Fortnite Season 6 features an all-new crafting system that has players choose between making a primal and a mechanical version of every gun in the game. To do this, players must simply collect either mechanical parts or animal bones and then use those parts on various weapons to choose their path: Primal or mechanical.

As the dust has settled on the Fortnite Chapter 2: Season 6 weapon meta, we finally have a clear idea of which weapons excel in their primal versions, and which ones excel in their mechanical versions. Here is a tier list ranking all the weapons in Fortnite Season 6.

S-Tier

Primal Shotgun

The Primal Shotgun stands alone, as the single greatest weapon in Fortnite Season 6. The Primal Shotgun is a two-burst shotgun that can be crafted by using animal bones and a makeshift shotgun. 

In practice, this gun is like the double pump strategy from season 3 and 4 returned, but without needing to take up two inventory slots. In close range, literally nothing can beat it. Even with the 20% fire rate reduction that Epic threw on it in the most recent patch, the Primal Shotgun of any rarity can just shred through enemies. 

A-Tier

Assault Rifle 

The old-school, Mechanical Assault Rifle remains one of the best weapons in Fortnite. Lower rarities still provide a solid weapon that can win fights and provide pressure at medium ranges, while the higher rarities of this gun are capable of quickly downing a target with its high level of both accuracy and damage. The Mechanical AR remains a very viable weapon in Fortnite Season 6.

Pump Shotgun

While the Mechanical Pump Shotgun isn’t going to shred through people quite like the Primal Shotgun, it's still a great weapon, especially at higher levels of rarity. This is the weapon that many folks will be familiar with since it hasn’t changed much across Fortnite’s 16 seasons. If you like the Mechanical Pump Shotgun in the past, you are sure to enjoy this weapon now. Just be forewarned, this gun is currently outmatched by its primal counter-part.

Primal Bow

The bows in this season are legitimately good. The Primal Bow can be crafted into several special variants that are capable of launching stink bombs and fire at enemies. At 65 base damage per shot, this gun doesn’t have the highest DPS in the game, but the quietness of the bow makes it useful for achieving stealthy kills on animals and other players alike, making it one of the most important weapons in Season 6. 

Mechanical Bow

The Mechanical Bow has a similar value to the primal bow, in that it allows you to pick up discrete kills on enemies and animals around the map. This bow can be crafted into the Shockwave and Explosive versions, both of which significantly increase the value of this weapon. The Mechanical Bow actually deals slightly more damage than the Primal Bow but shoots slightly slower. So if you're looking for the higher damage model option, choose the mechanical bow.

B-Tier

Primal Rifle

The Primal Rifle isn’t bad by any means, but its lower level of accuracy makes it a worse option than the mechanical AR for many situations. Assault rifles rely on their accuracy and consistent damage to get the job done, so while the Primal Rifle's upgraded damage model makes it a real threat in medium-close ranges, it will struggle to win gunfights at more extended ranges where AR's should shine.

Submachine Gun

The standard Mechanical Submachine Gun is a solid gun in Season 6, but it is outshone by the shotguns. SMG’s can be useful in a pinch, or when finishing off a kill, but overall they are B-Tier since there are superior short-range weapons like the Primal and Mechanical shotguns. The SMG will rarely win in an equal match with one of the shotguns in Fortnite Season 6.

Primal SMG

The Primal SMG has more bullets than it's mechanical counter-part, but lacks first shot accuracy, making it a much less precise weapon overall. Its higher DPS, however, helps make up for some of the accuracy drawbacks present in this weapon's design. It won’t compete with the primal shotgun up close, but the primal SMG is still viable in Season 6.

Rocket Launcher

The Rocket Launcher used to be one of the best weapons in Fortnite, before people figured out how to use their builds to keep themselves safe from its explosive damage. You can still use the Rocket Launcher to pick up a cheeky kill from the high-ground or harass the foundation of someone's base, but I don’t find myself picking up a Rocket Launcher too often these days.

C-Tier 

Primal Pistol 

The Primal Pistol is a slow-firing weapon that has one of the lowest DPS in the game. Even the upgraded legendary version of this gun is only capable of dealing 81 DPS. The low damage model alone is enough to turn off most players to this gun. If you can find pretty much any other non-makeshift weapon, you should choose it over the Primal Pistol.

Revolver

The Revolver is a lot like the Primal Pistol, but somehow worse. It can only fire six shots before needing to reload, and even the legendary versions of this gun are close to useless if you can’t consistently land your headshots. You could use a Revolver to harass enemies at range in a pinch, but it’s definitely not a top-tier weapon in Fortnite Season 6.

D-Tier

All of the makeshift weapons

By the very design of Season 6, Epic predetermined that the worst weapons would be the makeshift weapons found throughout the map. These weapons are designed to be upgraded, but in their non-upgraded forms, they are pretty bad against other players. If you only have makeshift weapons in your inventory, you are going to have a bad time in Season 6.

Fortnite season 6 guides:

How to craft weapons in Fortnite Season 6

Every crafting recipe in Fortnite Season 6