Valorant Weapon Tier List: Best Weapons in 2022

Ever heard the saying, “Don’t bring a knife to a gunfight”? Being Ill-equipped in Valorant means you’ll be fighting an uphill battle, no matter how great your aim is.

We’ll show you which weapons to go for, and which ones to leave behind the next time you load up Valorant.

Valorant weapon tier list

• S-tier: Vandal, Phantom, Operator, Spectre
• A-tier: Odin, Sheriff, Marshal, Ghost
• B-tier: Classic, Bulldog, Judge
• C-tier: Stinger, Shorty, Bucky, Ares, Frenzy, Guardian

Best weapons to use in Valorant

There are many elements that make up the deciding factors of the weapon tiers in Valorant, with price versus performance being the most obvious one.

We’re deep-diving into each weapon on our list to give you a comprehensive understanding of what makes it worth buying or not.

Vandal

• Price: 2,900 creds
• Fire rate: 9.25 rounds/sec
• Magazine capacity: 25
• Wall penetration damage: Medium
• Head Damage: 156
• Torso Damage: 39

With a headshot, the Vandal is able to one-shot opponents with full armor while having an incredibly high damage output despite its low fire rate.

It has great accuracy and a somewhat easy spray pattern to control with practice, making it a great overall choice for intermediate players and up. Unlike the Phantom, the Vandal won’t get penalized against Heavy Armor.

Phantom

• Price: 2,900 creds
• Fire rate: 11 rounds/sec
• Magazine capacity: 30
• Wall penetration damage: Medium
• Head Damage: 124
• Torso Damage: 31

When compared to the Vandal, the Phantom will have a slightly harder time dealing with opponents in Heavy Armor. On the other hand, it has increased magazine capacity to compensate for the lesser damage output, as well as having a suppressor to make it harder for opponents to locate shots.

It also has a higher fire rate than the Vandal, which makes it easier to manage for Valorant rookies.

Operator

• Price: 4,500 creds
• Fire rate: 0.75 rounds/sec
• Magazine capacity: 5
• Wall penetration damage: Very high
• Head Damage: 255
• Torso Damage: 150

Despite being one of the most expensive weapons in the game, the Operator does a lot to justify its beefy price tag. It only takes one shot on the body or head for the Operator to take out an opponent with full armor, making it an integral part of any team composition. It also has unlimited range and zero bloom when shot at a standstill.

However, with the fire rate being as low as it is, players will need to be mindful of where they take their shots. The Operator is best suited for experienced players.

Spectre

• Price: 1,600 creds
• Fire rate: 13.33 rounds/sec / 12 rounds/sec
• Magazine capacity: 30
• Wall penetration damage: Medium
• Head Damage: 66
• Torso Damage: 22

The Spectre is the best SMG available in Valorant, and by far outperforms the closely related Stinger in every category besides price and fire rate.

While needing two shots to the head to take down an opponent, it’s still a great alternative to rifles in half-buy rounds thanks to the increased magazine capacity and high fire rate. The Spectre is a great choice for beginner players and up.

Odin

• Price: 3,200 creds
• Fire rate: 12 to 15 rounds/sec
• Magazine capacity: 100
• Wall penetration damage: High
• Head Damage: 95
• Torso Damage: 38

Nothing holds an angle as well as an Odin with a full mag, being able to keep opponents at bay with impressive, sustained fire.

The threat of an Odin is often underestimated, and it’ll do devastating damage to rushing teams looking to catch you off guard. The Odin is best used from a stationary position, making it best suited defending players, beginners, and up.

Sheriff

• Price: 800 creds
• Fire rate: 4 rounds/sec
• Magazine capacity: 6
• Wall penetration damage: High
• Head Damage: 160
• Torso Damage: 55

As the pistol with the highest damage output, the Sheriff is a viable strategy in eco rounds when looking to evening the odds. With a well-placed headshot, it will take down fully armored opponents even from afar. On the downside, the Sheriff suffers from heavy recoil, which makes it quite tricky to wield for beginners.

If you’re experienced with Valorant or coming from CS:GO, the Sheriff won’t be too challenging.

Marshal

• Price: 950 creds
• Fire rate: 5 rounds/sec
• Magazine capacity: 5
• Wall penetration damage: Medium
• Head Damage: 202
• Torso Damage: 101

While the Marshal takes two body shots to take out opponents, its affordability, headshot damage, and fire rate make it a great choice for holding lanes during half-buy rounds.

Using the Marshal also gives you great movement speed when scoped, letting you move around without having to reveal your position with audio.

Ghost

• Price: 500 creds
• Fire rate: 6.75 rounds/sec
• Magazine capacity: 15
• Wall penetration damage: Medium
• Head Damage: 105
• Torso Damage: 30

The Ghost boasts a high fire rate, impressive damage, low recoil, and great magazine capacity. It's an all-around excellent pistol with superb damage output and accuracy.

With the current meta, this is the best pistol to go for in the eco and pistol rounds.

