This is a tier list of the best guns in STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl. See a tier list of the best guns to use in your journey through the Zone in this guide!

Weapon Guides
Best Weapons	Weapons List

Best Weapons Tier List

Best Weapons Overall

Tier	Saiga D-12	SVU-MK S-3	Dnipro
	Skif's Pistol	APSB	Zubr-19
	Gauss Gun	-	-
Tier	Kharod	AKM-74S	VS Vintar
	AS Lavina	Grom S-14	AR416
	GP37	Fora-221	Buket S-2
	Mark 1 EMR	Ram-2	Rhino
	Integral-A	SPSA-14	M701 Super
	M860 Cracker	-	-
Tier	Boomstick	RPG-7U	M10 Gordon
	RPM-74	UDP Compact	Viper-5
	Toz-34	AKM-74U	PTM
	SVDM-2	-	-

List of All Weapons and Guns

Best Weapons and Guns Explained

Top Weapons and Guns
Saiga D-12 (Shotgun)	・Destroys at Short-Range ・Best Against Mutants ・Semi-Automatic
Dnipro (Assault Rifle)	・Versatile Mid-Long Range ・High Damage ・Accepts Caliber Conversion
Zubr-19 (SMG)	・High Penetration ・Great at Close-Mid Range ・Comfortable Recoil
Skif's Pistol (Pistol)	・Consistent Damage and Durability ・Accepts Suppressors
APSB (Pistol)	・High Damage with Burst Fire ・Accepts Suppressors
SVU-MK S-3 (Sniper Rifle)	・High Single Shot Damage ・Best at Long Range ・High Fire Rate
Gauss Gun (Sniper Rifle)	・Best for Endgame ・Very High Burst Damage

Saiga-D12 (Best Shotgun)

Saiga D-12
Ammo	12x70mm Buckshot
Weight	3.76 kg

The Saiga D-12 is the best shotgun in the game, beating out others due to its high penetration stat, fast reload, and rapid fire capability. When unloading a full mag (or drum), the Saiga D-12 can comfortably nuke even the tankiest of mutants, making it one of the best guns to bring into dangerous, late-game areas like Prypiat.

With a high-capacity mag upgrade, the Saiga D-12 beats out both the Ram-2 and SPSA-14 in DPS. It is also the only shotgun that has the most upgrades (and also the most expensive to upgrade). It accepts 2x scopes and can be converted to accept only Slugs in exchange for more accuracy and range.

How to Get the Saiga D-12 and Stats

Dnipro (Best Assault Rifle)

Dnipro
Ammo	5.45x39mm PS
Weight	4.16 kg

The Dnipro is the best assault rifle in the game because of its exceptional damage output. It ranks a tier higher than the Kharod mostly because it has a higher damage stat (especially with its ammo conversion upgrade) and a better ammo economy (since it uses a more common ammo type - 5.45x39mm PS).

While the Dnipro may have slightly lower range and accuracy stats compared to the Kharod, its high damage output, exceptional handling, and compatiblity with suppressors more than make up for both; especially since most fights in STALKER 2 happen in buildings or at close to medium range, anyway.

How to Get the Dnipro and Stats

Zubr-19 (Best SMG)

Zubr-19
Ammo	9x19mm FMJ
Weight	3.4 kg

The Zubr-19 is the best SMG in its class due to its high penetration stat, larger base magazine size, and easy-to-control recoil pattern. Depending on the difficulty you are playing on, it only takes a few rounds to shred even the most armored up opponents when you let the Zubr-19 fire in full-auto.

If you're having trouble sourcing 9x19mm FMJ, you can also obtain the unique version of this gun, the Rat Killer, which uses 9x18mm PST — the same ammo used by the common PTM.

How to Get the Integral-A and Stats

Skif's Pistol (Best Pistol)

Skif's Pistol
Ammo	9x18mm PST
Weight	0.05 kg

While not as powerful as the other guns on this list, Skif's Pistol makes it here since it's the perfect pistol for stealth and general use. It still holds up in the late game simply because it is cheap to maintain and has enough stopping power for smaller mutants like dogs and rodents.

