CS2 Weapon Tier List (2025) – What are the meta weapons?

In Counter Strike 2, the weapon you equip can be the difference between living and dying. If you select one of the better guns in the game, you'll have a much stronger chance of staying alive during a gunfight, assuming you can hit your shots. However, if you select the wrong weapon and go up against an opponent with a top-tier gun, you have much weaker odds of coming out unscathed. To ensure you always have the right weapon in your hands in CS2, you'll need to look at a weapon tier list.

The tier list ranks every weapon in CS2 to show you exactly where it falls against all the other weapons you can purchase. This way, you know how strong a certain weapon is before purchasing it with your hard-earned cash.

As always, a tier list is mostly rooted in opinion, but there are some rankings that aren't really up for debate given the history behind the weapons in Counter Strike. You can see our tier list and some explanations for why weapons are put where they are below.

The tier list will be categorized by the following tiers: S, A, B, C, D, F. The tiers go from strongest to weakest, so if a weapon falls in S-tier, then it's considered one of the best weapons in CS2. However, if a weapon is in F-tier, you generally want to stay away from it at all costs unless your situation is dire.

We'll list the tier list below, along with headers for each tier that provide more explanation for some of the more noteworthy weapons in the tiers.

S tier is pretty self-explanatory if you've played or watched any Counter Strike, either GO or 2. The AWP is the best sniper rifle and the most dominant weapon in the entire game, while the AK-47 and the M4A4 are the two weapons you'll see the most pop up in the killfeed thanks to their predictable sprays and high damage. All of these weapons are considered the firm meta in competitive play, but one or two weapons from A tier could certainly be included in that category as well.

There are two or three weapons in A tier that you could consider purchasing when you have enough cash to buy anything you want in CS2. The M4A1-S is the suppressed version of the M4A4, and some players absolutely swear by it over its S tier counterpart, regardless of what side they're on during a match.

Moving down the line, both the Desert Eagle and the MP9 are fantastic secondaries that many players like to carry or use as a primary during their high-eco rounds. Other weapons in A tier, such as the FAMAS and the USP-S, are also strong weapons that are perfect choices when you don't want to blow a ton of cash on the stronger weapons in CS2.

B tier is where things start to get a little subjective. The weapons in this category are ones you'll rarely see in competitive play, and they more or less come down to whether a certain player enjoys using them or not. Weapons such as the P90, MAC-10, and Tec-9 can be solid options in the right hands, but you'll hear some players say all of them belong in D or F tier.

B tier is full of weapons like that, and it comes down to whether you excel with one of the weapons or not. Just because a weapon is in B tier or a lower one doesn't mean they're not totally worthless if you can find a way to make them work. But maybe don't pull out the MP7 during a crucial round in CS2 unless that's all you can afford.

Now we're starting to get into the tiers that you generally want to avoid unless you're desperate for a usable weapon or you find it on the ground and want to save some cash the next round. There are mostly pistols in C tier, with the Five Seven, Dual Berettas, and CZ75 all usually a worse choice than some of the other pistols we've talked about in the higher tiers.

However, there are some weapons in C tier, like the SCAR-20, that some players do choose to use even in competitive play. Once again, if you can make the weapon work for you, then don't worry about what tier we've put it in. For the masses, though, the weapons in C tier are usually going to be outclassed by the weapons above it.

There's not a ton of room for debate with the weapons in D tier and below. While some players still love using the PP Bizon or the MP5, these weapons simply aren't that good, no matter what mode you're playing, what side you're on, or the situation in-game. However, the weapons in D tier aren't the absolute worst choices in CS2; we have a special tier for those unique weapons.

F tier consists of two weapons: the Sawed Off and the R8 Revolver. Please don't try to use either of these weapons in a competitive match unless your entire team is on board with the choice and you really don't care whether you win or lose. Both weapons are absolutely atrocious and should only be used as a joke or if you're simply trying to push your CS2 skills to the limit.

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