Classic

• Price: Free
• Fire rate: 6.75 rounds/sec
• Magazine capacity: 12
• Wall penetration damage: Low
• Head Damage: 78
• Torso Damage: 26

Given the fact that the Classic is free, leaving you room to buy armor and abilities during pistol and eco rounds, it automatically earns its spot in the meta.

It features two firing modes for long or close-range opponents, both dealing decent damage.

Bulldog

• Price: 2,050 creds
• Fire rate: 9.15 rounds/sec / 4 rounds/sec
• Magazine capacity: 24
• Wall penetration damage: Medium
• Head Damage: 116
• Torso Damage: 35

Despite being a cheaper alternative to the Vandal and Phantom, the Bulldog has quite a few shortcomings that mean you’ll be better off saving or spending your creds for something else. It suffers from a lower fire rate, relatively low torso damage, and a small mag capacity.

You should go for the Bulldog if you’re looking to deal decent damage from mid to long-range without breaking the bank.

Judge

• Price: 1,850 creds
• Fire rate: 3.5 rounds/second
• Magazine capacity: 7
• Wall penetration damage: Medium
• Head Damage: 34
• Torso Damage: 17

The Judge is a fully automatic shotgun best suited for close-range combat catching opponents from unexpected angles.

As with most shotguns, its effectiveness greatly diminishes against opponents further away than 10m, making it an inferior choice for attackers.

Stinger

• Price: 950 creds
• Fire rate: 18 rounds/sec / 4 rounds/sec
• Magazine capacity: 13
• Wall penetration damage: Low
• Head Damage: 67
• Torso Damage: 27

Even though the Stinger beats the closely related Spectre on both price and fire rate, it falls short in every other category.

Accuracy and damage output makes it hard to rely on at most ranges, and players with decent aiming should instead consider going for the Sheriff for a cheaper and deadlier alternative.

Shorty

• Price: 150 creds
• Fire rate: 3.3 rounds/sec
• Magazine capacity: 2
• Wall penetration damage: Low
• Head Damage: 24
• Torso Damage: 12

On targets further away than 7m, the Shorty is completely useless.

Given, its low price point makes it an acceptable choice during eco or pistol rounds, but the rapid damage decrease with range and low mag capacity, you’ll be punished if you run into more than one unsuspecting opponent.

Bucky

• Price: 850 creds
• Fire rate: 1.1 rounds/sec
• Magazine capacity: 5
• Wall penetration damage: Low
• Head Damage: 44
• Torso Damage: 22

Even though the Bucky won’t break your bank, its price versus performance ratio makes it one to avoid completely.

Only having a slightly better mag capacity and damage output than the Shorty, there simply isn’t enough to justify picking the Bucky over anything else in the current meta.

Ares

• Price: 1,550 creds
• Fire rate: 10 to 13 rounds/sec
• Magazine capacity: 50
• Wall penetration damage: High
• Head Damage: 72
• Torso Damage: 30

The Ares shares a lot of similarities with the Odin as a cheaper alternative.

The price cut is a result of it having a smaller magazine, less overall damage output, lower fire rate, and reduced mobility. Unless you’re defending a site from an angle, the Ares is one to avoid, especially at higher ranks.

Frenzy

• Price: 450 creds
• Fire rate: 10 rounds/sec
• Magazine capacity: 13
• Wall penetration damage: Low
• Head Damage: 78
• Torso Damage: 26

The Frenzy is a mediocre choice even during eco rounds, and when considering its price, inaccuracy, modest damage output, and low magazine capacity, it falls short of alternatives like the Ghost and Sheriff.

It suffers long range, and the Classic is the better overall choice for holding close short-range angles. With the current meta, the Frenzy should be avoided.

Guardian

• Price: 2,250 creds
• Fire rate: 6.5 rounds/sec
• Magazine capacity: 12
• Wall penetration damage: Medium
• Head Damage: 195
• Torso Damage: 65

Like the Vandal, the Guardian can one-tap opponents with a single headshot – in virtually every other aspect, however, it falls short of ever becoming meta with the current performance.

With a low fire rate and mag capacity, it does little to make up for its relatively hefty price tag. Unless you’re desperate for a rifle with one-tap potential, stay clear of the Guardian.

Tier list standards

We’re ranking each weapon on a price versus performance scale, as well as looking at the alternatives available in the current meta. Weapons that have a balanced price and performance ratio will be effective in most situations and ELOs, meaning that they’ll rank higher on our tier list.

S-tier rating

These are the best weapons according to the meta and all have a well-balanced price/performance ratio. Their overall damage output, accuracy, versatility, and price make them great weapons for both attackers and defenders in all situations.

A-tier rating

These are great weapons but lack a tad of versatility while also having a less balanced price/performance ratio when compared to S-tier weapons.

B-tier rating

These are decent weapons, but they lack versatility, and their price/performance ratio tends to be unbalanced.

C-tier rating

These weapons have a poor price/performance ratios and are extremely situational. They often have far better and even cheaper alternatives.