Apex Legends best guns and damage stats list: Our recommendations for the best Apex Legends weapons
Which Apex Legends weapons are best, and why?
Apex Legends weapon damage stats are one of the most important things to consider as you start to take the game a bit more seriously - or if you just want to lord it over your squadmates with a bit of extra knowledge.
On this page you'll find essential weapon stats and our picks for the best Apex Legends guns in each category.
Before we get to that, we also run through a quick explanation of all the most exciting stuff like methodology and genuinely good-to-know things before you go diving into the numbers. You'll be an expert at Apex Legends guns before you know it!
On this page:
- Apex Legends weapons and weapon damage explained
- Best Sniper Rifle in Apex Legends recommendation: Kraber.050-Cal
- Best SMG in Apex Legends recommendation: Prowler
- Best Assault Rifle in Apex Legends recommendation: R-301
- Best LMG in Apex Legends recommendation: L-Star
- Best Shotgun in Apex Legends recommendation: Peacekeeper
- Best Pistol in Apex Legends recommendation: Wingman
Latest Update - May 13th: As Apex players will know, fully-kitted golden weapons get rotated each new Season. Season 5 Includes changes to the Longbow DMR, Hemlok, Spitfire, EVA-8, Peacekeeper and RE-45, which have all been changed to a Special aka golden weapon.
Apex Legends weapons and weapon damage explained
Apex Legends has a huge swath of weapons from you to choose from, and it all depends on your style. Do you prefer to snipe people at a distance, or do you want to be up, close and personal?
Regardless, below you'll find a breakdown of weapon by category featuring all the numbers we know so far. Apex Legends updates quite consistently with new nerfs and buffs of weapons, so these may change over time.
We have a general idea of fire rate which we take into account in our section on personal picks for the best Apex Legends weapons, but if you want to make a decision for yourself, you can browse through the weapon stats charts with the raw data underneath each recommendation.
There are also a few other things to know before diving into the lovely pile of numbers below - here's a quick rundown:
- Maximum HP for any character is 200 - 100 base health plus 25 health for each level of shield (up to four, for Purple/Gold shields).
- Helmets don't add HP, but they make you more resistant to headshot damage depending on which helmet you have equipped.
- A change since release is Sniper rifles have their own ammo now - it's just called sniper ammo, and is a blue colour.
- In the damage stat tables below, if a weapon does burst damage we've noted the damage of one bullet from that burst fire, the same as it's one bullet's worth of damage for full-auto weapons.
- Similarly, for 'spread' weapons like shotguns or the Triple Take, we've counted the damage for if all projectiles hit the target successfully.
- Many - but not all - weapons can expand their magazine size with attachments found from looting, which makes a significant difference to their viability - so it's worth searching for extended magazines, in particular!
- You can view weapon damage as you're fighting in-game - there are different settings for it in the menus, but the default shows the total damage from all your hits in a burst, with a single damage number updating as you land another hit (from 16, to 32, to 48, etc.).
- This damage is also colour-coded, according to your enemy's armour, which is good to know - yellow for headshots, purple for purple/gold shields, blue for blue shields, white for common shields, and red for true damage when their shields are down. There's also a shattering sound when you smash through their shields in combat, too.
- Weapons get rotated each season. For example, the Peacekeeper in season 4 is a regular weapon and to echo that sentiment, had regular stats. In season 5, it's now been rotated to appear in care packages, with its stats increasing to reflect that.
With those little bits of housekeeping out of the way, here are all the numbers and details we've confirmed for weapons so far - from our own testing in-game - and our Apex Legends weapon recommendations in each category.
Best Sniper Rifle in Apex Legends recommendation: Kraber.050-Cal
Before we said the Sentinel was the best sniper rifle, due to it being able to strip the enemy team of their shields and hit straight at their health.
However, the Kraber's headshot damage is no joke - just one hit and you're completely knocked down. We'd hate to go against that!
Apex Legends Sniper Rifle damage stats:
| Sniper Rifle | Ammo Type | Fire Rate Type | Mag Size | Body Damage | Headshot Damage | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kraber .50-Cal | Special | Bolt-Action | 4 | 145 | 297 | Supply Pods |
| Triple Take | Sniper | Single | 5 | 69 | 138 | Standard |
| Longbow DMR | Sniper | Single | 5 | 55 | 118 | Standard |
| Charge Rifle | Sniper | Single | 4 | 90 | 116 | Standard |
| Sentinel | Sniper | Single | 4 | 65 | 130 | Standard |
Best SMG in Apex Legends recommendation: Prowler
While the R-99 and Alternator both have an auto fire-rate type that's fire-rate is decent, both of them pale in comparison to the Prowler.
