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  1. Games
  2. The Finals

The best weapons in The Finals

Guides
By Marloes Valentina Stella Contributions from Leon Hurley last updated 18 January 2024

A tier list for the best light, medium, and heavy weapons in The Finals

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The Finals best weapons
(Image credit: Embark Studios)
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Finding the best weapons in The Finals isn’t easy, as the optimum choices always depends on your playstyle and class. There's no 'winner', just what's best for the situation. However, that said, some guns are better than others overall whatever. Whether it’s due to their high speed, incredible damage, or impressive accuracy. 

There are three classes in The Finals so the weapon tier lists I've formulated below below are divided by light, medium, and heavy. From throwing knives to pistols, these are the best weapons in The Finals. 

The Finals best light weapons tier list

The Finals best light weapons

(Image credit: Embark Studios)
  1. S-tier: XP-54, V9S
  2. A-tier: Throwing Knives, M11, LH1
  3. B-tier: Dagger, SH1900, SR-84
  4. C-tier: Sword
The Finals guides

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The Finals best loadouts

Thanks to high movement speed, light characters handle melee weapons far better than medium or heavy characters. With the exception of the sword's awkward motions and low damage which are hardly effective against heavy opponents. Its dash-and-stab attack is slightly better, but lacks the potential of the dagger’s dash attack, which can one-shot a non-heavy player from behind. Of course, the dagger requires a sneaky playstyle and is difficult to pull off against groups, but it’s a good weapon if the situation allows it. Like the sword, the dagger can unleash a series of slashes too, although they unfortunately deal very little damage.  

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For more versatility, consider the throwing knives. They deal massive damage, can hit nearby targets and far-away enemies, and offer a choice between a quick double throw or a slower single shot. The latter deals more damage and offers better range, but beware that it takes about two seconds to hit a target after initiating a throw. Despite the huge advantage they offer as a ranged weapon without reload time, the slow throwing speed keeps them out of the highest weapon tier. 

If knives aren’t your thing, the light class has some of the best guns to choose from, such as the amazing XP-54 submachine gun. It’s fast, accurate, and deals enough damage to down a heavy player in barely two seconds. It does have some tangible recoil, but it’s an easily manageable straight line. That said, the M11 automatic machine pistol is nearly as good. It’s equally fast but offers a larger magazine and incredibly fast reload speed. But it's much more unsteady compared to the XP-54, especially near the end of a burst. 

Like the XP-54 and M11, the V9S semi-automatic pistol and LH1 battle rifle are quite similar, with the V9S being the better choice. Despite getting nerfed, the V9S is still fast and accurate enough to make it one of the best weapons in The Finals. It’s more suitable for close-quarters combat, however, so consider the LH1 if you need more range. 

The SH1900 shotgun and SR-84 sniper rifle are placed on the lower end of the tier list as they only work for specific playstyles. With two shells in the magazine, a long reload time, and two hits needed to take down a heavy player, the shotgun doesn’t work against groups. The SR-84 sniper rifle is very effective against light players, but it can’t one-shot medium or heavy players. On top of that, it’s hard to keep up with the fast-paced, team-focused gameplay as a sniper. 

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The Finals best medium weapons tier list

The Finals best medium weapons

(Image credit: Embark Studios)
  1. S-tier: AKM
  2. A-tier: FCAR, Model 1887
  3. B-tier: R.357
  4. C-tier: CL-40, Riot Shield

The AKM is an amazing mid-range weapon with high damage, high speed, and a good magazine size. Even better, it’s the base weapon for medium loadouts so you can use it straight away. The FCAR is a good substitute if you prefer a longer range, but it suffers from high recoil and a much smaller magazine, which makes it far more difficult to hit your target. So, while the AKM is one of the best weapons in The Finals full stop, the FCAR needs an experienced player with great aim to truly shine.

The Model 1887 shotgun and R.357 revolver are both decent weapons for medium builds with a close-quarters playstyle, but the shotgun is a bit better. Although it's much slower, it deals a ton of damage and doesn’t require precise aiming, making it fairly easy to use. The revolver, on the other hand, only shines if you’re a headshot expert. Even then, with only six bullets, the frequent reloads can be a pain. 

While it looks like a tempting option, don’t go for the CL-40 grenade launcher unless you’re playing The Finals for fun and don’t care about winning – for most players it's too unreliable thanks to its slow speed and difficult aiming.   

Although it wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing to use a defensive tool rather than a gun for the support-focused medium class, the riot shield makes you incredibly slow and only blocks bullets from one direction, so it’s only useful for trying to get closer to opponents. The melee stick that comes with the riot shield does deal pretty good damage, but it’s just way easier to hit enemies with a gun. 

The Finals best heavy weapons tier list

The Finals best weapons

(Image credit: Embark Studios)
  1. S-tier: SA1216
  2. A-tier: Lewis Gun
  3. B-tier: M60, Flamethrower
  4. C-tier: MGL32, Sledgehammer

The best weapon in The Finals for heavy players is the SA1216 automatic shotgun. It deals high damage and has a fast fire rate for a shotgun. It also has 16 bullets in a magazine and you only need four to kill a heavy player if they’re close enough. It means that with skill you can take out entire teams with this amazing Finals weapon. 

The M60 is quite unsteady and doesn’t deal much damage. Targets will likely find it easy to slip away unless they're close, making the M60 a pretty mediocre choice. The Lewis Gun is a much better option; it’s very steady, with easy to manage recoil, and it has a magazine large enough to defeat three or four heavies without a reload. 

It’s difficult to place the flamethrower in the Final's best weapons, as it’s incredibly situational. Used to surprise groups, it’s amazing: you can quickly set an entire team on fire, cause panic and ruining whatever plan they had. However, if you’re dueling against a single player, especially one who’s realized what weapon you have, they can easily avoid the fire and shoot you. 

The MGL32 grenade launcher is difficult to use as you not only need to estimate the grenade drop, but also consider its bouncing after hitting the ground. The grenade only bounces once but that’s enough to make you miss.  

While incredibly fun to play, the heavy sledgehammer is not among the best weapons in The Finals. You can take out a lightweight player in one blow, but you need speed and the element of surprise – not exactly the heavy class’s forte. The swinging motion is also very slow, making this better suited for destroying buildings. 

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission

Marloes Valentina Stella
Marloes Valentina Stella
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Freelance Writer

I’m a freelance journalist who (surprise!) kind of has a thing for videogames. When I’m not working on guides for GamesRadar, you can probably find me somewhere in Teyvat, Novigrad, or Whiterun. Unless I’m feeling competitive, in which case you should try Erangel. You can also find my words on PCGamesN, Fanbyte, PCGamer, Polygon, Esports Insider, and Game Rant.

With contributions from
  • Leon HurleyManaging editor for guides
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