Season 8 of Apex Legends is officially in full-swing, and the start of a new season means a revised weapon tier list. Every season, Respawn makes some balance changes to guns to shake up the meta and bring other weapons into the spotlight to take over some that are perhaps a bit too overtuned.
This season also features the introduction of a new weapon, the 30-30 Repeater, a powerful rifle that does well at varying ranges. With all that in mind, it’s time to see where all the weapons fall in the Season 8 weapon tier list. Note: Weapons are placed in tiers based on their performance with no attachments or hop-ups, purely based on performance straight off the ground. Tiers are then sorted alphabetically.
Peacekeeper – The Peacekeeper is one of the most iconic weapons in Apex Legends, and for good reason. This powerful shotgun fires in a pattern that makes it incredibly easy to hit most of the pellets, and it comes with the Precision Choke effect by default as it is currently a care package weapon. This Choke effect allows players to charge the shot to condense the spread of the weapon, making this shotgun incredibly effective at longer ranges. When used at close-range, the Peacekeeper absolute shreds through armor and health, making it no surprise that it needs to stay in the care package.
Prowler – The Prowler is a fairly recent addition to the care package, added to the care package in Season 7. The Prowler has always been a very powerful weapon, especially when paired with the Selectfire Hop-Up. Typically weapons are ranked without their hop-up factored in, so ignoring the Selectfire which is automatically given as the Prowler is a care package weapon, the Prowler is still a masterclass in tearing through enemies. When factoring in the Selectfire, the Prowler becomes an SMG that rivals the Volt and R-99 in effectiveness without a doubt. With the bonuses it received in exchange for being a care package weapon, the Prowler has never been better.
Volt – The Volt is the newest SMG to be added to Apex Legends, and it has surpassed even the R-99 in effectiveness. With comparable rate of fire, but with the ‘limited damage fall-off’ benefit of being an Energy weapon, the Volt excels in many ways over its light ammo counterpart. It ranked in the S-Tier in the Season 7 Weapon Tier List, and has not moved since. Outside of minor adjustments here and there, the Volt has remained virtually unchanged since it launched.
30-3o Repeater – The 30-30 Repeater is a strange weapon when first getting used to it. It’s also the latest gun to be added to Apex Legends alongside the launch of Season 8. For those familiar with Overwatch, it performs largely the same way to Ashe’s rifle. When aiming down sights, the gun will charge and deal more damage. When hip-firing or firing when immediately aiming down sights, it has a fast fire rate and decent damage. The Repeater is versatile and can be used at varying ranges to great effect. It’s most comparable to the G7 Scout and the Triple Take (thanks to the charge mechanic), and could be seen as a blend of the best elements of both. The Repeater is great for dealing solid damage at range or peppering close targets when being pushed, and is a great addition to nearly any loadout.
Flatline – The Flatline is one of two “work horse” weapons in the game, the other being the R-301. It has a relatively easy-to-control recoil and solid damage output in both close and medium range, an the Flatline has always been a solid, reliable weapon, and that has not changed. The only difference between it and the R-301, outside of ammo type, is that the 301 can better control its recoil with barrel stabilizers, while the Flatline cannot. But in exchange for the higher recoil, the Flatline in turn dishes out more damage per bullet.
Hemlock – The Hemlock used to be one of the most slept-on weapons in Apex Legends. However, the Hemlock has started receiving much more use over the past couple seasons thanks to a series of minor buffs that brought it into the spotlight. Now, even after a minor nerf in Season 7, the Hemlock is still in a really solid spot. Able to toggle between single and burst-fire modes, the Hemlock excels at mid-range engagements, while still being able to deal with those pushing up. Single-fire allows players to fire as fast as they can pull the trigger, and with the Hemlock’s relatively high damage-per-bullet, it can be quite deadly, especially with headshots.
Kraber – The Kraber is the only care package weapon not in S-Tier, and for one reason: skill. Both the Peacekeeper and the Prowler are very forgiving when it comes to missing some shots. The Kraber is far less forgiving, but it is rewarding to those with skill. The Kraber is the only gun that can down a target in a single shot, provided the player can hit a headshot. Even hitting body shots deals a massive amount of damage, but with the Kraber’s limited ammo reserves, it is punishing to those who miss. Plus, Gibraltar can eat a Kraber headshot for breakfast thanks to his arm shield, so there’s that.