The Prowler's recoil isn't the greatest, but it's burst of 5 fire rate is incredibly powerful no matter if the distance is far or medium.
The body damage is also excellent, especially for those players - aka us - who aren't that great at getting headshots during the heat of battle.
Apex Legends SMG damage stats:
| SMG | Ammo Type | Fire Rate Type | Mag Size | Body Damage | Headshot Damage | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prowler | Heavy | Burst of 5 | 20 | 14 | 21 | Standard |
| Alternator | Light | Auto | 19 | 13 | 22 | Standard |
| R-99 | Light | Auto | 18 | 11 | 18 | Standard |
Best Assault Rifle in Apex Legends recommendation: R-301
The R-301 is a weapon that you just can't go wrong with. It's great both at a medium distance or up close, and has a drop-off rate that won't leave you hankering to find a sniper rifle fast.
It's got consistent damage, and even if you're only firing from the hip, enemies can be downed with ease if your aim is on point.
Apex Legends Assault Rifle damage stats:
| Assault Rifle | Ammo Type | Fire Rate Type | Mag Size | Body Damage | Headshot Damage | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G7 Scout | Light | Single | 10 | 34 | 68 | Standard |
| Hemlok Burst AR | Heavy | Burst / Single | 18 | 22 | 44 | Standard |
| R-301 | Light | Auto / Single | 18 | 14 | 22 | Standard |
| VK-47 Flatline | Heavy | Auto / Single | 20 | 19 | 38 | Standard |
| Devotion | Special | Auto | 54 | 17 | 34 | Supply Pods |
Best LMG in Apex Legends recommendation: L-Star
The L-Star used to be a special weapon, which meant unique ammo and an availability that relied on supply pods.
That made it a good LMG, but the best? That title used to belong to the Spitfire. With the L-Star replacing The Devotion as an Energy weapon, you'll be able to deal damage at such a fast rate that it puts the L-Star way ahead of other LMG weapons.
Apex Legends LMG damage stats:
| LMG | Ammo Type | Fire Rate Type | Mag Size | Body Damage | Headshot Damage | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M600 Spitfire | Heavy | Auto | 35 | 18 | 36 | Standard |
| L-Star | Energy | Auto | 40 | 18 | 36 | Standard |
| Devotion | Special | Auto | 54 | 17 | 34 | Supply Pods |
Best Shotgun in Apex Legends recommendation: Peacekeeper
Now that the Mastiff has been put down to a simple standard weapon, it's lost a lot of damage, but makes up for it with having more mags.
However, that's left room for the Peacekeeper to take its place, and by George, it's a beautiful weapon with consistently high damage no matter where you aim.
Apex Legends Shotgun damage stats:
| Shotgun | Ammo Type | Fire Rate Type | Mag Size | Body Damage | Headshot Damage | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mastiff | Special | Single | 6 | 65 | 96 | Supply Pods |
| Peacekeeper | Shotgun | Pump action | 5 | 110 | 143 | Supply Pods |
| EVA-8 Auto | Shotgun | Auto | 8 | 63 | 80 | Standard |
Want to know the best Legend for this Season? Check out our Apex Legends Season 16 Legend Tier List that details who's the best for Revelry and why. Our other guides can show you how to make a Private Match and explain what Ring Consoles are. Also, take a look at our Veiled collection event page to learn about the latest limited-time event.
Best Pistol in Apex Legends recommendation: Wingman
The Wingman has always been a pistol that would make anyone in their right mind run off in the other direction, and that still hasn't changed even with its most recent changes.
It's rate of fire is slow, but the damage is incredible and if going against someone with a steady hand... Well, we're sure the game was good while it lasted.
Apex Legends Pistol damage stats:
| Pistol | Ammo Type | Fire Rate Type | Mag Size | Body Damage | Headshot Damage | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wingman | Heavy | Single | 6 | 45 | 90 | Standard |
| Mozambique | Shotgun | Pump action | 3 | 45 | 66 | Standard |
| P2020 | Light | Auto | 10 | 13 | 19 | Standard |
| RE-45 Auto | Light | Auto | 16 | 11 | 16 | Standard |
That's it for our Apex Legends weapons explainer! We also have some advice on another big choice when playing - which Apex Legends character you should choose.