GTA 5 Online: Best Weapons Tier List

Discover everything you need to know about the Weapon Tier List in GTA 5 Online and what makes them the best and worst one.

GTA 5 Online: Best Weapons Tier List (Source: Rockstar Games)
GTA 5 Online: Best Weapons Tier List (Source: Rockstar Games)

Weapons in GTA 5 Online play a vital role in completing missions, engaging in PvP combat, and surviving in Los Santos. Upgrade your weapon at Ammu-Nation and Weapon Workshops to make them more effective and dominant when used. Choose meta weapons like the Heavy Sniper Mk II or Special Carbine Mk II, which offer consistent performance. RPG is a B-Tier weapon but it still deals high explosive damage and is a deal against vehicles. Knowing which weapon will be right in a given situation grants a perk over the ones that use a single weapon every time. In this guide, we will discuss the best weapons to use in GTA Online to complete multiple tasks with your ideal weapon.

GTA 5 Online Weapons Overview

GTA 5 Online features 101 separate weapons, including sniper rifles, assault rifles, shotguns, handguns, and much more. Selecting the best weapons is crucial as inefficient weapons can leave you in trouble multiple times. The right weapon can make your task much easier and allow you to achieve your objective without dying recklessly. One weapon can deal less damage but grant a fast fire rate while other weapons deal extreme damage but have delays between shots. This creates confusion as to which weapon to leave and which weapon to equip, but your updated tier list will sort out things very clearly. You can purchase the best weapons in Ammu-Nation stores, which are scattered throughout the map. You can also get the weapons like MK II variants from the Gun Van. Customize the Ammu-Nation and the Gun Van with different sights, barrels, and ammo types.

Best Weapons in GTA 5 Online

Combat MG MK II, Marksman Rifle MK II, and Special Carbine are the best weapons in GTA 5 Online due to their gameplay mechanics and overall stats. These deadly weapons are more effective in any range. They can make a huge difference in fights if used properly as you need to be more precise with them. However, your best weapon is the only one that fits the current gameplay scenario and can work in your favor effectively. Combat MG Mark II can work in any kind of situation due to its high fire rate and the damage it deals in single mag.

GTA 5 Online Weapons Tier List

Here is our weapon tier list for all the GTA 5 Online players out there. Keep in mind that if your favorite weapon is not available in our tier list, then that specific weapon has some major drawbacks that you must be aware of. This tier list will help you to equip the best weapon while fighting in combat while you are surrounded by opponents.

TierWeapons
S-TierCombat MG MK II, Marksman Rifle MK II, Special Carbine
A-TierGrenade Launcher, Service Carbine, Assault Shotgun
B-TierHeavy Sniper MK II, AP Pistol, RPG
C-TierPump Action MK II, Heavy Revolver MK II, Mini-Gun
D-TierTactical SMG
GTA 5 Online: Best Weapons Tier List

S-Tier Best  Weapons in GTA 5 Online

Combat MG MK II

Combat MG MK II GTA 5
Combat MG MK II GTA 5
  • Weapon Class: Machine Gun
  • Damage: 2.9
  • Fire Rate: 3.2
  • Accuracy: 2.2
  • Range: 3
  • Price: $14,800

The Combat MG Mark II is a must-have weapon in GTA Online. It has a fast Fire Rate, especially the first few bullets, and also deals a turn of damage. The first few shots of the Combat MG MK II also seem to have some great accuracy, making it one of the best weapons from range. If you have the extended mags, you can have up to 200 rounds in total.  Combat MG MK II is a great weapon for wiping out a bunch of enemies.

The is one of the deadliest weapons in GTA 5 Online due to fast fire rate and high damage output. The 200 rounds of ammunition are enough to deal with multiple enemies. Combat MG reloads surprisingly quickly. This is an upgraded version of the M249 SAW, the Mark 48 Maximi but with 7.62x51mm ammunition.

