The best weapons and loadouts in Fortnite

After a Star Wars interlude, Fortnite has reshuffled its loot pool for Chapter 6 Season 3: Super, mixing new weapons like the Spire Rifle with old favorites, including the Sentinel Pump shotgun.

It's a remarkably consistent arsenal with lots of viable loadouts—but if you want to reliably crack the top 10 in battle royale, you need to know what’s best.

I've laid out the best rifles, shotguns, and other weapons to carry this season, including a tier list and a note on the powerful Unstable Exotic guns. I've also got the best heals, mobility items, and utility items, including the Tracking Visor, which pings enemy locations and is a pain to play against.

I'll update this guide throughout the season to reflect new weapons and balance changes.

Fortnite best weapons tier list

For my money, the best weapons in Fortnite right now are the Spire Rifle, the Sentinel Pump Shotgun, and—partly for style points—the Killswitch Revolvers.

But this season, most weapons are viable if you practice enough with them (that's why the solid B-tier is so packed). The Hyperburst Pistols and the Fury Assault Rifle will never be first choices, for example, but they can absolutely shred opponents, and both the Outlaw Shotgun and Twinfire Auto Shotgun have recently received big buffs.

Use this list as a rough guide, but make sure to test different guns for yourself and see how they feel.

S-tier

Spire Rifle

This probably wouldn’t have ranked as high in previous seasons, but in the absence of a red dot-sight assault rifle it’s the best all-around weapon we have. It deals solid damage at medium range, where most Fortnite fights happen, and its huge 50-round magazine lets you fight multiple enemies before reloading. Its recoil is manageable, and if you take your time to tap fire your shots rather than spraying, you’ll get perfect first-shot accuracy. It shoots fast enough to finish fights up close if you miss a few shotgun blasts, and it deals lots of damage to built structures, too.

A-tier

Killswitch Revolvers

One of the coolest items ever added to Fortnite. Right-click while airborne to move in bullet-time slow motion—and if you hit jump you'll dive headlong, Max Payne-style. They hit hard, and slowing down time gives them pinpoint accuracy, with no bloom whatsoever.

They pair beautifully with the Bass Boost gloves, which keep you in the air to land headshots, and with the Combat Acrobat Boon, which partially reloads your weapon during parkour (the sideways dive counts). Slowing down time makes you easier to hit, so be unpredictable, cutting your slow-mo mid-air and restarting it after a pause.

Sentinel Pump Shotgun

The old reliable. This is a high-damage, slow-firing shotgun that’s perfect for landing those 100-HP kill shots. You need to be close to your enemies, so chip away from afar with a rifle, use mobility items to close the gap, and finish them off. Both the Auto Shotgun and the Outlaw Shotgun have received recent buffs, but this is still the most well-rounded option.

Storm Beast's Pom Poms

These pom poms transform you into a 600-health Storm Beast with a melee attack, a ground slam, unlimited stamina and a long jump. I personally don’t think they’re overpowered because the Bass Boost gloves, which knock the beast away before it can get close, is a hard counter, and there’s plenty of other mobility for escaping its swipes. I expect it to slip down this list as the Season progresses and more players learn how to fight against it—but for now, people are panicking against it, leading to easy kills

B-tier

Deadeye DMR

A slow-firing marksman rifle with a scope to help you hit players at longer ranges. The downsides are that it fires slowly—making it pretty useless when enemies get close—and that it has slight bullet drop, which takes getting used to. But some players love it, and will pick it over the Spire Rifle.

Hyperburst Pistol

Deceptively powerful and accurate, this three-round burst pistol excels in short-to-mid-range fights. You can only fire it six times before you reload, which limits its viability as a go-to primary weapon for most players, although the reload is pretty snappy.

Fury Assault Rifle

The Fury is a low damage, high fire-rate rifle that can melt enemies at short to medium ranges. It struggles beyond that because of bloom and recoil.

Outlaw Shotgun

The Outlaw got a huge buff soon after the season came out and it's now, finally, solid. It deals massive damage up close—the drawback is you can only shoot twice before you reload, so if you don’t kill your enemies, or if you’re getting third-partied, you're left scrambling.

Veiled Precision SMG

A sneaky good option for your primary weapon. Its damage drops off at range but its red dot sight really helps you line up your shots. Its 21-bullet magazine runs out quickly in sustained fights, which is why it isn’t higher up this list.

