The Most Popular Fortnite Weapons Tips for Beginners

With so many different Fortnite weapons available and only five slots to keep them in, it can be hard to decide what to take with you and what to discard. If you're looking for advice, then read our Fortnite weapons guide to find out which are the best guns and learn some strategies for victory.

• What is the best gun in the Fortnight?
• How to choose the best weapons?
• Grab an assault rifle and a shotgun at the start
• Switch between guns depending on where or range
• Reorder Weapons in your inventory
• Select Weapons With Your shot technology
• Try and pick a burst rifle
• Use the mini gun for destroying buildings rather than fighting
• Use a silenced weapon for ambushing other Player
• Play to your strengths (and weaknesses)
• Set up your weapon slots
• Top 5 Weapons

NO.1 What is the best gun in the Fortnight?
It’s the SCAR, hands down. Its high damage and accuracy give you a massive advantage in a fight and unless you’re taking on a sniper, having one almost always means a victory. Which is why it’s rare. You might get one from a chest at the start if you’re lucky, but otherwise, it’s down to supply drops and other players’ bodies.

NO.2 How to choose the best weapons?
Collecting a balanced set of weapons is more important than just grabbing the best guns in the game. A tactical shotgun is excellent up close, but at mid to long range it’ll lose to even the first assault rifle. Always think about what weapons you’ll use in any given situation, and make sure you have something that can deal with enemies at any range.
For example, if you lack a close-range weapon, don’t be afraid to drop something shiny for a shotgun at the first opportunity, or even an SMG. If you’re fully loaded with guns, clear out space for a scoped rifle when you have the chance.
You have five inventory slots, and ideally, you want to fill them with five of the following six item types, depending on your play style:
An assault rifle (or a silenced pistol)
A shotgun
A sniper rifle
Explosives – preferably a rocket launcher
Shields
Healing items
Prefer having four weapons and one set of shields or healing Fortnite items. You can generally heal up after you kill an enemy by picking up a medkit or shield portion from their body, using it, and then grabbing your weapon again.

NO.3 Grab an assault rifle and a shotgun at the start
Whatever happens, always try to secure an assault rifle and a gun the second you land. It’s the bare minimum you need to get started, so don’t think about doing anything else until you have them. At the worst grab an SMG if you can’t see an assault rifle straight away. You need a good fire rate at the range and a punch up close - as long as you have that you can usually pick up everything else you need along the way, either by finding it or eliminating opponents.


NO.4 Switch between guns depending on where or range
Always switch to your shotgun when entering a house, and jump back to your assault rifle when you leave. In a confined space Shottys beat assault rifles every time and, likewise, even a tactical SMG will give you an advantage over open space against a shotgun. It might sound obvious, but starting a fight with the wrong gun is almost as bad as not having one at all.


NO.5 Reorder Weapons in your inventory
This is a simple one: if you get a spare moment, hit up on the D-pad to open your pack and move your guns around. Ideally, you want your assault rifle/shotgun combo next to each other at the front, so you only have to press a shoulder button once to switch. A quick swap between the two could make all the difference if the combat situation changes.


NO.6 Select Weapons With Your shot technology
The order goes like this:
Grey - common
Green - uncommon
Blue - rare
Purple - epic
Gold - legendary
Generally, there are many, unique and rare variants for most weapon types, but only some have epic and legendary types (assault rifles, and sniper rifles for example).
Within a given class, the higher type always wins because as the rarity increases so does the damage. So in a one-on-one fight, a blue M16 will beat a grey one most of the time. However, between different gun types, things aren’t quite that simple. The primary stats to pay attention to are damage and fire rate which combine to create DPS. Most weapons don’t show a massive change in damage across rarities, but it stacks up on the DPS.
For example, a burst assault rifle has a fire rate of 5.5 across all classes. The standard gun has a damage of 30, giving it a DPS of 165, while the rare has 33 damage, giving it a DPS of 181.5. So not a massive change per bullet, but plenty over time if you land the shots.
Now, where this gets interesting is that something like a different tactical submachine gun only has 16 damage but a fire rate of 13, giving it a DPS of 208. So if you’ve got a steady hand, and you’re not fighting halfway across the map, you can take on a rare M16’s 192.5 DPS with confidence.
It all depends on you, and how much faith you have in your accuracy. If you’re not the best shot then favor high DPS over damage - you might not hit your opponent as much, but you’ll hurt them more over time when you do. However, if you’re confident you can run your target, then damage beats DPS because you won’t need to rely on fire rate to compensate for missing.
Shotguns are a perfect example here: a different tactical Shotgun does 67 damage with a 1.5 fire rate, while a standard pump action does 90 damage at a 0.7 fire rate. Regarding DPS that give them 100 and 63 respectively. The tactical looks better (and realistically is in most cases) but if you’re entirely sure you can land that first shot, then the pump action can one-shot an enemy.