Marksman Rifle MK II

marksman rifle mk II
marksman rifle mk II
  • Weapon Class: Sniper Rifle
  • Damage: 3.8
  • Fire Rate: 2
  • Accuracy: 4
  • Range: 4.5
  • Price: $15,750

This weapon has one of the fastest fire rates, making it best for hitting targets continuously. This has some great damage overall and because of the fire rate, it means that you can hit more shots. You don’t get punished if you miss. Another thing that you guys can do with the Marksman Rifle MK II is put on the holographic site instead of a scope. If you play in assisting in full lobbies you can then lock on using this weapon. So, it might make it a little bit more effective in close situations and they will still have that really good range.

This weapon can be used as a sniper rifle and as an assault weapon. The rate of fire is still decent and it shoots full-sized 7.62x51mm rounds. The extended magazine allows you to kill 16 enemies with this Marksman Rifle MK II. This is similar to the M39 EMR with an SKS Carbine magazine.

Special Carbine

Special Carbine Weapon GTA 5
Special Carbine Weapon GTA 5
  • Weapon Class: Assault Rifles
  • Damage: 1.8
  • Fire Rate: 3.2
  • Accuracy: 2.8
  • Range: 2
  • Price: $14,750

This is by far one of the best weapons in the game because it’s just super accurate it has a really good fire rate and good damage output. Special Carbine can be pretty much used in every situation. We suggest using the Carbine Rifle MK II as well because both of these weapons have some similar stats. Special Carbine does shoot a small bit faster but we would suggest giving both of the weapons a try and seeing which one you prefer. It has a high ammunition capacity extended magazine but lacks a Rate of Fire.

The lower Rate of Fire makes it a less efficient weapon at close ranges. This is loosely modeled after the H&K G36C Assault Rifle and has 100 Round Drum Mag.  No other assault rifle class of weapon has a better ammo capacity than the Special Carbine due to its extended clip. This weapon comes with better accuracy, damage, and reload time.

A-Tier Best Primary Weapons in GTA 5 Online

Grenade Launcher

Grenade Launcher Weapon GTA 5
Grenade Launcher Weapon GTA 5
  • Weapon Class: Heavy Weapon
  • Damage: 4.8
  • Fire Rate: 1
  • Accuracy: 0.5
  • Range: 2.5
  • Price: $32,400

The Grenade Launcher is a powerful weapon that carries 10 40-millimeter Grenades in a revolving magazine. You can continuously spam the Grenade Launcher and this is actually really overpowered. It can also really help you in different types of missions. The Grenade Launcher unlike the RPG can be fired over multiple buildings. It can be fired directly at Vehicles as well. It can hold 10 Grenades even though its revolving magazine shows that it can carry 6. However, the Grenades aren’t self-propelled.

It can be fired in a straight line allowing you to hit targets much easier as the projectile’s travel time is less. Use the arcing trajectory of the grenades to make the shots more effective. However, after a few shots, it’s not hard to hit the target.

Service Carbine

Service Carbine
Service Carbine
  • Weapon Class: Assault Rifles
  • Damage: 1.98
  • Fire Rate: 3.2
  • Accuracy: 2.8
  • Range: 2.2
  • Price: $370,000

Of all of the weapons on this list, the service carbine is one of the newest similar to the Assault Shotgun. We think that this weapon can be in the S tier but it really comes down to your personal preference. The benefit of the Service Carbine is just how fast it shoots with its damage. With these two factors, it will make the rifle a little less accurate from range especially if you guys are continuously firing.

The only downside of Service Carbine is the price and that is only if you guys do not get it from the crime scene events. The price of the Service Carbine ammunition is around $400,000 so definitely not cheap. This will not have any MK 2 upgrades so you don’t have to worry about anything like that.

Assault Shotgun

assault shotgun
assault shotgun
  • Weapon Class: Shotguns
  • Damage: 3.9
  • Fire Rate: 2.5
  • Accuracy: 1.2
  • Range: 0.8
  • Price: $10,000

This shotgun is incredible even without any MK 2 upgrades or anything. We can sort of understand why Rockstar did not add any MK II support for this weapon because it would be extremely overpowered. Another benefit of the Assault Shotgun is its unlock rank which is rank 37. We also suggest putting on the extended mags so that you guys can have a massive 32 rounds instead of eight shells. This is definitely one of the weapons that can be interchanged with the top tier.

