▶
The topics
All the news →
Home › Valorant, the game › Weapons in Valorant
The arsenal

THE WEAPONS OF VALORANT

Nineteen weapons, six categories, one table. Price, head and body damage, magazine size and role: everything you need to pick the right gun at the right moment.

Weapons 19 Categories 6 From 0 to 4700 creds
19 / 19 weapons

"No weapon will solve all of your problems, but every weapon can be the answer to one of them."

Brimstone

I am opening this section with Brimstone's wisdom, because in Valorant, as in other shooters, you pick your weapon to fit the situation. The game holds a whole range of weapons, and they are sorted into categories.

Every weapon in Valorant. Click Price or Head to sort. Damage shown at close range.

Weapon Category Price Head Body Magazine What to know
Classic, a Valorant weapon Classic Sidearm Free 78 26 12 Free every round, burst fire on alt fire
Shorty, a Valorant weapon Shorty Sidearm 150 creds ≈12 ≈6 2 Per pellet, lethal at point-blank range
Frenzy, a Valorant weapon Frenzy Sidearm 450 creds 78 26 13 Fully automatic, brutal up close
Ghost, a Valorant weapon Ghost Sidearm 500 creds 105 30 15 Silenced, the pistol round staple
Bandit, a Valorant weapon BanditNew Sidearm 600 creds One-tap · 8 Semi-auto, one-taps through light shields
Sheriff, a Valorant weapon Sheriff Sidearm 800 creds 159 55 6 One-taps to the head at any range
Stinger, a Valorant weapon Stinger SMG 1,100 creds 67 27 20 Very high fire rate, poor accuracy at range
Spectre, a Valorant weapon Spectre SMG 1,600 creds 78 26 30 Silenced, the best half-buy weapon in the game
Bucky, a Valorant weapon Bucky Shotgun 850 creds ≈44 ≈22 5 Per pellet, alt fire reaches mid range
Judge, a Valorant weapon Judge Shotgun 1,850 creds ≈34 ≈17 7 Per pellet, automatic, holds a tight angle
Bulldog, a Valorant weapon Bulldog Rifle 2,050 creds 116 35 24 Alt fire scopes in for three-round bursts
Guardian, a Valorant weapon Guardian Rifle 2,250 creds 195 65 12 Semi-auto, one-taps to the head
Phantom, a Valorant weapon Phantom Rifle 2,900 creds 156 39 30 Silenced, high fire rate, damage falloff
Vandal, a Valorant weapon Vandal Rifle 2,900 creds 160 40 25 One-taps to the head at any range
Marshal, a Valorant weapon Marshal Sniper rifle 950 creds 202 101 5 Light, mobile sniper rifle
Outlaw, a Valorant weapon Outlaw Sniper rifle 2,400 creds 238 140 2 Two shots before reloading, sits between Marshal and Operator
Operator, a Valorant weapon Operator Sniper rifle 4,700 creds 255 150 5 One shot to the body kills, but it pins you down
Ares, a Valorant weapon Ares Machine gun 1,600 creds 72 30 50 Spins up, ideal for spraying down a choke
Odin Odin Machine gun 3,200 creds 95 38 100 One hundred rounds, wall penetration, area denial
No weapon matches this search.
About these numbers

The damage shown is for a close range shot on an unshielded target. Several weapons lose damage over distance, the Phantom in particular. For shotguns, the value is given per pellet, since the weapon fires several with every shot. Riot adjusts prices and damage regularly from patch to patch.

The six families

WHAT IS EACH CATEGORY FOR?

Sidearms visual

Sidearms

6 weapons

Sidearms are light weapons. They barely dent your buy, which is why they usually come out in an eco round.

From 0 to 800 creds
SMGs (submachine guns) visual

SMGs (submachine guns)

2 weapons

SMGs are close range weapons with a very fast spray. They are easy on the wallet, but light on damage.

From 1,100 to 1,600 creds
Rifles visual

Rifles

4 weapons

Balanced weapons that hold up at close range as well as at long range.

From 2,050 to 2,900 creds
Machine guns visual

Machine guns

2 weapons

Mid range weapons, but their sustained spray makes them excellent at locking down an area.

From 1,600 to 3,200 creds
Shotguns visual

Shotguns

2 weapons

Short range weapons, and very effective inside that range.

From 850 to 1,850 creds
Sniper rifles visual

Sniper rifles

3 weapons

Built for long distances, with a scope and reduced mobility. They often kill in a single shot, but they punish a miss hard.

From 950 to 4,700 creds
The big debate

VANDAL OR PHANTOM?

