Fortnite weapons guide (V9.10) - Fortnite guns, weapon stats, best weapon in Fortnite Season 9
Aim, Shoot, Miss, Die, Rinse, Repeat
Fortnite's weapons roster has never been given much time to settle down throughout its history, but Season 9 has taken this to new levels. Not only have we seen two new weapons and the vaulting of some old classics, but now we've got the old Semi-Auto Sniper Rifle to discuss for the first time in about 3 seasons. What better time, we thought, to go back over our Fortnite weapons guide and repopulate it with all the latest information.
The below words are packed with tonnes of up-to-date weapon stats regarding damage, range, bloom, and much more. So let's waste no further time, and find out all about the best weapons in Fortnite!
Our Fortnite guide hub is fully up to date for Season 9, so head there if you want to see all the guides we have on offer for this beast of a Battle Royale. Examples include our page on the Fortnite week 6 challenges, our advanced Fortnite building and editing guide, our full list of all Fortnite locations, our overview of the most powerful Fortnite loadouts, and much more.
Fortnite weapons & guns guide (v9.10)
Below you'll see we've categorised all the guns in Fortnite into their respective classes, which you can peruse using the links below. The stats below are taken from a combination of patch notes, the Fortnite wiki, and our own tests. So let's get to it!
| Assault Rifles |
| SMGs & LMGs |
| Snipers |
| Shotguns |
| Pistols |
| Explosives (including Throwables) |
| Pickaxe |
Assault Rifles
| Name | Ranking | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Heavy Assault Rifle | 1st | Amazing damage, but you need an SMG to go with it. |
| Drum Gun | 2nd | Very fast fire rate, good AR/SMG hybrid, high mag size. Mediocre accuracy. |
| Assault Rifle/SCAR | 3rd | Bogstandard. SCAR is still great, but not quite as powerful as the Heavy AR. |
| Infantry Rifle | 4th | Makes for a great sniper-class weapon, but don't use as an Assault Rifle. |
| Scoped Assault Rifle | 5th | Low damage, large clip size (compared to snipers) not that useful |
Besides the information below, our Fortnite Assault Rifle tips page is worth a look if you're wondering how best to use all the different kinds of ARs at your disposal in real match situations.
Tactical Assault Rifle
- Rarities: Rare, Epic, Legendary
- Ammo Type: Light Bullets
- Magazine Size: 30
- Damage: 22/23/24
- Fire Rate: 7.0 (0.14s)
- Reload Time: 2.2s/2.1s/2s
Introduced with the V9.01 patch notes, the Tactical Assault Rifle acts less like an AR and more like an SMG - which is good, because as of this patch the Suppressed SMG is in dire need of some company. A high rate of fire makes for some very nice damage to players and structures alike, but only at close range. At long range, the gun is severely let down by some tremendous damage drop-off, so I can't see myself using this as my primary Assault Rifle.
I'd use this in the same manner as I'd use a Drum Gun, or a Suppressed SMG: good for following up after a shotgun blast at close quarters, and good for suppressing the enemy; but compared to the other Assault Rifles on offer, even a Gold Tactical AR is very weak at longer ranges.
Infantry Rifle
- Rarities: Uncommon, Rare, Epic, Legendary
- Ammo Type: Medium Bullets
- Magazine Size: 8
- Damage: 38/40/42/44
- Fire Rate: 4.0 (0.25s)
- Reload Time: 2.4s/2.3s
Introduced in the V7.40 Patch Notes, upgraded in the V8.20 Patch Notes, and then nerfed again in the v8.30 Patch Notes, the Infantry Rifle acts in many ways like an Assault Rifle and in many other ways like a Sniper. It fires much quicker than you'd expect, eeking out the Heavy AR in fire rate and matching it in flat damage, too. Of course, its major drawback is that you can only fire eight bullets before having to reload. So what does it do to make up for this?
Long-range prowess is the answer. This gun is very accurate, returning to first-shot-accuracy extremely quickly after each shot; and while it lacks its former benefit of zero damage dropoff, Epic have now made the gun hitscan, so you no longer need to lead your shots to account for bullet travel time. I sure do like this gun, but I'd use it in my Sniper slot rather than my Assault Rifle slot.
