Season 10 of Apex Legends is underway, and players are still trying to come to terms with a Seer-dominant meta on the character side of things. However, a new weapon also debuted this season alongside the new Legend. In addition to the new Rampage LMG, several weapons received some balance changes to help shake up the meta a bit more. Now it’s time to break down the weapons in-game from best to worst, and highlight the best uses for each of these guns.
As a note, the weapons of Apex Legends are sorted into their tiers first, and then the tiers are sorted alphabetically from there. The rating a weapon gets is based on its performance straight off the ground with no attachments or hop-ups.
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S-Tier
Alternator - Who would have thought that the Alternator would rise to the top tier once again? Well it's all thanks to the fact that the Alternator is in the care package, and once again features the iconic Disruptor Rounds from Season 2 of Apex Legends. With Disruptor Rounds, the Alternator is the only weapon in the game currently that deals bonus damage to shields, and that alone is enough to bring it back into the spotlight - even if they are not quite as strong as they were in Season 2.
R-99 - The R-99 is infamous for its insane fast fire-rate, unwieldy recoil, and high damage output. This weapon is very skill-dependent, and if you can’t hit most of the shots from a magazine, you’ll end up taking more damage than you deal since the R-99 requires you to be relatively close. If you can hit the shots, though, the R-99 will shred through enemies.
Spitfire - With the Prowler coming out of the Care Package, the Spitfire is taking its place and that means that Respawn is taking off the chains and letting the Spitfire be as strong as it can be. Despite the limited ammo from being a Care Package weapon, the Spitfire still fires a ton of rounds at a decent pace, and at a very good range for a lot of damage. This thing was a menace for the past season or two, and in Season 10 it is more rare, but it will be even more powerful.
Volt - Ever since its introduction, the Volt SMG has always been a competitor for the R-99, as both fire incredibly fast and deal a lot of damage if players can hit the shots. But just like the R-99, if players cannot hit the shots, the gun will be little more than dead weight. Being an Energy weapon means that the shots have less damage falloff, which is great, but the stability of the weapon makes it harder to use at range - which makes sense considering it is an SMG. Overall, it’s one of the best burst-DPS weapons in the game if the player has the skill to use it.
A-Tier
Flatline - The Flatline is easily one of the most reliable weapons in Apex Legends. The Flatline is a Heavy ammo-using assault rifle that features solid, reliable damage. It is often seen as the Heavy counterpart to the Light ammo-using R-301. The only difference between the two is that the Flatline boasts higher damage but lower stability, and cannot use barrel attachments. For those looking for a solid, reliable weapon, it is hard to go wrong with the Flatline, even without the Anvil Receiver hop-up.
Hemlock - The Hemlock is one of the more versatile weapons in the game currently. Being able to switch on-the-fly between a three-round burst and single fire allows for players to pick how they want to approach the weapon’s rate-of-fire. In single-fire, the weapon can be fired nearly as fast as they can pull the trigger, while burst fire allows for three strong hits in rapid succession. It has solid overall damage and a considerable range as well, making it another solid pick for those looking for a more medium range weapon that can deal with teams pushing up.
Kraber - The Kraber has been the one weapon that has yet to leave the care package since its introduction, and for good reason. The Kraber is the one weapon in Apex Legends capable of taking down any Legend, regardless of armor and helmet tier, with one headshot. The exception to this would be Gibraltar with this arm shield, which is why he is always at the top of Legend tier lists. The reason the Kraber is in A-tier as opposed to S-tier is that the Kraber has a very limited ammo supply, and unless you’re hitting headshots consistently, it is perhaps better to use another sniper that is more forgiving.
Peacekeeper - The Peacekeeper has been one of the strongest weapons in the game since its inception, and that is still very true now that it has returned to ground loot. Thanks to its high damage, relatively easy-to-control spread, and the ability to toggle between Precision Choke mode, the Peacekeeper has a high effective range for a shotgun, making it a great off-hand weapon choice for nearly any situation.
Prowler - Fresh out of the Care Package, the Prowler is back to ground loot and it is still just as powerful as when it left. Since the ranking is based on the Prowler’s performance without Selectfire, this is focused on the Prowler’s default burst fire, which can shred enemies down quicker than many expect. Unlike the Hemlock’s 3-round burst, the Prowler features a 5-round burst which hits like a truck to nearby enemies. It’s an incredibly powerful weapon and should not be slept on even though it doesn’t have Selectfire this season.
R-301 - The R-301 is one of Apex Legends’ workhorse weapons, and it has been one of the most consistent weapons in the entire game. The R-301 features a smooth recoil, solid damage, great range for an assault rifle, and the ability to swap to single-fire for more precision (or if/when Anvil Receivers become available). This gun will be useful in nearly every fight situation in the game, so it’s hard not to recommend it.
Rampage - The Rampage is the new weapon on the block, and it’s certainly made a name for itself already. It bridges the gap between the likes of the Devotion and the Spitfire - firing at the same speed as the pre-ramped up Devotion, but dealing incredibly high damage with solid range. The bonus to the Rampage is that players can feed it a Thermite Grenade to increase the weapon’s fire rate and allow it to damage (and break) doors.This feature along is a solid reason why it is popular at the moment, but even without a Thermite Grenade on hand, the Rampage can tear enemies down at range with solid damage.
Triple Take - The Triple Take has always been a Jack-of-all-Trades type weapon, excelling at both long range engagements using the Precision Choke feature that’s intrinsic with the weapon, as well as with close-range engagements where the three-round shot acts more as a Shotgun than a Sniper. While the rate of fire is nothing remarkable, the Triple Take’s versatility really makes it a solid weapon to use on more open maps, while the uncharged shots make for a great counter to enemies pushing up.
