Best Apex Legends guns: Season 9 tier list and weapon stats
Ranking the best guns in Apex Legends with full Season 9 weapon stats
Apex Legends may appear to be a hero shooter with lots of emphasis placed on abilities, but at the end of the day, the fights are won by guns. There are a total of 26 weapons to choose from now in Apex Legends, each with their own strengths, weaknesses, and attachment options which change every time Respawn release a patch.
Our Apex Legends best guns and weapon stats page will walk you through each weapon in turn, offering detailed and up-to-date weapon stats as of Season 9's Genesis Collection event; and a tier list of the best guns in the game.
On this page:
- Apex Legends best guns tier list
- Apex Legends weapon stats
- Assault Rifles
- SMGs
- LMGs
- Marksman
- Snipers
- Shotguns
- Pistols
- Apex Legends weapons - frequently asked questions
Apex Legends best guns tier list
Here is our tier list of the best guns in Apex Legends as of Season 9:
- S-Tier: Bocek Bow, EVA-8, Kraber, Peacekeeper, Prowler, R-301 Carbine, R-99, Spitfire
- A-Tier: Charge Rifle, Flatline, G7 Scout, Havoc, Mastiff, Sentinel, Triple Take, Volt, Wingman
- B-Tier: Alternator, Devotion, Hemlok, Longbow, L-Star, RE-45
- C-Tier: 30-30 Repeater, Mozambique, P2020
There's a lot to understand about the different guns in Apex Legends. Sometimes a gun might be very mediocre until it receives a certain attachment, after which it becomes one of the best guns in the game. So take this tier list with a pinch of salt, but if you're a newer player then let this tier list inform your decisions until you know enough to make more nuanced choices.
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Apex Legends weapon stats
Below you'll find tables of up-to-date weapon stats for all the different types of Apex Legends guns.
Click on each gun's name in the tables to find out more about that particular weapon.
Note: Damage is given in the form of Body DMG/Head DMG/Leg DMG in the below tables, and in the Reload column you'll see speeds for both non-empty and empty reloads.
Assault Rifles - Apex Legends weapon stats
| Name | Ammo | Damage | DPS | RPM | Mag Size | Reload |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flatline | Heavy | 19/33/14 | 190 | 600 | 20/25/28/30 | 2.4s/3.1s |
| Havoc | Energy | 18/32/14 | 198 | 672 | 24/28/32/36 | 3.2s/3.2s |
| Hemlok | Heavy | 20/35/15 | 214 | 643 | 18/24/27/30 | 2.4s/2.85s |
| R-301 Carbine | Light | 14/25/11 | 190 | 816 | 18/20/25/28 | 2.4s/3.2s |
Overall the best Assault Rifle in Apex Legends is the R-301 Carbine in my opinion, simply because it is so amazingly accurate that the greater number of bullets hit outweighs its lower DPS. But all four Assault Rifles are extremely potent guns in Season 9, so you can happily take any of these weapons to the endgame of a match.
SMGs - Apex Legends weapon stats
| Name | Ammo | Damage | DPS | RPM | Mag Size | Reload |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alternator | Light | 16/24/13 | 160 | 600 | 19/22/25/27 | 1.9s/2.23s |
| Prowler | Unique | 15/23/12 | 200 | 800 | 35 | 2.0s/2.6s |
| R-99 | Light | 11/17/9 | 198 | 1,080 | 20/22/24/27 | 1.8s/2.45s |
| Volt | Energy | 15/23/12 | 180 | 720 | 19/21/23/26 | 1.6s/2.25s |
The best SMG in the game right now is the Prowler. High damage, high ammo capacity, surprisingly accurate... It's no wonder the Prowler is a supply-drop-only gun.
But in all honesty, every SMG apart from the Alternator is incredibly powerful in the current meta. An R-99 or Volt can happily see you to the end of a match. They just won't quite match the DPS of a Prowler.
LMGs - Apex Legends weapon stats
| Name | Ammo | Damage | DPS | RPM | Mag Size | Reload |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Devotion | Energy | 16/32/14 | 240 | 900 | 36/40/44/48 | 2.8s/3.63s |
| L-Star | Energy | 18/36/14 | 180 | 600 | ~23 | 1.15s/2.45s |
| Spitfire | Heavy | 18/36/14 | 162 | 540 | 35/40/45/50 | 3.2s/3.8s |
The best LMG in Apex Legends is the Spitfire, as it was in Season 8. High damage right out of the gate, and its main drawback (recoil) can be mostly fixed with a good Barrel Stabilizer. But most importantly: it just. Keeps. On. Firing.
