While Apex Legends continues to grow in popularity with critics, the public, and streamers, the titan that is Fortnite hasn't quite been overshadowed by the new Battle Royale title from the guys and girls at Respawn Entertainment (not just yet anyway.)
While the aim of a machine and the reactions of a Shaolin monk will help you defeat the 99 other players looking to wipe you out, a big chunk of your survivability is contained with what weapons you manage to scavenge from the battlefield and how much the gods of fortune are smiling on you. Without a good weapon by your side, you aren't bound to do too well in Fortnite.
Akin to fighting games, Fortnite and many other titles have somewhat of a tier system when it comes to the weapons that are available. This applies to all weapons in the game, and it pays to know what's the best tool for a given situation, especially when it comes to the Legendary weapon variants.
Not all weapons are created equal. While some of the Legendary weapons have positives, there are a few of them that may seem great on the surface but be impractical or comparatively weak against some of the other Legendary choices on offer.
20 Not Worth It: Minigun
While the Minigun has insane firepower and can rip player built structures to shreds in a matter of seconds, it certainly has its drawbacks. Being such a bulky piece of kit, the Minigun requires you to remain static while you shoot, leaving you incredibly exposed to any other players in the area.
It also takes time to spool up to fire, meaning any quick trigger fingers will take you down before you’ve even managed to shoot a bullet. Not only that, it will overheat after just six seconds of continuous fire.
Its infinite ammunition is certainly appealing, and it does have a fairly good drop rate from Supply Drops at around 33%, but if you’re looking for a tool to destroy players’ bases, an RPG is a far more effective choice.
19 Worth It: Assault Rifle (SCAR)
The Legendary Assault Rifle, more commonly referred to as the SCAR due to its resemblance to the real-life weapon, is one of the best all-around guns you can pick up in the Battle Royale title. The main reason players love the Assault Rifle so much is that it is just straight up good at more or less everything.
It dishes out a stern 198 damage per second, has a respectable clip size of thirty bullets, has a relatively good reload time at just over two seconds, and the chances of it being bestowed unto a player is just shy of 6% from a Supply Drop.
Being a jack-of-all-trades, the Legendary Assault Rifle is a solid choice for any encounter no matter what range you’re taking on your target from.
18 Not Worth It: Burst Assault Rifle (Vault)
Modeled (at least visually) after the real-life FAMAS assault rifle, the Burst Assault Rifle has seen its Common, Uncommon, and Rare iterations locked away in the Vault. The Epic and Legendary versions however still remain intact.
Anyone not well acquainted with Fortnite terminology, a weapon being “vaulted” means its no longer available in standard Public play, but can still be used in the Playground mode and the Creator mode.
The Burst AR is a powerful weapon to have in your arsenal, but one that can be very hit and miss to use. It has a high DPS at just over 173, but it kicks like a mule, and burst weapons in general are often disliked by players because of this.
It’s certainly not to be sniffed at, but between the Burst Assault Rifle and the SCAR, the SCAR wins every time.
17 Worth It: Hand Cannon
No Sniper Rifle? No problem! With a Hand Cannon in your holster, you won’t need a long range rifle to take out your opponents from afar.
While that may have sounded like a cringey sales pitch, the Hand Cannon is actually a viable substitute for a Sniper Rifle as it has a surprisingly long range. Couple this with its high damage output (sitting at 78 points) and seven round clip, and what looks like a mere Desert Eagle tribute becomes a one-handed Sniper Rifle.
As it excels at being a great ranged option, the Hand Cannon doesn’t do too well up close and personal. So even though its a pistol, you’re better off using a Shotgun or SMG of some sort in close combat.
16 Worth It: Suppressed Assault Rifle
As with most games, adding a suppressor or silencer to a weapon means that you sacrifice a percentage of damage and/or damage drop-off for having your location on the map concealed from other players when firing.
Added in Content Update 5.40, the Suppressed Assault Rifle has almost identical stats to the regular Legendary Assault Rifle, just falling short on damage where it sits at 33 compared to the SCAR’s 36 (and therefore also lowering its DPS.)
Choosing a Suppressed or regular Assault Rifle boils down to how bothered you are about being seen when you’re shooting. The Suppressed variant requires more trigger discipline when firing compared to the normal SCAR, but keeps your position hidden.
It’s all down to preference.
15 Worth It: Heavy Sniper Rifle
If there’s one piece of kit you can rely on to take out your enemies from a bazillion miles away, its the mighty Heavy Sniper. Sure, there are plenty of other strong sniper rifles in the game and it does suffer from a long reload and a single bullet magazine, but this bad boy packs one heck of a punch.