Twinfire Auto Shotgun

Like the Outlaw, the Twinfire has been buffed to bring it closer to the Sentinel Pump. It fires fast and you get seven shots before you have to reload, making it more forgiving than the other shotguns for new players. Per shot, it’s weaker than the other two shotguns, which is especially important in build fights when you might only have a narrow window to damage your opponent, and it’s also slow to reload.

C-tier

Surgefire SMG

A large-mag SMG that gets faster and more accurate the more bullets you fire. It doesn't excel at any one thing, and you should only use it if you can't find a different gun.

Myst Gauntlets

Launches a swarm of ravens in front of you. The range is too short to be useful in most fights but they’re strong in specific situations. Their large cone of fire makes light work of Spires or bosses, including Daigo, the boss at Demon's Domain who drops the Enhanced Spire Rifle. They can damage through cover, including cars, so if you struggle dealing with enemies in vehicles they’re worth grabbing (get in an enemy’s car and fire towards the driver's seat). And if you pair them with the new Myst Form item, they gain 50% more damage, which bumps them up a tier or two in this list.

Krypto

Throw this on the ground to mark a spot for Krypto the dog to divebomb. Again, it's good in certain situations, such as against an enemy with shield bubbles or somebody hiding in their build. If you have a spare inventory slot it’s worth picking up, but it shouldn’t replace a useful item.

D-tier

Superman Sprite

Adorable, but weak.

Best Fortnite loadout

Fortnite loadout: mixing weapons with other items

You have five item slots, and I recommend a mix of weapons, mobility, heals, and utility items to prepare yourself for every possible scenario. I suggest carrying at least two weapons: one for mid-to-long range fights and one to finish enemies up close. Then, you can use one slot each for healing, mobility, and utility. My current go-to loadout is:

• Spire Rifle
• Sentinel Pump Shotgun
• Bass Boost (mobility)
• Tracking Visor (utility)
• Heal item—ideally the Chug Jug

This is just a template. Your loadout will, and should, vary depending on what loot you find and your favorite playstyle. So if you love zipping around the map you might carry two mobility items—the Dash Sprite and the Bass Boost gloves, for example—and forgo the utility item.

Exotic weapons

Fortnite Chapter 6 Season 3 Super: Unstable Exotics

The latest season has three exotic weapons, all of them tricky to get. The Spire Overlord boss will drop one at random when you defeat it, so if you want to get one, drop somewhere near the glowing purple marker on the map. You can also find exotics in Hero Caches, but you’ll need to be at rank S+.

They all have unique, funky mechanics, so it’s worth seeing which one clicks for you:

• Unstable Voltage Burst Pistol: Rips through health bars, and the first and last shots in a clip produce a shockwave wherever they hit. You can technically use this for mobility if you shoot the ground behind you and slide, but it’s hard to master—it’s better as a disruptor of evasive opponents
• Unstable Frostfire Shotgun: A variation of the Sentinel Pump. When you land a shot, it speeds you up or slows your opponent down for three seconds (the effect alternates as you hit shots). Incredibly powerful.
• Unstable Yoink Shotgun: A version of the Outlaw shotgun. If you hit the first shot of your clip, you pull that enemy towards you for a follow-up blast. I’ve found this to be the least powerful of the three because lining up the perfect yoink angle feels fiddly.

Best Fortnite items

So, you’ve picked your favorite guns. What else should you carry?

You’ll want a mix of heals, mobility, and utility. As I mentioned earlier, I recommend two weapons, a healing item, a mobility item, and a utility item.

Heals: Anything will do

Just grab whatever you can. The Chug Jug is the best item, healing up to 200 points across both health and shields. If you’re already at full health, a large shield pot is the next best bet because it can top up your shields if you get clipped. But honestly, anything will do: if your health is low then a Med Kit works in a pinch, as does the Med Mist (ensure you spray somewhere enclosed to keep your location hidden).

Mobility: Pick the Bass Boost gloves, but shockwaves are just as good

You’ve got four excellent options, plus one—the new Myst Form—that’s less strong.