Marksman - Apex Legends weapon stats
| Name | Ammo | Damage | DPS | RPM | Mag Size | Reload |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30-30 Repeater | Heavy | 42/74/36 | 98 | 140 | 6/8/10/12 | 0.6s/bullet |
| Bocek Bow | Arrows | 60/105/54 | 69 | 69 | N/A | N/A |
| G7 Scout | Light | 34/60/26 | 136 | 240 | 10/15/18/20 | 2.4s/3.0s |
| Triple Take | Unique | 69/138/63 | 90 | 78 | 9 | 2.6s/3.4s |
The Triple Take and the G7 Scout are deadly weapons for sure, but far and away the best Marksman Weapon in Season 9 is the Bocek Bow. This thing absolutely shreds, particularly with the Deadeye Tempo Hop Up. It's not nearly as hard to use as you might think, and once you've mastered it the only sure-fire way you're losing a mid-to-long-range engagement is if the opponent is packing a Kraber.
Snipers - Apex Legends weapon stats
| Name | Ammo | Damage | DPS | RPM | Mag Size | Reload |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charge Rifle | Sniper | 45/56/45 (+45) | 23 (+23) | 30 | 8 | 3.6s/3.6s |
| Kraber | Unique | 145/435/116 | 87 | 36 | 4 | 3.2s/4.3s |
| Longbow | Sniper | 60/129/48 | 78 | 78 | 6/8/10/12 | 2.66s/3.66s |
| Sentinel | Sniper | 70/140/63 | 40 | 37.5 | 4/5/6/7 | 2.5s/3.6s |
Obviously, the best Sniper Rifle in Apex Legends is the Kraber. This supply-drop-exclusive beast is the only gun that can one-shot any player with a headshot, no matter their health or gear. A veritable fight-ender.
But outside of Care Packages, the best Sniper is probably the Charge Rifle, just about beating the Sentinel thanks to its hitscan beam and low attachment requirements.
Shotguns - Apex Legends weapon stats
| Name | Ammo | Damage | DPS | RPM | Mag Size | Reload |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EVA-8 | Shotgun | 63/99/63 | 132 | 126 | 8 | 2.75s/3.0s |
| Peacekeeper | Shotgun | 99/129/79 | 96 | 58 | 5 | 2.5s/3.5s |
| Mastiff | Shotgun | 88/112/88 | 96.8 | 66 | 6 | 1.03s/1.7s |
| Mozambique | Shotgun | 45/69/42 | 135 | 180 | 6 | 2.1s/2.6s |
I'd have to say the best Shotgun right now is the EVA-8 thanks to its fire rate and very tight hipfire spread; though it's a very tough call between that and the Peacekeeper. Both are more than capable of winning challenging close-quarters engagements, particularly if you find some hard cover to dance around.
Pistols - Apex Legends weapon stats
| Name | Ammo | Damage | DPS | RPM | Mag Size | Reload |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P2020 | Light | 18/27/16 | 126 | 420 | 14/16/18/21 | 1.25s/1.25s |
| RE-45 | Light | 12/18/11 | 150 | 750 | 16/19/22/25 | 1.5s/1.95s |
| Wingman | Heavy | 45/97/41 | 117 | 156 | 6/7/8/9 | 2.1s/2.1s |
The best Pistol in Apex Legends is the Wingman, as it always has been. This punchy hand cannon deals very high damage per shot. It's extremely ammo-efficient. And it doesn't require attachments to be great.
Apex Legends weapons - frequently asked questions
Weapons and bullets in Apex Legends work a little differently from other battle royale games such as PUBG and Fortnite. I know lots of new players are going to be asking the below questions, so I'll just go through them quickly now:
- Are any of the guns hitscan? - Just the Charge Rifle beam. All other projectiles have travel time.
- Is there bullet drop? - Yes. The amount of drop is based on the bullet speed of each weapon. Energy weapons have the lowest drop, Light weapons (and the Bocek Bow) the highest.
- Is there damage drop-off? - Just the Charge Rifle beam. However, there is a different max headshot range for each weapon, beyond which a headshot will no longer deal bonus headshot damage.
- Does each gun have a predictable spray pattern? - Yes. Spend time learning the spray patterns of each gun in the Firing Range, it'll seriously help you in fights.
- Is there aim drift? - Yes. There's a brief moment of stillness when first ADSing, after which you'll start to drift. Equipping Stock attachments minimizes aim drift. For more info, check out our Apex Legends attachments page.
- Do different guns affect movement speed? - Yes, but only while ADSing. Without ADSing your gun has no bearing on your run speed. But when ADSing, your movement will be reduced based on the class of gun you're holding.
- Does taking damage slow you down? - Yes. Taking damage from any weapon (not just a Heavy Rounds weapon, which many players seem to believe is the case) will cause a brief slowdown. But Legends with the "Fortified" Passive (Gibraltar and Caustic) are immune to this slowdown.
That wraps up our guide to the best weapons in Apex Legends as of Season 9. Now why not round off this knowledge by perusing our guide to the different Apex Legends characters on offer?