Heavy Assault Rifle
- Rarities: Common, Uncommon, Rare
- Ammo Type: Medium Bullets
- Magazine Size: 25
- Damage: 36/38/40
- Fire Rate: 3.75 (0.27s)
- Reload Time: 2.8s/2.7s/2.5s
The Heavy AR is a monster in terms of damage. It has the ability to shred an enemy at close, medium and even long range, but its accuracy means that, as with all assault rifles, you shouldn't just hold down the fire button until you run out of bullets. A slower rate of fire, slower reload time, and reduced magazine size all attempt to mitigate the sheer power of this gun, but the truth is a Blue Heavy AR is arguably worth taking over a Gold SCAR as things currently stand. Remember, flat damage is king in Fortnite, as long as you know how to use it.
Assault Rifle
- Rarities: Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, Legendary
- Ammo Type: Medium Bullets
- Magazine Size: 30
- Damage: 30/31/33/35/36
- Fire Rate: 5.5 (0.18s)
- Reload Time: 2.3s/2.2s/2.2s/2.1s/2.1s
The standard assault rifle spans the entire height of the rarity ladder, which means it's difficult to talk about the weapon as a whole. While little separates them in terms of damage and reload time, the true modifier is accuracy. You'll find the Grey and Green variants will have very large bloom after a few shots, and it's difficult to hit enemies at long or even mid-range. But at the other end of the spectrum, the Epic and Legendary SCARs are much more reliable (though still not as much as some other weapons on this list).
Drum Gun
- Rarities: Uncommon, Rare
- Ammo Type: Medium Bullets
- Magazine Size: 50
- Damage: 22/23
- Fire Rate: 9 (0.11s)
- Reload Time: 3.2s/3.0s
Unvaulted at last during Epic's Unvaulting Event on May 4th 2019, the Drum Gun has received a much-needed nerf to its damage due to its previous and near-peerless ability to shred through players and structures at any range. It lacks the first shot accuracy that other Assault Rifles enjoy, but it's common as dirt these days and with its high mag size it's still a fantastic solution to enemies with the sheer gall to protect themselves with structures when they come under fire.
Scoped Assault Rifle
- Rarities: Rare, Epic
- Ammo Type: Medium Bullets
- Magazine Size: 20
- Damage: 26/27
- Structure Damage: 25/26
- Fire Rate: 3.5 (0.29s)
- Reload Time: 2.3s/2.2s
Even after its buff in the V8.11 Patch Notes, this gun is a great deal of meh. I used to be fond of the Scoped AR when I first started playing, but as time has passed its competition (by which I really mean sniper rifles, because this isn't exactly a traditional Assault Rifle) has grown more fierce. The Scoped AR boasts an impressive rate of fire for a scoped weapon, and is situationally useful for harassing an enemy at range - but it deals such little damage as to be inconsequential, particularly when the damage you deal can quickly be repaid twofold by an enemy Hunting Rifle, Hand Cannon, or even a good assault rifle.
SMGs & LMGs
| Name | Ranking | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Suppressed SMG | 1st | First-shot accuracy, low bloom, versatile, silent, painful. |
| Compact SMG | 2nd | Best SMG for close-range shredding, great clip size/fire rate. |
| Minigun | 3rd | Slow, situational, outclassed by everything else. |
Below you can peruse all SMGs and LMGs on offer in Fortnite. If you can't quite get the hang of these fast-firing shredders, our Fortnite SMG tips page is here to answer all your questions and see you through to SMG-spam greatness.
Suppressed SMG
- Rarities: Common, Uncommon, Rare
- Ammo Type: Light Bullets
- Magazine Size: 30
- Damage: 22/23/24
- Fire Rate: 9 (0.11s)
- Reload Time: 2.2s/2.1s/2s
The Suppressed SMG has had quite a journey. Vaulted back in the beginning of Sesaon 6, brought back midway through Season 7 to replace the normal Submachine Gun, and now with the vaulting of the Compact SMG in V9.01 the Suppressed SMG is actually the only SMG we have left! Suppressed, powerful, and enjoying the benefits of first-shot accuracy, this silent killer is able to shred players at any range without too much difficulty - but with the introduction of the Tactical Assault Rifle (and the re-introduction of the Drum Gun), it's questionable just how popular the entire SMG class will be for the time being.
