Apex Legends Season 8 is well underway, and one of the world’s best battle royale games continues to get bigger and better. Well, bigger, at least, in regards to the Nintendo Switch release. Better is certainly debatable. Away from the trials and tribulations of the Nintendo Switch’s handling of Apex Legends is the release of the exciting Fuse, a master of an explosive arsenal, and a bunch of weapon balance changes that are, admittedly, difficult to keep up with.
In this guide we’re going to be giving you a full tier list of all the different guns in Apex Legends, separated by weapon type. You want to use a sniper rifle? We’ll list off the best of the best, in order of effectiveness. The same goes for assault rifles, SMGs, well, basically every weapon type in the game. This should help you decide which weapons to use for each of your battle pass challenges.
Just read down below for the best weapons in each weapon category, in order of best to worst. Once you’ve tested out the weapons we’ve listed here you’re sure to be ready to take down enemy teams in the Apex Games.
Assault Rifles
- R-301
- Flatline
- G7 Scout
- 30-30 Repeater
- Hemlok
- Havoc
The R-301 has always been the king. It has an incredibly low amount of recoil, allowing you to aim it at long ranges, and when paired with an Anvil Receiver it becomes an excellent single-fire weapon too. The Flatline offers a bit more of a kick than the R-301, but otherwise is a similar weapon, with extra damage output.
The G7 Scout is still my preferred single-fire weapon, just above the 30-30 Repeater, and unfortunately the Hemlok’s recent hipfire nerfs have taken it down the list. The Havoc is at the bottom here thanks to a high amount of recoil and charge up, but with a Turbocharger it becomes incredibly deadly at close ranges, but useless at a distance.
Submachine Guns
- R-99
- Volt
- Alternator
The R-99 is a beast, and that’s why it was a care package weapon for a while back there. If you can handle the extreme recoil and fast fire rate, it is a killer and an amazing weapon to wield. The Volt, meanwhile, has a fairly swift fire rate and a low amount of recoil, making it a great energy weapon to replace the Havoc if you can’t handle the charge time. The Alternator is just fine, but without the Disruptor Rounds hop up from many seasons ago it won’t become anyone’s main weapon.
Light Machine Guns
- Devotion
- Spitfire
- L-Star
The Devotion is incredible, okay? A single clip when paired with the Turbocharger can potentially tear an entire team to pieces, and it’s glorious. The Spitfire is also a great choice, because it has a simply insane clip size. These two weapons, when paired with the new level-4 gold extended magazines become deadly. The L-Star, meanwhile, is just fine, but difficult to wield. At least it doesn’t overheat as easily now when you feather the trigger.
Sniper Rifles
- Triple Take
- Charge Rifle
- Sentinel
- Longbow
The Triple Take is not only a great sniper rifle, but also works as an impromptu shotgun at close range thanks to the wide spray of its three bullets when hipfiring. The Charge Rifle meanwhile offers a more user-friendly approach to sniper rifles thanks to no bullet drop, and easy, small amounts of damage just for vaguely aiming over enemies from a distance.
The Sentinel is great now that you can charge it with simple shield cells and the extra damage applies to both shields and standard HP, rendering the Longbow pointless. Sorry Longbow, we don’t need you anymore.
Shotguns
- Mastiff
- EVA-8
- Mozambique
The Mastiff has had a few nerfs, but nothing can stop it from being the most effective shotgun you can find on the floor. At close range it does loads of damage, and a well-aimed shot can down an enemy that doesn’t have a shield. The Eva-8 is also good if you fire it rapidly enough. The Mozambique is better now that it has four shots available and the Hammerpoint Rounds hop up, but still not a weapon you should rely on in a pinch.
Pistols
- Wingman
- P2020
- RE-45
The Wingman is amazing and always has been. It does high damage from a variety of ranges, and as long as your aim is good, it can be very deadly indeed. The P2020 is also great as long as you can pair it with the Hammerpoint Rounds, as it fires very quickly and can do a lot of damage, making it a great sidearm when paired with an SMG. The RE-45 can also be a great sidearm, but I wouldn’t recommend sticking with it when better options are available.
Care Package Weapons
- Kraber (Sniper Rifle)
- Prowler (SMG)
- Peacekeeper (Shotgun)
You will rarely be able to freely choose between the care package weapons, but these weapons are obviously designed to be better than the other weapons in their classes. I can rarely get those precious Kraber headshots, honestly, but a headshot from the Kraber guarantees a knockdown, regardless of which legend, helmet, and shield your opponent is running with. Beautiful. Hitting those close-range hipfire shots is also incredible, in a pinch.
The Prowler is amazing regardless of whether on burst-fire mode or full-automatic, and can rinse through an opponent’s shields and health in no time. The Peacekeeper needs to charge its shots to be fully useful, but when you get a fully charged shot on an opponent it will do excellent damage, even at much longer ranges than any shotgun should be used at.