Our Fortnite weapons tier list is here to help you decide which guns you should be picking up during battle royale — and which ones are better left in the chests they came from. Taking advantage of the new biomes across the battle royale map, you’ll need the right tools to survive up to a victory royale in each match. The new season presents massive changes on the battle royale map, returning mechanics, and some interesting additions ranging from weapons to quests you can follow on a weekly basis. This guide ranks the best Fortnite weapons in Chapter 3 Season 3 so that you can be prepared for every situation.

If you’re looking for more help, we have a dedicated hub that includes coverage around Indiana Jones quests, how to plant Reality Saplings, weekly quests, character locations, all current bugs and known issues, how to cure Storm Sickness, all Tover Tokens to complete Snap Quests, and the best weapons ranked in a tier list.

Last updated on August 29

[tier-list]

What Do the Rankings Mean?- Fortnite Weapons Tier List

Now that we have our tier list, it’s time we go over what each of these rankings actually means. I am solely looking at Fortnite‘s Zero Build mode; as such, this tier list doesn’t take into consideration Build modes (I stopped playing them months ago) nor Creative modes (they all have their own rules, so results may vary greatly).

It’s also worth considering that occasional hotfixes may tweak our Fortnite weapons tier list quite a bit, so there may be slight variations — especially when new weapons come into the mix. We’ll be updating the tier list periodically, but in general terms, the ranking should stay relevant regardless. For reference, here’s what each category means:

S — If you see one of these weapons on the ground, grab them and don’t let them go.
A — More than decent options worth combining with S-tier weapons.
B — Good, but unless one of your favorites is in here, I wouldn’t waste an inventory slot for them.
C — Not that great. Pick them up if there are no other options around, but be on the lookout for replacements.
D — I wouldn’t bother with these. But, like C, pick them up if you don’t have any other choices.
F — Don’t let anyone try to convince you that these are good.

Of course, ranking weapons in Fortnite is quite different than in other games mainly since we have to consider weapon rarity. Reality Saplings have distorted this quite a bit, leading to players to have legendary or mythic weapons at the start of a match. It’s kind of difficult to survive with this disadvantage, which is why I recommend prioritizing having maximum shields as early as possible and picking up weapons that are worth your while.

There are generally only a few weapons that are an absolute miss, and you can get away with almost anything for a while. The trick is that the longer you survive in a match, the more likely you’ll stumble upon people who have legendary weapons — and who usually know their stuff. The key is to get there as best prepared as possible. If you’re in the middle of a match and your inventory slots don’t have most weapons in rare or epic condition, you will be at disadvantage.

How Are the Rankings Selected?

These rankings are based on my own experience with Fortnite throughout the past few seasons. I’ve seen shotguns go from the absolute go-to to being kind of a miss in Chapter 3 Season 3, where rifles and especially SMGs have become more prominent due to their daunting rate of fire.

For example, the Two-Shot Shotgun introduced itself as a solid option at the beginning of the season, as it packed quite a punch and delivered it fast. But it has been losing relevance ever since. Up until patch v21.20, everyone who was carrying a Combat SMG was more likely to take you down — even if you successfully landed a shot from shotguns, the time in between fire is crucial, and that’s exactly where SMGs thrive. That being said, the Charge SMG can be a hit or miss in comparison, as it demands you to actually charge the shots. There is a ton of recoil, and of course, the time factor is tough to manage.

Some weapons are still decent enough but lack some of the qualities of others. Recoil and reload times are the biggest denominators — while the Heavy Sniper Rifle is powerful, you no longer one-shot enemies with full health (100 health, 150 shield) and reload time is slow. As such, while the DMR does less damage per shot, you can chain them in a quick fashion, which increases your chances of dealing damage as opposed to having just one shot in tough situations.

Then, the new additions have been a bit of a hit or miss. The Combat Assault Rifle is a personal favorite of mine, which is held back only because of its magazine size, but remains the best overall — with the Hammer Assault Rifle being a close second. And the Prime Shotgun, while it can definitely be useful for landing a shot when you’re still closing the distance with an opponent for a regular shotgun shot, it can be fairly slow to reload.

Other options in our Fortnite weapons tier list tend to be more gimmicky in nature, and their purpose varies a lot. I’d try and stay away from them, but hey, you can’t ever go wrong with grenades if you want to surprise an enemy group before storming in.

Highlights

- DMR: There’s a chance that the Heavy Sniper Rifle is your go-to, and that’s fine! But you need to have a great aim and be in a very particular situation to make the most out of it. It’s not a quiet weapon. Missing the first or second shot — if you’re lucky enough to get the chance for the latter — will expose you to getting attacked by your target. In the best-case scenario, if you land said shot but they have full health, you’re not guaranteed to take them down. The DMR hits less and doesn’t have as much range but is much more versatile.
- Sidearm Pistol: This pistol is amazing; if it weren’t for the disadvantage of other weapon types, it would be in A-tier. It’s light, has basically no recoil, and the fire rate is incredible. Of course, you’ll benefit from it greatly if you actually aim at the head for the maximum possible damage, but it’s great in close quarters too.
- Harpoon Gun: Okay, I won’t try and convince you that the Harpoon Gun isn’t a gimmicky weapon, but listen. I’ve used it several times to bring enemies toward my position and they never, ever see it coming. Plus, since being hit by the harpoon causes damage, doing so to someone who is firing at you from afar but may have little health can let you take them down on a whim. If you have a free inventory slot and the match is in its early stages, give it a try.

Fortnite Weapons Tier List - Best Fortnite Weapons (August 2022)

Ranking the best Fortnite weapons in Chapter 3 Season 3.

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