With the release of Chapter 2 came huge changes to the weapon META in Fortnite. The Tac is now better than the pump and the RPG is back with a vengeance.
This guide takes you through the best and worse weapons to use in Fornite chapter 2, Season 1. We rank all the weapons from 1 to 15. The weapon tier system we used is also ranked by the rarity of the weapon(blue, green, gold and purple).
We also mention 2 damage ranges throughout our guide. The first figure is for an enemy with 100 health and the second figure is for an enemy with shielded health. Just keep that in mind when you’re reading through the guide.
#1 SCAR(Legendary and Epic)
The purple and gold SCAR deal 25-36 damage respectively. These weapons can down an enemy in 3 shots.
They are and always have been the go-to AR in Fortnite. Once again proving to be the most consistent weapon in both close range and long-range engagements.
#2 Pump (Legendary and Epic)
The Legendary variant of the Pump is capable of dealing with a 200 damage headshot. The weapon’s base damage base range is 100 with a headshot multiplier of 2.
Its an absolute beast of a shotty, just remember to aim for the head.
#3 Compact SMG(Legendary and Epic)
The compact SMG or P90 as some people like to call it is a completely new weapon. It looks the exact same. However, it plays a lot different.
The Epic SMG deals 21 damage per shot giving it a 252 DPS rate. This means it only takes about 5 shots to kill at close range.
#4 Tactical (Legendary and Epic)
The purple Tactical Shotgun deals 83 damage with a headshot multiplier of 2. Giving the weapon a headshot damage of 186.
Moreover, the gold deals 87 damage with headshots doing a whopping 195 damage per shot.
#5 Sniper (Legendary and Epic)
The purple sniper deals 110 damage and the gold deals 230. Although these weapons don’t boast high damage ranges. Their biggest attribute is the fast reload speed at 2.5 seconds. This makes it easy to bang off quick high damage shots.
#6 Burst AR (AUG) (Legendary and Epic)
The AUG is a Burst Assault Rifle in Fortnite and is pretty effective this season. It deals 32 damage per shot. This makes the Burst AR a 4 shot kill at 100 health.
#7 Tactical Shotgun
In general, the baseline tactical shotguns are overall solid weapons. The Tac has generally improved. It now deals 159 damage per headshot. The green Tac is a slight bump in the stats doing 168 damage per shot.
#8 RPG(Legendary)
The purple RPG is a very effective weapon this season. It does 115 damage and is a great weapon for causing initial high damage. It is also quite effective to use to pressure enemies out of buildings and cover.
#9 Pistols (Legendary and Epic)
The purple pistol takes 4 to 8 shots to kill. Its damage range is 28 per shot. The gold variant is semi-auto and deals 29 damage per shot. These 2 pistols are very effective in medium-range combat and can shred enemies.
#10 Compact SMG (Rare)
The blue SMG deals 19 damage per shot giving it a DPS 228. It has similar damage ranges than its lower variants. However, comes with a slightly faster reload speed.
#11 Assault Rifle(Common, Uncommon and Rare)
The baseline assault rifle deals with 30 damage per shot. Meaning it can take out an enemy in 4 shots and 7 if they are shielded. The green is not much different with 31 damage per shot.
Finally, the blue AR deals 33 damage per shot. It’s important to note these weapons all have the same shots to kill so going for any 3 doesn’t make a difference.
#12 The Burst Assault Rifle(Rare and Uncommon
The Burst Assault Rifle deals 29 damage per shot with the first shot being the most accurate. This means it will take 4 shots to take out an enemy with 100 health and 7 shots for a player with a shield.
#13 The Pump(Common)
The Pump has got a huge nerf since previous seasons. It now deals 70 damage with a headshot multiplier of 2.
This means it only does 140 damage per headshot. It also has a slow reload time. These combinations now make it one of the worse guns in the game.
#14 Pistol(Common, Uncommon and Rare)
The common variant of this pistol has pretty much always sucked. It has never been a great weapon in any season.
It deals 24 damage per shot. That means it’s a 5 shot to kill with 100 health and 9 shots to kill against a shield.