As with every new Fortnite update, Chapter 4 Season 3 brings a variety of new weapons and items, many with specific strengths and weaknesses. This article will go over a tier list of all the weapons in the newest season, detailing the best way to use them, as well as tips to create the best loadouts.
With Fortnite’s new season having a wild theme, there has been a shift in the loot pool, including weapons. One interesting aspect of the season is that there is less of a clear winner in the competition of weapons, providing many different options with individual strengths and weaknesses. With so many options, it can get overwhelming when deciding which weapons to use.
This article will categorize all the weapons into a tier list, to help players choose an optimal loadout, whether that’s for standard Battle Royale or Zero Build.
We’ll go through each weapon individually, starting from the weakest weapons to the strongest weapons.
Thermal DMR: Similar to the standard DMR, this is a projectile weapon that has a medium fire rate. It has a thermal mode, which can be useful to spot targets who are attempting to hide within the new jungle biome. Unfortunately, its projectiles make it more difficult to get consistent value compared to other hitscan alternatives.
Submachine Gun: Although a solid weapon, the SMG’s downfall is the strength of the other rifles that are available in the game, with the majority of options providing decent close-range damage on top of the medium to long range impact, which the SMG lacks.
Combat SMG: Similar to the SMG, its fire rate makes it a good close-range option, but the recoil prevents it from being viable at medium to long distances, which is important for both Battle Royale and Zero Build.
(Highcard’s) Havoc Suppressed Rifle: In general, this weapon is not extremely poor. However, it simply has no qualities that the other rifles in the game don’t have. It has an average fire rate and damage output, with a major weakness of an increased draw time.
Drum Shotgun: The standard Drum Shotgun is solid as a super-close range gun, but it doesn’t provide the flexibility of the midrange damage from the other shotgun options. Additionally, it’s easy to accidentally make the Shotgun’s reticle too big, making it more difficult to use.
Sharp Tooth Shotgun: The new Sharp Tooth is a solid option for a Zero Build Shotgun. It has an excellent damage falloff, providing consistent damage from a good distance away. Unfortunately, its low clip size and low maximum damage make it an average pick compared to other options.
Maven Auto Shotgun: Auto Shotguns have historically been consistent weapons, and the Maven is no different. The balanced firing speed and damage make the gun quite forgiving, but it still packs enough of a punch to compete with other shotguns. Unfortunately, the structure damage has been reduced compared to its predecessor (Tactical Shotgun), making the weapon less effective in Battle Royale.
Heisted Run-N-Gun SMG: The Run-N-Gun SMG has similar strengths and weaknesses in terms of damage and range as the other submachine guns. However, the perk of its Infinite Slap effect makes the weapon more viable in a meta without infinite mobility.
Heavy Sniper: If you are proficient with sniper rifles, this weapon will be higher up on your personal list. However, the recent nerf to the Heavy’s structure damage makes it more comparable to a regular sniper, which significantly reduces its value.
Heisted Breacher Shotgun: Under a skilled user, the Breacher is potentially one of the most impactful weapons in the current season. It’s extremely effective in both Battle Royale and Zero Build, dealing massive damage to structures quickly. Its major downside is that as a heavy shotgun, the single pellet firing can be inconsistent for players at close range, having a higher skill ceiling.
(Enhanced) Flapjack Rifle: Both the enhanced and normal Flapjack Rifles are deadly in the close- to mid-range, having good damage, firing speed, and clip size. Unfortunately, both of them also have the same weaknesses, having significant recoil which nullifies the weapon at longer ranges.
(Relik’s) MK-Alpha Rifle: The MK-Alpha is by far the best weapon for Zero Build. Once you learn how to control the recoil, the red-dot accuracy enables you to deal consistent damage at medium to long ranges. It has slightly less value in Battle Royale, but it’s still effective for opening damage in fights.
Shadow Tracker: The Shadow Tracker has always been a solid option for a weapon, dealing decent damage with a 2x headshot multiplier, and marking any tagged enemies. Recently, there was a secret buff, making the weapon fully automatic when holding down the trigger, increasing its close-range viability.
(Mythic) Tactical Pistol: The pistol has typically been underwhelming in Fortnite, but since the spread has been reduced, its 2x headshot multiplier makes the weapon quite viable. The fast reload time and light ammo consumption make a versatile weapon for all ranges.
Havoc Pump Shotgun: The Pump Shotgun has always been a consistent option in any season, and it’s only been enhanced by the number of available fast firing swap weapons in the current loot pool.
Explosive Repeater Rifle: An extremely versatile and unique weapon, the Explosive Repeater deals 30 to 40 damage to the body, and an additional 30-40 explosive damage. The explosive quality allows you to hit enemies around corners, and deal chip damage even if you miss. A clip size of 5 with a decent fire rate makes this an excellent weapon.
Enhanced Drum Shotgun: Not only does the Mythic variant of the Drum Shotgun do increased damage, the reticle is actually able to shrink more than the standard drum. Thus, it provides the user with more of an option for midrange, while doing insane amounts of close-range damage.
Heisted Accelerant Shotgun: The Accelerant Shotgun is a perfect all-around weapon. It deals the same amount of damage as a legendary Maven Shotgun but gives the user increased firing speed and movement speed upon dealing damage. It absolutely demolishes in close range fights and provides the user with mobility during midrange fights.
Now that all the weapons have been categorized, we can combine them together to find the most optimal loadout. For both Zero Build and Battle Royale, it’s important to have that fifth inventory slot, whether that’s a utility item such as a Flare Gun or Shockwave Grenades, or extra healing. Thus, the best loadouts are two weapon setups, with a balance between the close and long damage ranges.
MK-Alpha + Heisted Accelerant or Mythic Drum Shotgun: The close-range Shotguns pair exceptionally well with the MK-Alpha, which can cover for the Shotguns' weaknesses with consistent midrange and long range damage.
Shadow Tracker or Flapjack Rifle + Havoc Pump Shotgun or Heisted Breacher Shotgun: With the slower firing Shotguns, it’s better to have a weapon that can also deal good damage at close range. If a shot is missed, you can at least pressure your opponent with damage before you can fire the shot again.
Having these as the best loadouts, there are a few tips you can apply in-game to maximize your chances of getting these weapons:
1. Getting Keys/Keymaster Augment: You can purchase Exotic Weapons from Holo-chests with two keys, or Legendary Weapons with one key. Having keys ensures consistently having a strong loadout.
2. Getting the Exotic Grab Bag or Tracker’s Armory Augments: These are also augments that automatically give you an Exotic weapon, so make sure to save up some gold to reroll your Augments a few times.
3. Claiming the loot island: Although the loot island can be intimidating, it’s the only way to obtain the Enhanced Drum Shotgun, along with other Legendary weapons. Typically, the best way to claim the island is to rift up, and land on top of the house, getting the first shots on any players attempting to come up.
By following these tips and using these loadouts, you should expect to consistently win more fights, and thus, get more Victory Royales!