Both cost 2,900 creds and fill the same role. It is the most asked question in the game, and it has no universal answer: it comes down to your accuracy and to the map.

Vandal, a Valorant weapon

VANDAL

2,900 creds
One shot to the head, at any distance
  • 160 damage to the head, whatever the range
  • No loss of power over distance
  • Any duel can end on a single bullet
  • Slower fire rate, less forgiving on a spray
  • Heavier recoil, wider spread
Phantom, a Valorant weapon

PHANTOM

2,900 creds
Faster, steadier, silenced
  • Higher fire rate and recoil that is easier to control
  • Silenced, ideal for shooting through smokes
  • 30 rounds in the magazine against 25
  • Damage falloff past fifteen meters
  • A headshot does not always kill at long range
What Riot's data says

Riot published an analysis comparing the two weapons. The Phantom performs almost on par with the Vandal against opponents in light shields, but it comes up short more often against enemies in heavy shields. The Vandal lands a little higher, with a better headshot percentage, while the Phantom puts more rounds into bodies and legs thanks to its fire rate.

The short version: if your aim is already solid and you play on an open map, take the Vandal. If you would rather have the safety net of a high fire rate, if you play short angles or you like shooting into smokes, take the Phantom. Neither one is going to lose you a match.

Buying strategy

WHICH WEAPON FOR YOUR BUDGET?

Knowing when not to buy usually wins more rounds than an improvement in aim. Here are the four buy situations and the reflex that goes with each one.

Buying guidelines based on the round economy.

Situation Budget Recommended weapons The reflex
Pistol round 0 to 800 creds Ghost, Bandit or Sheriff Keep enough for light shields: surviving one bullet changes everything.
Eco round Under 2,000 creds Classic, Frenzy or Marshal Buy little or nothing, the point is to rebuild your bank for the next round.
Half-buy 2,000 to 3,000 creds Spectre, Bucky or Marshal The Spectre is the best power for the price in the game.
Full buy Over 3,900 creds Vandal, Phantom or Operator Heavy shields and abilities included, otherwise it is not a full buy.

The five buying rules

1 Buy as a team, never aloneFour armed players and one on a Classic are worth less than five players on Spectres.
2 Shields before the gunLight shields at 400 creds swing more fights than moving up from a Spectre to a Vandal.
3 Keep enough for the next roundA force buy that fails costs you two rounds of saving, not one.
4 Pick up the guns on the groundA dead opponent's weapon is free, and it replaces a full buy.
5 Do not forget your abilitiesA full buy without utility is not a full buy, especially on attack.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT WEAPONS

Weapon choice is one of the most debated topics in Valorant. Here are the questions that come up most often.

The game has nineteen firearms split across six categories, plus the knife, which you carry at all times. The roster has barely moved since 2020: only the Outlaw, a sniper rifle, and the Bandit, a pistol added in 2026, have joined the original arsenal.
The Vandal one-taps to the head at any distance, which the Phantom cannot guarantee past fifteen meters. In exchange, the Phantom fires faster, spreads its bullets less and stays silenced, which makes it more forgiving in close duels and for shooting through smokes. The data published by Riot shows the Phantom performing on par with the Vandal against opponents in light shields, but coming up short more often against enemies in heavy shields. If your aim is good, take the Vandal. If you would rather have the safety net of a high fire rate, take the Phantom.
The Marshal at 950 creds gives you the best return on investment: it one-taps to the head, badly wounds on a body shot, and still leaves room for light shields. The Sheriff is the alternative if you are confident with pistols. And never forget that the Classic is free: on a real eco round, the best buy is often no buy at all.
The Bandit is the first pistol added to Valorant since launch. At 600 creds it slots in between the Ghost and the Sheriff, and it works as a semi-automatic with eight rounds per magazine. Its trick is that it one-taps to the head against an opponent in light shields, exactly where the Ghost starts to fall short, which makes it a nasty option in pistol rounds and force buys.
Every weapon has a wall penetration rating set by Riot, usually low, medium or high. Heavy weapons like the Odin and sniper rifles like the Operator punch through most thin walls while keeping much of their damage, whereas an SMG loses almost all of its effectiveness. That is what makes shooting through surfaces so profitable on certain angles, as long as you know how thick the map is where you are firing.

About this data

Prices and damage are taken from the game documentation and cross-checked against community databases. Riot Games adjusts these values regularly as updates land: if you spot a difference in game, the version shown in the buy menu is the one that counts. The Vandal versus Phantom comparison draws on the analysis published by Riot Games in its Data Drop on the two weapons.