Minigun
- Rarities: Epic, Legendary
- Ammo Type: Light Bullets
- Magazine Size: N/A
- Damage: 18/19
- Structure Damage: 32/33
- Fire Rate: 12 (0.08s)
- Reload Time: N/A
With the Light Machine Gun vaulted back in September 2018, the Minigun is the only LMG in the game... and it's not great. Sure, it has its uses, particuarly in Duos or Squads, because one of you can put the pressure on with the Minigun while the other can, y'know, play the game properly. But in reality all you need to do against a Minigun-spammer is relax, aim for the head, and kill them before they kill you. Using a Minigun nearly holds you still as you shoot, and its DPS is just not high enough to contend with a shotgun, SMG, Heavy AR, or basically any other weapon your opponent happens to have. Good for a laugh, but undeserving of its Epic/Legendary rarities, and generally not worth sacrificing a slot on your hotbar.
Sniper Rifles
| Name | Ranking | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Heavy Sniper Rifle | 1st | 150 bodyshot damage, can one-shot structures. |
| Suppressed Sniper Rifle | 2nd | The new Bolt-Action. Silent one-shot sniper. |
| Hunting Rifle | 3rd | Fast, good for pre-firing, but lower damage. |
| Semi-Auto Sniper Rifle | 4th | The quickest sniper of all, but low damage severely limits its usefulness. |
Below we've got stats on every Sniper Rifle (and Scoped AR) left in Fortnite. For everything you need to know on how to improve your sharpshooting and sniping skills, head over to our Fortnite Sniper tips page.
Semi-Auto Sniper Rifle
- Rarities: Uncommon, Rare
- Ammo Type: Heavy Bullets
- Magazine Size: 10
- Damage: 75/78
- Fire Rate: 1.2 (0.83s)
- Reload Time: 2.5s/2.3s
The Semi-Auto Sniper Rifle is back to fill the void left behind after the vaulting of the Scoped Revolver and Thermal Scoped Assault Rifle in Season 9. It's never been the flashiest of guns, the Semi-Auto; while it has a good fire rate for a sniper (being, y'know, semi-auto and all) and a high magazine size, it's let down an awful lot by its damage. The thing about snipers is that they're costly to use in almost every way. Their slow and cumbersome nature, the fact that you have to scope in... for what you put into it, you want a lot of damage to come out. Which is why you almost always see players passing up the Semi-Auto in favour of the stronger snipers below.
Heavy Sniper Rifle
- Rarities: Epic, Legendary
- Ammo Type: Heavy Bullets
- Magazine Size: 1
- Damage: 150/157
- Structure Damage: 1050/1100
- Fire Rate: 0.33 (3.03s)
- Reload Time: 4.3s/4.1s
The big hairy uncle of the Sniper family. The Heavy Sniper Rifle deals a whopping 150 body-shot damage, which immediately makes it the most valuable sniper rifle in Fortnite. What's more, it can one-shot any structure, even fully-built metal. For this reason, an excellent strategy is to shoot out the wall of an enemy, then immediately switch to your AR or Hand Cannon (or perhaps even another sniper rifle) and get some hits in before the enemy has recovered from their surprise.
Suppressed Sniper Rifle
- Rarities: Epic, Legendary
- Ammo Type: Heavy Bullets
- Magazine Size: 1
- Damage: 100/105
- Fire Rate: 0.33 (3.03s)
- Reload Time: 2.8s/2.7s
How annoying that the Bolt-Action has been vaulted, simply because it was such a good yardstick by which to judge the others. Now that honour falls to the Suppressed Sniper Rifle. The newest addition to the Sniper Rifle roster, this deadly beast sacrifices the damage of the Heavy Sniper for a silencer, in much the same way as the Suppressed Assault Rifle does. But it still deals 100 bodyshot damage. And it reloads quicker. And it has a fricking silencer. A silencer, by the way, that's just as good as the silencer on the suppressed AR and pistol - that is, you have to be within 45 metres of the shot to hear it at all. Now that's pretty damn scary on a one-shot weapon.