R-301 – The Light ammo counterpart to the Flatline, the R-301 is one of the smoothest and most reliable weapons in Apex Legends, and is never a bad pick to carry through an entire match. It starts off strong and only gets better with more attachments. While it doesn’t have the high fire rate of its SMG counterpart, the R-99, the R-301 has more range and stability, making it a much safer weapon to use overall. The R-301 has been virtually untouched since launch, so players always know what to expect when they pick up this weapon.
R-99 – The R-99 is often synonymous with Apex Legends thanks to its high use rate by streamers and other high-end players. This SMG has a ridiculous damage output and rate of fire, but the only thing keeping it from S-Tier like the Volt is its recoil. Similar to the Kraber, the R-99 rewards those who consistently hit shots. The average player may struggle with this weapon due to its aggressive recoil and may miss more shots than they hit; in skilled hands, however, the R-99 is devastating. If Apex Legends were to ever get a Deathmatch mode, this gun will certainly be even more popular there.
Spitfire – The Spitfire is Apex Legends‘ Heavy ammo LMG, and thanks to its massive magazine and relatively stable recoil, it is one of the best weapons in the game. The only downside to the weapon is its slow reload, which can be offset by the new Gold Magazines or by using Rampart, but even off the ground the Spitfire pumps out enough bullets that as long as hit a decent amount of them, most enemies will be down before you need to reload. The Spitfire received a slight rework this season, getting an increase to damage in exchange for a slightly slower reload, but that’s not enough to stop its domination.
Charge Rifle – The Charge Rifle was notorious when it first launched thanks to its high damage output and near-infinite range. While Respawn has dialed back the damage output of the weapon, it still excels at long-range engagement while struggling with close encounters. On World’s Edge and parts of King’s Canyon, the Charge Rifle really excels, while it struggles a bit with the interior areas of King’s Canyon and the new map Olympus. It’s great with a long-range sight, and an elevated position, but can struggle if a team is pushing.
Devotion – The Devotion is one of the two energy LMGs in the game, and functions more similarly to the Spitfire than its Energy counterpart, the L-STAR. The Devotion has a spin-up, meaning it takes time to get to full fire-rate. This spin-up is what hurts the gun and keeps it from being a higher-tier weapon. With a Turbocharger, the Devotion would be a solid A-tier weapon, but just off the ground, the Devotion can be a bit of a tricky weapon to use. It also eats through ammo, so that’s worth keeping in mind as well.
EVA-8 – This full-auto shotgun packs quite a punch at close-range, but being a shotgun means that close-range is all that it is good for. The EVA’s damage is more reliable than the Mastiff’s, and overall this gun is a solid secondary for players sticking to enclosed areas like Caustic mains that are still here before Caustic is nerfed again. The EVA’s spread allows for pretty consistent damage as well, so overall it’s a solid weapon for a secondary.
G7 Scout – The G7 is a fast single-firing assault rifle that behaves more like a sniper than an assault rifle. The G7 has a wide effective-range, so long as players can manage the bullet-drop. The recoil on the G7 is easily managed, but despite its fast fire-rate, it can be a bit unreliable at close-range. It’s overall a strong weapon that is best used at medium range, splitting the difference between the Snipers in the game and the other Assault Rifles.
HAVOC – The HAVOC has had more balance tweaks done to it than most guns have in the history of Apex Legends, mostly to keep the gun in a decent spot in the meta without it becoming too powerful. Much like the Devotion, the HAVOC has a spin-up before it fires effectively. This means that, unless players have the Turbocharger, being caught off guard with the HAVOC can be deadly. However, when using the gun, it has a decent effective range if players can control the recoil. It’s solid at close-range, making it great for close-quarter fights. But again, the spin-up time leaves the weapon in a weird spot sometimes.
L-STAR – Despite all appearances, the L-STAR is technically an LMG, but it behaves more like a shotgun in reality. This weapon fires energy balls quite quickly, and features an endless magazine that instead overheats. The L-STAR can shred through people, but only at very-close ranges. If players go in trying to attack at ranges that the Spitfire and Devotion can hit from, they are setting themselves up for failure. However, if used like a shotgun, this “LMG” can be quite devastating.
