Weapons#
First, this page’s scope: no unverified weapon damage numbers appear here. The many damage and fire-rate tables circulating online have unknown sources and shift with every balance patch — copying them only misleads. What this page provides is the verified system structure — which gun categories exist, what the attachment system changes, and how to think at different engagement ranges. For exact numbers, rely on in-game data and KRAFTON’s official channels.
Gun categories and roles#
PUBG’s guns fall into several categories, each filling a different role in a squad:
| Category | Role | Best use |
|---|---|---|
| Assault rifles | The all-round mid-range workhorse | The default pick in most matches, from town outskirts to open fields |
| SMGs | High rate of fire up close | Town fights, jungle ambushes and other close engagements |
| Sniper rifles | Precise strikes at range | Long-range duels in open terrain; needs a scope |
| Shotguns | Extreme close-range burst | Indoor fights and corner encounters; one-shot burst trades |
| LMGs | Sustained suppression | Holding positions and pinning enemies in fixed directions |
| Pistols | Transitional weapons | Early landing emergencies; phased out once you have a primary |
This taxonomy is the skeleton of loadout thinking: one assault rifle plus one close-range complement (SMG or shotgun) is the most common two-weapon setup, with the exact mix decided by map and habit.
Thinking in two-weapon combinations#
You can carry two primary weapons at once, and the point of a combo is covering different engagement distances:
| Combo | Coverage | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Assault rifle + SMG | Mid + close range | Towns, jungle and other close-quarters maps and drops |
| Assault rifle + shotgun | Mid + extreme close range | Dense town play; corner encounters end instantly |
| Assault rifle + sniper rifle | Mid + long range | 8×8 km open maps where long duels matter |
Combos have no standard answer — the test is “what range will most fights on this map/route happen at”: small maps (Sanhok, Karakin) naturally fight close, while large open desert maps (Miramar-style) carry more long-range threat. Fill ammo and attachments for the primary weapon’s slots first; keep the secondary in working order and that’s enough.
How each map’s distance structure changes gun value#
The size differences across the nine official maps directly decide which weapons are worth what:
| Map type | Engagement-distance structure | Weapon lean |
|---|---|---|
| 8×8 km giants (Erangel, Miramar, Taego, Rondo, Deston, Vikendi) | Long rotations; open ground and towns coexist | Assault rifle as the base; long-range options gain value |
| 4×4 km jungle (Sanhok) | Contact on landing; heavy vegetation | Close-range options (SMGs, shotguns) pay best |
| 3×3 km volcanic island (Paramo) | Tiny space, no vehicles | Mostly on foot, frequent close encounters |
| 2×2 km smallest map (Karakin) | Breakneck pace; destructible walls change routes | Close-range burst is king; heavy indoor fighting |
Binding weapon choice to map size beats memorizing any “universal loadout.”
Practice priorities#
Ranked by return, the order to practice weapons in:
- Steady mid-range assault rifle fire — the deciding skill in most matches; invest first.
- Close-range hip fire — the life-saving skill for towns and ambushes; Team Deathmatch / Arcade modes cost the least to practice it in.
- Long-range leading — depends on scopes and bullet velocity, and only open-terrain maps give stable practice chances; take it up after the first two.
Engagement range decides weapon logic#
Rather than memorizing stats, understand weapons through engagement distance:
- Close-range burst lives on hip fire and shotguns. Hip firing beats aiming down sights in point-blank encounters, and a shotgun’s single burst can end a fight instantly at extreme range.
- Long-range output lives on scopes and bullet velocity. The faster the bullet flies, the less you lead and the more reliably you hit; the scope decides whether you can even see and lock the target.
- Mid-range belongs to assault rifles. The vast majority of fights happen at mid-range — which is exactly why the AR is the first weapon to hunt every match.
The attachment system#
Attachments are the other half of PUBG’s weapon system. Guns have multiple attachment slots, and attachments affect magazine capacity, handling stability, stock behavior, optics and muzzle velocity:
| Slot direction | What it changes | Practical meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Magazines | Capacity and reload speed | Your margin for error and sustained output; reload timing mid-fight decides lives |
| Grips | Firing stability | How controllable sustained fire stays |
| Stocks | Hold stability | Improves weapon feel and aim behavior |
| Optics | Aiming method and magnification | Sets your effective engagement range; magnified optics are the precondition for long-range work |
| Muzzles | Ballistics and firing signature | Shapes bullet behavior and how noticeable your shots are |
Attachments “amplify strengths” rather than transmuting: an attachment can’t turn a mismatched gun into another gun — it optimizes performance within the gun’s existing role. While looting, top up your current weapon’s slots as you go; never sacrifice a rotation to wait for one attachment.
The weapon growth path: swapping guns within a match#
A weapon’s value shifts with the match phase; the sensible path is “usable first, comfortable second, specialized last”:
| Stage | Goal | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Landing | Any working weapon | Have something to shoot back with; category irrelevant |
| Early looting | Primary + close-range complement | Assault rifle as primary; add an SMG or shotgun for close range |
| Mid-game | Re-specialize by map | Long-range options on big open maps; double down close on small ones |
| Late game | Reliable beats fancy | Final-circle fights are close; a dependable close-range option beats collecting rare guns |
How to build weapon feel#
- Use the fast-respawn modes. Team Deathmatch / Arcade respawn you instantly, so firefights per hour dwarf Classic mode — the single most efficient place to learn gunfeel.
- Practice by distance class. Close hip fire, mid-range sustained fire and long-range leading are three different skills; drilling them separately beats spraying wildly.
- Accept version drift. Official updates rebalance weapons; any gun’s strength rises and falls with patches. Anchoring practice on “range judgment and fire discipline” — skills that don’t expire — pays better than chasing patch answers.
An honest note on damage numbers#
Stating it again: this site does not publish unverified weapon damage, fire-rate or recoil figures. The reason is direct — these numbers shift constantly with balance patches, and unsourced figures only mislead loadout decisions. When you need exact values:
- Treat the in-game displayed data as authoritative;
- Treat KRAFTON official announcements (patch notes) as authoritative;
- For any third-party table, first check which version and date it labels, then decide how much to trust it.
Related pages#
- Beginner’s Guide — looting priorities and weapon choice logic
- Map Guide — terrain and engagement distances per map
- FAQ — high-frequency questions answered