NO.7 Try and pick a burst rifle
You might not like it but if you can, grab a three-shot burst rifle over a standard assault rifle. It will make you a better shot. Any time you spray and pray you’re losing accuracy and, to some degree, focus as you hose the general direction of an enemy. At medium to long range, the tighter firing off a burst rifle will always win. And, if you’re worried about fire rate, squeeze the trigger more!


NO.8 Use the mini gun for destroying buildings rather than fighting
The minigun is a beast of a weapon, and while it might look terrifying, it’s not always the best thing in a firefight with its general and deliberate aim. However, it will mince player-made structures, making it just as useful as the RPG and grenade launcher for leveling end game buildings and destroying protective walls. With a bonus that the chaos of bullets it sprays out can scatter, panic and damage opponents the whole time you’re firing.


NO.9 Use a silenced weapon for ambushing other Player
The suppressed submachine gun or handgun isn’t always on the top of people’s must-have listed in a direct firefight, but their silenced abilities can be instrumental if used correctly. Because they’re quieter and harder to place when shooting, you’ll likely get more damage in before people can find you and return fire, giving you an advantage. While if you see two or more people fighting you can attack, and they’ll likely not even realize another person has joined in until someone dies.


NO.10 Play to your strengths (and weaknesses)
In Fortnite, the trade-off for high damage is often a slower fire rate. For example, the pump shotgun can crush an enemy with full health and shields in one shot. But if you miss, then you’ll have to wait for more than a second to fire again. That might not seem like a long time, but in a close-range battle, it’s an age. If you know that your aim isn’t great, then the tactical shotgun might be a better option. In a single shot, it will deal less damage, but it churns out more damage per second because of its fast fire rate, and so you’ll likely land more shots.
The same is true with snipers: the bolt-action single shot rifle is superior, but if you’re new to the game and still learning how to aim, the semi-automatic sniper might be a better fit and will help you get used to bullet drop-off.
You might also have some weapons that immediately click with you, so feel free to prioritize them. Some players prefer the silenced pistol—which deals less damage but generates less noise—to an assault rifle. Judge how well you perform with each weapon, and think about the trade-offs. Your preferences will likely change as improve at Fortnite: as your aim gets better, you’ll want to choose high damage weapons when you can, because you’ll miss fewer shots.

NO.11 Set up your weapon slots
You can click and drag your weapons around your toolbar in your inventory screen, and you absolutely should. The one key is for your pickaxe, so use 2, 3, and 4 (the most accessible keys) for the weapons that you’ll need to switch to at shortest notice. Always put a shotgun on 2 in case someone creeps up on me, and I need to pull out a short-range weapon fast. I placed an assault rifle on 3, to switch to if I see an enemy at medium range and my sniper on 4. Slots 5 and six can be used for healing and shields.
In other shooters, you might want to bind certain weapons to any customizable mouse keys you have, and while that’s an option here, it’s probably better to use those keys for your building tools. You never know when you’ll need to throw down a wall under fire, but that’s all advice you can read in our collection of Fortnite building tips.

NO.12 Top 5 Weapons
M16 (Assault Rifle)
If you’re looking for a reasonably common drop that’s also a perfect all-rounder, the M16 is one to hunt down. It’s pretty handy in short to mid-range engagements, delivering decent damage and accuracy that’ll take down opponents with only a few well-placed shots.

Pump/Tactical Shotgun
An absolute must for any inventory, both the Pump And Tactical shotguns are the perfect tools for dominating close-range duels.

Bolt Action/Semi-Auto Sniper Rifle
Essential for taking out targets at range, having a sniper rifle in your inventory can significantly increase your chances of slaying the competition and emerging victorious.

Rocket Launcher
Think of the explosive goodness of the Rocket Launcher as more of a tool than anything. It may seem strange, but it’s less useful when you're attempting to kill an enemy, and far better when it comes to destroying forts or parts of the environment.

SCAR (Assault Rifle)
By far the most potent weapon in the game at the moment, the SCAR assault rifle is the M16’s big brother, and it’s a gun that'll handle just about any situation you throw at it.