Hunting Rifle
- Rarities: Uncommon, Rare
- Ammo Type: Heavy Bullets
- Magazine Size: 1
- Damage: 86/90
- Fire Rate: 0.8 (1.25s)
- Reload Time: 1.9s/1.8s
The Hunting Rifle is a humble but solid sniper rifle that you should feel no shame taking into the end-game. It lacks a proper scope, and its damage cannot compete with that of the Suppressed Sniper (let alone the Heavy Sniper) - but its relatively quick rate of fire gives you an advantage during long-range duels, and can often result in a successful "pre-fire" kill (when you shoot where you're expecting the enemy's head to appear, before it actually does). Many pro players prefer the Hunting Rifle over the rest for its utility-over-damage approach, especially since the V7.20 update, which set the bullet drop of the Hunting Rifle (and Suppressed Sniper) in line with the Heavy Sniper.
Shotguns
| Name | Ranking | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Combat Shotgun | 1st | Excellent range for a shotgun, great fire rate, reloads 2 at a time. |
| Tactical Shotgun | 2nd | Higher headshot damage and at times higher damage per shot, but lower range and DPS overall. |
Sure looks different in this weapons class now. For in-depth tips and tactics on how to win shotgun fights with the Combat Shotgun or the Tactical, take a look at our Fortnite Shotgun tips page.
Combat Shotgun
- Rarities: Rare, Epic, Legendary
- Ammo Type: Shells 'n' Slugs
- Magazine Size: 10
- Damage: 73.8/77.4/81
- Fire Rate: 1.85 (0.54s)
- Reload Time: 5.3s/5.0s/4.7s
The Combat Shotgun is a hybrid of the Tactical and the lost-but-not-forgotten Heavy Shotgun. Its fire rate surpasses even that of the Tactical, giving it the best DPS of the class despite its slightly lower damage than the Tac at times. What's more, it has a shorter reload time thanks to its ability to reload 2 shells at a time. Plus it can hold more ammo before having to reload. Plus it's got a crazy tight spread, which improves its effective range beyond what the Tactical or the Pump could ever have hoped to achieve. It's a great addition to the Shotguns roster, and for the time being it'll no doubt prove the close-range weapon of choice for many.
Tactical Shotgun
- Rarities: Common, Uncommon, Rare
- Ammo Type: Shells 'n' Slugs
- Magazine Size: 8
- Damage: 71/75/79
- Structure Damage: 50/53/55
- Fire Rate: 1.5 (0.67s)
- Reload Time: 6.3s/6.0s/5.7s
The poor old Tactical. Forever the bridesmaid, never the bride. With the v9.00 Patch Notes each variant of the Tac received a decent damage buff, and the removal of the Pump Shotgun meant it might finally see the light of popular play. Alas, the Combat Shotgun is superior in nearly every way, and the Tac is left outranged and (for once) slower than its competition. But it's still a powerful damage-dealer that can easily end a fight up close and personal, so be wary against players with a good Tac Shotgun.
Pistols
| Name | Ranking | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Hand Cannon | 1st | Excellent damage, accurate, can one-shot wood structures |
| Flint-Knock Pistol | 2nd | Fantastic close-range damage, useful knockback and fall damage mitigation utility. |
| Dual Pistols | 3rd | Useful at close range until you find an SMG/Shotgun |
| Suppressed Pistol | 4th | Surprising damage at any range, but not worth keeping for long. |
| Pistol | 5th | Worst weapon in Fortnite. |
They're a diverse bunch, these Fortnite pistols. If you're struggling to make good use of the pistols you find in a Fortnite match, take a look at our Fortnite Pistol tips page for a multitude of practical tips and tricks.
Flint-Knock Pistol
- Rarities: Common, Uncommon
- Ammo Type: Heavy Bullets
- Magazine Size: 1
- Damage: 86/90
- Structure Damage: 131/138
- Fire Rate: 0.33 (3.03s)
- Reload Time: 3.2s/3s
For a gun with one shot, the Flint-Knock Pistol has a surprising amount of utility. This new weapon was introduced with the V8.11 Patch Notes, and deals a huge amount of damage at very close range with its one shot, though the damage drop-off is very severe beyond the first few metres. What really makes the gun stand out, however, is the knockback effect it has both on the target and on yourself if you use it at close range.
