What are the best guns and weapons in GTA Online? While you'll be spending a lot of time driving in Los Santos, there are certainly moments where you'll need to engage in combat in order to complete your objectives. And to ensure success in firefights, you're going to want to ensure you have the best guns and weapons in your arsenal. As part of our GTA Online guide, we're going to explain what are the best guns and weapons to use.

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GTA Online: Best Guns and Weapons to Buy

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Unlike most modern shooters, GTA Online allows you to own and carry as many weapons as you want to. You can tweak your loadout using a Gun Locker if you happen to own a property with that Renovation installed. This effectively allows you to Show and Hide various different armaments in your Weapon Wheel.

There are eight slots in GTA Online's Weapon Wheel, each representing a different class of firearm. They are as follows, listed clockwise from the top:

  • Handguns
  • Submachine Guns and Light Machine Guns
  • Assault Rifles
  • Sniper Rifles
  • Melee Weapons
  • Shotguns
  • Heavy Weapons
  • Thrown Weapons

As mentioned previously, you can have as many or as few weapons in each slot as you want, and there is no limit on how many firearms you can carry into battle. Once you've got the Weapon Wheel open, highlight a segment and press the L2 and R2 buttons to toggle through your options in each slot. While you can play however you want to, we'd recommend picking no more than three favourites in each slot.

You can buy most of the weapons in the game from Ammu-Nation stores which are located all over Los Santos. These shops also allow you to Upgrade firearms you own with attachments and purchase Ammo. Alternatively, most Ammo can be acquired from the Interaction Menu under Inventory > Ammo. Some weapons in GTA Online also have Mk II variations, which can be purchased from Weapon Workshops.

How to Get Mk II Weapons

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Select weapons in GTA Online can be upgraded to Mk II with a Weapon Workshop. You can obtain a Weapon Workshop by purchasing the appropriate Renovation or Upgrade for the following Properties or Vehicles:

  • Arena Workshop (Hire the Weapon Expert)
  • Avenger
  • Kosatka
  • Mobile Operations Center
  • Terrorbyte

In total, there are 12 weapons that can be upgraded to Mk II, and a full list is included below. Once you've upgraded a weapon you can toggle between its standard and Mk II variation using a Weapon Workshop if you wish, although this may reset any attachments.

Weapon Upgrade Price
Pistol Pistol Mk II GTA$73,750
SNS Pistol SNS Pistol Mk II GTA$79,575
Heavy Revolver Heavy Revolver Mk II GTA$99,000
Pump Shotgun Pump Shotgun Mk II GTA$82,500
SMG SMG Mk II GTA$85,500
Assault Rifle Assault Rifle Mk II GTA$98,750
Carbine Rifle Carbine Rifle Mk II GTA$107,500
Bullup Rifle Bullup Rifle Mk II GTA$105,750
Special Carbine Special Carbine Mk II GTA$135,000
Combat MG Combat MG Mk II GTA$119,000
Marksman Rifle Marksman Rifle Mk II GTA$149,000
Heavy Sniper Heavy Sniper Mk II GTA$165,375

If you need money to buy these upgrades or the base weapons, then you can find out How to Make Money Fast through the link.

How to Research Ammo Upgrades

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You can equip select Mk II weapons with Ammo Upgrades that are researched in the Bunker. The different types of ammunition you can use are as follows:

  • Incendiary Rounds
  • Hollow Point Rounds
  • Armor Piercing Rounds
  • Full Metal Jacket Rounds
  • Explosive Rounds

Research projects are selected at random in the Bunker and use up Supplies. You can assign your staff to focus on Research if you want to speed up the process, or you can Fast-Track certain Research projects with GTA$. You can find out more about this in our Best Bunker to Buy and How to Get Rich from Gunrunning guide.

GTA Online: Best Handguns

In this section, we're going to list the best Handguns in GTA Online.

