Riot's new competitive shooter Valorant is shaping up to one of the most anticipated games of the year and part of the reason why is Riot are promising to bring a level of gunplay not seen since CS:GO.
That means guns will have low time to kills, be skill-based and have learnable recoil patterns or spray patterns.
Learning how each gun works will be the key to your success. In this guide, we will outline each gun in the game, their unique characteristics, like fire-rate and the damage they deal and their cost.
Valorant: Weapon Guide
Valorant has six categories of weapons; Rifles, Snipers, SMGs, Shotguns, Heavys and Sidearms. If you are familiar with just about any other game you will know what these primary functions and ranges are so we wonât bore you with that.
Players can carry three weapons at any time, a primary, a secondary gun or sidearm and a knife. Players will drop weapons on their death and these can be picked up.
Players purchase guns at the start of each round and will keep them if they finish the round alive. You can also request a teammate buy you a weapon at the start of the round.
Players will gain credit each round depending on their performance in the previous round with extra credit rewarded for kills, planting or defending the bomb site etc.
Some weapons have Alternative Fire modes, often a Zoom Mode function - in Zoom mode weapons have a slower fire rate but less spread.
Spray or recoil patterns will be included in the guide when they are available.
Sidearms
Every player will start with a sidearm - the classic. This can be upgraded to a number of other pistols and a sawn-off shotgun.
The Classic
This pistol is free and is issued to everyone at the start of the game.
Primary Fire:
- Semi-Automatic
- Fire Rate: 6.75 rounds/sec
Alt. Fire:
- 3-Round Burst, spread increase
- Fire Rate: 2.22 rounds/sec
Damage:
- Body 26 | Head 78 | Leg 22 0-30m
- Body 22 | Head 66 | Leg 18 30-50m
Magazine Capacity: 12
Wall Penetration: Low
Cost: Free
The Shorty
A sawn-off shotgun.
Primary Fire:
- Semi-Automatic
- Fire Rate: 3.3 rounds per second
Damage: (12 pellets)
- Body 12 | Head 36 | Leg 10 0-9m
- Body 8 | Head 24 | Leg 6 9-15m
- Body 3 | Head 9 | Leg 2 0-9m
Magazine Capacity: 2
Wall Penetration: Low
Cost: 200
The Frenzy
A fast-firing pistol, it doesnât pack much of a punch but land your shots and you will quickly down your foe.
Primary Fire:
- Full-Automatic
- Fire Rate: 10 rounds per second
Damage:
- Body 26 | Head 78 | Leg 22 0-20m
- Body 21 | Head 63 | Leg 17 20-50m
Magazine Capacity: 13
Wall Penetration: Low
Cost: 400
The Ghost
One-shot kill for headshots under 20m mean, in the right hands, this silenced pistol will be deadly.
Primary Fire:
- Semi-Automatic
- Fire Rate: 6.75 rounds/sec
Damage:
- Body 30 | Head 105 | Leg 26 0-20m
- Body 25 | Head 68 | Leg 21 30-50m
Magazine Capacity: 15
Wall Penetration: Medium
Cost: 500
The Sheriff
A hand cannon similar to the Deagle in CS:GO.
Primary Fire:
- Semi-Automatic
- Fire Rate: 4 rounds/sec
Damage:
- Body 55 | Head 160 | Leg 47 0-30m
- Body 50 | Head 145 | Leg 43 20-50m
Magazine Capacity: 6
Wall Penetration: High
Cost: 800
Rifles
The gun class that you will find yourself using more often than not. There are a range of Rifles in Valorant each will foster a unique playstyle, mastering them will make you an asset on any team.
The Bulldog
The cheapest of the rifles, this fires full auto when fired before switching to burst when ADS. A 24 round mag gives you some breathing room.
Primary Fire:
- Full-Automatic
- Fire Rate: 9.15 rounds/sec
Alt. Fire:
- Zoom Mode (1.25x), 3-Round Burst
- Fire Rate: 4 rounds/sec
Damage:
- Body 35 | Head 116 | Leg 30 0-50m
Magazine Capacity: 24
Wall Penetration: Medium
Cost: 2100
The Guardian
This AR packs quite a punch, and you will need to land them with just a 12 round mag.
Primary Fire:
- Semi-Automatic
- Fire Rate: 6.5 rounds/sec
Alt. Fire:
- Zoom Mode (1.5x), slight spread reduction
- Fire Rate: 6.5 rounds/sec
Damage:
- Body 65 | Head 195 | Leg 49 0-50m
Magazine Capacity: 12
Wall Penetration: Medium
Cost: 2700
The Phantom
Primary Fire:
- Full-Automatic
- Fire Rate: 11 rounds/sec
Alt. Fire:
- Zoom Mode (1.25x), slight spread reduction
- Fire Rate: 9.9 rounds/sec
Damage:
- Body 39 | Head 156 | Leg 33 0-15m
- Body 35 | Head 140 | Leg 30 15-30m
- Body 31 | Head 124 | Leg 26 30-50m
Magazine Capacity: 30
Wall Penetration: Medium
Cost: 2900
The Vandal
A fully-automatic AK 47 style weapon with a zoom function when ADS.
