Marathon does not reward weapon choices the way a normal arena shooter does. Every gun lives inside a two-slot loadout, every lost fight can delete real gear, and every bad range matchup gets punished harder because you do not always get a clean reset before the next team arrives.
This Marathon weapon tier list is built for the current live sandbox and focuses on what actually wins fights: burst lethality, range coverage, mod scaling, forgiveness, and how often a weapon still feels good when the run gets messy. If you only want the safest headline, start with WSTR Combat Shotgun, Misriah 2442, Longshot, BR33 Volley Rifle, and Bully SMG.
The Best Marathon Weapons Are Not Just The Highest Damage Guns
The weapons that actually sit at the top of Marathon’s sandbox are the ones that create the biggest swing in real matches. That means room-entry burst, reliable follow-up damage, useful range coverage, and enough flexibility that your whole two-slot loadout does not collapse when the fight shifts five meters in the wrong direction.
Best Marathon Weapons Tier List Current Meta Rankings
Here is the clean version first. This ranking weighs duel power, range coverage, mod ceiling, and how much trust a weapon deserves when you have to build an entire Marathon loadout around it.
The higher the tier, the less argument there is about the weapon doing its job well.
S Tier is where you can comfortably build around the weapon and trust it to stay strong in most lobbies. A Tier is still excellent, but usually asks more from your positioning, timing, or pairing. B Tier is usable and often underrated, but not what you reach for first when your vault gives you real choice.
Why These Are The Best Weapons In Marathon How The Ranking Actually Works
A Marathon tier list is not just about which gun wins a straight 1v1 on paper. Bungie’s live game currently has 28 weapons across eight classes, and any weapon can fill either of your two weapon slots. That changes the conversation immediately, because the best Marathon weapons are also the ones that leave room for a second gun to solve the range bands they do not cover well.
That is also why the meta keeps drifting back toward shotgun plus sniper or shotgun plus precision rifle. Close-range burst still decides panic fights, while one strong ranged weapon lets you pressure rotates, punish bad peeks, and finish players before they ever get to force their ideal angle.
How hard the weapon flips a fight once you get first contact. WSTR, Longshot, and BR33 all score high here for different reasons.
Weapons that keep working outside one tiny comfort zone rise fast. Pure specialists need a stronger excuse to stay high.
Marathon fights are messy. Guns that recover from one imperfect shot or one rushed peek are worth more than they look on paper.
The best weapons stay good stock and get scary when their chips, optics, and prestige mods line up.
The higher the tier, the less your second weapon has to babysit the first one. That matters more than people admit.
So if a gun lands lower than you expected, that does not automatically mean it is weak. It usually means it loses too many points in one of those areas. A railgun can have absurd ceiling and still trail a sniper because the sniper asks less from your hands, your position, and your backup weapon.
S Tier Marathon Weapons The Best Guns To Build Around
This is the shortest group in the article because these are the least controversial top-end picks in the current sandbox. They all solve real fights cleanly, and none of them need excuses to justify the slot.
S
WSTR Combat Shotgun
Shotgun
Patch Touched
Safest Breach Gun
+
The WSTR Combat Shotgun is still the best pure room-entry weapon in Marathon even after the latest nerf. The important part of Update 1.0.5 is not “WSTR got nerfed, stop using it.” The important part is that Bungie made it keep near-max damage at true point-blank range while making the drop-off much harsher once you start stretching the fight. In plain English, it is still ridiculous where a double-barrel shotgun is supposed to be ridiculous. It is just less brainless outside kissing distance.
That matters because WSTR was never elite for being a generalist. It is elite because it deletes the most dangerous kind of fight in Marathon: the sudden close-range swing where the other team gets one clean doorway or corner peek. If you play aggressive shells, hit decisive entries, or love ending the first second of a duel before the enemy can stabilize, this stays S tier.
Why It Stays S
Nothing else ends a point-blank duel with the same certainty. Even after the falloff change, it still owns the space that matters most for shotgun fights.
