Fortnite Guns Guide: Best Weapons, Tier List, and Stats (Treasure Hunters Season)

Fortnite Guns Right Now: The Treasure Hunters Season Meta at a Glance

The Treasure Hunters update reshuffled the loot pool around a pirate-island theme, layering 11 new items on top of a tight core rotation of returning Fortnite guns. That brings the live gun pool to 11 weapons: two assault rifles, three shotguns, two SMGs, three pistols, and one explosive, plus a pile of healing and utility items. Spawn-rate tracking from Fortnite.GG's Battle Royale weapons page confirms the returning core is intact: the Machine SMG, Tactical SMG, Hammer Assault Rifle, Sentinel Pump Shotgun, Auto Shotgun, Flint-Knock Pistol, and Sidearm Pistol are all still live alongside the new arrivals.

The headline additions lean heavily into swashbuckling power: the Gum-Gum Fruit and Flame-Flame Fruit, Usopp's Slingshot, Zoro's Three Sword Style, Nami's Tangerine, and the Gilded Dragoon Shotgun. Day-one impressions from this full ranking of every new Treasure Hunters item suggest one mythic item is already a must-carry — and one legendary shotgun is quietly outclassing the rest of the lobby.

This guide breaks down every Fortnite gun in the current pool, ranks them in a tier list, gives you full damage and DPS numbers, and hands you two ready-made loadouts — one for build mode, one for zero build.

Every Fortnite Gun in the Current Loot Pool

Before ranking anything, here is the complete set of Fortnite guns you can find on the island this season:

• Assault Rifles: Hammer Assault Rifle, Cutlass Assault Rifle (new)
• Shotguns: Sentinel Pump Shotgun, Auto Shotgun, Gilded Dragoon Shotgun (new)
• SMGs: Machine SMG, Tactical SMG
• Pistols: Flint-Knock Pistol, Sidearm Pistol, Usopp's Slingshot (new)
• Explosive: Ship Cannon (new)

Outside the gun categories, the season also adds four non-weapon power and utility items that compete for the same inventory slots: the mythic Flame-Flame Fruit, the mythic Gum-Gum Fruit, Zoro's Three Sword Style, and Nami's Tangerine. They matter to any loadout discussion because they push guns out — the real question every match is which two or three Fortnite guns earn the remaining slots.

Fortnite Guns Tier List: Treasure Hunters Season

Here is how every weapon in the pool stacks up after the first two weeks of the season:

• S-Tier: Gilded Dragoon Shotgun, Flame-Flame Fruit (mythic), Machine SMG
• A-Tier: Hammer Assault Rifle, Sentinel Pump Shotgun, Usopp's Slingshot, Cutlass Assault Rifle
• B-Tier: Auto Shotgun, Tactical SMG, Flint-Knock Pistol, Zoro's Three Sword Style
• C-Tier: Sidearm Pistol, Nami's Tangerine

Why the Gilded Dragoon Shotgun is S-tier: it fires both barrels in a single trigger pull, dealing roughly 108 body damage per discharge at Legendary — enough to one-shot most players in zero build if even one pellet catches the head. Unlike the Sentinel Pump, it has no meaningful follow-up, but with an SMG backing it up, that barely matters.

Why the Machine SMG is S-tier: a 13-round-per-second fire rate and 221 body DPS at Legendary make it the best close-to-mid cleanup tool in the pool, and it pairs perfectly with any one-shot weapon.

The big faller: the Auto Shotgun drops to B-tier. Its DPS is still elite on paper, but damage falloff and a crowded shotgun meta make it strictly worse than the Gilded Dragoon at most ranges.

Fortnite Guns Stats: Damage, DPS, and Mag Size

All values below are at Legendary rarity unless marked. Numbers come from in-game inspection plus community stat sheets, so treat them as a close reference rather than gospel.