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B-Tier
30-30 Repeater - The 30-30 Repeater is a blend between the combat styles of both the Triple Take and the G7 Scout. This single-fire rifle can be charged by aiming down sights to increase damage. This weapon offers a lot of versatility, as it can be rapid fired for quick damage to enemies pushing up, or can be charged to deal more damage to enemies at a safer distance, making it a solid, well-rounded weapon.
Bocek - The one and only bow in Apex Legends made a splash when it debuted in Season 9. The Bocek got hit with a few nerfs after it debuted overtuned in Season 9, but it is still very strong at mid range engagements. Thanks to a relatively short draw time, the Bocek is great at dealing high precision damage, but tends to struggle a little more at close range engagements.
Charge Rifle - The Charge Rifle is arguably one of the most unique weapons in Apex Legends. While not as powerful as it was during the Titanfall 2 days, the Charge Rifle can still deal solid damage at long range. It deals a small amount of damage as the weapon primes, and then deals a burst of damage when fully charged. It pairs well with a long range scope like a 6x or a 4x-10x, and is great when you have long sight lines. As it is a sniper, it does struggle at close range engagements as well, mainly due to the charge time mechanic.
Devotion - The Devotion, without the Turbocharger hop up, tends to struggle a bit compared to the other LMGs in the game. The Devotion features a spin-up timer, but when it’s fully spun up it fires a lot of bullets very quickly. While it’s great for melting foes, the spin-up timer means the user has to be the one initiating the fight, because if not, then the spin-up may very well be the cause of death.
G7-Scout - The Scout has been reclassified and retooled more times than any other weapon in the game, starting out as a sniper, then an assault rifle, then a marksman rifle. This is because the Scout fills a niche roll in the weapon meta: a fast-firing, precision-based weapon that uses Light ammo. The Scout can pump out some damage at mid-range, but struggles when enemies are either too close or too far.
HAVOC - The HAVOC energy assault rifle falls into the same problem that the Devotion has: a spin-up time. The HAVOC eats less ammo than the Devotion does, but it still suffers from a spin-up without the Turbocharger attachment. It deals solid damage, if you can control the unwieldy recoil, but it is less helpful on the defensive.
L-STAR - The L-STAR is a very unique weapon that fires large energy projectiles and has an unlimited magazine (though still requires ammo). The weapon does not need to be reloaded, but it can overheat and will require a short time to cool off if fired too much. Players who can manage the L-STAR’s range and overheat mechanic can deal a lot of damage very quickly to close-range targets, but it struggles at medium-to-long range more than other LMGs. The L-STAR did get a buff in Season 10 to allow for magazine and barrel attachments, but that is not factored into the L-STAR’s ranking.
Longbow - The Longbow DMR is the fastest firing Sniper in the game currently, clocking in at 78 RPM. This makes the Longbow incredibly forgiving to those players who struggle landing headshots. If players can make the shots count, however, the Longbow can dish out serious damage thanks to its solid headshot multiplier.
Mozambique - What used to be the laughing stock of the Apex Legends community is now actually a solid contender for a secondary weapon. The Mozambique deals a good amount of damage, even without the Hammerpoint Rounds hop-up, and is less high-risk thanks to a larger magazine that was introduced in Season 9. Overall, the Mozambique is a fantastic weapon for finishing people off at close range, especially if players can get a handle on the spread and pattern of the weapon.
Sentinel - The Sentinel is one of the newer snipers added to Apex Legends, and features the unique mechanic that it can consume two Shield Cells to deal increased damage to shields for a short time. Even without this mechanic, the Sentinel features a much slower fire rate compared to its cousin the Longbow, but it does feature significantly more base damage. However, the slower fire rate makes it better for safe, long-range engagements as it will be less useful in a close-range fight.
Wingman - The sidearm-turned-primary weapon is quite popular among many players of Apex Legends. Players often use this weapon as their primary weapon, and for good reason. In skilled hands, the Wingman can deal a lot of damage if players hit headshots. However, with limited magazine size, every bullet has to count. The Wingman makes a great finisher to accompany another weapon, but the best gamers can get away with using this hand cannon as a primary.
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C-Tier
Mastiff - The Mastiff is easily the most inconsistent weapon in Apex Legends. Even during its time in the Care Package, it felt like shots that should hit didn’t, and when they did the shots did laughable damage. That has not really changed over the past few seasons. When the Mastiff hits properly, it hits hard. Still, it’s hard to rank the Mastiff any higher than C-Tier when you can’t rely on the weapon to perform.
RE-45 - The RE-45 features a rate-of-fire that can be comparable to the R-301, but is a pistol which has lower damage than that of the R-301. The RE-45 is a decent weapon to finish enemies off with, but it’s pretty hard to recommend it over an R-301 or an R-99 if they are stumbled upon instead.
D-Tier
P2020 - Even with the slow trickle of buffs Respawn has given the P2020, it’s hard to recommend it over the other “secondary” weapons in the game like the Mozambique or the RE-45 even. While it has a recent rate of fire, the damage doesn’t hold up compared to the other sidearm style weapons.
And that takes care of the Apex Legends Season 10 weapon tier list. The new Rampage LMG is making a name for itself so far this season, debuting better than most weapons have in their first season (save for the Bocek which was positively broken). Thankfully, the Rampage isn’t quite as broken as Seer currently is in the meta, so it’ll likely get to stay in a decent spot for some time still while Respawn is bringing Seer back down to balanced levels.
Apex Legends is available now for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.