What Holds It Back
Two shells means every miss hurts, and the new falloff punishes lazy peeks at the outer edge of shotgun range more than before.
S
Misriah 2442
Shotgun
Patch Touched
Most Forgiving Elite Shotgun
+
If WSTR is the brutal highlight weapon, Misriah 2442 is the elite shotgun that fits more real players. It hits hard, it gives you more room to recover after an imperfect first shot, and it does not force every close-range engagement to become a strict two-shell test. That alone is enough to keep it near the top of the Marathon meta, because most players do not lose shotgun fights because the weapon lacks damage. They lose because the first peek was not perfect and the follow-up window disappears.
The small recoil clean-up in 1.0.5 does not reinvent the gun, but it keeps the floor clean. More importantly, Misriah makes sense in more loadouts than people think. It pairs naturally with BR33, M77, Longshot, or even an all-in automatic if you just want one dependable close-range answer that does not punish you as brutally as the WSTR does for one miss.
Why It Stays S
It keeps the close-range lethality you want from a top shotgun while offering a much more forgiving rhythm than WSTR.
What Holds It Back
It is not as instantly unfair as WSTR in the first fraction of a breach, so the absolute ceiling looks less dramatic even though the overall trust is excellent.
S
Longshot
Sniper
Patch Touched
Best Overall Sniper
+
Longshot is the sniper that does not make you feel like you are gambling your whole run on one shot. It is semi-automatic, it pressures headshots hard, and it gives you a second chance fast enough that one imperfect first peek does not automatically end your influence on the fight. That blend of punishment and forgiveness is exactly why it owns the category right now.
The latest patch only fixed one of its mod issues, not its core power, so the real story has not changed. If your team likes to control angles, crack a fight open before the push, or simply force enemies to play smaller every time they rotate through open space, Longshot stays one of the cleanest carry weapons in the whole sandbox. It is the ranged counterpart to the best shotguns for a reason.
Why It Stays S
It brings real one-peek pressure without the same bolt-action commitment or railgun setup tax that other long-range options ask from you.
What Holds It Back
If your aim is unstable or your frame pacing is messy, you will not feel its value the same way. This is a weapon that rewards clean correction.
S
BR33 Volley Rifle
Precision Rifle
Patch Touched
Best Midrange Anchor
+
The BR33 Volley Rifle is the easiest top-end weapon to recommend to almost anyone because it solves the ugliest middle distance in Marathon better than nearly anything else. You get burst damage, low recoil, easy follow-up, and a play pattern that scales naturally from safe poke to fight-finishing pressure. It is the weapon that makes your loadout feel organized.
This is why BR33 is so important in a real Marathon weapon tier list. Not everyone wants to live on shotgun plus sniper every run, and not every lobby lets you dictate those ideal terms. BR33 gives you a weapon that can stabilize messy peeks, punish pushes, and still leave your second slot free for a true close-range answer. The suppressed prestige mod interaction added in 1.0.5 only makes that toolkit cleaner for players who already invest into it.
Why It Stays S
It is the best mix of range, control, and fight-finishing reliability in the precision class, with almost no useless range band.
What Holds It Back
It does not create the same clip-worthy instant swing as WSTR or Longshot, so some players underrate how often it quietly wins the whole fight.
S
Bully SMG
SMG
Best SMG
High Ceiling
+
Bully SMG is the best automatic close-range weapon in Marathon right now because it reaches farther than most SMGs deserve to, hits harder than its category peers, and keeps enough stability that good tracking actually gets rewarded. That sounds simple, but it matters a lot in Marathon because not every fight is a pure shotgun doorway and not every close-range player wants to live on manual shot cadence.
The gun is not top tier because it is easy. It is top tier because once your aim is good enough to cash in, it gives you one of the cleanest close-to-midrange takeover tools in the game. If you dislike shotgun rhythm, if you want one automatic that still carries into real Runner fights, or if you need a second weapon that can protect a sniper without feeling weak the moment the push begins, Bully is the right answer far more often than the rest of the SMG class.
