What is the Best Gun in PUBG?
Learn everything you need to know about choosing the right weapon for the job.
The deadly battlefields of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds reward those who keep calm, practice situational awareness, and use the right tool for the job. Once you drop out of the airplane, your survival depends on eliminating anyone who comes between you and the chicken dinner. Due to the random nature of the game, you never really know how or when your encounters will occur, but you can flips the odds in your favor by equipping the guns that work best for a variety of situations and your playstyle. The best gun in PUBG depends on you.
What is the Best Gun in PUBG?
PUBG offers a wide selection of melee items, pistols, submachine guns, assault rifles, shotguns, and sniper rifles. Each weapon has its strengths and weaknesses. The best gun in an early round, close quarters confrontation may be worthless during a mid-match engagement at 300 meters out. Every player can hold a melee weapon, a pistol, and two main weapons. This guide will focus on the main weapons, as they will matter more in almost every scenario you will face on the battlefield.
Generally, the weapons that players seek out when making landfall are assault rifles, for a few reasons. Assault rifles are the most well-rounded choice of firearm you will be able to equip in PUBG. They all have multiple modes of fire, offering a single shot setting for controlled shots at targets at intermediate ranges and either burst or full-auto modes for closer engagements. Obviously, in the early moments of a round, you should grab the gun that is closest to you, but once you start looting buildings or downed players, keep an eye out for these standouts.
M416 / SCAR-L
Based on the Heckler & Koch HK416, the M416 is one of the most versatile weapons in the game. It offers similar damage to the other assault rifles in the game, while being the most accommodating to the various attachments that can be found while playing. Virtually any assault attachment you can find will work with the M416. It offers single fire and auto fire modes and is relatively easy to control while auto-firing. It can fire slightly faster than the similar SCAR-L and the auto firing mode makes it better in close quarters than the M16A4. When fully modified, it can compete with the M16 for intermediate, single-fire encounters. While it isn’t the most common weapon you will run across, it will be incredibly rare to make it through half a round of PUBG and not come across this weapon. The 5.56mm ammo it consumes is readily available everywhere in the game.
For players that would rather keep encounters at close range and are comfortable controlling fully-automatic fire recoil, it is a good idea to take the SCAR-L over the M416, M16A4, and AKM. The SCAR-L is very similar to the M416, but lacks the finesse required to be a reliable intermediate option. It is, however, a close-range demon. When equipped with an Angled Grip and Extended Quickdraw Magazine, the SCAR-L becomes the ultimate SMG. It feels a bit like the UMP9, but better in every way.
Players that would rather keep a distance from enemies may look at the AKM or M16A4, but each come with drawbacks. The AKM packs loads of stopping power with its 7.62mm rounds, but has lots of vertical recoil and a slower recovery time. If you are unable to land a killing shot right off the bat, the wild handling of quick follow-up shots could leave you vulnerable. The M16A4 is a solid performer in its single fire mode, but the addition of the Mini 14 sniper rifle makes it less than desirable for anything other than early round encounters. The Mini 14 is basically a M16A4 with less recoil and its lack of burst fire is not a serious liability (as anyone carrying it would have a full-auto secondary for close encounters). Both the AKM and M16A4 lack the ability to use grip attachments (or the stock attachment like the M416).
Groza / AUG A3
Both of these bullpup assault rifles offer loads of pain in a small package. The Groza’s name literally translates to ”terror” in Polish. It uses the same 7.62mm rounds as the AKM and SKS, yet manages to dump the shots into a target at a much higher rate of fire. The Groza can wipe the floor with entire enemy squads, especially at close range. It is just as deadly as the AKM when using single fire mode and accommodates a fairly large array of attachments. While it seems overpowered compared to the other assault rifles, it comes with some drawbacks. It cannot use any sights stronger than the 4x scope and it has an excruciatingly long reload time. Despite these shortcomings, the Groza is an absolute monster during the closing moments of a round when the circle forces the reaming combatants into tight spaces. The 7.62mm rounds will make short work of even the best-armored players.
The AUG A3 is based on the Steyr AUG and, like the Groza, is a short-range devil. Unlike the Groza. The AUG A3 makes use of 5.56mm rounds. While the smaller caliber rounds are not as damaging, the AUG A3 is just as desirable as the Gorza. Unlike the 7.62mm bullpup, the AUG A3 can make use of grip attachments and doesn’t take four years to reload. While exact damage and range numbers are still a mystery due to game file changes by developer Bluehole, the AUG should be considered the best of the 5.56mm assault rifles. It has no weaknesses in close quarters and is surprisingly adept at plinking targets at distances of 2-300 meters. The recoil recovery speed is top-notch, contradicting its short-range appearance.
While both the Groza and AUG A3 are the no-brainer pickups they sound like, they can only be found via airdrop crates, which helps balance out their overpowering nature. Their rarity also makes gaining proficiency with them a time-consuming process, as you will often go many rounds without acquiring either.
While the shotguns and sniper rifles have their place in PUBG, none of them offer the versatility provided by the assault rifles discussed above. In an ideal situation, players would be equipped with a pair of firearms that compliment each other, such as a sniper rifle and a full-auto SMG or assault rifle. Of course, this guide is just a suggestion, as the best weapon in PUBG will often be the gun you are most comfortable with. Knowing the limitations and strengths of a gun can make it more effective in use than a “better” gun that you have little experience with.
For an in-depth look at the various weapon attachments and how they improve the effectiveness of these guns, check out our attachment guides: Muzzle Attachments, Sights and Grips, and Magazines. Are you having trouble staying alive long enough to even see these guns and attachments? Our guide to staying alive in PUBG might be the ticket. Finally, give yourself the best chance of winning by ensuring that your PC is running PUBG to its maximum potential with our graphics settings guide.