You can negate this knockback on yourself by crouching as you fire, but it didn't take long for everyone to discover a far better use for this weapon: saving yourself from fall damage. The knockback effect fully resets your fall if you fire it at the floor before you hit the ground. From what we've played, this is a powerful new utility weapon which you can use in close-quarters emergencies before switching to a Shotgun or SMG; and you can also make extremely good use of it to perform some quite astonishing feats of aerial acrobatics if you're skilled enough.
Hand Cannon
- Rarities: Epic, Legendary
- Ammo Type: Heavy Bullets
- Magazine Size: 7
- Damage: 75/78
- Structure Damage: 100/105
- Fire Rate: 0.8 (1.25s)
- Reload Time: 2.1s/2s
While nerfed in the V7.40 Patch Notes, this gun is still the king of the pistols. The Hand Cannon is a miniature Heavy Sniper, and can absolutely be considered one of the strongest weapons currently in Fortnite. Accurate, packs a punch, fairly fast-firing for what is essentially a sniper weapon... This already powerful gun has decent structure damage which allows it to one-shot most freshly built structures, and two-shot wooden structures. This gun is a beautiful mix of power and utility, and should be treated with caution. The best thing to do against a Hand Cannoneer is to switch to stone or metal structures immediately, and try to close the gap between you quickly.
Dual Pistols
- Rarities: Rare, Epic
- Ammo Type: Medium Bullets
- Magazine Size: 18
- Damage: 41/43
- Structure Damage: 42/44
- Fire Rate: 3.96 (0.25s)
- Reload Time: 2.8s/2.7s
Vaulted until January 2019's V7.10 Patch Notes, the Dual Pistols leave the standard Pistol in the dust, with a far greater damage able to eviscerate the health and shields of an opponent with only 2-3 landed shots. For all intents and purposes they are a two-shot burst weapon. So take a little extra time to aim, and you'll be well-rewarded, particularly if you land headshots with both shots. Obviously they won't outperform a good shotgun or SMG at close range, but they're a punchy utility weapon and a surprisingly powerful killer in the early game.
Suppressed Pistol
- Rarities: Rare, Epic
- Ammo Type: Light Bullets
- Magazine Size: 16
- Damage: 26/28
- Fire Rate: 6.75 (0.15s)
- Reload Time: 1.3s
More than just a pistol with a silencer attached, the Suppressed Pistol actually deals more damage and reloads quicker than the standard pistol. Again, this is not a gun that you should feel comfortable taking into the final circles, but as an early- to mid-game backup and utility weapon, the Suppressed Pistol can actually fare pretty well. Just make sure you have the element of surprise when you initiate.
Pistol
- Rarities: Common, Uncommon
- Ammo Type: Light Bullets
- Magazine Size: 16
- Damage: 23/24
- Fire Rate: 6.75 (0.15s)
- Reload Time: 1.5s
Widely considered just about the most useless weapon in Fortnite, the standard pistol still packs a punch in the early-game, but only if you land your shots. For this reason, it is the cause of many rage-quits, because how could you have died to that pistol when you had a Pump?! This goddamn game, right? But seriously, while it can win fights in skilled hands early on, there's no way you shouldn't drop the pistol the moment pretty much any other weapon crosses your path.
Explosives (including Throwables)
| Name | Ranking | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Rocket Launcher | 1st | Scary, powerful, fantastic synergy with Hand Cannon |
| Grenade Launcher | 2nd | Spammable, difficult to predict where grenades land |
| Grenade | 3rd | Very spammable, good damage, easy to use |
| Dynamite | 4th | Can't throw far but excellent structure damage |
| Stink Bomb | 5th | Situational, good for forcing movement, but not worth keeping |
Since you're here: we've put together a focused, advanced guide on making use of all these Explosive weapons to earn more kills, so if you're interested take a look at our Fortnite Explosives tips page.
