Are you curious to know what the best Fortnite pistols are? Throughout the season, you may have seen many players dominating the battle royale using these small but mighty weapons. Pistols can compete with meta weapons like the Striker AR and Hyper SMG at close range, so it's no surprise people keep them in their inventory.
Fortnite is no stranger to vaulting, and sometimes unvaulting, weapons to shake up the meta. But we've compiled a list of the best pistols currently in the game so that you can keep ahead of the curve.
Before we dive in, be sure to check out the Fortnite v28.20 patch notes and the recent Fortnite V-Bucks change, plus we explain how to redeem codes in Fortnite.
Best Fortnite pistols: Chapter 5 Season 1
There are three pistols available in Chapter 5: Season 1. Here’s our ranking from the best to worst. We'll update this guide to reflect the meta as it changes.
Ballistic Shield
click to enlarge
+ 3| Item | DPS | Damage | Magazine Size | Fire Rate | Reload Time | Structure Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballistic Shield | 125.4 | 19 | 15 | 6.6 | 1.8s | 25 |
The Ballistic Shield is a combination of a shield and a pistol. The shield blocks all the incoming damage from bullets and rockets, while the pistol has good potential at close ranges. Players can also charge at opponents and deal 50 damage from the shield while sprinting.
Ballistic Shield has no direct counters, especially in Zero Build. The weapon makes the wielder move slower, which encourages low-skill players to play passively and disrupt the game's flow.
If you face players using Sheild, try to use Cluster Clinger and deal significant damage around or through the shield.
Lock On Pistol
click to enlarge + 3| Rarity | DPS | Damage | Magazine Size | Fire Rate | Reload Time | Structure Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rare | 375 | 25 | 12 | 15 | 1.76s | 20 |
The Lock On Pistol is a fast-firing, semi-automated pistol that can be incredibly powerful in Zero Build. The Lock On Pistol has a unique tracking system that activates once you start aiming. It puts a blue circle on the player and charges up to 4 bullets that will hit the target once you fire the weapon.
Lock On Pistol has the best damage and DPS potential among pistols but requires time to charge, making it difficult to operate. Still, you can use it for taking down opponents in the air, or those that are trying to run away from you.
Ranger Pistol
click to enlarge + 3| Rarity | DPS | Damage | Magazine Size | Fire Rate | Reload Time | Structure Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Common | 158.4 | 24 | 15 | 6.6 | 1.65s | 24 |
| Legendary | 198 | 30 | 15 | 6.6 | 1.35s | 30 |
The Ranger Pistol is a fully automatic pistol with a high fire rate and bullet speed suitable for short and medium ranges. Its recoil can be challenging to control, so it’s best to fire with short bursts. This will let you quickly take down enemies without aiming down sights.
Unlike the Ballistic Shield, the Ranger Pistol doesn't limit movement and can be easily found throughout the map. That makes this pistol a perfect early-game weapon.
There you have it, that's our list of the best Fortnite pistols in Chapter 5: Season 1 of Fortnite. For more Fortnite guides, check out where to find Crash Pad Jr, plus we have the best Fortnite XP map codes ready for you.