A few stat notes that change how you use these Fortnite guns:

• Cutlass Assault Rifle: its gimmick is near-perfect first-shot accuracy while aiming, plus a boosted 1.75x headshot multiplier. It loses a straight spray fight to the Hammer but wins tap-fire duels past 80 meters.
• Usopp's Slingshot: projectiles arc with gravity and there is no damage falloff, so a clean headshot hits for 205 at any range. It is effectively a skill-based sniper disguised as a pistol.
• Gilded Dragoon Shotgun: the two-round magazine looks scary until you remember a full discharge deletes anyone under 110 effective HP in zero build. Reload after every kill and treat it like a heavier pump.
• Ship Cannon: splash damage ignores builds, making it the best anti-turtle tool in the pool even at just three rounds per magazine.

Fortnite Guns Spawn Rates This Season

Approximate share of floor-loot weapon spawns based on current tracking data:

• Hammer Assault Rifle: about 7%
• Sidearm Pistol: about 6%
• Sentinel Pump Shotgun: about 6%
• Machine SMG: about 5.5%
• Auto Shotgun: about 5%
• Flint-Knock Pistol: about 3.5%
• Tactical SMG: about 4%
• Cutlass Assault Rifle: about 2% (Epic and Legendary only)
• Usopp's Slingshot: about 2%
• Gilded Dragoon Shotgun: about 1.5% (Legendary only, weighted toward Buried Treasure caches)

Key takeaway for farming: the Cutlass Assault Rifle and Gilded Dragoon Shotgun do not drop at common or uncommon rarity, so digging Buried Treasure caches — the signature mechanic of this season — is the fastest route to both. The Flame-Flame Fruit spawns as a mythic pickup near the volcano point of interest, while the Gum-Gum Fruit is a rare chest roll across the whole island.

Best Fortnite Guns Loadouts

Zero Build Loadout

1. Gilded Dragoon Shotgun — your one-shot opener
2. Machine SMG — cleanup and close-range pressure
3. Usopp's Slingshot — long-range chip damage with no falloff
4. Flame-Flame Fruit — the must-carry mythic; its flame dash doubles as a rotation and escape tool, and the fireball pressures boxed opponents
5. Chug Splash or Slurp Juice — sustain between fights

This stack gives you an answer at every range: slingshot past 100 meters, SMG inside 20, Gilded Dragoon everywhere in between.

Build Mode Loadout

1. Sentinel Pump Shotgun — reliable one-pump with a real follow-up shot
2. Hammer Assault Rifle — best all-around spray weapon for cracking builds
3. Cutlass Assault Rifle — swap in for tap-fire endgame fights on open ground
4. Ship Cannon — deletes a full box wall in two hits
5. Nami's Tangerine — team-wide healing that keeps your materials for fights instead of farm time

Quick Tips for the New Treasure Hunters Guns

• Lead your slingshot shots. The projectile drops noticeably past 60 meters; aim about half a head height above distant targets.
• Fire the Gilded Dragoon from inside 15 meters. Pellet spread widens fast, and the double discharge rewards committed pushes, not poke damage.
• Save Ship Cannon rounds for structures, not players. Direct damage is good but the structure deletion is why it earns a slot.
• Pair the Flame-Flame Fruit with an SMG. Dash in, burn, then let the Machine SMG finish — the fruit's fireball leaves enemies one SMG burst from dead.

FAQ

What is the best Fortnite gun right now? The Gilded Dragoon Shotgun at Legendary is the strongest individual gun this season thanks to its ~108 damage double discharge, with the Machine SMG close behind for sustained DPS.

How many guns are in Fortnite during the Treasure Hunters season? Eleven: two assault rifles, three shotguns, two SMGs, three pistols, and one explosive (the Ship Cannon), plus four mythic power and utility items.

Is the Gilded Dragoon better than the Sentinel Pump? For raw kill power, yes — but the Sentinel Pump has five rounds and a faster follow-up, so build-mode players may still prefer it if they miss often.

Where do I find the Flame-Flame Fruit? It spawns as a mythic ground pickup near the volcano point of interest and very rarely from high-tier chests. Expect heavy contest there every match.

The Treasure Hunters season rewards aggressive loadouts built around one-shot damage and mythic mobility. Grab the Gilded Dragoon, secure a Fruit, and fill the gaps with the stats above — that is the fastest route to consistent Victory Royales until the next patch shakes the meta again.

Fortnite Sprites: Every Sprite and Ability in the Treasure Hunters Mini Season