• Shockwaves: Fortnite’s most fun mobility item is back. If you throw this down and wait for it to explode, you’ll be launched away from it. Jump before the explosion to go further. They take some practice, but 15 minutes in a custom map will sort you out. It’s rare to find them in chests but you can get four of them if you turn in a Dash Sprite at a shrine.
• Bass Boost: Left click to fire a shockwave that damages players and structures. That damage is minimal, but the useful bit is that, if you’re airborne, you’ll be launched in the opposite direction of your shockwave. So if you run forward, jump in the air, turn 180 degrees and fire, you’ll launch yourself in the direction you were running. You can chain these together to travel great distances and escape from a losing fight or close the gap to damaged enemies. A right click launches you high into the air. The fact they counter the new Storm Beast Pom Pom means they’re a must-carry if you find them.
• Knightwing Grappler: Fire it to hook onto structures and traverse long distances very quickly, and if you swap to a weapon immediately after you fire, you’ll skip the slower, glider stage (this trick makes you harder to hit and is worth practicing in a custom server). There is only one per game, which you can buy from Robin for 600 gold. He’s in the building directly north-east of Demon’s Domain, at the left-edge of the colourful, striped farm field.
• Surf Cube: A hoverboard, basically: deploy it to zip along the ground, or boost to fly into the air. It has durability but lasts forever, so you can cover massive distances, and its speed means you can chase people down even if they’re driving away. The big blue lights will give your position away and you can’t hold a weapon while riding, making you slightly vulnerable, so I’d advise against it in the middle of a firefight. But for engaging or escaping, don’t hesitate.
• Dash Sprite: Chuck this little guy on the floor and he’ll give three dashes to use. Press jump when you’re already in the air to teleport a short distance in the direction you’re aiming. They’re amazing for confusing and flanking enemies in close-range fights, but they won’t help you travel quickly around the map.
• Myst Form: Don this cape and you can fly like an invulnerable raven for a short time. The 20-second cooldown, and the quick duration, make them my last-choice mobility item. Combined with the Myst Gauntlets, both items get stat boosts: you can fly close to enemies without taking damage and then unleash birds to peck them to death. You might love the playstyle, so test it out—but on their own, neither are worth a loadout slot.

If I only had to pick one, I’d choose the Bass Boost gloves because of their versatility: you can travel long or short distances depending on the situation,and push away pesky Storm Beasts. Shockwaves are fantastic once you get used to them, too. The Knightwing Grappler is probably the best in pure mobility terms, but is the most difficult to obtain (if you have 600 gold spare, dropping from the battle bus onto Robin is a good bet, making you instantly the most mobile player on the server).

The Dash Sprite is more situational, and probably shouldn’t be your sole mobility item, but it pairs well with each of the others if you want to double up on movement.

Utility: Tracking Visor reigns supreme

I recommend you make the Tracking Visor part of your go-to loadout. They passively show nearby enemy footprints, and when you scan, they reveal enemy locations for a full eight seconds. They are, arguably, overpowered, and I wouldn’t be surprised if their 25-second cooldown was lengthened soon.

Alternatively, you can never go wrong with shield bubbles, which spawn a defensive dome around you. They’re a lifesaver, and give you a huge advantage in 1v1 fights in open areas. And if you’re playing Zero Build, you should get familiar with the Port-A-Bunker, which builds you a small base. It’s especially useful if you get caught unawares and just need some quick cover.

Fortnite loadout tips

Experiment to find your perfect loadout

Now you have a feel for all the weapons and items, here are some simple tips for picking your ideal combo:

• Play to your strengths: Everyone’s playstyle is different. If you’re good at closing distances with shifty movement, you could ditch a longer-range assault rifle for weapons that hit harder in short-to-medium ranges (the Killswitch Revolvers and the Sentinel Pump Shotgun, for example). Test different combos until you find some you enjoy.
• Pick weapons that synergise: Ideally, that means something short-range and something for mid-range fights. Also think about your weapons’ strengths and weaknesses, and how they fit together. The slow-firing DMR is useless up close, so if you’re only carrying one other weapon, you’ll need something that can deal sustained damage at short-range. A weapon with a larger magazine (the Twinfire Auto Shotgun or the Fury Assault Rifle, for example) might work better than a Sentinel Pump.
• Consider swapping to a worse weapon of higher rarity: The Sentinel Pump is still my preferred shotgun, but given the choice between a common (grey) one and a Legendary (gold) Twinfire Auto Shotgun, I’d leave the Sentinel Pump behind.
• Try a three-weapon loadout if you're feeling brave: Some players enjoy carrying three weapons rather than two, and a rifle, a shotgun, and the Killswitch Revolvers are a nasty combo. That would only give you two slots to cover all your other bases. Personally, I can’t go without mobility to get me out of tight spots, so if I was carrying three weapons I’d either drop heals—topping up my health from dead enemies when I need—or utility. Going without the Tracking Visor feels painful, but it’s manageable.
• Remember, there are no rules: Find a loadout you enjoy and stick with it, or vary it up every match depending on your mood.