Why It Stays S
It is the one SMG that feels like a real meta weapon instead of a class filler. Good aim turns it into a reliable fight closer.
What Holds It Back
It asks you to track well. Miss too much, and the slower firing rhythm stops feeling elite very quickly.
A Tier Marathon Weapons Excellent Picks That Miss S For One Reason
A tier in Marathon is not a backhanded compliment. In most cases, it means the weapon is outright excellent but loses a few points because it is more specialized, more demanding, or slightly less universal than the S tier core.
V85 Circuit Breaker
V85 Circuit Breaker is the shotgun that feels one clean read away from S tier. Its charged burst can be devastating, and in the hands of a player who is already pre-aiming corners well, it can feel flat-out unfair. It stays in A because it asks more from timing and charge discipline than WSTR or Misriah. The weapon is terrifying, but it is not the cleanest broad recommendation.
M77 Assault Rifle
M77 is the all-rounder AR that never feels like a mistake. Its real value is not raw highlight potential. It is the fact that it keeps your loadout honest. You can take normal fights, recover from awkward spacing, and still pressure at the ranges where weaker automatics start to feel mushy. If you want one dependable full-auto anchor, start here.
Outland
Outland hits harder than Longshot, which is exactly why it never feels weak. It stays in A because the slower pace is real. In matches where you get the clean opening peek, it looks incredible. In the scrappier follow-up moments that happen constantly in Marathon, Longshot is easier to keep active. Outland is for players who want more punishment per shot and do not mind committing harder to each peek.
Stryder M1T
Stryder M1T is the kind of weapon that experienced players often like more than public tier lists do. It keeps range well, it pressures body shots better than some people expect, and it functions beautifully when your team wants steady ranged harassment without fully committing to sniper play. It misses S because BR33 is simply more universal as a top-tier precision anchor.
Twin Tap HBR
Twin Tap HBR is the precision rifle you pick when you want strong mid-to-long range pressure without giving up too much fight rhythm. It does not have BR33’s status as the cleanest do-everything precision weapon, but it is an excellent alternative if you like a more deliberate burst pattern and you value consistency over flash.
V99 Channel Rifle
V99 Channel Rifle has real S-tier clips inside it. The problem is that it asks for a more specific pace of play. If you love holding scope time, staging an ambush, and cashing in one huge charged shot, it can feel incredible. It drops into A because Longshot and Outland are easier to keep valuable across more ordinary engagements.
Impact HAR
Impact HAR is the AR for players who want the class to feel closer to a precision rifle. It handles midrange pressure extremely well and feels cleaner at distance than many automatics, but it pays for that with slower close-range recovery. That trade keeps it just under M77 as the safest AR recommendation, not because it is weak, but because it is slightly less forgiving when fights suddenly compress.
B Tier Marathon Weapons Good Enough To Use, Not Good Enough To Trust First
B tier is the biggest band in Marathon because the sandbox is not full of unusable junk. Plenty of weapons here can win. They just need more context, cleaner hands, or a better pairing than the guns above them.
