“What’s the best weapon in GTA Online?” doesn’t have one answer — it has about five, because a heist, a free-roam dogfight and a close-quarters sell mission all reward different tools. This guide ranks the weapons that actually carry the meta, shows you the loadouts the experienced players run, and flags the budget guns that punch well above their price. Want to sort and filter every gun by damage, fire rate and price yourself? Open the full weapon database.
The short answer: the S-tier loadout
If you only buy five things, buy these. Every one is a workhorse that stays relevant from your first heist to your thousandth.
The single most important unlock in the game. With explosive rounds from the Weapon Workshop it two-shots most vehicles, knocks helicopters and jets out of the sky, and ends players in one body shot. Pricey to set up, worth every dollar.
The best all-round automatic in the game — low recoil, strong damage and a fat effective range. The Mk II unlocks incendiary and FMJ rounds. If you learn one rifle, learn this one.
A 100-round belt and the highest sustained damage of any automatic. This is what you bring to NPC-heavy heist finales, juggernauts and anything with a health bar that won’t go down.
The sleeper pick. Loaded with explosive rounds it destroys most vehicles in two hits and one-shots players — a pocket rocket launcher that fits in a sidearm slot. The go-to anti-grief sidearm.
Fully automatic and usable from a car — the king of drive-bys and the best way to fight back while driving. Cheap, too. A staple for sell missions and freemode skirmishes.
Best assault rifle
The assault rifle is your default weapon, so this slot matters more than any other. The Special Carbine wins on balance — it has the least recoil and the best all-round handling — but the Carbine Rifle trades a little control for range, and the Bullpup Rifle is a cheaper, controllable alternative. Compare them head to head:
| Weapon | Damage | Fire rate | Range | Clip | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Special Carbine | 32 | 75 | 58 | 30 | $14,600 |
| Carbine Rifle | 32 | 70 | 60 | 30 | $14,750 |
| Bullpup Rifle | 30 | 78 | 55 | 30 | $11,000 |
| Assault Rifle | 30 | 72 | 50 | 30 | $9,000 |
| Military Rifle | 36 | 70 | 62 | 30 | $397,500 |
Upgrade any of these to its Mk II version when you can afford it — the recoil drop and special ammo are a real, measurable advantage in a firefight. The plain Assault Rifle is fine as a first gun, but it has the worst accuracy of the group; replace it early.
Best sniper & anti-air
Snipers do double duty in GTA Online: precision kills, and — once you unlock explosive rounds — your single best answer to attack helicopters, jets and Oppressors.
Explosive rounds turn this into a shoulder-fired SAM. Lead the target, land one shot, and most aircraft drop. Against players it is a guaranteed one-shot kill to the body. Nothing else in the game does this job as well.
| Weapon | Damage | Fire rate | Range | Clip | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heavy Sniper Mk II | 100 | 12 | 100 | 6 | $165,375 |
| Heavy Sniper | 100 | 12 | 98 | 6 | $38,150 |
| Sniper Rifle | 90 | 14 | 95 | 10 | $20,000 |
| Marksman Rifle | 65 | 35 | 75 | 8 | $17,800 |
If you can’t yet afford the Mk II, the standard Heavy Sniper still hits like a truck. The Marksman Rifle is the semi-auto option — faster follow-up shots at the cost of per-hit damage, handy for mid-range fights where a bolt-action is too slow.
Best sidearm & drive-by weapons
Your sidearm is your “oh no” button — what you reach for when a rifle runs dry mid-fight.
Explosive ammo makes this the most dangerous pistol in the game: two shots to delete a car, one to delete a player. Slow fire rate and tiny magazine, but you rarely need a third shot.
For shooting from a vehicle, fire rate beats everything — you want to hose, not aim. The AP Pistol is the classic pick, with the Micro SMG and Machine Pistol right behind it:
| Weapon | Damage | Fire rate | Range | Clip | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AP Pistol | 24 | 88 | 38 | 18 | $5,000 |
| Micro SMG | 21 | 88 | 30 | 16 | $8,500 |
| Machine Pistol | 21 | 90 | 28 | 12 | $5,000 |
| Heavy Revolver Mk II | 80 | 28 | 52 | 6 | $174,000 |
Best shotgun & close quarters
For sell-mission interiors, the Casino, and any “clear the building” objective, a shotgun ends fights instantly.
