Best Valorant Weapons: Key Takeaways
- The Vandal and the Phantom are the best rifles in Valorant.
- The Sheriff and the Classic are the best pistols in Valorant.
- The Operator is the best long range weapon in Valorant.
- The Judge is the best close-range weapon in Valorant.
There are a total of 17 weapons in Valorant. However, you can only use one primary and one secondary weapon during each round. Not to mention that you also have to manage your economy to ensure that you’ll have enough credits to rebuy weapons in future rounds.
This leaves everyone with a difficult decision of what to buy for each round. To help you out, we’ve created a tier list featuring the best Valorant weapons. Check each tier out.
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Table of Contents
Valorant Weapons Tier List
Here are our picks and rankings for the best Valorant weapons.
| Tier | Weapon | Weapon Type |
| S-Tier | Vandal | Rifle |
| S-Tier | Phantom | Rifle |
| S-Tier | Operator | Sniper |
| S-Tier | Sheriff | Pistol |
| A-Tier | Spectre | SMG |
| A-Tier | Bulldog | Rifle |
| A-Tier | Classic | Pistol |
| A-Tier | Odin | Machine Gun |
| A-Tier | Judge | Shotgun |
| B-Tier | Marshal | Sniper |
| B-Tier | Stinger | SMG |
| B-Tier | Ares | Machine Gun |
| B-Tier | Guardian | Rifle |
| B-Tier | Ghost | Pistol |
| C-Tier | Shorty | Shotgun |
| C-Tier | Frenzy | Pistol |
| C-Tier | Bucky | Shotgun |
Of course, our weapon tier list will only be useful if you know what makes each weapon powerful. So let’s take a deeper look at each weapon.
S – Tier
These are the weapons that are clearly more powerful than the others. They are by far the best ones you can use in the game.
Vandal
The Vandal is probably the best weapon in Valorant, mostly because of its ability to one-shot headshot enemies at any range. Players with great aim and the discipline to control their shots and reset the recoil will excel at using the Vandal.
It’s the most used weapon in Valorant, both in competitive queue and pro play. It’s hard to argue against the stats.
Phantom
The Phantom is definitely a close second. It has a larger magazine size, a faster fire rate, an easier-to-control recoil, and is silenced. This makes it incredibly powerful in close to medium-range fights.
Unfortunately, it starts to lose some power the further you get from enemies. However, it’s a pretty solid weapon that can excel in different scenarios. It’s also great for beginners because of its easier recoil and spread.
Operator
The Operator can be one of the hardest weapons to use in Valorant. It has a slow fire rate and reload time, that each shot you miss can cost you your life. However, if you put it in the hands of a great player, it’s one of the hardest weapons to deal with. You’ll need to use utility and teamwork to counter a great Op player.
Its ability to one-shot body shot is incredibly strong and is one of the best weapons to use when defending.
Sheriff
The final weapon in S-tier is the Sheriff. The Sheriff is by far the most powerful pistol because of its ability to one-tap enemies between 0-30 meters. One headshot is all you need to kill a player, even if they have a stronger and more expensive weapon in their hands.
Count the number of times you’ve seen a team win the eco round because of the Sheriff’s one-tap potential. It’s a weapon for highlight reels, hero plays, and upsets.
A – Tier
This next tier consists of a group of weapons that are still good in Valorant and can sometimes outpower the S-tier weapons, depending on the situation.
Spectre
The Spectre is the most popular bonus or force weapon in Valorant. It has the ability to outpower rifles in close-range battles because of its high fire rate. It also has a silencer which makes it great for spamming through smokes.
It loses its power the further you get from the target. However, it’s definitely a solid weapon that’ll give you a fighting chance against rifles.
Bulldog
The Bulldog is another rifle that can dish out some pretty solid damage. It’s cheaper than the Vandal and the Phantom but still packs quite the punch. Its best feature is the three-bullet burst that you get when using ADS. It can quickly delete an enemy if you can hit all bullets properly.
Like the Spectre, it’s the perfect weapon for force-buy rounds or bonus rounds that will still give you a fighting chance against full-buy enemies.
Classic
Next up, we have the free spawn pistol that everyone gets, the Classic. It’s great at close range because of its alt fire that can instantly delete an enemy. It’s also useable in medium-range battles because of the decent damage that its primary fire provides.
Overall, it’s a versatile pistol and is really well-balanced. Plus, it’s really hard to complain about something when you get it for free.
Odin
The Odin is one of the best defensive weapons you can use. Its insanely high fire rate, large magazine size, and high penetration make it an oppressing force to deal with. Unfortunately, it’s hard to use the Odin on the fly because of your slow mobility and slow initial fire rate.
It also requires a larger investment of 3,200 credits, which is why it’s a little bit lower down our list.
Judge
The Judge is the best weapon for close-range combat. It’s an automatic shotgun that has a fast fire rate which allows you to take out multiple enemies in quick succession. It can overpower much stronger weapons in close-range fights and is extremely useful for holding cheese spots and close angles.
The current maps in rotation also help the Judge a lot. They all have close spaces and tight corners, which is where the Judge shines the most.
B – Tier
These next set of weapons are still usable but not necessarily the greatest. They are still quite good in certain situations.
Marshal
The Marshal is often called the “budget Op” because of its ability to one-shot body-shot enemies without any armor. However, it can also kill via headshot, even those with armor. This makes it a solid and cheap alternative for those buy rounds, especially if you plan on holding longer angles.
Stinger
The Stinger is insanely powerful at very close range. It has the highest fire rate among all weapons in Valorant and is an amazing run-and-gun weapon as long as your enemy is up close. It basically guarantees a kill if you can get around 10 meters or less of your enemies.
Ares
The Ares is basically a cheaper version of the Odin. It has a slightly lower fire rate and a slightly lower magazine size. However, it’s much cheaper, making it a solid defensive tool for when your economy is running low.
Unfortunately, it also faces the same problems that the Odin does and deals a bit less damage, which is why it’s in our B-tier.
Guardian
The Guardian is a rifle primarily known for one thing, long-range one-taps. It’s a solid weapon for ranged combat because of its better zoom compared to other rifles. However, it can easily get overpowered at close range because of its slow fire rate.
Ghost
The Ghost is a popular pistol round buy. However, it’s mostly only good at pistol rounds. Most of the time, you’re better off simply buying the Sheriff for an additional 300 credits, even on save rounds. Overall, it’s still a decent pistol, just not as powerful as some of the others.
C – Tier
These are among the worst weapons in Valorant. They are most useful in very specific situations and should only be bought if you plan on playing to their strengths.
Shorty
The Shorty is only good for very close-range fights. It’s fantastic at getting quick picks through holding close corners and tight angles. However, anything more than 5 meters and the Shorty is pretty much useless. It’s a very niche weapon that can get you a free and easy kill when used correctly.
Frenzy
The Frenzy is basically a pistol version of the Stinger. It’s a fast fire rate, low magazine weapon that’s good at raining bullets on close enemies. It’s a bit more versatile than the Shorty because you can still do some decent damage at range. However, you’re usually better off buying a Ghost or a Sheriff rather than a Frenzy, which is why it’s down here at C-tier.
Bucky
The final weapon in C-tier is the Bucky. The Bucky used to be a great shotgun that offered a solid ranged alternative. Unfortunately, after nerfs and changes, it slowly became bad. The Judge is way better than the Bucky. The only thing that redeems the Bucky is its cheap price tag.
