Rounds

Flatline doesn't perform too well in long-range combat due to its low accuracy, but it hits really hard in close- and mid-range combat. It has the highest DPS of all ARs in the game, which makes it a rather desirable weapon.

You can make it work in at long range by using the Stock HCOG attachment, which will considerably increase the handling of this bad boy.


Havoc Assault Rifle

  • Base Damage: 18
  • Headshot Damage: 36
  • Magazine: 25
  • Ammo Type: Energy Ammo

The latest patch has introduced a third energy weapon in Apex Legends. This new weapon is interesting due to the number of cool attachments you can use with it, such as Turbocharger hop-up and Selectfire Receiver.

The first one reduces the spin-up time, which stabilizes the fire rate, while the second one enables the hitscan beam fire mode.


G7 Scout Sniper Rifle

  • Base Damage: 30
  • Headshot Damage: 60 (2x)
  • Magazine: 10
  • Ammo Type: Light Rounds

This light semi-auto sniper rifle boasts the largest magazine among the sniper rifles in Apex Legends. It's super convenient without a doubt. However, the problem is that Scout is not a terribly accurate weapon, so it shouldn't be your number one choice when it comes to sniping.

This means that Stock attachments are a must for this weapon to work properly.


Hemlok Burst Assault Rifle

  • Base Damage: 54 (3x18)
  • Headshot Damage: 72 (3x24)
  • Magazine: 18
  • Ammo Type: Heavy Rounds

The Hemlok AR can be adjusted for single-round or three-round burst firing modes. This means that one must sacrifice overall fire rate, but the light customizability can pay off in certain gameplay situations. In midrange combat, triple burst mode is a good option.

Just don't expect this gun to do too well at close- or long-range, that's just not what burst fire was made for in the first place.


R-99 SMG

  • Base Damage: 12
  • Headshot Damage: 18 (1.5x)
  • Magazine: 18
  • Ammo Type: Light Rounds

This compact SMG is the opposite of the Hemlok AR, as it has a high fire rate and it performs especially well in close combat.

It uses light rounds that don't do as much damage, but if you manage to get headshots with it, then you can make it work inside buildings rather effectively.


Wingman Pistol

  • Base Damage: 45
  • Headshot Damage: 90 (2x)
  • Magazine: 6
  • Ammo Type: Heavy Rounds

The Wingman has very high damage potential, especially if you're good at headshots.

This revolver can be a really dangerous weapon in the hands of a professional, but casual players will find it incredibly clunky.


EVA-8 Auto Shotgun

  • Base Damage: 63 (9x7)
  • Headshot Damage: 90 (9x10)
  • Magazine: 8
  • Ammo Type: Shotgun Shells

The only good thing about this fully automatic shotgun is the damage rate. It can create a lot of problems if you hit the right spots, but that would be rare since EVA-8 has very low accuracy and range.


RE-45 Auto Pistol

  • Base Damage: 11
  • Headshot Damage: 16 (1.45x)
  • Magazine: 15
  • Ammo Type: Light Rounds

Pistols are traditionally the lowest tier weapons in any shooter. But this little automatic pistol can be quite good at close range.

Its biggest upside is the high fire rate; its drawbacks include low damage and poor accuracy.


Prowler Burst PDW

  • Base Damage: 70 (5x14)
  • Headshot Damage: 105 (5x21)
  • Magazine: 20
  • Ammo Type: Heavy Rounds

Prowler is a burst-fire SMG with a possibility to shoot in a fully automatic mode with the help of Selectfire Receiver Hop-Up attachment.

As with all SMGs, it can be quite good at close range, but it quickly loses accuracy the farther you shoot.


Mozambique Shotgun

  • Base Damage: 45 (3x15)
  • Headshot Damage: 66 (3x22)
  • Magazine: 3
  • Ammo Type: Shotgun Shells

Here is a weird one. It's a triple-barrel shotgun/pistol hybrid that doesn't do that much. It fires three rounds simultaneously, but only one of them will hit the desired spot.

It's a weapon that is clearly designed for close-range combat only.


P2020 Pistol

  • Base Damage: 12
  • Headshot Damage: 18 (1.5x)
  • Magazine: 10
  • Ammo Type: Light Rounds

The P2020 could serve as an alternative to the RE-45, but in this case, the pistol is semi-automatic, which means that it has a lower rate of fire.

Despite that, this handgun has better aim than the RE-45, and it can be used at midrange to great effect. It would be an excellent companion to any sniper.


Alternator SMG

  • Base Damage: 13
  • Headshot Damage: 19 (1.46x)
  • Magazine: 16
  • Ammo Type: Light Rounds

The Alternator is a twin-barrel SMG that isn't efficient in almost any aspect you could think of.

It could be used as an alternative weapon for close-range combat, but there are so many other better options than this one.

---

Hopefully, you managed to find a useful weapon among the 18 in this tier list; for other Apex Legends guides at GameSkinny, take a look below:


GameSkinny is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more about our Affiliate Policy
Author
Image of Serhii Patskan
Serhii Patskan
Contributing Writer
Serhii is the Writer at GameSkinny. He's been writing for GameSkinny since 2015. Before that, he's been writing for various outlets and playing video games, which eventually turned into a passion. The video games that have contributed the most to his enthusiasm for writing about this industry are Magic: The Gathering, Dark Souls, and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.