Grand Theft Auto 5: 25 Most Powerful Weapons, Ranked

Highlights

• It’s important for Grand Theft Auto 5 players to choose the most effective weapons in the game to ensure success in matches and against other players.
• The Stun Gun may not deal damage, but it’s a great weapon to take down enemies in a single shot if players have good aim.
• The Carbine Rifle is considered one of the best weapons in the game due to its stopping power and accuracy, despite its less-than-ideal ammo capacity.

Grand Theft Auto 5 is a super fun game. But anyone who has played Grand Theft Auto 5 will know that it’s not easy to finish matches or go up against other players if players don’t have the best weapons. More weapons are unlocked as players progress through the game. But, as any Grand Theft Auto 5 player will know, not all weapons are created equal, and players don’t want to waste any of their hard-earned money on a weapon that isn’t great.

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As a result, most players would want to do proper research when it comes to the most effective weapons in the game. Some firearms can take some time to down enemies, while others are so powerful that most enemies won’t even stand a chance before their life is snuffed out in seconds. There are so many weapons in the game that making this decision can be tough, but it’ll take a bit of experience playing this game before players find it second nature to pick the strongest weapon in their arsenal and rain hellfire upon their foes.

Updated November 24, 2023 by Ritwik Mitra: Grand Theft Auto 5 is one of the greatest video games ever made, featuring some of Rockstar’s best work as they craft a massive, lived-in open world that players can get lost in for hours on end.

Employing three protagonists at once was a masterstroke from the studio, with many players loving the act of exploring this world with these perspectives as they complete a wealth of missions and unleash destruction and mayhem upon the world to their heart’s content. To make their destructive romps more effective, players can utilize a wealth of weapons to make things more entertaining for themselves in the game.

25 Stun Gun

A Unique Non-Deadly Firearm

Most people would be surprised at the idea of seeing the Stun Gun on this list. It deals no damage whatsoever and can only incapacitate enemies at short range, which isn’t great given the wealth of better short-range weapons in Grand Theft Auto 5.

However, the Stun Gun is a great weapon to take down enemies in a single shot. It takes a while to recharge, so players should make sure that their aim is good with this weapon.

24 Marksman Pistol

A Deadly One-Shot Weapon

Most of the pistols in Grand Theft Auto 5 are way more effective than most people would expect, with the Marksman Pistol being a great example of the same. Sure, the fire rate may be slow, but players who are prudent about getting to cover and measure their shots can take out enemies in a single hit with this weapon.

The retro look of this weapon makes it pretty fun to wield, even if some people will understandably not be impressed by its weaker aspects. The Marksman Pistol is a powerful weapon in the right hands, but may not sit well with players who love to spray and pray instead of measuring their shots.

23 Heavy Pistol

A Slow But Reliable Firearm

While most people may just pull out bigger weapons that pack more of a punch in combat, the effectiveness of a pistol like this should never be underestimated. This is especially true in the case of a Heavy Pistol, which hits like a truck and can be used to mow down waves of enemies with relative ease.

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The high damage of this weapon makes it pretty fun to use in combat, even if players may feel that the pistol’s fire rate is a bit too slow to warrant a full-frontal assault. Still, picking off enemies at mid-range from cover is pretty engaging in its own right.

22 Sawed-Off Shotgun

A Blast To Use…Literally

The Sawed-Off Shotgun is one of the most fun weapons to use in the game. Blasting enemies at close range never fails to be entertaining with this weapon.

The weapon doesn’t have many drawbacks…although there are so many better shotguns in the game that this variant becomes obsolete over time. However, until players have access to better weapons in the game, they’ll have to make do with this weapon instead.

21 Assault SMG

Mow Down Waves Of Enemies With Ease

The Assault SMG is easily one of the best long-range weapons in the game. With good aim, players will be able to take down most enemies with a few shots.

That being said, the weapon does suffer from being an SMG that can’t be used in drive-bys due to its bulky nature. It’s a shame…but this is a small price that players will be willing to pay to enjoy the immense power of this weapon.