The Heavy Sniper can dish out a gigantic 157 damage and does a devastating 1100 damage to structures. Its a spot of contention which is the best sniper in the game; while some prefer the Heavy Sniper, others favour the Bolt Action Sniper Rifle. However, due to the Bolt Action Sniper Rifle being recently vaulted, the Heavy Sniper has pretty much won by default.
14 Not Worth It: Heavy Assault Rifle
Again, this weapon isn’t anything to be scoffed at, but its outclassed in almost every department by other weapons in its family.
The Heavy Assault Rifle actually deals a decent 180 points of damage per second, has an almost 4-second fire rate and magazine clip of twenty-five bullets. The problem lies in that the Legendary Assault Rifle (SCAR) one-ups it in every category that truly matters, those being DPS, fire rate and reload time.
Another main gripe is that the weapon has a substantial kick to it when fired, meaning it has to be tap fired to keep its spread from going all over the place. Whereas the SCAR can fire automatically with a controllable amount of kickback.
So basically, just go for the SCAR.
13 Worth It: RPG
Providing a hefty whack of damage, sitting with a fairly good drop rate, and doubling as an unorthodox method of transport, the Rocket Launcher is always a good thing to have in your back pocket.
The Rocket Launcher does a very strong 121 damage and actually has a pretty good chance of popping up in a game thanks to its 8% Supply Drop probability and can put out a massive 413 damage to buildings, making no hidey hole as safe as it might seem.
The Rocket Launcher (along with most of the explosives in the game) has been tweaked in a number of patches to make them as balanced as possible without making them feel useless.
12 Worth It: Compact SMG
If you’re after a weapon that’s both fast and furious, the Compact SMG will meet your criteria and then some. While it may only deal 21 points of damage, its crazy fire rate allows its DPS statistic to sky-rocket to 210!
On top of this insane damage per second stat, it boasts a forty (yes, forty) bullet clip. Unless your opponent happens to have a Legendary Shotgun of some sort to counter you, you’ll be able to dominate close to mid-range combat situations purely thanks to its ferocious speed.
There’s a very slim chance you’ll get one from any chests or floor loot as the drop rates are below a 1%, although you do have an almost 15% chance of finding one in a Supply Drop.
11 Worth It: Heavy Shotgun (Vault)
Recently Vaulted in Patch 7.30 that arrived in January 2019, the Heavy Shotgun has both positives and negatives that divide players who look for different attributes in their close range weapons.
Now that the Heavy Shotgun has been put away in the Vault, the Pump Shotgun has become the de facto king of shotguns. The Heavy Shotgun doesn’t quite give the same “oomph” that the Pump Shotgun does, but it does have better range and a faster rate of fire.
Like I said, the recent patch sealing the Heavy away in the Vault means that the Pump Shotgun now reigns supreme as everyone’s first choice shotgun. If you’re playing Playground or Creator however, the Heavy is a fine choice to use.
10 Worth It: Zapotron (Vault)
One of the most game-breaking weapons to feature in the record-breaking title, the infamous Zapotron now lies within the confines of the Vault, being put there shortly after its release.
Running on Energy Cells, the portable lightning cannon could take out a player with a single zap. It's hardly surprising then that Epic quickly (and probably correctly) decided to take it out of the game amid concerns that it would drastically imbalance the meta of the game.
Though the drop rate was very low and it technically sports stats of just fifty in both damage and DPS, it houses a twenty clip magazine. This meant even an inexperienced player could effectively zap their way to victory with little to no skill.
9 Worth It: Grenade Launcher
While not as powerful as its other weapon family members like the RPG and Quad Launcher, the Grenade Launcher has other attributes that make it just as potent a damage dealer.
The Legendary Grenade Launcher is actually a great alternative to the RPG, as it does identical damage to structures (413,) only has a marginal reduction on damage (just eleven points lower than the RPG) and a slightly higher DPS.
The Grenade Launcher’s primary advantage over its more direct cousin is its ability to stack a barrage of six grenades as opposed to just one chambered rocket. A player should take care however, as in confined spaces there’s a chance you can get an unfortunate bounce and end up on the wrong end of an explosion.
8 Worth It: Infinity Blade (Vault)
Found in Polar Peak and added during Season 7, this insanely powerful sword has since been put away in the Vault. Dealing 75 damage per hit and obliterating entire structures in just one swing, the Blade also has a number of personal benefits, providing buffs to the player who wields it. Upon picking it up, the player will be granted full health and shield, with those stats being raised to 200 each.
You’ll regenerate one HP per second and get a hefty fifty HP from defeating an opponent, and on top of all that, you get a 30% boost to your movement speed. While it was only available for a short four day period over the 2018 holiday season, keep your eyes peeled and your sights trained on Polar Peak to see if it appears again.