B Tier Breakdown
| Weapon | Why It Works | Why It Is Not Higher | Best Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardline PR | Very stable long-range precision option with clean recoil and honest output. | It lives in the same class as BR33, Stryder, and Twin Tap, so it struggles to stand out as the first choice. | Low Drama Range Play |
| Repeater HPR | Huge punch and serious threat if you like deliberate long-range shots. | The slower rhythm and reload behavior make it less universal than the best precision rifles. | Patient Peek Game |
| V66 Lookout | Respectable medium-to-long range control with a satisfying precision profile. | Useful, but rarely the cleanest answer once better precision rifles are on the table. | Ranged Support |
| BRRT SMG | Perfectly usable light-round SMG that handles close fights well enough. | Bully owns the class ceiling, and BRRT does not do enough outside that shadow to climb higher. | Backup Aggression |
| Demolition HMG | The strongest machine gun pick for players who want sustained fire and area control. | Machine guns as a class still feel clunkier and more committal than the current tier leaders. | Lane Pressure |
| Magnum MC | The safest pistol recommendation if you want the category to hit hard and feel respectable. | It is still a pistol in a sandbox where your first slot usually wants to solve more than “respectable.” | Emergency Finisher |
| V11 Punch | Clean single-shot rhythm and better feel than its class reputation suggests. | This is the hardest pistol to place because some rankings love it and others crush it. I do not trust it enough to put it higher than B. | Volatile Choice |
| V00 Zeus RG | The best railgun baseline thanks to faster charge behavior and true headshot payoff. | Railguns still ask you to play a railgun game. That playstyle tax matters in Marathon. | Charge Peek Specialist |
| Overrun AR | Functional, straightforward, and rarely a disaster if you just need a normal AR. | It has no standout edge once the better automatics are available. | Simple Fallback |
| V22 Volt Thrower | Decent fire rate and a usable identity against mobile targets and general PvE pressure. | Not enough duel authority to compete with the best SMGs in serious loadouts. | Utility Close Range |
| Retaliator LMG | It can still do work when you want sustained fire and a forgiving magazine. | Too clunky and too low impact compared with top rifles, shotguns, and snipers. | Only If You Like LMGs |
C And D Tier Marathon Weapons The Guns That Need A Very Specific Excuse
Low tier does not mean literally unusable. It means the weapon needs too many things to go right before it looks better than the options above it. In a loot-based extraction shooter, that is a big problem because the best weapon is often the one that asks the fewest questions under pressure.
Conquest LMG
Conquest LMG is not broken. It is just trapped in a class that already struggles to justify the slot, and it does not bring enough upside to escape that gravity.
Copperhead RF
If you hit the right close-range heads, Copperhead RF can look much better than its tier. The issue is how narrow that success window is compared with Bully and the better close-range options.
V75 Scar
V75 Scar has a cool hybrid identity and some players genuinely enjoy how it handles, but enjoying it is not the same thing as ranking it high. The latest fix helps one specific mag interaction, not the weapon’s overall place in the broader meta.
Ares RG
Ares RG has real damage, but it loses the value argument too often. If you want charge weapons, V00 Zeus is the safer bet. If you want long-range dominance, the top snipers are easier to justify.
CE Tactical Sidearm
The CE Tactical Sidearm is not a weapon you plan around. It is the sidearm you accept when your kit is temporary or your expectations are already low. In a sandbox where even B tier weapons can still do real work, this is the one gun I least want defining the fight.
Do Not Confuse “Fun” With “High Tier”
Marathon has excellent gunfeel, which means plenty of lower-tier weapons still feel satisfying. That does not automatically make them strong build-around choices when the lobby starts getting expensive.
Best Marathon Weapons By Category The Safest Picks For Each Class
If you do not care about the whole board and just want the best gun in each class, this is the fast reference that matters most.
Assault Rifles
M77 is the safest full-auto AR overall. Impact HAR is the better pick if you value harder midrange pressure more than emergency close-range forgiveness.
Shotguns
WSTR owns the pure point-blank burst crown. Misriah 2442 is the more forgiving elite shotgun and the easier recommendation for most players.
SMGs
Bully is the one SMG with true top-tier weight behind it. BRRT is fine, but it does not match Bully’s close-to-midrange authority.
Precision Rifles
BR33 is the most universal precision rifle. Twin Tap is the cleaner backup if you want strong controlled bursts without full sniper commitment.
Sniper Rifles
Longshot is the best overall sniper because it punishes hard while staying forgiving enough to keep active in real fights.
Machine Guns
If you insist on running a machine gun, Demolition HMG is the cleanest choice. The class itself still trails the better rifles and shotguns.
Railguns
V00 Zeus RG is the railgun I would actually trust first. Ares RG has damage, but too often feels like the harder way to do a sniper’s job.
