RIVALS Best Weapons and Loadouts Ranked by Role
October 30, 2026 · 6 min read
On this page
The Assault Rifle is still the safest primary in RIVALS. Pair it with Uzi or Exogun, Scythe or Katana, and Medkit or Grenade. Sniper, Permafrost and Paintball Gun can beat it in the right hands, but they ask for better aim or a bigger Key budget.
These rankings are opinions, not official data, and they are behind the game. The official game page lists Update 24 as current. The fullest tier list we read, from Pixel Twelve, is built on Update 21 and says plainly that it has not been redone for Update 22. No list we found has re-ranked for Update 24. Always check the weapon's in-game stats.
Weapons by slot
Pixel Twelve's tiers, last updated October 11, 2026:
| Slot | S tier | A tier |
|---|---|---|
| Primary | Assault Rifle, Permafrost, Paintball Gun, Sniper | Shotgun, Burst Rifle, Crossbow, Energy Rifle |
| Secondary | Uzi, Exogun, Revolver | Energy Pistols, Warper, Handgun |
| Melee | Katana, Scythe | Knife, Trowel, Battle Axe, Spear |
| Utility | Medkit, Grenade | Grappler, Smoke Grenade, Freeze Ray, Molotov, Satchel, War Horn |
Pixel Twelve calls Medkit the most universal utility and Grenade the best free one.
Other writers differ:
- All Things How (Season 3, spring 2026) ranks Assault Rifle first, then Sniper and Shotgun, and puts Energy Pistols as the top secondary. That is older than the lists above.
- Nerd's Chalk (recent) calls Exogun the easiest strong weapon right now. It says body shots and headshots deal the same damage, near misses still deal reduced damage, and it punches through Riot Shield and Katana. It also says this holds up after a nerf.
So Exogun is the pick if your aim is shaky. Assault Rifle is the pick if you want one main gun. Nerd's Chalk itself still names Assault Rifle the steadier ranked primary.
What each paid weapon is really for
Buy to fix a problem you actually have. Do not buy on tier alone.
| Weapon | Reason to buy | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Uzi | Cheap close-range backup at 20 Keys | Steep damage drop-off at range |
| Scythe | Dash to close a gap or leave a bad angle | Not a damage upgrade |
| Katana | Deflect predictable gunfire | Exogun reportedly gets through it |
| Exogun | Forgiving damage, beats shields | Reported at 350 Keys or a bundle over 600 Robux |
| Permafrost | Slow and freeze for an opening | 600 Keys, and frozen targets get brief protection after thawing |
| Sniper | Wins open maps with one good shot | Punishes misses hard |
| Paintball Gun | Reward for tracking moving targets | Slow projectiles need leading |
Exogun's price conflicts. All Things How says it comes from a Robux bundle rather than a Key unlock. Nerd's Chalk says 350 Keys or a bundle. Look in your own weapon menu.
Loadouts to copy
| Budget or goal | Primary | Secondary | Melee | Utility |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | Assault Rifle | Handgun | Fists | Grenade |
| First 20 Keys | Assault Rifle | Uzi | Fists | Grenade |
| 70 Keys total | Assault Rifle | Uzi | Scythe | Smoke Grenade |
| Tight maps | Shotgun | Uzi | Scythe | Freeze Ray |
| Open maps | Sniper | Uzi | Katana | Smoke Grenade |
| Team games | Assault Rifle | Exogun | Battle Axe | War Horn |
| Premium ranked, listed at 755 Keys | Permafrost | Uzi | Katana | Medkit |
The first six come from Pixel Twelve. The last is the setup Nerd's Chalk describes circulating among players.
Each build covers its own weak spot. The Sniper build has an Uzi for anyone who rushes you and Smoke to leave a lost sightline. The Shotgun build has a dash because it cannot win long fights. Copy that logic, not just the item list.
Prices above are standard unlock costs as reported. A free-weapon promotion was running earlier this year and may be over, so check what your account actually owns before you plan around a weapon.
What the last three updates changed
Tier lists lag behind patches, so here is what matters.
Update 21 (the base of the tiers above): Shotgun gained damage, Sniper gained a bigger hitbox, Paintball Gun got faster projectiles, Uzi got more accurate, Riot Shield got a 500-health limit. Burst Rifle was weakened with a longer reload and closer damage falloff.
Update 22, as reported:
- Sniper and Crossbow now fire semi-automatically, so you press once per shot. Advice from before this patch about holding fire or using auto-shoot is out of date.
- Permafrost slows for longer, and Freeze Ray freezes and slows for longer.
- Smoke Grenade now fully hides vision inside the cloud.
- Burst Rifle waits longer between bursts, and Distortion carries less ammo.
- Minigun has less movement spread, and Maul reaches farther.
- Wildcat was added. Pixel Twelve leaves it unranked. Another page says Update 23 buffed it, but we could not read the notes for that update.
Update 24, from one fan page citing the patch notes:
| Weapon | Reported change |
|---|---|
| Grenade Launcher | Damage 40 to 45, critical 80 to 90, reload 3.2s to 2.5s, faster projectile, bigger hitbox |
| Shorty | 75 to 80 per full blast, 120 on a crit |
| Revolver | Quick Shot spread 10 degrees to 7 degrees |
| Spear | Equip time 1.25s to 0.6s, throw damage 25 to 30, small throw radius added |
| Warpstone | Hitbox 4 studs to 0.25 studs, fits through tighter gaps |
Our read, not a tested result: Grenade Launcher sits in C tier on a list that predates a sizable buff, so try it again before you write it off. Spear is now a much faster swap for a thrown finish. Shorty still has short range, but the buff helps the freeze-then-finish idea below.
Combos worth learning
- Permafrost into Shorty. All Things How suggests freezing, then finishing up close. Because thawed targets now get about a second of damage reduction, land your burst before they thaw.
- Slow primary plus Energy Pistols. They are reported to have unlimited ammo and no reload, so they cover empty moments on Minigun, Crossbow or Grenade Launcher.
- Height builds. Scythe's dash and Subspace Tripmine's launch can get a Sniper, Crossbow or Minigun onto a vantage point, per All Things How.
- Smoke against Flamethrower. All Things How calls smoke its clear weakness.
Some guides also teach swapping to Fists to shorten reload animations. We could not confirm it still works. The game page warns against abusing glitches, so do not rely on anything that feels like a bug.
Ranked notes
All Things How reports that Ranked needs Level 100, a verified account active for at least 14 days, and placement tasks. Pixel Twelve notes a weapon-ban system, so keep a backup for your main weapon. All Things How adds that Assault Rifle usually cannot be banned because it is a default item, which is another reason to stay sharp with it. Both claims are worth checking on the Ranked screen.
How to choose
- Keep the Assault Rifle until you can name what it fails at.
- Lose close fights? Buy Uzi. Stuck in bad angles? Buy Scythe.
- Try locked weapons in the Shooting Range first, where a preview is reported to be available.
- Save big purchases like Permafrost for after your other three slots are sorted.
The Update 24 Spooky Event is reported to end on November 6, so event modes and rewards may be gone soon after this was written.
