Valorant: Best Guns For Console Players

Highlights

• Valorant’s move to console brings a challenging learning curve, especially with mastering different weapons.
• Judge shotgun excels on consoles with high damage, fast fire rate, and minimal movement inaccuracy.
• Phantom rifle shines on console with reduced recoil, higher magazine capacity, and silent gunfire.

Valorant’s leap from PC to console attracted a fresh wave of players who are excited to dive into the game’s mechanics, abilities, and most importantly, gunplay. However, with Riot originally designing the game for PC, the learning curve on consoles can feel steep, especially when it comes to mastering the different weapons. Console gameplay brings an entirely different feel to gunfights, so the weapons that are considered top-tier on PC may not always be the best ones to use on this platform.

In a game like Valorant, selecting the right gun isn’t just about picking the one with the highest damage. Different guns perform well in different scenarios, and some synergize well with certain agents while being much less effective with others. Luckily, on console, it’s much easier to choose the best options, as certain guns stand out and perform much better than others, making them undeniably the best in the game.

6 Judge

The Most Broken Shotgun In Valorant

The Judge is undeniably the most hated gun in Valorant, and rightfully so, because it’s simply overpowered. It has extremely high damage, a ridiculously fast fire rate (for a shotgun), and minimal movement inaccuracy, meaning that it’s almost perfectly accurate while the player is running around, or even jumping in the air. This makes it easily one of the best options for console players.

When using the Judge, console players don’t need to worry about movement inaccuracy, nor do they need to aim at the opponents’ heads to deal the maximum damage. The only downside to using this weapon is that it performs poorly at long distances, which is expected since it’s a shotgun. To use it at its highest potential, great positioning and game-sense are required, as that allows players to get up close and personal with their opponents. If a player has those attributes in spades, a Judge is all they need to become an absolute menace on the battlefield and obliterate the opposition.

When using shotguns in
Valorant,
make sure to aim at the opponent’s body instead of their head. Unlike other weapons, shotguns deal the most damage when aimed at the body.

5 Sheriff

A Pistol That Can Hold Its Own Against Rifles

When it comes to sidearms, the Sheriff reigns supreme on console. What makes this weapon incredible is that it not only dominates in pistol rounds, but if a player has good enough aim, it can hold its own against any gun. It deals 150 damage to the head from 0–30 meters and 145 damage beyond that range. This means that in most gunfights, a headshot with the Sheriff means an instant one-tap. To make things even better, it deals exceptionally high damage to the body; taking just three shots to take down a shielded opponent, and only two for an unshielded one.

The gun’s extremely high damage, low movement inaccuracy, and affordable price make it one of the best weapon options for console players. The only real drawback it has is that it requires a good understanding of crosshair placement to maximize its potential, but that’s a Valorant skill that can easily be learned.

4 Operator

The Ultimate Sniper Rifle

The Operator is the premier Sniper Rifle in Valorant, boasting the highest damage per bullet in the game. With the ability to eliminate an enemy with a single body shot, it stands out as the most powerful weapon in Valorant (stat-wise).

While the Operator is a beast of a weapon on both PC and console, it may even be more powerful on the latter. Players’ movement on consoles tends to be a bit less dynamic than on PC. This makes targets easier to hit, and given that the Operator only fires one bullet at a time, it’s paramount that no bullets go wasted, and the more predictable movement on console can make each shot count.

The gun’s biggest strength lies in its ease of use on consoles. In the hands of a skilled player, it can be extremely difficult to counter. However, this does not mean that it comes without any downsides. Since it’s a single-shot gun, players can be caught off-guard by enemies if they’re in a vulnerable position. Furthermore, it’s the most expensive gun in the game, requiring a good economy to be able to afford it consistently. However, with smart positioning and careful economic management, the Operator can become an unstoppable killing machine on the battlefield.

When using the Operator, players should always position themselves near some sort of cover. This will ensure that they can quickly get to safety in case they miss a shot.

3 Odin

The Most Feared Gun In The Game

The Odin is one of those guns in Valorant that instantly strikes fear in the hearts of enemies as soon as they hear its sound. This Machine Gun has the second-highest fire rate in the game, combined with amazing damage and high wall penetration. Admittedly, it does have a steeper learning curve compared to most other guns in the game, but once players figure out how to use it properly, it can become a nightmare for their opponents, especially on console.

One thing new players may not realize about Valorant is that, for some reason, almost all the walls in the game’s maps are penetrable. This is a big reason why the Odin can be so powerful, as players can exploit its high fire rate and wall penetration to mow down enemies through walls. Furthermore, these attributes allow players with good crosshair placement to easily hold angles with the gun and annihilate anyone who peeks into their crosshair, making it an extremely useful gun on the defense side.

One thing to keep in mind is that the gun makes the player’s movement slow and sluggish, making it difficult to rotate or find cover quickly. With smart positioning, this won’t be much of an issue.

2 Spectre

The Most Reliable Run-And-Gun Weapon

The Spectre might be the most underrated gun in Valorant. This SMG offers a solid fire rate and reasonable movement inaccuracy, and considering how cheap it is, it deals some impressive damage. The Spectre’s playstyle revolves around running and gunning. While the gun can be used in the traditional way, where the player counter-strafes and burst-fires at the enemy’s head, it performs way better when the player embraces its run-and-gun nature.

Since tracking the opponent’s movement while controlling recoil can be a highly difficult thing to pull off on a controller, the Spectre becomes insanely powerful on consoles, as its run-and-gun playstyle makes the player almost impossible to hit. One thing that holds it back is its low damage at long distances, so players need to close the gap with enemies for the gun to perform well. But this also means that on smaller Valorant maps like Bind and Split, where gunfights usually take place at close range, the Spectre becomes all the more useful.

1 Phantom

The King Of Stealth

The “Phantom vs. Vandal” debate has been a hot topic in the community ever since Valorant‘s release. While this debate may never see a clear winner on PC, on console, the Phantom takes the lead as the ultimate rifle.

Although the Vandal is an amazing weapon, several factors give the Phantom an edge over it on consoles. For starters, its reduced bullet spread (compared to the Vandal) makes recoil control much easier, which is a significant advantage when using a controller. It also has a higher magazine capacity and a faster fire rate. But its biggest advantage is its silenced muzzle. It leaves no tracers, making it impossible for enemies to see where its bullets are coming from. Moreover, at long distances, its gunfire is completely silent, so enemies won’t even be able to hear where they’re being shot from.

While some may argue that the Phantom’s infamous 140-damage headshot is a big disadvantage compared to the Vandal’s one-shot kill potential, the gun’s versatility, ease of use, and overall utility on console make it the superior choice.

The Phantom can be used to safely get kills through smokes, as the gun’s lack of tracers makes it difficult for enemies to shoot directly back at the player.