Primary Fire:
- Full-Automatic
- Fire Rate: 11 rounds/sec
Alt. Fire:
- Zoom Mode (1.25x), slight spread reduction
- Fire Rate: 9.9 rounds/sec
Damage:
- Body 39 | Head 156 | Leg 33 0-15m
- Body 35 | Head 140 | Leg 30 20-50m
- Body 31 | Head 124 | Leg 26 30-50m
Magazine Capacity: 30
Wall Penetration: Medium
SMGs
Fast-firing, relatively low damage. A weapon to pick up when you can't afford a rifle.
The Stinger
Primary Fire:
- Full-Automatic
- Fire Rate: 18 rounds/sec
Alt. Fire:
- Zoom Mode (1.15x) 4-Round Burst, spread reduction
- Fire Rate: 4 rounds/sec
Damage:
- Body 27 | Head 67 | Leg 23 0-20m
- Body 25 | Head 62 | Leg 21 20-50m
Magazine Capacity: 20
Wall Penetration: Low
Cost: 1000
The Spectre
Fast firing SMG similar to the MP5 in CS:GO.
Primary Fire:
- Full-Automatic
- Fire Rate: 13.33 rounds/sec
Alt. Fire:
- Zoom Mode (1.15x), slight spread reduction
- Fire Rate: 12 rounds/sec
Damage:
- Body 26 | Head 78 | Leg 22 0-20m
- Body 22 | Head 66 | Leg 18 20-50m
Magazine Capacity: 30
Wall Penetration: Medium
Cost: 1600
Snipers
These snipers are great for picking off enemies at range. The Operator will be one of the strongest guns in the gun but with a price tag that will mean it will be a prized commodity.
The Marshall
The scout sniper of Valorant.
Primary Fire:
- Semi-Automatic
- Fire Rate: 1.5 rounds/sec
Alt. Fire:
- Zoom Mode (2.5x), slight spread reduction
- Fire Rate: 1.2 rounds/sec
Damage:
- Body 101 | Head 202 | Leg 85 0-50m
Magazine Capacity: 5
Wall Penetration: Medium
Cost: 1100
The Operator
The AWP of the Valorant world. Expect one-shot kills from any range.
Primary Fire:
- Semi-Automatic
- Fire Rate: 0.75 rounds/sec
Alt. Fire:
- Dual-Zoom Mode (2.5x, 5x), significant spread reduction
- Fire Rate: 0.75 rounds/sec
Damage:
- Body 150 | Head 255 | Leg 127 0-50m
Magazine Capacity: 5
Wall Penetration: High
Cost: 4500
Shotguns
Best at close range these weapons are usually low-cost options great for getting up close and surprising your opponent.
The Bucky
Youâll need to get up close and personal with this pump-action shotgun. The name Bucky suggests a buckshot cartridge meaning a high spread and a good chance of scoring a headshot.
Primary Fire:
- Semi-Automatic
- Fire Rate: N/A
Alt. Fire:
- N/A
Damage:
- Body N/A | Head N/A | Leg N/A 0-15m
- Body N/A | Head N/A | Leg N/A 20-50m
- Body N/A | Head N/A | Leg N/A 30-50m
Magazine Capacity: N/A
Wall Penetration: N/A
Cost: 900
The Judge
A drum magazine shotgun.
Primary Fire:
- Full-Automatic
- Fire Rate: 3.5 rounds/sec
Damage:
- Body 17 | Head 34 | Leg 14 0-10m
- Body 13 | Head 26 | Leg 11 20-50m
- Body 10 | Head 20 | Leg 9 30-50m
Magazine Capacity: 7
Wall Penetration: Medium
Cost: 1500
Heavys
Very little is known about the heavys and they haven't appeared in any of the trailer footage. All we know is there will be two of them.
The Ares and Odin - expect large clip, big calibre weapons with insane recoil.
Ares
Primary Fire:
- Full-Automatic
- Fire Rate: 10 to 13 rounds/sec (increasing during fire)
Alt. Fire:
- Zoom Mode (1.25x), slight spread reduction
- Fire Rate: 10 to 13 rounds/sec (increasing during fire)
Damage:
- Body 30 | Head 72 | Leg 25 0-30m
- Body 28 | Head 67 | Leg 23 30-50m
Magazine Capacity: 50
Wall Penetration: High
Cost: 1700
Odin
Primary Fire:
- Full-Automatic
- Fire Rate: 12 to 15.6 rounds/sec (increasing during fire)
Alt. Fire:
- Zoom Mode (1.25x), slight spread reduction
- Fire Rate: 15.6 rounds/sec
Damage:
- Body 38 | Head 95 | Leg 32 0-30m
- Body 31 | Head 77 | Leg 26 30-50m
Magazine Capacity: 100
Wall Penetration: High
Cost: 3200
That is everything we know about the guns in Valorant so far, as more information gets released we will update this page keeping you as up to date as possible. If you want to learn more about the characters(Agents) and abilities check out our Agents guide.