Now the Assault Shotgun’s only downside really is its range. The range can sometimes extend to mid-range fights it really just depends. For any close combat situations, the Assault Shotgun is probably the best option. This is powerful enough to take out vehicles and even helicopters very quickly. This is modeled after the UTAS UTS-15 12-gauge pump-action shotgun. Use this weapon in close-range combat to dominate the enemies in the game.

B-Tier Best Primary Weapons in GTA 5 Online

Heavy Sniper MK II

Heavy Sniper MK II GTA V
Heavy Sniper MK II GTA V
  • Weapon Class: Sniper Rifles
  • Damage: 5
  • Fire Rate: 1
  • Accuracy: 4.5
  • Range: 5
  • Price: $165,375

This is by far the best weapon from range. Heavy Sniper MK II also has some of the best damage outputs. One of the major disadvantages of the heavy Sniper Mark II is how fast the gun shoots. Its fire rate can be kind of difficult sometimes to hit your shots or at least extremely punishing if you guys miss a shot. If you get some practice with this weapon and use it in PvP situations you can become so lethal with this weapon.

Along with this the heavy sniper mark 2 can also have the explosive rounds ammunition. If this ammo type is paired with the range of the heavy sniper mark 2 you can completely destroy anything in your path. It has the long range and the biggest accuracy among all sniper rifles but the fire rate is low. The scope on the Heavy Sniper is also the best in the game. You can zoom in so much that hitting your target becomes no deal.

AP Pistol

AP Pistol
AP Pistol
  • Weapon Class: Handguns
  • Damage: 1.3
  • Fire Rate: 4
  • Accuracy: 1.9
  • Range: 1.5
  • Price: $5,000

This unfortunately does not have any Mark 2 upgrades. The biggest benefit of the AP pistol is that it can be shot out of a vehicle as a drive-by weapon just like the Heavy Revolver Mark II. In our opinion, we think the AP pistol is a much better drive-by weapon. It has some great accuracy and with the extended clip, you can shoot 36 rounds in total. It also shoots extremely fast as well so also a great option for different missions. The best part about the AP pistol is the rank unlock.

The rank unlocks for the AP pistol is rank 33 so honestly really low. For this type of weapon, we would 100% recommend trying to get this. This is an interesting blend of American Colt SCAMP and Russian OTs-33 Pernach. It can solve your problem with high recoil as you can also add a suppressor. This is the most versatile firearm available due to the fact that it can be used in a car and while on a motorcycle.

RPG

rpg
rpg
  • Weapon Class: Heavy Weapons
  • Damage: 5
  • Fire Rate: 0.2
  • Accuracy: 0.5
  • Range: 3.5
  • Price: $26,250

The RPG is just ideal for taking out a lot of enemies at once, especially if these enemies are grouped together. It is also ideal for taking out a lot of vehicles. However, it might be a little bit harder to hit helicopters because it does not have any lock-on capabilities. The only main downside of the RPG is that it is not very useful in close combat situations. You have to be very careful with the blast radius. RPG’s big splash radius allows you to take control of the area. If you want to create chaos among your enemies or take them together, then there is no better option than the RPG. The unlock rank for the RPG is rank 100.

C-Tier Best Primary Weapons in GTA 5 Online

Pump Shotgun MK II

pump shotgun mk ii
pump shotgun mk ii
  • Weapon Class: Shotguns
  • Damage: 3.5
  • Fire Rate: 1
  • Accuracy: 1.5
  • Range: 1
  • Price: $82,500

This weapon has a lower damage output but the biggest benefit of the pump shotgun Mark 2 will be its explosive rounds. This is also a downside because you actually need to unlock this through the bunker with its research. So, if you do not have any bunker research at all you will not be able to get the explosive rounds for quite some time. If you do have the explosive rounds unlocked this will make the Pump Shotgun MK II by far one of the better weapons.