7 Worth It: Guided Missile (Vault)
Far from being the most devastating weapon around, the Guided Missile was often used for its other utilities and downright fun factor rather than its potential.
The Guided Missile itself only deals 77 damage and can only fire 1 rocket at a time but deals a fairly respectable 400 damage to structures. While it could naturally be used as a weapon to hunt down even the most squirrel-like of players, the Guided Missile (like the RPG) can have its rocket hopped onto, allowing you to fly around the map at will.
If you don’t fancy going on a magical carpet ride, you can use it as a recon tool that allows you to scout out the surrounding area, and maybe get a cheeky kill while you’re at it.
6 Not Worth It: Thermal Scoped Assault Rifle
Now we’re not saying that the Thermal Assault Rifle is inherently bad, it's just that among other legendary weapons within its class, there are much better options that you can choose from.
The fact that you have a thermal scope means you can spot your enemies that much easier, and that is indeed helpful. Better yet, it reveals chests, Supply Drops, and Supply Llamas by highlighting them with a heat signature, which again is even more helpful-er.
Damage wise it doesn’t do too bad with 37 points, but its slow fire rate, small fifteen clip magazine and heavy recoil make it one of the poorer options to choose from, especially among the assault rifles.
5 Worth It: Scoped Revolver
Joining the weapon roster in January of this year, the Scoped Revolver is a step up from the portable sniper that is the Hand Cannon by having its synonymous scope attached.
This unusual weapon/attachment mash-up is mainly sold on its damage to the head, clocking in at 88 points. As it’s so new to the game, the Scoped Revolver hasn’t been messed around with or tweaked in any updates so far, but its existence may end up rendering the Hand Cannon redundant.
Sporting a six bullet chamber, the Scoped Revolver is the next best thing to a sniper. It won’t take down structures as effectively though, so save your shots for players rather than fortresses.
4 Not Worth It: Double Barrel Shotgun
The Double Barrel Shotgun is something of a classic weapon, but in the world of Fortnite, it pales in comparison to its shell shooting comrades.
Sealed in the Vault since December 2018, the DB Shotgun hasn’t been missed by many. Lacking the firing speed of the Heavy Shotgun and the raw power of the Pump Shotgun, the Double Barrel Shotgun has a greater spread and lower head-shot multiplier at 1.25. It also takes longer to weapon swap after firing.
The DB Shotgun still lays on the damage, but among legendary weapons in its class, the Heavy or Pump Shotgun are objectively better choices. Plus since it's in the Vault, the Pump Shotty should be your main CQC choice.
3 Worth It: Suppressed Sniper Rifle
The Heavy Sniper may be top of the tree when it comes to dealing damage from the other side of the map, but those with more discretion can use the Suppressed Sniper Rifle to equally great effect.
Like the Suppressed Assault Rifle, the Suppressed Sniper won’t reveal your position on the map to any other players and it still does a strong 105 points of damage to both enemy players and structures. It can also fire a lot faster than its Heavy counterpart, being almost two seconds faster in reload time, meaning you can rain silent shots down at a faster rate, giving you more margin for error in aiming.
The Suppressed Sniper also suffers from less bullet drop than the other Sniper Rifles.
2 Worth It: Quad Launcher (Vault)
There’s nothing fancy about this baby. It’s pure, unadulterated firepower and destruction. Times four. Vaulted in Update 7.20, the Quad Launcher has an 84 damage and DPS stat, and does a healthy 330 structure damage. Although, that’s just for one rocket...
So really, the Quad Launcher (providing all four rockets hit) does 336 damage and over 1300 damage to structures. If a player is hiding within a well-fortified base and you have the Quad Launcher in your arsenal, you can do some serious home renovating.
The Quad Launcher’s main drawback is that if you don’t finish your target(s) off, you can be caught out by it’s 4+ second reload time, so make sure your aim is on point or you could be made to pay for your inaccuracy.
1 Worth It: Infinity Gauntlet (Vault)
The centerpiece weapon that came about as a result of Epic and Marvel’s cross-promotion event during the release of Avengers: Infinity War, the Infinity Gauntlet was as recklessly fun as it was frighteningly powerful.
Technically classed as a Mythic item (along with the Infinity Blade,) only one of these power gloves would spawn per game, and whichever lucky player got to it first would transform into the villainous Thanos and wield his mighty powers.
Okay so you couldn’t just snap your fingers and despawn half of your opponents, but you would get a whopping 300 shield and 700 health. You could leap around the map and perform a mighty ground pound, shoot laser beams from your fist and your punches could shatter structures into pieces.
You can see why the big purple guy wanted it so bad.