Lobbystrike weapons guide: the best guns in every class

Lobbystrike has 22 guns in seven classes. None of them is a trap, but they are not equal either, and the right one depends on the map more than on the numbers.

The stat tables on this page are not typed by hand. They are read from the game's own weapon definitions every time the site is built, so they match what is in the game.

How to read the numbers

• Damage is per bullet at close range, to the body. Shotguns fire nine pellets, so multiply.
• Rounds per minute is how fast the gun cycles. For bolt-actions it is the pace of working the bolt.
• Magazine is the standard size. An extended magazine adds about a third.
• Reload is in seconds, without an extended magazine.

In Team Deathmatch and Free-for-all you have 125 health and a light vest. Other modes use their own rules: Hardcore gives you 30 health, and One in the Chamber makes every hit a kill.

Assault rifles

The default choice, and for good reason. An assault rifle works at every range an arena map has.

Our pick: M416. It sits in the middle of the group on recoil, fire rate and range, and has nothing it is bad at. Learn its pattern first. The AKM hits harder per bullet but kicks sideways, so it pays off for players who tap or burst. The Groza has the AKM's damage at a higher fire rate and is the best rifle at close range, if you can hold it down. The AUG A3 is the most accurate, kicks the least and comes with a 2x optic as standard. The SCAR-L is the calm one: slowest of the 5.56 rifles, easiest to keep on target.

SMGs

SMGs let you move a little faster, and of the primary weapons they come up quickest out of a sprint. They lose badly past medium range, and they only go through the thinnest cover.

Our pick: UMP45 for a first SMG, because its recoil is mild and its range is the longest in the class. The Vector and Micro UZI shred up close and empty a magazine in just over a second. Take an extended magazine or accept that you will be reloading in the open.

Shotguns

Nine pellets a shot. Inside a building, nothing is faster. In a street, nothing is worse.

Our pick: S12K. Semi-automatic with eight shells, it forgives a miss. The S686 has the hardest hit and only two shells, which is plenty if you land them and a problem if you do not. The S1897 is the pump-action all-rounder.

Machine guns

Slow to raise, slow to reload, slow to walk with. In return you get a belt that lasts a whole fight and rounds that go through walls.

Our pick: M249 for holding a lane or a hardpoint: 100 rounds means you can shoot through the wall someone just ducked behind and still have enough for the next person. The DP-28 hits harder per bullet with less than half the ammunition. Never reload either of them where you can be seen.

Marksman rifles

Semi-automatic, scoped, and happiest at the ranges where assault rifles start to struggle. Excellent on the multi-storey maps and on the islands.

Our pick: Mini 14. Twenty rounds, light recoil and a fast follow-up shot. The SKS does more damage per hit, with a stronger headshot bonus, from a ten-round magazine.

Sniper rifles

Bolt-action. One shot, then a pause while you work the bolt, so the shot has to count. In Team Deathmatch the M24 and AWM kill with a hit to the head or upper chest.

Our pick: M24. It is quicker to cycle than the AWM and nearly as deadly. The AWM has the most damage and range in the game and the slowest bolt. The Kar98k is the classic with an 8x scope as standard. There is a whole mode for these: Snipers Only, 4v4, no sidearms.

Pistols

Your sidearm matters more than you think, because switching to it is faster than reloading.

Our pick: Deagle. It does about twice the damage of the others per shot. The P18C is fully automatic and works as a pocket SMG. The P92 has the biggest magazine of the semi-automatic pistols and is the easiest to shoot.

Attachments

You fit attachments per gun in the armory. Each one makes the gun slightly slower to aim, so do not fill every slot by habit.

A muzzle takes one device, so it is suppressor or compensator, not both. Not every gun has every slot: pistols, shotguns and sniper rifles take no grip, and a few guns have no muzzle or magazine option. Modes that hand you the guns, such as Gun Game and Gunfight, use them bare.

Optics

Press T to cycle sights: red dot, 2x, 3x, 4x, 6x, 8x, then iron sights. Pistols go up to 2x. While scoped you can also scroll to adjust the zoom.

• Red dot or 2x for arenas. Anything more and you lose sight of what is next to you.
• 3x or 4x on a marksman rifle, and on an assault rifle for the multi-storey maps.
• 6x or 8x for sniper rifles and the islands. From 3x up, hold Shift to steady the scope for a few seconds. Run out of breath and the sway gets worse.

Three loadouts to start with

Where to take them is covered in the maps guide. The quickest way to learn a gun is a private room with a few bots on Easy: see practising with bots. And if you want a mode that walks you through 15 of them in one match, play Gun Game.

Questions and answers