WEAPON TIER LIST

Weapons are ranked by simulated full-fight DPS contribution rather than by raw stat alignment. The scoring engine pairs each weapon with the operator best positioned to use it, runs the operator's full rotation against a standardised endgame combat scenario, and records the total damage dealt over the scenario window. The weapon's tier is the result of that simulation: a high tier means the weapon meaningfully lifts an operator's damage ceiling on at least one current endgame fight; a low tier means even with the right operator, the weapon underperforms equivalent-rarity alternatives.

Tiers are not stable across patches — a balance change to an operator's scaling, a new boss with a different damage profile, or a rebalance of weapon passives can move tiers in either direction. The list is re-baked after every major patch and after any rebalance that touches the involved weapons or operators. The "last updated" line at the top of the page is the authoritative freshness signal for the current tier ordering.

Why simulation beats substat-only ranking

The weapon recommender ranks weapons by how well their two substats align with an operator's stat priority list — a fast proxy that ignores weapon active-skill effects. The tier list on this page accounts for those active skills, which are usually the dominant damage contributor at the high end. A Tier 1 weapon with a perfectly synergistic passive can out-DPS a higher-stat alternative whose passive does not align with the operator's rotation; the tier list captures that, the stat-alignment score cannot.

Reading the tier ladder

• S Tier — meta-defining weapons. Either a signature weapon for a current top-meta operator with a passive that lifts the operator's ceiling by 15%+, or a generic weapon that slots into multiple top-meta builds. Worth pulling for if you have the operator who scales best off it.
• A Tier — strong weapons that lift one specific operator into top-tier performance. Slightly narrower scaling than S-tier picks. Worth a single pity-guaranteed pull but not a deep investment.
• B Tier — solid alternatives. These weapons enable specific build paths or cover an operator's secondary stats well, but do not move the operator's ceiling significantly. Pull only as a side-effect of pulling for a featured operator on the same banner.
• C Tier and below — included for completeness. Either superseded by newer weapons or only viable on early-progression content. Standard pool weapons in these tiers are still fine on early operators.

Banner cycle context

Standard-pool weapons appear on every weapon banner and can be wished for at any time; their tier ranking reflects their general utility across the roster. Limited weapons appear only on featured-banner reruns, usually tied to a specific operator's banner window. A Limited weapon's tier ranking assumes you also have (or will have) the signature operator to pair it with — if you do not own the signature operator, the Limited weapon's effective tier drops because most of its passive value depends on the pairing.

When to pull for a weapon

The community consensus pull priority is: operator first, then 6★ generic weapon, then signature weapon. A 6★ operator without a signature weapon typically performs at 75–85% of a fully kitted build; a 6★ signature weapon on the wrong operator is often weaker than a well-chosen 5★ alternative. Signature weapons matter most when you have already invested heavily into the signature operator (E2 or E4 promotion) and want to push competitive Cinder Arsenal timer challenges. For most players, the practical sweet spot is one signature weapon per main DPS, then breadth over depth on supporting roles.