AP Pistol

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Extended Clip
36 Rounds

There are far more powerful Handguns available in GTA Online, like the Heavy Revolver Mk II, which you may want to also have equipped. But in terms of the best Handgun, we'd actually recommend you use the AP Pistol with an Extended Clip attached. This is because it's the perfect weapon to use while driving. Pair this with the Karin Kuruma (Armored) and you'll be pretty much unstoppable from behind the wheel.

GTA Online: Best Submachine Guns and Light Machine Guns

In this section, we're going to list the best Submachine Guns and Light Machine Guns in GTA Online.

Combat MG Mk II

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  • Extended Clip: 200 Rounds
  • Grip

With an upgraded capacity of 200 rounds and devastating damage attributes, the Combat MG II is the ultimate spray and pray weapon in GTA Online. Its accuracy isn't bad at mid-range, and against PVE opponents this Light Machine Gun is pretty devastating. It's great at controlling crowds and even cutting through armoured foes. Furthermore, with the Extended Clip you can fire 200 Rounds before reloading.

GTA Online: Best Assault Rifles

In this section, we're going to list the best Assault Rifles in GTA Online.

Special Carbine Mk II

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  • Armor Piercing Rounds: 20 Rounds
  • Heavy Barrel

A good complement to the Combat MG Mk II is the Special Carbine Mk II with Armor Piercing Rounds. While it only packs 20 rounds, you're going to be using this to shred through heavily armoured enemies and then switching to your Combat MG Mk II to take out slightly less armoured foes. The two work well together when setup like this.

GTA Online: Best Sniper Rifles

In this section, we're going to list the best Sniper Rifles in GTA Online.

Heavy Sniper Mk II

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  • Zoom Scope
  • Explosive Rounds: 4 Rounds

The Special Carbine Mk II works well at both long and short distance, so transforming your Heavy Sniper Mk II into a kind of long-range rocket launcher is a lot of fun. While you'll only be able to carry around 46 very expensive bullets with Explosive Rounds attached, it's so much fun to use your sniper rifle slot this way, and it can be devastating when you need to take out large clusters of enemies from far away.

GTA Online: Best Melee Weapons

In this section, we're going to list the best Melee Weapons in GTA Online.

Switchblade

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It really doesn't matter which Melee Weapon you use: just select one you like. We personally like the Switchblade because it packs a lot of power and can be slashed about quite quickly. However, just experiment and select the one you like most.

GTA Online: Best Shotguns

In this section, we're going to list the best Shotguns in GTA Online.

Assault Shotgun

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  • Extended Clip: 32 Rounds
  • Grip

While some may gravitate towards the Pump Shotgun Mk II, we recommend the Assault Shotgun because its high rate of fire. Attach an Extended Clip and Grip to this monster and you can absolutely obliterate enemies in close quarters.

GTA Online: Best Heavy Weapons

In this section, we're going to list the best Heavy Weapons in GTA Online.

Homing Launcher

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In truth, you're going to want pretty much all of the Heavy Weapons equipped, because you'll need to call on them for different scenarios. The Widowmaker, for example, while stupidly expensive, just looks and sounds so cool. But the Homing Launcher is probably the most essential weapon here, as while it's not as powerful as the standard Rocket Launcher, it's effectively a guaranteed hit when used correctly and has great range.

GTA Online: Best Thrown Weapons

In this section, we're going to list the best Thrown Weapons in GTA Online.

Sticky Bombs

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Similarly to the Heavy Weapons, you're probably going to want all of the Thrown Weapons in your inventory. That said, we are particularly fond of the Sticky Bombs, especially in pursuit situations. It's quite easy to attach a Sticky Bomb to a moving vehicle, and then detonate it when you're at a safe distance from it.

What do you think are the best guns and weapons in GTA Online? Check out our GTA Online guide for more information on the game, also be sure to refer to the Best Cars and Vehicles to Buy and Own if you're looking for more ways to spend your money.