20 Carbine Rifle

Strike Fear In The Hearts Of Any Enemy

The Carbine Rifle is one of the best weapons in Grand Theft Auto 5 by a country mile. The stopping power and accuracy of this gun are in a class of their own, with its fire rate being amazing.

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That being said, some players might have so much fun spraying this weapon on their enemies that their ammo clip will dwindle before they even realize it. This less-than-ideal ammo capacity is the only drawback in an otherwise amazing weapon.

19 Combat PDW

Rewards Players Who Aim Carefully

Out of all the light machine guns in Grand Theft Auto 5, the Combat PDW has the lowest fire rate of the bunch. As a result, it becomes hard to use this weapon in extremely intense firefights due to its low damage output.

However, players who aim their weapons carefully will have a great time with this weapon. That being said, switching out to a different LMG later on in the game is highly recommended.

18 Micro SMG

A Trustworthy Weapon That Can Also Be Used While Driving

The Micro SMG is a submachine gun that has been in the Grand Theft Auto series for several games now and is a popular game for people to carry with them. With the extended magazine purchased, the Micro SMG can hold 30 rounds, which is a step up from the 16 rounds that it could hold when it was initially purchased.

Even though the Micro SMG has one of the lowest magazine capacities when the player first picks it up, the fact that the extended magazine doubles makes it a lot easier to manage without having to worry about constantly reloading. This is the only SMG available for use while driving, making it a pretty good choice for when players are on the go.

17 Marksman Rifle

An Incredibly High Rate Of Fire And Low Recoil

While the damage of the Vom Feuer Marksman Rifle doesn’t hold up to some of the other rifles in GTA 5, the incredibly high rate of fire and light recoil more than make up for the need to put a few extra bullets in a player’s target to take them out.

The Marksman Rifle is available fairly early in the game at Ammu-Nation for only $15,750, and Red Dead Online introduced the upgraded Marksman Rifle Mk II that upped the damage to further improve the ranking of the weapon.

16 Rocket Launcher

As Powerful As They Come

Sometimes, the simplest weapons are the ones that end up being the most effective. Such is the case with the rocket launcher, which gets the job done in style if players want to destroy a group of enemies or a particularly annoying vehicle.

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That being said, players should be aware of the fact that this weapon isn’t the most powerful demolition firearm around. While it may be spectacular in its own way, the rocket launcher can be a bit too rudimentary for most people’s tastes… especially when they check out some of the more engaging explosive firearms in the game.

15 Grenade Launcher

Blasts Most Enemies To Smithereens

The grenade launcher is another example of a weapon that doesn’t need to be complicated, given how much fun it is to use. The explosives lobbed from this weapon can decimate enemies in a flash, and it helps that the weapon can hold a bunch of grenades that can be shot out rapidly before it needs to be reloaded.

There’s nothing more satisfying than seeing a grenade arc perfectly before hitting the target and taking it out in a satisfying manner. Shooting in this game is genuinely a ton of fun, and it’s easy to see why so many players love messing around with one of the best weapons in GTA 5.

14 Proximity Mine

A Player’s Best Friend

The proximity mine had the potential to be one of the best explosive weapons in the game. Not only does it allow players to set traps, but it also lets them get away safely from the explosion and see the satisfying fireworks that ensue.

However, the worst part about this weapon is that players can only carry five explosives at a time, severely limiting its use cases. Given how chaotic firefights can become in Grand Theft Auto 5, it’s easy to see why many people feel that five explosives simply don’t cut it.

13 Compact Grenade Launcher

The Quick Reload Makes It Very Valuable

The Compact Grenade Launcher is a weapon in Grand Theft Auto Online that was added as part of the game’s Bikers update. Even though this weapon only holds a single grenade, meaning that it has to be reloaded after every single shot, it actually reloads quickly. That means that it’s not going to take too long between shots, and this weapon is powerful enough to take out more intense enemies like armored cars.

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The Compact Grenade Launcher may not be the weapon for every job that players are going to be on when they hit the streets of Los Santos, but the fact that it’s powerful enough to take out vehicles or large groups of enemies in a single shot makes it a good choice for many tasks.

