VALORANT is the latest competitive 5v5 first-person shooter developed by Riot Games. It has recently launched into closed beta giving access to thousands of viewers across Twitch. The game consists of different characters called ‘Agents’ who possess individual abilities that are unique to one another. While these abilities offer a lot of value to each round, gunplay is the primary key to winning them. Due to this, understanding each of the guns and their stats is very important to anyone who plays this game. With that in mind, this article is here to help you increase your weapon knowledge.

At the start of every round, there is a 30 second preparation phase during which all players can buy their arms. A player can see what guns their teammates have purchased and accordingly choose a weapon themselves from the buy menu which contains 17 guns in total. Each player can carry two guns at a time, one sidearm and one primary weapon.

Sidearms

The game consists of 5 sidearms, which are mostly short-ranged guns that don’t do as much damage as others. However, they are very important in the early rounds of any game and can get you out of sticky situations when your primary is low on ammo or reloading.

Classic:

Fire rate: 6.75 rounds per second and an alternate three-round burst with 2.2 rounds per second
Magazine capacity: 12 rounds
Damage: 26/22/78 damage to body/leg/head within 30 meters
Price: Free

The Classic is a free pistol that every player starts each round with. This weapon can be swapped out by purchasing another sidearm or the player can choose to continue with it.

Shorty:

Fire rate: 3.3 rounds per second
Magazine capacity: 2 rounds
Damage: 12/10/36 damage per pellet to body/leg/head within 9 meters. (Fires 12 pellets per shot)
Price: 200 credits

The Shorty is a sawed-off shotgun in VALORANT. It is quite safe to say that this gun is pretty ineffective at distances greater than 15 meters, as it does very little damage in such cases. The recommended use of this gun would be in small corridors and close duels.

Frenzy:

Fire rate: 10 rounds per second
Magazine size: 13 rounds
Damage: 26/22/78 damage to body/leg/head within 20 meters
Price: 400 credits

Frenzy is a machine pistol which has a damage chart pretty similar to the Classic. However, since its fire rate is much higher, it is significantly more damage-dealing overall. Due to this, the Frenzy could be a potent weapon in save rounds.

Ghost:

Fire rate: 6.75 rounds per second
Magazine capacity: 15 rounds
Damage: 33/26/105 damage to body/leg/head within 30 meters
Price: 500 credits

The Ghost is a silenced pistol with high damage because of which it is possible to one-shot close opponents without armour with headshots. With a steady and accurate aim, this weapon can cause havoc in the early rounds.

Sheriff:

Fire rate: 4 rounds per second
Magazine capacity: 6 rounds
Damage: 55/47/160 damage to body/leg/head within 30 meters
Price: 800 credits

The last sidearm in the game, the Sheriff is a high damage revolver that provides the one who wields it a one-shot opportunity even in longer-range duels. This weapon could be a favourite sidearm for anyone who enjoys one-shotting their opponents in style.

SHOTGUNS

The game has 2 shotguns, which are burst weaponry that deal very high damage to close range opponents. They are medium-priced weapons which can come to great use in certain situations but aren’t very effective in others due to the spread of their shots.

Bucky:

Fire rate: 1.1 rounds per second
Magazine capacity: 5 rounds per reload
Damage: 22/19/44 damage per pellet to body/leg/head within 8 meters. (Fires 15 pellets per shot)
Price: 900 credits

The Bucky is a semi-automatic shotgun that has a pretty low fire rate and high damage falloff at longer distances. Like any other shotguns, this gun is viable only in close corridor duels or while holding angles at entrances or exits.

Judge:

Fire rate: 3.5 rounds per second
Magazine capacity: 7 rounds
Damage: 17/14/34 damage per pellet to body/leg/head within 10 meters. (Fires 12 pellets per shot)
Price: 1,500 credits

The Judge is a fully automatic shotgun which has decently better stats than the Bucky but also costs more. Since this gun is also effective in close duels, it will come down to the player's choice and the economic status of their team to pick between the two shotguns.

SMGs (SUBMACHINE GUNS)

SMGs are decently priced, lightweight, and quick-firing guns that are extremely potent in short range combats and can outperform many guns at these distances. VALORANT currently contains 2 SMGs that can be purchased as a player’s primary weapon.

Stinger:

Fire rate: 18 rounds per second
Magazine capacity: 20 rounds
Scope: 1.15x zoom which fires 4 round bursts at the rate of 4 rounds per second
Damage: 27/23/67 damage to body/leg/head within 20 meters
Price: 1,000 credits

The Stinger is a high damage SMG which has a low damage falloff and quite a precise burst mode. Due to which, this weapon seems to be a good buy in early and low economy rounds.

Spectre:

Fire rate: 13.3 rounds per second while unscoped and 12 rounds per second when scoped
Magazine capacity: 30 rounds
Scope: 1.15x zoom
Damage: 26/22/78 damage to body/leg/head within 20 meters
Price: 1,600 credits

The Spectre is a fully-automatic silenced SMG that, unlike the Stinger, comes with decent levels of wall and surface penetration. The recoil on this gun is quite subtle, making it fairly easy to control.