When fitted with a suppressor, this unique PTM variant edges out the UDP Compact and its multiple unique variants (like the Deadeye and Gambit) simply because it is very cheap to maintain and fully upgrade by comparison.

How to Get the Skif's Pistol and Stats

APSB (Runner-Up for Best Pistol)

APSB
Ammo	9x18mm PST
Weight	0.05 kg

The APSB is the higher penetration and higher fire rate alternative to Skif's Pistol. Excluding heavily armored enemies, you can easily take out most enemies with a single burst from this gun. Its best feature is that it shares the same ammo type with the PTM. If you've been hoarding 9x18mm PST, you're guaranteed to have more than enough ammo for it by the time you hit endgame.

Unfortunately, given the scarcity of resources at higher difficulties, Skif's Pistol still comes out on top because of how cheap it is to repair. Plus, by the time you gain access to this gun, you'll have better primaries available for general combat. Its burst fire becomes a liability since most small mutants that you'd whip out a pistol for die in a single shot, anyway.

How to Get the APSB and Stats

SVU-MK S-3 (Best Sniper Rifle)

SVU-MK S-3
Ammo	7.62x54mm
Weight	4.64 kg

The SVU-MK S-3 is the best sniper rifle in the game due to its high stopping power and fast fire rate. Compared to the M701 Super, shooting the SVU-MK S-3 is much more forgiving since missed shots are easily corrected compared to the lag time between shots when using a bolt-action sniper.

When considering it viability in late-game, this sniper is much more accessible than the Gauss Gun since it shares the same ammo type with the SVDM-2. Placed side-by-side with the pricey Cartridges and .308 W rounds used by other snipers, the 7.62x54mm LPS rounds used by the SVU-MK S-3 are dirt cheap by comparison.

How to Get the SVU-MK S-3 and Stats

Gauss Gun (Special Mention)

Gauss Gun
Ammo	Cartridge
Weight	7.05 kg

The Gauss Gun gets a special mention on the list since it's the gun with the highest damage and penetration stat, in-game. On paper, it should beat out a lot of the selections on this list. But, due to its slow fire rate, pricey ammo, and progression-locked availability, it only ever truly shines when facing off against human enemies.

For reference, it takes 13 shots from the Gauss Gun to kill one of the Chimeras found in Prypiat (all while it attacks you and you wait to cycle charges between shots). By comparison, you can kill it much quicker, easier, and cheaper by unloading 4 mags-worth of shotgun shells via the Saiga D-12.

How to Get the Gauss Gun and Stats

Best Weapons Criteria

Gun List Criteria

Category	Evaluation
Ammo Economy	Determined by how easy or hard it is to obtain ammo for the weapons.
Penetration	Refers to the damage output through enemy armor.
Accuracy	Determined by the dispersion of bullets when you fire your weapon.

Ammo is scarce in the world of STALKER 2. Some weapons that have better stats are rendered useless because you might not find ammo for them. This is why Ammo Economy is the most important part of the criterion.

Penetration is arguably more important than Damage, as armored enemies can tank a lot of bullets before going down with a weapon with subpar armor penetration.

Accuracy is another stat that you should be looking for because you do not want to be wasting precious ammo because of a weapon's inaccuracy. It is also easier to hit headshots with a more accurate weapon.

STALKER 2 Related Guide

STALKER 2 Heart of Chornobyl Walkthrough Wiki

Recommended Guides

Difficulty Differences	Game Length
Best Weapons	Best Armor
Best Detectors	Best Technicians
Best Endings	Guide Fast Travel Locations
Techinician Locations	Journalist's Stash Locations
All Missables and Points of No Return	Best Artifacts
List of All Unique Weapons	List of All Unique Armor
Is There New Game Plus?	Best Exoskeleton

STALKER 2 Wiki

STALKER 2 Guides
Main Missions	Side Missions
Weapons	Armor
Interactive Map	Choices
Endings	Tips and Tricks
Artifacts	Factions
Bases	Attachments
Ammo	Detectors
Puzzles and Codes	Anomalies
Technicians	Vendors and NPCs
Stashes	Mutants
Achievements	Bugs and Errors
Multiplayer	News