Lock and Load: PUBG Gun Tier List
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) is a Battle Royale game that has embraced a fair deal of weapons that serve different purposes. Accordingly, the players will throw them into different Tiers according to the superb features, but unlike many other games, these will still have their use throughout the specific phases of the game.
Before we start talking about PUBG Gun Tier List, we need to recall several important facts: There is no official weapon tier in itself. It may have started out that way, but the tiers we had so far were not updated in many, many months. There were also significant changes regarding many weapons, their recoil, damage and firing rates. It seems that PUBG has abandoned the very concept of Tiers in the game, since there are no official comments on this and the last time I heard a reference to the term “tier” was in the patch description long time ago (I’d estimate it to be some 6 months or more) when they said that they moved SCAR into tier 3 and that it will, accordingly, probably spawn not as much as before.
Secondly, it is important to once again say that the PUBG is a game of tactical circumstances, and that there is no “fits all” solution. You will not pick up the “best weapon” according to its stats and carry it around through every street, house and over hills. You will pick up the best weapon according to the situation you are in, whether you are in a group or alone, in the city or on top of the hill somewhere in the wilderness. Next to that it is also important to ask what attachments you have for a specific weapon. While I might prefer vector for close quarter combat in the city over an UMP, I would definitely not do so if the Vector didn’t have and extended magazine. It simply does not have sufficient bullets to get the job done in edgy, crumpled circumstances.
Finally, it is all about the personal preference, where there is no “best” but what feels best for you!
Table of Contents
Gun Tier S
Let us refer to the best of the best tier as Tier “S”, for “special.” This is the tier that will bring the most benefit to every player, regardless if he is a noob or already plays for a year. In this one, we will include all the weapons currently available in the game, both available as random spawns as well as pick-ups from supply drops.
S Tier: AWM
AWM is probably the most sought for and desired weapon in the game. Available in loot crates/drop supply only, this gun does most damage per shot and also belongs to the most accurate weapons available. The only downside is that it is using the .300 ammo which comes along with the drop and is usually limited to some 15 shots.
S Tier: M24
Probably the second-best sniper in the game, M24 is an upgrade over kar98 and is only available in supply crates. Additionally, it uses 7.62 ammo which means that you can risk extra shots at very distant targets. Even though statistically inferior to AWM, personally I prefer this weapon because of greater ammo supply available.
S Tier: Groza
This beast is probably the best assault rifle in the game, available only from drop supplies. It sounds horribly thin, but it cuts down like a laser. It especially shines when used in close combat with a red dot and suppressor. It might not be the best choice for medium to long range, but it is the king of those small, final circles.
Gun Tier A
These are the top weapons of the game, majestic tools of destruction that may not be on the very top, but still, have tremendously satisfying roles in their own niches.
A Tier: Kar98
This sturdy, reliable and highly precise bolt action rifle is among the best non-crate weapons in PUBG. It is a common drop, although for a while it also inhabited the drop supply crates. It is precise, has a great range and awesome penetration power, yet its single bullet reload can somewhat diminish its startling performance.
A Tier: MK14
Some may be surprised for us putting the MK14 into A Tier and not S Tier, but this is due to the fact that this rifle can’t actually compete with the likes of AWM or M24. Louder, with harder recoil than its “baby brother” SKS, this beast has also the option of automatic fire mode. Overall, not a bad weapon, but one that takes getting used to.
A Tier: M249
M249 light machine gun, a drop supply crate only weapon has been dismissed by many as a weapon of little usefulness, but that is hardly the truth. With the incredible magazine of 100 shots and able to stand on bipod and effectively negate recoil when lying down, this weapon is an amazing tool for enemy suppression and is highly accurate. Equipped with a 4x it can deliver quite a beating at medium to even longer ranges. The major disadvantage is the long reloading time, but that too fades away when compared to the size of its magazine.
A Tier: M416
The M4 is the best non-crate weapon in this game, period. I believe that many would agree since it has an exceptional high rate of fire, great accuracy, and much less recoil than one might expect from that type of weapon. I always pick up attachments for it in the hope to actually run into the gun itself. I have even used it as a sniper rifle, and with an x8 scope, it performed very well even to fairly large distances. Fully kitted, this gun is something you can use for almost any situation in this game.