Pistols
Magnum MC is the safest pistol pick. V11 Punch has a wider range of opinions around it, which is another way of saying it is less stable as a recommendation.
Best Marathon Loadouts Four Pairings That Actually Make Sense
Because Marathon lets any weapon occupy either slot, the real question is not just “what is the best gun?” It is “what pair creates the fewest bad fights?” These four are the cleanest starting points for different playstyles.
Primary Pairing
This is the cleanest “I want to force the fight my way” setup in the current sandbox. WSTR handles the instant room-clear moment. BR33 covers the ugly middle where a lot of aggressive loadouts normally fall apart.
Who It Fits
Perfect if you are the first body through the door, the one taking the initiative on a third party, or the one who wants a midrange answer that does not dilute the close-range plan.
Primary Pairing
This is the best “normal player, real lobby, no nonsense” duo in the article. Misriah gives you trustworthy close-range stopping power while M77 keeps every ordinary fight from becoming awkward or undergunned.
Who It Fits
Use this if you want one pairing that survives third parties, bad terrain, and chaotic spacing without needing perfect aim discipline to stay valuable.
Primary Pairing
Longshot opens, cracks, and punishes movement. Bully protects you the moment teams close the distance. It is the cleanest pairing for players who like controlling the fight early without becoming helpless once the crash begins.
Who It Fits
Great for squad overwatch, punished rotates, and teams that want to hurt opponents before the real push starts rather than after it.
Primary Pairing
This is the thoughtful player’s loadout. Outland gives you bigger first-shot punishment, and Twin Tap keeps pressure on teams that refuse to give you a clean second sniper angle. The result is slower than the flashier pairings above, but extremely coherent.
Who It Fits
Ideal if you prefer discipline, first-shot value, and lane control over all-out brawl pace. It is not the easiest build, but it is one of the sharpest.
What Update 1.0.5 Changed The Balance Notes That Matter For Weapons
If you have been watching launch-week clips or older impressions, this section matters. Bungie directly touched multiple named weapons in Update 1.0.5, and one of those changes is big enough to affect how people read the top of the meta.
Shorter Practical Reach
The point-blank damage fantasy is still intact. What changed is how much free value the weapon gets when you start stretching range. WSTR is still S tier. You just need to play the correct distance now.
Minor Recoil Clean-Up
This is not a tier-jumping buff by itself, but it reinforces why Misriah remains such a trustworthy shotgun. The floor stays clean and the role stays clear.
Better Suppressed Mod Value
The Lockout Muzzle Brake prestige mod now also suppresses fire. That does not change BR33’s ranking by itself, but it makes an already elite weapon more attractive for stealthy pressure builds.
No Power Drop
Longshot only received a mod-related fix, not a real performance nerf. That is why it remains the safest sniper at the top of the list.
Specific Mag Interaction Fixed
The Ram-Page Mag turret ricochet issue is gone, but one bug fix does not automatically create a full tier rise. The broader matchup problems are still there.
Cooldown Added
The new 3.5-second cooldown matters mostly because it tones down one of the more abusive WSTR-adjacent loops people were enjoying. That indirectly cleans up the top end of the shotgun meta.
How To Use A Marathon Weapon Tier List Correctly The Mistakes That Waste Good Guns
The biggest mistake people make with weapon tier lists is treating the letter grade like the whole story. In Marathon, your range identity matters almost as much as the weapon itself. If you hate charge timing, a high-ceiling railgun will still be worse for you than a safer A-tier rifle. If you take bad close-range fights, even the best sniper in the game stops feeling elite.
The second mistake is overvaluing clip potential. V85 Circuit Breaker and V99 Channel Rifle both have moments where they look flat-out broken. That does not make them the first recommendation for everyone. A truly top-tier Marathon gun is not just scary in the best case. It is reliable in the fights that happen every single run.