With the Weapon Workshop it loads dragon’s breath (incendiary) and even explosive slugs. High damage, decent range for a shotgun, and the special ammo melts groups of NPCs.
No Mk II, but a brilliant stock shotgun: high damage, a faster fire rate than the pumps and a six-round magazine. The cheapest way to dominate close-quarters fights early on.
Best machine gun
When the objective is “shoot a lot of things that don’t die quickly,” nothing beats a 100-round belt of FMJ. Bring it to the Cayo Perico compound, the Doomsday finale, and any juggernaut fight.
Utility & anti-grief weapons
These don’t top damage charts, but they win freemode in ways a rifle can’t.
A no-reload energy blast that flips and disables vehicles. The definitive counter to an Oppressor Mk II rider — knock them off the bike, then finish the job. Every serious freemode player carries one.
Lock-on missiles for aircraft and weaponized vehicles. Slower and more obvious than an explosive sniper, but it tracks — the easy-mode answer to a jet that won’t leave you alone.
The only explosive launcher you can fire from the driver’s seat of some vehicles. A situational but genuinely fun tool for clearing roadblocks and pursuing cars.
Mk II weapons & special ammo: what actually matters
Once you own a Weapon Workshop (in a MOC, Avenger, or Arcade), you can convert eligible guns to Mk II and load special ammo. This is the single biggest power jump available to your arsenal. The ammo types, ranked by how much they change a fight:
- Explosive (Heavy Sniper Mk II, Heavy Revolver Mk II) — turns the gun into a rocket launcher. Game-changing. Prioritise these two.
- Incendiary — adds burn damage over time; great on automatics for chip damage and area denial.
- FMJ — extra damage to vehicles and armoured enemies; the default belt for the Combat MG Mk II.
- Hollow-point — more damage to unarmoured players, less to armoured. Situational in PvP.
- Tracer — purely cosmetic glowing rounds. Looks cool, does nothing.
You don’t need to Mk II everything — but a Heavy Sniper Mk II with explosive rounds and a Special Carbine Mk II should be at the top of your shopping list.
Loadouts for every job
Heist / PvE finale
- Special Carbine Mk II — primary
- Combat MG Mk II — for the tanky waves
- Heavy Sniper Mk II — pick off snipers and choppers
- Pump Shotgun Mk II — interiors
- Sticky Bomb — doors, vehicles, objectives
Freemode survival / anti-grief
- Heavy Revolver Mk II (explosive) — delete cars and bikes
- Up-n-Atomizer — knock riders off Oppressors
- Heavy Sniper Mk II (explosive) — anti-air
- Special Carbine Mk II — everything else
Drive-by / sell missions
- AP Pistol or Micro SMG — fire from the vehicle
- Compact Grenade Launcher — clear roadblocks
Best budget weapons
You do not need millions to be dangerous. These cheap guns stay good forever:
| Weapon | Damage | Fire rate | Range | Clip | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AP Pistol | 24 | 88 | 38 | 18 | $5,000 |
| Carbine Rifle | 32 | 70 | 60 | 30 | $14,750 |
| Pump Shotgun | 88 | 25 | 20 | 8 | $800 |
| Heavy Shotgun | 80 | 40 | 24 | 6 | $9,000 |
| Micro SMG | 21 | 88 | 30 | 16 | $8,500 |
Buy the Carbine Rifle or Special Carbine as your first real rifle, grab the AP Pistol for drive-bys and a Pump Shotgun for interiors, and you’re equipped for almost any early-game content. Everything else is an upgrade, not a requirement.
Where to go next
Track which guns you’ve bought with the free asset tracker, and browse exact stats and prices for every weapon in the weapon database. New to the game? Start with the beginner’s guide, and once you’ve got a loadout sorted, put it to work in the Cayo Perico heist — the best solo money in the game.