The Top 5 New Fortnite Exotic Weapons from Season 5 Ranked

Fortnite Season 5 introduced a bunch of new and fun weapons for us to use, and they kept the game pretty fresh for the entire season. We had a variety of weapons for different situations, and a lot of these were fun alterations of weapons that were already in the game. As we move into Season 6, we’ll be taking a look at the best Fortnite exotic weapons from Season 5, the usefulness of those weapons, their strengths and weaknesses, and if they can be a part of the regular loot pool in Season 6.

Exotic weapons were introduced as a part of the new Gold system. For the first time, Fortnite got NPCs with quests tied to them. These NPCs could be found all over the island, with each one having their own unique dialogue and missions. You could complete missions for Gold or for rare weapons, and you could use your Gold to then obtain Exotic weapons. Note that Exotic weapons are denoted by a sky-blue color and are not to be mistaken for the Mythic weapons (yellow rarity).

Best Exotic Weapons from Fortnite Chapter 2 Season 5

Before diving into the details for each weapon, here’s our ranking of the top 5 exotic weapons from Fortnite Chapter 2, Season 5:

1. The Dub
2. Storm Scout Sniper Rifle
3. Boom Sniper and Dragon’s Breath Spider (joint second)
4. Shadow Tracker Pistol

The Dub

The Dub is an upgraded version of the Double Barrel Shotgun from Chapter 1, fused with the Flintlock Pistol’s knockback effect. It could be obtained from the NPC called “Dummy” for just 600 Gold. This one can easily be a part of the regular loot pool without any issues.

This one was a pretty fun Exotic to use. With a decent range that was similar to the Tactical Shotgun, the Dub’s knockback effect has some great advantages. You could knock players off from a build battle, use it for faster rotations, and even get some crazy trick-shots.

Storm Scout Sniper Rifle

The Storm Scout Sniper Rifle is another great Exotic from Season 5, although I will admit, it’s pretty low on the “fun” quotient. It also has lackluster damage numbers, but features one of the biggest advantages in the game. This sniper could be obtained from the NPC Lexa, who could be easily found at Hunter’s Haven. Unfortunately, since Haven was a hot drop, Lexa would already get eliminated by the players who landed there and got their snipers quickly.

The advantage of using this sniper is that it reveals the location of the next Storm circle. If you played back in Chapter 1, Season X, this sniper was actually available was a Legendary weapon. A separate item was also planned back in Season 3: a backpack that could track the Storm. It lets you rotate easily, allows you to predict where enemy players would be rushing in from, and saves you a lot of time as you know exactly where to go before anyone else.

It was a bit of a misstep from Epic’s side, putting it in the middle of the map, that already allowed for easier rotations in Season 5. I don’t think this one can be in the regular loot pool, as it would just dilute it for no good reason. It’s got great utility, but isn’t worth carrying around.

Boom Sniper and Dragon’s Breath Sniper

The Dragon’s Breath is based on setting fire to wooden structures, while the Boom Sniper shoots the good old Clingers. It’s hard to rank either of these snipers over the other, since both of them are unique in their own way. Structures aren’t always wooden, but the Dragon’s Breath forgives bad aim. On the other hand, the Boom Sniper shoots Clingers that have a short detonation period, and if you want to damage a player, you need good aim.

The Dragon’s Breath could be obtained from Blaze, an NPC, while the Boom could be acquired from the Splode character on the island north of Stealthy Stronghold. Both weapons are good for long-range damage, where you can put pressure on a healing team while the rest of your squad rushes up to attack. These could definitely be a part of the regular loot pool, as both snipers are balanced and fun to use, especially in Team Rumble. It would be great to see one of the new Bows having the clinger effect. One of them already has the Dragon’s Breath fire effect, which has been implemented pretty well.

Shadow Tracker Pistol

The Shadow Tracker Pistol is hands down the best and most useful Exotic from Season 5. It is also the most overpowered pistol to ever exist in this game, and on top of that, has high accuracy and the magazine size of a Legendary Pistol. This Pistol could be obtained from about 1200 Gold from the NPC called “Reese”. Reese could be found at Dirty Docks.

The Shadow Tracker Pistol has one of the most broken mechanics in the game built into it: tracking enemies. While the pistol feels and operates just like the Silenced Pistol released in Chapter 1, Season 2, it is equipped with an incredible feature: tracking bullets. Remember the Flare Gun from Chapter 2? It’s been vaulted now, but it was pretty useful to track enemies. If you shot the gun high up in the air, it would reveal enemies around you by marking them with red markers. This was a temporary effect and the Flare Gun was always short on ammo, so the feature was pretty balanced as the red tags disappeared quickly.

However, the Shadow Tracker Pistol takes this mechanic to then next level. Every bullet in it has the capacity to conjure red markings on your enemies if you tag them once with the Pistol. This is one of the best advantages a Battle Royale game can give to its players and definitely can’t be a regular part of the loot pool

Endnote on Fortnite Exotic Weapons from Season 15

The Fortnite Exotic Weapons from Season 5 were truly fun to use, and while the new season has introduced newer items like the Mythic boots, it would be great to see some of the above Exotics return to the game at some point.