A Tier Can Be Better Than S Tier For You
If your aim, shell choice, and fight rhythm line up better with M77, Outland, or Twin Tap than they do with a charge weapon or a two-shell shotgun, the “lower” pick can still be the stronger real-world weapon in your hands.
Your Tier List Still Fails If Your PC Is Inconsistent Why Performance Changes How Weapons Feel
A Marathon weapon tier list assumes your crosshair is where you think it is. If your system hitches every time smoke, tracer fire, and AI collide in one fight, it becomes much harder to tell whether a weapon is weak or your PC is just introducing noise. A lot of players blame a gun when the real issue is recurring micro stutters.
That matters even more for Longshot, BR33, V99, and any weapon that relies on tight burst rhythm or clean follow-up shots. If you are not sure what a realistic target looks like for your rig, it helps to anchor expectations against a practical definition of good FPS for gaming instead of chasing a menu number that collapses in actual fights.
And if late-match hitching only shows up after a few raids or longer sessions, it is worth sanity checking your RAM setup for gaming. Some weapons feel “inconsistent” simply because your frame pacing gets uglier the longer the session goes on.
Conclusion
The safest best weapons in Marathon right now are WSTR Combat Shotgun, Misriah 2442, Longshot, BR33 Volley Rifle, and Bully SMG. That is the core I trust most if the goal is to build a tier list that survives real matches instead of just reading well in a spreadsheet.
If you want one loadout recommendation that covers the broadest slice of the game, start with Misriah 2442 + M77 Assault Rifle for flexibility or WSTR Combat Shotgun + BR33 Volley Rifle if you play aggressively and want more raw fight control. If long sightlines are your thing, Longshot is still the cleanest long-range carry weapon in the sandbox.
Most importantly, do not flatten Marathon into “S tier good, everything else bad.” The sandbox is much better than that. But if you are asking which guns deserve the most trust when the raid gets expensive, the answer starts at the top of this article and gets less stable the farther you move down the board.
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What are the best weapons in Marathon right now
The safest top-end weapons in Marathon right now are WSTR Combat Shotgun, Misriah 2442, Longshot, BR33 Volley Rifle, and Bully SMG. Those are the least controversial elite picks because they combine raw fight-winning power with real loadout value.
What is the best shotgun in Marathon
WSTR Combat Shotgun is the best pure burst shotgun in Marathon. If you want a more forgiving elite shotgun with a less punishing rhythm, Misriah 2442 is the best alternative and often the better pick for normal players.
What is the best sniper in Marathon
Longshot is the best overall sniper in Marathon because it combines high punishment with better follow-up forgiveness than the more committal alternatives. Outland hits harder, and V99 Channel Rifle has a nasty ambush ceiling, but Longshot is the safest overall recommendation.
Did Update 1.0.5 nerf the WSTR Combat Shotgun
Yes. Bungie redistributed WSTR’s damage falloff so it still keeps near-max damage at point-blank range but loses damage more quickly once you stretch the engagement. It is still S tier, but you need cleaner distance discipline than before.
Is BR33 Volley Rifle better than M77 Assault Rifle in Marathon
As an overall tier list weapon, yes. BR33 Volley Rifle has more meta-defining value because it anchors midrange fights so well. M77 Assault Rifle is still the safer full-auto all-rounder, so it can be the better practical pick if that is the gun type you trust most.
Are railguns worth using in Marathon
Yes, but only if you genuinely like charge-based play. V00 Zeus RG is the safest railgun recommendation because it gives you real payoff without feeling as awkward as Ares RG. The category still asks more from your positioning and timing than the best snipers do.
What is the best Marathon weapon for solo players
For solo players, Misriah 2442 and BR33 Volley Rifle are the easiest core to trust. Misriah stabilizes chaotic close fights, while BR33 covers the midrange where solos often need to correct for bad spacing without help.
Are B tier weapons bad in Marathon
No. B tier in Marathon usually means playable and sometimes genuinely strong, just not the most universal or trustworthy choice when your vault gives you better options. The sandbox is broad enough that many B tier weapons still have real uses.
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