12 Heavy Revolver Mk II

Powerful, Fast, And Can Shoot Different Ammunition

The Heavy Revolver Mk II is a weapon that was introduced into Grand Theft Auto Online as part of the Doomsday Heist update. This weapon will set the player back a total of $99,000 as a conversion at the Weapon Workshop, but it’s well worth the slightly hefty price tag.

This weapon does more damage than the regular Heavy Revolver, and it’s able to shoot faster than that one as well, meaning that it’s a step up from the Heavy Revolver. Another bonus for this weapon is the fact that it’s able to use several types of ammo like incendiary rounds, tracer rounds, and hollow-point rounds, just to name just a few.

11 Advanced Rifle

Does Some Of The Most Damage Per Shot Of Any Rifle

The Advanced Rifle is a gun that has a pretty low price considering how powerful this weapon is. When purchased in GTA 5‘s single-player, it will set the player back $3,500. Meanwhile, if players get this gun online, it will cost the player $14,250. Like other great weapons in GTA 5, this Advanced Rifle has several upgrades that can be purchased to make it even handier.

The Advanced Rifle is among the weapons that do the most damage per shot in the assault rifle class. While that’s pretty impressive, the fact that this weapon doesn’t have a higher accuracy rating is what stopped this weapon from being placed a little higher up on this list.

10 Assault Shotgun

The Street Sweeper Is Known For Its Full-Auto Mayhem

There is something inherently powerful about using a shotgun in GTA 5 that has nothing to do with stats or price. Sometimes, it can just be the most effective tool for the job when plowing through gang members and FIB agents alike.

While not quite as viscerally satisfying as the pump shotgun, the Vom Feuer Assault Shotgun is an automatic version of the powerful weapon with a high fire rate and a stellar design. It is also known as the Street Sweeper for reasons that will be made clear fairly quickly after a player equips this weapon in GTA 5.

9 Special Carbine

Heavily Upgradeable And Has High Damage And Accuracy

The Special Carbine is a weapon that is available in GTA 5 and Grand Theft Auto Online for $14,750 at Ammu-Nation. This assault rifle has several upgrades that can be purchased like extended magazines and a scope to make it an even better choice for many jobs.

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This weapon has a higher damage per shot rating than many weapons in its class and it has a pretty high accuracy rating, meaning that those shots are going to land in the enemies even if players are trying to take them down while on the run, though it doesn’t have the best range.

8 Sticky Bomb

Perfect For Taking Out Moving Targets Safely

Sticky bombs are featured in GTA 5 and Grand Theft Auto Online which cost $400 and $600 per Sticky Bomb, respectively. Although these are slightly on the pricier side and it may seem more worth it to sink that money into weapon upgrades and ammo, the Sticky Bomb is still a really powerful and solid choice.

The main advantage of these over other explosives is the fact that they can be tossed onto their target and the player can get far enough away to not get hurt before they hit that detonator. Because they can be stuck onto the side of any vehicle, these are popular for use on moving targets or while on the go.

7 Homing Launcher

A Shoulder-Fired Surface-To-Air Homing Missile

There are many different ways to take out vehicles while playing through the various missions of Grand Theft Auto 5. However, the Hawk & Little Homing Launcher is one of the best weapons to use in GTA 5, despite its reduced damage compared to the regular rocket launcher.

The Homing Launcher has the increased benefit of being able to target vehicles both in the air or on the ground. Furthermore, it has an incredible range that outdoes every other rocket or missile in the game that can even chase down fighter jets.

6 Railgun

A Deadly Experimental Military Weapon With Zero Room For Error

The experimental Railgun is one of the most powerful weapons in the game, although it was initially only available to those with the Enhanced Version of GTA 5. It uses an electromagnetic propulsion system to fire metal rounds faster than the speed of sound.

This delivers an incredibly powerful kinetic impact that can tear apart vehicles, though it has a very low area of effect, meaning that players can easily waste their shot by firing through an open window of a vehicle. It also makes it hard to use on moving human targets, though incredibly effective when scoring a hit.