A Tier: Mini14
Truth be told, I wasn’t certain if Mini14 deserves a place in the A Tier, but then I recalled that this is the secondary weapon I would drop for anything that is not coming from a supply crate except for Kar98. Mini14, once a drop supply weapon, now commonly available to pick up, is a very precise weapon which, sadly, lacks the power to be perfect. But with an extended mag and a good scope, this sniper rifle can be amazingly effective. In fact, whenever I would play on a laggy server, I would take Mini14 over kar98 any day, since misses with this weapon were nowhere as near as punishing as the Kar98 misses were. In fact, a good player could squeeze 10,15 shots off on a target in a very short time span.
Gun Tier B
The weapons in Tier B are still good, viable weapons, but each of them is suffering a specific drawback that makes them less desirable.
B Tier: M16
Out of this bunch, I’d say that M16 is still the closest to the A Tier. A simple, straightforward weapon with only three possible attachments can be a very impressive tool in the right hands. Those with fast clicking fingers can stack an impressive amount of shots in a couple of seconds only. One of its major drawbacks are the lack of fully automatic fire, so it is never really a good solution for CQC.
B Tier: AK47
The most produced, toughest assault rifle in the world (it was tested by being thrown under a tank and would still fire and operate without problem) is not the most wanted assault rifle in PUBG. It still, after all this time, kicks like a mule and suffers from imprecision. It takes a lot of skill and adaptation to become good with this weapon.
B Tier: SKS
SKS, yet another mule, is actually a decent sniper these days if you manage to collect all the necessary attachments for this weapon. With extended magazine and a vertical grip, the weapon feels like a tamed stallion, and those skilled in tapping and aiming have a good friend in the rapid firing SKS.
B Tier: VSS
Yet another weapon that used to occupy the lootcrate exclusively was often enough a highly welcome weapon in the initial stages of the game as well asa good gun for solo plays. Coming out of the box with a suppressor and a x4 scope, the VSS is like a pesky mosquito. It would sting the poor victim time and time again, only to knock it off its feet after many lucky shots. The bullet drop on that thing is also amazing, but even today it can be quite useful in encounters between 100-300 meters.
B tier: The Pan
The indestructible pan is not only a great melee weapon, but also a proverbial part of armor you wear. Observed from this point of view, it deserves a decent place at the back of Tier B. let us hope they will never nerf this epic piece of PUBG gear!
Gun Tier C
This tier belongs to the unwanted, unfortunately. It is a number of weapons that will be picked up just to be dropped from a Tier A or B weapon. That is the story with Tommy Gun, which too was nerfed and evicted from the drop crates, DP28 which is only good for “spray and prey” tactic, the UMP, the UZI, the Shotgun and the Glock. Some of these weapons are actually quite good in what they do, and while I will drop the tommy for a Mini14 or any other Tier B weapon, I will still cherish weapons such as the UMP, the Uzi, the sawed off. UMP can be great for cleaning houses, even for the close range open combat. The fully equipped Uzi with extended mag and a suppressor are virtually spraying machines of death that can triumph over anything in indoor CQC. And the sawed off is a perfect sidearm to blast someone’s face off while crawling through the house that was presumed empty.
Gun Tier D
This is the so-called waste of proverbial space in your backpack. The rest of handguns and melee weapons lose their importance as soon as the initial drop is over, and you find better weapons within the next minute. Use and drop at your convenience.
Once again, lets us stress out how many of these decisions are tied to personal preferences and tactical circumstances.We also didn’t mention quite some weapons such as AUG, mostly because we still haven’t had a chance to evaluate it properly, as well as many handguns that were simply not important enough to include in this PUBG Gun Tier guide. We are also certain that many of these will change in the coming 2018 and we are interested to see how these changes are going to influence the future gameplay.
For more PUBG, check this out: How to Make PUBG Run Better to Amplify Performance
