Fortnite weapons tier list for Chapter 5 Season 2 & best guns

Now that we're a few weeks deep into Fortnite Chapter 5: Season 2, we've seen many weapons vaulted and some new ones introduced too - so with that in mind, I've ranked all of the weapons currently in the game.

On top of the fresh weapons, there's a new Battle Pass to explore including plenty of skins like the Avatar Korra. But for now, it's all about those guns and those Mythic bending techniques.

What are the best weapons in Fortnite?

Any loadout needs to have balance, so you ideally want a Frenzy Auto Shotgun, a Reaper Sniper Rifle, and then something for midrange battles like the Nemesis Assault Rifle.

On top of that, it's very handy to have the Airbending technique for traversal and making a quick getaway.

Click to enlarge

There’s no doubt there'll be a little bit of personal taste here, especially depending on which range you’re in whilst scrapping. For example, in a close-range battle, some may opt for a fast-firing SMG whilst others (like myself) prefer a powerful shotgun.

Having said that, some weapons simply are better than others when it comes to the amount of damage they can deal or how useful they are in specific situations. I've ranked them all from S-Tier (the best) to C-Tier (the worst) below, including the new Mythics:

S-Tier weapons 

Weapon	Rarity	Description	Image
Waterbending	Mythic	The Waterbending Mythic is unbelievably good in-game. There's barely any drop-off from your shots and it can be devastating from any range. The added passive bonus of healing whilst in water makes it the best Mythic currently in the game.	Click to enlarge
Airbending	Mythic	Airbending is the current mobility tool in the game. With this, you can whip around the map in no time, and also gain some useful height advantages on opponents. There is no damage output to this weapon, but chances are your loadout won't be complete without this.	Click to enlarge

A-Tier weapons 

Weapon	Rarity	Description	Image
Reaper Sniper Rifle	Common  Uncommon Rare Epic Legendary	A sniper rifle works well when trying to fight from a range, and although you can put sniper scopes on ARs now, it still doesn't come close to a weapon like this. Right now the Reaper is the only Sniper Rifle available, but has been moved down our ranking due to recently being nerfed - it now has much greater drop-off.	Click to enlarge
Firebending	Mythic	The Firebending Mythic is going to be a go-to if you're in a close and personal fight. You move so quickly that it makes you a pain to hit, but if you're accurate you can deal significant damage.	Click to enlarge
Harbinger SMG	Common  Uncommon Rare Epic Legendary	The Harbinger SMG has been introduced this season with the Mythic only found by defeating Hades. The new gun boasts a magazine size of 30 and can shred through enemies. The only downside is the longer you fire it in a burst the less accurate it becomes.	Click to enlarge
Nemesis AR	Common  Uncommon Rare Epic Legendary	The Striker AR has a higher rate of fire than the Warforged Assult Rifle does but doesn't do quite as much damage. It is however, considerably easier to use because the recoil is less.	Click to enlarge
Huntress DMR	Common  Uncommon Rare Epic Legendary	The Huntress DMR final offers a good alternative to the Reaper Sniper Rifle, allowing more players to be threatening from range. The weapon is almost a hybrid between a sniper and an AR. The Mythic version can be found by defeating Zeus.	Click to enlarge
Hand Cannon	Rare Epic Legendary	The Hand Cannon has been unvaulted as part of the 29.10 update. If you've played Fortnite for a while you'll know this weapon well, it has huge potential but requires extreme accuracy to be effective.	Click to enlarge

B-Tier weapons

Weapon	Rarity	Description	Image
Frenzy Auto Shotgun	Common  Uncommon Rare Epic Legendary	Right now, this is the best shotgun in the game due to its fast, automatic firing rate. If you find yourself very close up it can get you out of a jam. You also reload this gun all at once, which is unusual for a shotgun. Sadly, we have had to move it down though because the DPS was significantly nerfed in the last patch.	Click to enlarge
Warforged Assault Rifle	Common  Uncommon Rare Epic Legendary	Sometimes I think this might be one of the best guns around, as the damage on offer is huge and a magazine size of 35 is amazing. The problem, like a lot of the new weapons, is the recoil can be a pain, and without mods it's almost out of control. Ares holds the Mythic version.	Click to enlarge
Drum Gun (SMG)	Rare Epic Legendary	The newly introduced Drum Gun is different to what we have seen before, this time around it's an SMG. It's a good weapon that can be devastating up close, but it uses the same ammo as an AR preventing it from being higher on the list for ammo use reasons.	Click to enlarge
Ranger Pistol	Common  Uncommon Rare Epic Legendary	It may say Pistol on the tin, but due to its high fire rate that's automatic, the Ranger Pistol is essentially an SMG. It has a small magazine of 15, but the reload speed is incredibly fast.	Click to enlarge
Gatekeeper Shotgun	Common  Uncommon Rare Epic Legendary	The Gatekeeper Shotgun can be devastating if you're accurate. The only issue is the magazine size as it only holds three shells, making it one for high-skilled players. You can make the magazine size larger in a weapon about, which then makes the weapon considerably better. The Mythic version can be found on Cerberus.	Click to enlarge
Earthbending	Mythic	Of all the new Mythics, this is the one I'm struggling to get on with the most. I don't want to be too harsh and put it at the bottom because its defensive abilities are very useful in Zero Build. For now, I'll leave it here and see if my opinion changes in the coming weeks.	Click to enlarge

C-Tier weapons 

Weapon	Rarity	Descriptions	Image
Cluster Clinger	Uncommon	I love the Cluster Clinger and if I wasn't trying to be objective here it would be right at the top. You throw one of these and chaos ensues. It can stick to any surface and shoot out small explosions in close proximity. Sadly, as fun as it is, it has quite a limited use case (like destroying enemy structures).	Click to enlarge
Thunder Burst SMG	Common  Uncommon Rare Epic Legendary	I'm not a huge fan of burst weapons in Fortnite and that's why the Thunder Burst SMG is so low down. Admittedly, it's still an SMG so can be very handy, but in comparison to other close-range options, it's not as effective. The magazine size is 27, and the recoil is pretty heavy without mods.	Click to enlarge
Hammer Pump Shotgun	Common  Uncommon Rare Epic Legendary	If you're on the hunt for a high-damage shotgun, this will be a great option. The problem is the fire rate is very slow compared to other shotguns this season, as well as having a painfully slow reload speed with a magazine size of only 6.	Click to enlarge

You might notice that the Thunderbolts of Zeus, the Wings of Icarus, and the Chains of Hades aren't in the table above. That's because they've been temporarily vaulted while the Avatar collaboration takes place.

More weapons will likely be released or unvaulted as the season progresses, so with that in mind, I'll continue to keep this page up to date as changes are made or if an update tweaks a gun's effectiveness.

For more guides, check out our Fortnite homepage where we have already covered, the rarest skins, how to increase your village rating in LEGO Fortnite and where to find Weapon Bunkers.