It can destroy pretty much almost any vehicle with ease along with deleting groups of enemies. Because this is an MK II weapon, you will need to go over to a weapon Workshop. If you guys do not have any businesses that have one of these things we would actually suggest going over to the freak shop. It can destroy any vehicle with a single attempt when equipped with the Explosive Slugs.

Heavy Revolver MK II

heavy revolver mk II
heavy revolver mk II
  • Weapon Class: Handguns
  • Damage: 3.9
  • Fire Rate: 1.5
  • Accuracy: 2.3
  • Range: 1.9
  • Price: $99,000

The Heavy revolver Mark II also runs into the exact same issue as the pump shotgun Mark I. You need to have the hollow point rounds or any of the other rounds. You can use armor-piercing to make the Mark II Revolver more effective. Without this, it is kind of not that good. Use the hollow point rounds and the compensator. For some reason, it just makes the Mark II revolver absolutely busted.

A downside side to the Mark II revolver is how slow it reloads. It will take quite a long time to reload it unless you do the weapon swap glitch to reload your ammo. Altogether not a bad Weapon by any means even without the ammunition types. It can still hold up against some stronger enemies, especially against the juggernauts. This is worth having in your inventory because you can also use it as a drive-by weapon.

Mini-Gun

Mini-Gun Weapon GTA 5
Mini-Gun Weapon GTA 5
  • Weapon Class: Heavy Weapons
  • Damage: 2.5
  • Fire Rate: 5
  • Accuracy: 2
  • Range: 2.8
  • Price: $47,000

The Mini-Gun is our most loyal defense against broomstick boys. Most people would say that the Mini-Gun is S-Tier. This weapon offers fast and continuous fire rates, making it a perfect choice for most cases. It can easily set any vehicle on fire and due to its high weight, you will get slow. The benefit of the minigun is that it obviously does shoot very fast. It does not need to reload, making this one of the best weapons in the game.

Another downside of the mini-gun is the level requirement. Unless you purchase the DLC gun called The Widowmaker, you will have to rank 100 and 20. Along with this, the Mini-Gun does take a small amount of time to shoot. This can potentially be a disadvantage, especially in a PvP situation. The unlock rank for the Mini-Gun is rank 120.

D-Tier Best Primary Weapons in GTA 5 Online

Tactical SMG

Tactical SMG
Tactical SMG
  • Weapon Class: Machine Gun
  • Damage: 1.5
  • Fire Rate: 4
  • Accuracy: 1.8
  • Range: 1.6
  • Price: $325,000

This weapon came out in the Mercenaries update. You can use the Tactical SMG in vehicles or doing drive-by. This is a fast weapon with super accuracy and deals decent damage. The reason why we put this gun in D-Tier is that it’s not as effective as compared to others. You can only use it in close-quarter range and for the long-range fights, it doesn’t do much. The weapon is based on the Steyr TMP, specifically the SPP civilian version as indicated by the lack of a vertical foregrip. The Tactical SMG’s standard magazine capacity (33 rounds) is much higher. It can also benefit from a small attachment selection.  

FAQs about GTA 5 Online: Best Weapons Tier List

What is the best weapon in GTA 5 online?

The Combat MG Mark II is the best weapon in GTA 5 Online because it has a fast Fire Rate, especially the first few bullets, and also deals a turn of damage. The first few shots of the Combat MG MK II also seem to have some great accuracy, making it one of the best weapons from range.

What weapon has the highest DPS in GTA 5 Online?

The Bullpup MK2 has the highest damage-per-second in the weapon class but it costs $105,750.

Where to buy the best weapons in GTA 5 online?

You can purchase the best weapons in Ammu-Nation stores, which are scattered throughout the map. You can also get the weapons like MK II variants from the Gun Van. Customize the Ammu-Nation and the Gun Van with different sights, barrels, and ammo types.

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