Rivals Summer Update Weapon Tier List: Sniper is Back, Minigun Nerfed!

A few weeks into the Rivals Summer Update, and the meta is still completely upside down.

Some guns that used to shred are suddenly hitting like wet noodles, and weapons everyone forgot about are straight-up dominating the lobby.

I've been grinding the update nonstop since it released, testing out all the weapon balance changes in 1v1s and casual matches. Here's my primary weapon tier list after getting beamed (and beaming people back) for the last few weeks. And, you can also redeem the latest Rivals codes to upgrade them.

S-Tier: Absolute Monsters (Use These Before They Get Nerfed)

Paintball Gun

The Verdict: Unquestionably the most OP weapon in Rivals right now.
My Experience: Don't let the patch notes fool you. Yes, they slightly reduced its hitbox, but they buffed the projectile speed through the roof. The projectile speed was literally the only thing holding this monster back before! Now, you barely even have to lead your shots. I'm melting people across the map before they can even pull out their secondary. It's dirty. If you have it, abuse it right now.

Sniper

The Verdict: THE KING IS BACK.
My Experience: Remember when the devs nerfed the Sniper and everyone swapped to the Crossbow? Well, sniper mains can officially celebrate. They increased the headshot hitbox by 17%, and you can instantly feel it. Hitting headshots suddenly feels natural again (and if you run auto-shoot, it's basically free kills). Getting that crisp 150 headshot damage through a tiny gap in the wall is back to being the most satisfying feeling in the game.

Assault Rifle (AK)

The Verdict: The ol' reliable.
My Experience: The devs didn't touch the AK in this update, and Honestly? Thank god. It's still the most consistent, versatile primary in the game. Close range, mid-range, long range—it just works. When in doubt or when my aim feels off, I always switch back to the AK.

A-Tier: Super Strong (Meta Contenders)

Shotgun

The Verdict: The biggest close-range surprise of the update.
My Experience: I jumped into a tight map on my first game, got pushed by a Shotgun user, and got one-tapped out of nowhere. I had to check the kill feed twice! The damage buff on this thing is insane—hitting up to 120 damage directly to the head at point-blank range. If you like playing hyper-aggressive and rushing people's spawns, this is your new best friend.

Minigun

The Verdict: R.I.P. to my beloved S-tier heavy weight... but still decent.
My Experience: Man, this nerf hurt my soul. They added heavy movement bloom, meaning if you try to strafe or slide while holding down the trigger, your bullets go all over the place like a spray-and-pray mess. You basically have to stand completely still to be accurate, which turns you into a sitting duck against Snipers. The DPS is still crazy high if you catch someone off guard, but it's definitely knocked down a tier.

Flamethrower

The Verdict: Backrooms nightmare fuel.
My Experience: Still an absolute terror on small, cramped maps like Backrooms or Arena. The fire tick damage stacks up ridiculously fast, and using the air-jump blast to boot toxic players off the edge of the map never gets old. Just don't bring it to wide-open maps like Crossroads unless you want to get sniped instantly.

B-Tier: Good, But Has Flaws

Distortion

The Verdict: The most underrated buff of the patch.
My Experience: They changed the black hole pull so enemies get yanked dead into the exact center. This makes lining up follow-up shots or pulling out a Shorty for a quick kill so much easier. Nobody uses this gun because it costs Robux, but if you have it sitting in your inventory, go try it out—it's low-key a sleeper pick now.

Grenade Launcher

The Verdict: Outclassing the RPG.
My Experience: They gave it a bigger splash damage radius in this patch. You don't even need direct hits anymore to chunk half of someone's HP. It's way more forgiving than it used to be.

Burst Rifle

The Verdict: Caught an unnecessary nerf.
My Experience: The reload time got nerfed, and the damage drop-off starts a bit closer now. It’s still usable if you hit your bursts, but it just feels clunky compared to pre-patch.

C-Tier & Below: Skip These Unless You're Flexing

Parafrost (C-Tier): My heart broke a little here. They increased the frozen damage reduction duration. Translation: The classic Parafrost + Shorty combo is officially dead. Freezing someone barely gives you free burst damage anymore.
Crossbow (C-Tier) & RPG (C-Tier): With the Sniper buffed, Crossbow lost its main purpose. And RPG is just a worse Grenade Launcher at this point.
Energy Rifle (D-Tier): Unlimited ammo is nice, but 20 body damage with a slow fire rate? You're going to get out-gunned by literally every free weapon.
Bow & Scepter (F-Tier): Don't do this to yourself. The Bow is still suffering from its old charge nerf, and the Scepter projectiles travel slower than a walking player.

Quick Summary: What Should You Run Right Now?

Aggressive Playstyle: Shotgun / Paintball + Fast Melee
Long-Range / Precision: Sniper + Pistol / Shorty
All-Rounder / Safe Pick: AK (You literally can't go wrong)

What do you guys think of the Summer Update so far? Did your favorite gun get destroyed by the patch notes, or are you abusing the Paintball gun like everyone else? Drop your loadouts below!