Longbow – The Longbow DMR is a fast-firing sniper that rewards precision hits, but allows players to still deal decent damage with body shots. The Longbow is more forgiving than the Sentinel, though not quite as great at close range as the Triple Take. While many players have a complaint about the Fully Kitted variant of the Longbow, the base gun itself is very powerful if players can hit headshots. Its fast fire-rate allows for some slight effectiveness at close range, but it still is much more suited for longer range engagements.
Sentinel – The Sentinel is a slow-firing, hard-hitting sniper that features a unique ability. Players can expend 2 Shield Cells to temporarily give the Sentinel Disruptor Rounds that deal bonus damage. The Sentinel is great at long-range engagements as well as using the Disruptor effect to shred shields. With the dominance of Red Evo shields in the game toward the final circle, shield-damaging effects are clutch. However, the Sentinel struggles at close-range, making it a better pick on more open maps.
Triple Take – The Triple Take is a sniper that doubles as a shotgun at close-range. The three-shot spread of the Triple Take allows it to deal a surprising amount of damage to close combatants that really sets it apart from the other snipers in the game. At longer ranges, the Triple Take can utilize the built-in Precision Choke effect to tighten the spread of the three shots to make it one hard-hitting shot instead. It’s overall a solid sniper for those who are masters at the game as well as those looking to get better at Apex Legends.
Wingman – The Wingman is designed to be a sidearm used to finish off targets, recently receiving a new hop-up that really leaned into the idea of it being used as a sidearm rather than a main weapon. However, many players have used this pistol as a primary weapon, and arguably for good reason. The Wingman deals a great amount of damage at a solid range, and rewards those who can reliably hit headshots. Pairing that with the Skullpiercer only makes that damage output better. The Wingman still relies heavily on player skill, however, something fans should be aware of.
Alternator – The Alternator is by no means a bad weapon, but it struggles to find a place in the meta when the R-99 and R-301 exist. It’s a decent work-horse weapon, but not as good at range as the R-301, and not as fast as the R-99. The Alternator hasn’t really had a place in the game since Disruptor Rounds were removed, and unfortunately won’t really have a solid place until the rumored Armorsmith hop-up is introduced. Again, the Alternator isn’t a bad weapon, but generally the other two main Light ammo weapons will be a better pick overall.
Mastiff – The Mastiff used to be a care package weapon until Season 5, when the Mastiff and the Peacekeeper swapped places. The Mastiff could theoretically be higher on this list, however what keeps the Mastiff from being up on the tier list is the fact that it is unreliable. One shot with the Mastiff will deal almost 100 damage, while another will deal 5. The only thing less reliable in the game is Loba’s tactical ability. If the Mastiff’s hit detection gets better, then perhaps the gun will jump up a tier or two, but until then it’s a solid C-Tier weapon.
Mozambique – Apex Legends‘ resident meme weapon, the Mozambique has gone on quite a journey since the game first launched two years ago. It used to be F-tier, with no reason to use it at all. Now, it’s in an okay spot. Having four shots in the magazine helps a lot, and it does pretty decent damage and a surprising range considering it’s technically a shotgun. The Mozambique definitely shines with Hammerpoints, but again those are not factored in to this rating. It’s a great weapon to finish targets off, but it’s certainly no primary weapon.
RE-45 – The RE-45 is the in-between of the R-99 and the P2020. The RE-45 is a full-auto, rapid-fire pistol that can pump out a lot of bullets in a short amount of time. However, its effective range leaves something to be desired, and it’s frankly hard to recommend it over any of the Light weapons in B or A tier. With the Quickdraw hop-up, it turns into a decent follow-up weapon to finish off targets, but not factoring that hop-up in really hurts the RE-45’s viability.
P2020 – Without Hammerpoints, the P2020 is a lackluster weapon that cannot hope to compete with other weapons in the game. With Hammerpoints, it’s a different story, but based purely on off-the-ground potential, the P2020 could use a little love from Respawn.
Season 8 didn’t bring too many balance changes, but the introduction of the 30-30 Repeater and a new map means some weapons will start performing better than others. Thankfully many weapons at the moment are in a decent spot, with some being a bit head of the others. Players will just have to test for themselves while having fun with the Apex Legends anniversary celebrations.
Apex Legends is on PC, PS4, and Xbox One, with a Switch version releasing on March 9.
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