RIFLES

Rifles are the high damage dealing weapons with long-range capability but come at a higher price than other weapon types. There are 4 different rifles in VALORANT currently that each have their own unique specifications and damage chart.

Bulldog:

Fire rate: 9.15 rounds per second while unscoped and burst mode at 4 rounds per second when scoped
Magazine capacity: 24 rounds
Scope: 1.25x zoom
Damage: 35/30/116 damage to body/leg/head from any distance
Price: 2,100 credits

The Bulldog is a fully-automatic bullpup rifle that deals consistent damage with decent levels of wall penetration. This gun feels very handy to use and has a one-shot capability even at medium to longer ranges.

Guardian:

Fire rate: 6.5 rounds per second
Magazine capacity: 12 rounds
Scope: 1.5x zoom
Damage: 65/49/195 damage to body/leg/head irrespective of the distance
Price: 2,700 credits

The Guardian is a semi-automatic rifle with high damage but the low fire rate of this weapon signifies that it is more effective while tapping from a longer range rather than spraying down opponents.

Phantom:

Fire rate: 11 rounds per second while unscoped and 9.9 rounds per second while scoped in
Magazine capacity: 30 rounds
Scope: 1.25x zoom
Damage: 39/33/156 damage to body/leg/head within 15 meters
Price: 2,900 credits

The Phantom is another fully-automatic rifle, but it has damage falloff. Beyond 30 meters, the damage falls to 31 damage to the body, 26 damage to the legs, and 124 damage to the head. While possessing an extremely high fire rate and a manageable spray pattern, the gun has variable plus a lower damage per shot compared to the other rifles.

Vandal:

Fire rate: 9.5 rounds per second while unscoped and 8.32 rounds per second while scoped in
Magazine capacity: 25 rounds
Scope: 1.25x zoom
Damage: 39/33/156 damage to body/leg/head irrespective of the distance
Price: 2,900 credits

The Vandal is a fully-automatic assault rifle, and it is pretty similar to the Phantom. However, due to its more consistent damage chart, this weapon could be the go-to choice for any player out there.

SNIPERS

VALORANT currently consists of 2 sniper rifles purchasable at the start of each round as a primary weapon. Snipers are recognized as being long-range scoped weapons with very high damage but are held back due to their slow fire rate and low capacity magazines. Snipers are very different from other guns in the game due to their high-risk/high-reward character.

Marshal:

Fire rate: 1.5 / 1.2 rounds per second
Magazine capacity: 5 rounds
Scope: 2.5x zoom
Damage: 101/85/202 damage to body/leg/head
Price: 1,100 credits

The Marshal is cheap to buy sniper rifle in the game that can easily one-shot opponents with no armour, making this weapon very effective during the early game and during the opponent's save rounds.

Operator:

Fire rate: 0.75 rounds per second
Magazine capacity: 5 rounds
Scope: 2.5x zoom and 5x zoom
Damage: 150/127/255 damage to body/leg/head
Price: 4,500 credits

The Operator is the heavy sniper rifle, and it is the prime example of high-risk high-reward as it is very influential if in proper hands but can cause economic problems in later rounds if one cannot land their shots properly. Players who are primary snipers in other FPS games will certainly enjoy this gun.

HEAVY

This is the final weapon type in the game. Heavy weapons are those weapons characterized by their high fire rate and large magazine size with extremely heavy recoil and longer reload time. There are 2 of such weapons in the game currently.

Ares:

Fire rate: 10 rounds per second, increasing to 13 rounds per second upon a continuous fire
Magazine capacity: 50 rounds
Scope: 1.25x zoom
Damage: 30/25/72 damage to body/leg/head within 30 meters
Price: 1,700 credits

The Ares is a fully-automatic machine gun in the game with very low damage fall-off at higher distances and high levels of wall penetration. Beyond the 30 meter range, the damage falls to 28 damage to the head, 23 damage to the legs and 67 damage to the head. The large magazine size and small damage fall-off can be crucial to the use of this weapon, however, it is quite immobile and the damage isn’t too high itself.

Odin:

Fire rate: 12 rounds per second, increasing to 15.6 rounds per second upon a continuous fire
Magazine capacity: 100 rounds
Scope: 1.25x zoom which fires consistently at 15.6 rounds per second
Damage: 38/32/95 damage to body/leg/head within 30 meters
Price: 3,200 credits

The Odin is another fully-automatic large machine gun in the game. Much like the other heavy machine gun, the Odin is capable of high levels of wall penetration.

Each gun in the game has its own upsides and downsides. Practising with each will help a player fully understand the value that the weapon provides and also helps them choose which guns are likely the most powerful in the positions they hold and the styles they play with. Mastering each and every gun in the game isn’t necessary for everyone, however, knowing the fundamentals of each help players decide which duels to take, what angles to hold and further improve the understanding of the influence of economy in each round and in each game.

ABOUT VALORANT

VALORANT is a competitive first-person-shooter that places players in a five-verus-five match. The player can choose from nine agents, each with four unique abilities. The game combines elements from games like Counter-Strike with elements from Overwatch and League of Legends. The result is an awesome shooter game where both excellent aiming and smart ability usage is rewarded.