Rocket Launcher
- Rarities: Epic, Legendary
- Ammo Type: Rockets
- Magazine Size: 1
- Damage: 116/121
- Structure Damage: 394/413
- Fire Rate: 0.75 (1.33s)
- Reload Time: 2.7s/2.5s
The sound of a Rocket Launcher firing strikes fear into the hearts of the unprepared. This slow-firing explosive weapon is best used in tandem with other weapons; if you're trying to break down an opponent's walls at a longer range, your aim should be to fire your rocket, then switch to an AR or sniper (or hand cannon!) and break down the wall where the rocket will hit just before it collides. Unfortunately (or fortunately) the V7.40 Patch Notes nerfed the Rocket Launcher by increasing its reload time between shots, and making it unavailable in Chests, which means you can only find a Rocket Launcher through a Vending Machine, a Supply Drop, or the death loot of a
Grenade Launcher
- Rarities: Rare, Epic, Legendary
- Ammo Type: Rockets
- Magazine Size: 6
- Damage: 100/105/110
- Structure Damage: 375/394/413
- Fire Rate: 0.75 (1.33s)
- Reload Time: 3s/2.8s/2.7s
The Grenade Launcher, while dealing less damage per rocket than the Rocket Launcher, should be treated with even greater caution. The arc and the time delay of the grenades make them more difficult to predict and fight against, so the best option against Grenade-spam is to just get out of there. As for using the Grenade Launcher, there's little in the way of finesse with this weapon. Its main benefit is to sow confusion and fear, and against an unprepared player - and sometimes even top-tier players - a Grenade Launcher is the source of a quick and easy kill.
Grenade
- Rarity: Common
- Drop Stack Size: 3
- Max Stack Size: 10
- Damage: 100
- Structure Damage: 375
Yup, Grenades are back to replace the Clingers in Season 9. In some ways, a full stack of Grenades can be even more potent than a Grenade Launcher, thanks to the ability to aim more accurately with a handheld Grenade than a launcher, and the fact that the standard Grenade has less of an audio cue than the Grenade Launcher. Add to this the fact that the Grenades are infuriatingly common and easy to use, and you've got some serious firepower at hand.
Dynamite
- Rarity: Uncommon
- Drop Stack Size: 3
- Max Stack Size: 10
- Damage: 70
- Structure Damage: 800
Dynamite sacrifices a little bit of damage and a little bit of spawn probability compared to the Grenade, but makes up for it with a colossal blast radius that deals a whopping 800 damage to structures - enough to destroy even fully-built metal. The blast area is actually a short, fat cylinder rather than a sphere, so the vertical axis is the best method of avoiding these explosions. Unfortunately - or fortunately, depending on your role in this scenario - Dynamite cannot be thrown very far at all, so you have to get up close and personal in order to use them, by which time the enemy may already be upon you. So you'll need to choose your moment to use this item carefully.
Stink Bomb
- Rarity: Epic
- Drop Stack Size: 3
- Max Stack Size: 6
- Damage: 10 damage per second for 9 seconds
- Structure Damage: 0
The most obnoxious item in the game by a country mile, Stink Bombs are just useless enough to replace with most other items, but just powerful enough to give you a hard time when other players decide to keep them. These vials explode on impact, dealing no damage to structures but creating a cloud of gas which quickly eats away at the health of those caught within. Useful for harassing players holed up in 1x1s, but otherwise not nearly as practical as Grenades or Dynamite.
Pickaxe
And finally, some brief words on the humblest but in many ways most powerful of all weapons available to you in Fortnite. The pickaxe is actually used very often in the first few seconds of each match, because after a buff in the 6.30 Patch Notes, each swing of the Pickaxe deals a weighty 20 damage to your assailant. If two of you land on the same roof, the one who starts pickaxing immediately will nearly always prevail over the one who tries to break open the roof and find a weapon.
Sometimes a pickaxer can even beat someone who has found a weapon early on - particularly if all they found was a hunting rifle or something else not suited for close quarters combat. The point is, don't underestimate the danger of a wild pickaxe-swinger in the first moments after you land.
Well, that more or less wraps everything up. Hopefully you've learned a thing or two from this guide, and you can now take to the brand new rooftops of Neo Tilted with a spring in your step and the right gun in your hands. We'll be updating this page as new adjustments and updates arrive, so do yourself a favour and bookmark this page, so you can always be in the know.