Runners brings a fresh loot pool to Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 3, and a couple of mid-season balance patches have already shaken up which guns are worth carrying. Some launch favorites got hit hard, while a small core of weapons now defines close, mid, and long-range fights. Here is exactly where every weapon and key utility item lands right now.
Quick answer: Run the Striker Pump Shotgun, Surgical Burst Rifle, and Flex SMG as your core loadout. Pair them with Overdrive Grenades for mobility, and leave the Lancehead Pistol and Business Turret on the floor.
Chapter 7 Season 3 weapon tier list
The table below sorts every weapon and loadout item by how reliably it wins fights in the current sandbox. Use it as a fast reference, then read the breakdowns for the trade-offs that matter.
| Tier | Weapons and items |
|---|---|
| S (absolute meta) | Striker Pump Shotgun, Surgical Burst Rifle, Flex SMG |
| A (meta) | Chaos Reloader Shotgun, Hunting Rifle, Overdrive Grenades |
| B (good) | Extending Focus Shotgun, Maven Auto Shotgun, Stinger SMG, Rift-to-Go |
| C (decent) | Chaos Exploder Rifle, Ranger Pistol, Seven Sliders, Shield Breaker EMP |
| D (avoid) | Lancehead Pistol (including Mythic 9mm Baba Yaga), Business Turret |
S-Tier: The best weapons in Runners
These three define the meta. If you see one on the ground, pick it up over almost anything else.
Striker Pump Shotgun
The only true one-shot shotgun in the game right now. At Legendary rarity, a clean headshot deals up to 201 damage, and the Mythic version hits even harder. Its perks are heavy damage and a fast pull-out time, with the obvious cost being poor range. For close-quarters duels, nothing else compares.
Surgical Burst Rifle
The go-to gun for long range. This burst rifle hits hard with very low bloom and manageable recoil, so it rewards accurate tracking. Land your bursts and you control distance fights. Hunt down the Mythic version from the Voidblade boss if you can.
Flex SMG
By far the best SMG, and it makes the rest of the light-ammo category feel redundant. Firing from the hip gives you a blistering fire rate that bleeds through builds, while aiming down sights drops the rate so you can track mid-range targets. That dual-mode design makes it versatile, though it loses punch at extreme distance.
A-Tier: Meta weapons and utility
Strong picks that slot in perfectly when the loot pool refuses to hand you an S-tier drop.
Chaos Reloader Shotgun
The best shotgun if you favor body shots over headshot gambles. It has the highest body-shot damage of any shotgun and reloads automatically while stowed, which makes it ideal for boxfights. The catch is the worst range in its class.
Hunting Rifle
An excellent medium-to-long-range marksman weapon. It can one-shot to the head at its lowest rarity in Builds, and at Rare rarity or above in Zero Build. It is not hitscan, so you have to lead your shots, but the payoff is high for accurate players.
Overdrive Grenades
Not a weapon, but a near-mandatory utility slot. They work like a Shockwave Grenade without launching you through structures, and they grant unlimited sprint and increased jump height for a short window. They are extremely common, which makes strong rotations available almost every match.
B-Tier: Good but flawed
You can win plenty of games with these, but each carries a design quirk that keeps it out of the top tier.
Extending Focus Shotgun
The best shotgun for medium range. Its tighter pellet spread punishes targets a little further out, and it has a fast fire rate that shines in Zero Build. It is not a true one-shot, and the three-round magazine forces frequent reloads. Farm the Skeletor boss for the Mythic version.
Maven Auto Shotgun
The most beginner-friendly shotgun on the map. Full-auto fire lets you stack DPS without perfect timing, and it performs well in Zero Build. In Builds, skilled players using pump-and-edit play will outclass it. The Mythic version from the Wolfe boss can deal 100 body-shot damage.
Stinger SMG
A strong close-range option that can bleed damage through walls to pressure players who turtle up. It shines in Builds. Its limited range and the fact that the Flex SMG is simply better keep it here.
Rift-to-Go
A reliable escape tool that rifts you into the sky so you can glide across long distances. You can only stack two at a time, so its total mobility is capped compared to other items.
C-Tier: Situational picks
Fine for early skirmishes, but swap them out the moment something better appears.
Chaos Exploder Rifle
This was one of the strongest guns at the start of the season, but two heavy nerfs to its damage dropped it down the rankings. It still offers splash damage, low recoil, and decent structure damage, yet its raw output no longer keeps pace with the Surgical Burst Rifle.
Ranger Pistol
A solid early to mid-game sidearm. It is suppressed, has low bloom, and a high headshot multiplier. Its range falls off hard, so it stops being useful once fights open up.
Seven Sliders
A movement item that turns slides into rapid powerslides and lets you cross water quickly. Aiming down sights mid-slide slows your momentum for clean shots. The regular version overheats and has limited durability, which can leave you exposed.
Shield Breaker EMP
A niche utility worth stowing if you fight vehicles or automated defenses. The thrown EMP strips enemy shields and disrupts cars and Business Turrets, but it deals no health damage and a single wall counters it.
D-Tier: Weapons to avoid
These actively cost you fights against any competent opponent.
Lancehead Pistol and Mythic 9mm Baba Yaga
John Wick’s signature pistol looks great on paper, with a 21-round magazine and a thrown-magazine gimmick that adds 35 bonus damage. In practice it is semi-automatic, so you fire one shot per trigger pull, and it has the shakiest, most uncontrollable recoil of any gun in the game. Other close-range options already fill its role better.
Business Turret
The worst item in Runners. It is a deployable AI-controlled sentry that tracks nearby targets, but its damage is low, its tracking is sluggish, and any opponent who uses cover can destroy it with ease.
Keep in mind the meta shifts with each balance patch, and the Chaos Exploder Rifle is proof of how fast a top pick can fall. For now, the safest play is a Striker Pump for close range, a Surgical Burst Rifle for distance, a Flex SMG to fill the gap, and Overdrive Grenades to keep you moving. Lock that loadout in and you are equipped for nearly every fight on the island.
