Over the past few years, players in GTA Online have evolved: they don’t shoot 9mm rounds anymore; they shoot explosive 5.56mm rounds! Even missions spawn brutes now, so you’re required to have strong firepower. Today, we’ll give you a list of the best rifles (ARs and Snipers) you can use to make your life easier in GTA Online.

What types of weapons are in GTA Online?

• Assault rifles, machine guns, and shotguns
• Pistols and explosives
• Snipers and rocket launchers

Note that some of these weapons require other assets like a Terrorbyte or MOC to unlock, so keep that in mind. Let’s jump right into our list!

7. Assault Rifle

First on our list is the iconic Assault Rifle, available in almost every Grand Theft Auto game. You can’t be a shooter without an AK-47, right?

The Assault Rifle is probably the first rifle you’ll purchase in GTA Online. It does average damage, but the high recoil and low range make it easily replaceable. It wrecks early missions for NPCs and low-level players because they mostly use pistols and submachine guns.

What the Assault Rifle excels at:

• Good starter: excellent for new players
• Cheap: only costs $8000
• Iconic has been in every GTA but Vice City.

 How to get the Assault Rifle:

• Bought from Ammu-Nation
• Bought from the Agency armoury (Added with Contract DLC)
• Bought from the Gun Van

Assault Rifle details:

• This standard assault rifle boasts a large magazine and long-distance accuracy.
• Ammo capacity: 30 rounds (60 with Extended Clip; 100 Drum Magazine)
• Price: $8,550
• Unlocks at Rank: 24

6. Service Carbine

Next is the Service Carbine, based on the famous M16A4. It’s a newly released rifle (part of The Criminal Enterprises) that was initially part of a treasure hunt. Rockstar wanted you to look for its five parts to obtain it.

The Service Carbine has the third highest DPS in the game; it eats players for breakfast. It fires 445 rounds per minute at 34.75 damage per round; this can be used as a massive advantage in PVP due to the forgiving recoil.

What the Service Carbine excels at:

• Good for PVP: excellent DPS
• Free: can be obtained for $0 if all five parts are found.
• 60-round magazines: even improving the DPS

 How to get the Service Carbine:

• Bought from Ammu-Nation
• Bought from the Agency armoury (Added with Contract DLC)
• Bought from the Gun Van
• To unlock the Service Carbine for free, you have to collect five components of the gun from ten possible different crime scenes around Los Santos and Blaine County.

Service Carbine details:

• Description: This season's must-have hardware for law enforcement, military personnel, and anyone locked in a fight to the death with either law enforcement or military personnel
• Ammo capacity: 30 rounds (60 with an extended clip)
• Price: $370,000/FREE

5. Carbine Rifle MKII

Next is the Carbine Rifle MKII, the first MKII variant on our list. Keep in mind that “MKII” is simply a reference to an enhanced version of the weapon through a Weapon Workshop (which can be purchased for your MOC, Kosatka, or Terrorbyte).

The Carbine Rifle is an elegant piece of weaponry; it sounds nice and shoots even nicer. It has excellent accuracy over distance, which makes for easy headshots. The fire rate is high, so you’ll be landing most of your shots most of the time. Combine the heavy barrel with armour-piercing rounds and see how you shred players at 100 feet.

What the Carbine Rifle MKII excels at:

• Accuracy at long range: no bullet is wasted
• High fire rate: perfect for PVP
• Damage output: it deals massive DPS at 33 points per round.

 How to get the Carbine Rifle MKII:

• Buy standard variant from Ammu-Nation
• Purchase a Weapons Workshop
• Upgrade it to MKII through the workshop

Carbine Rifle MKII details:

• Description: Combining long-distance accuracy with a high-capacity magazine, the Carbine Rifle can be relied on to make the hit. Ammo capacity: 20 rounds (specialised ammo) 30 rounds (60 with an extended clip)
• Price: $107,500
• Unlocks at Rank: 42

4. Military Rifle

The Military Rifle is based on the AUG A3 and was added with the Cayo Perico heist update. It’s the middle ground of Assault rifles; you get the best of both worlds: good damage combined with a good fire rate.

The military rifle offers higher damage than the Carbine rifle but lower damage than the Assault Rifle. It also offers a fire rate that isn’t the best in its class, but certainly not the worst. What’s not so good about it is the magazine size; 45 rounds aren’t enough, especially against NPCs.

It’s also pretty expensive; it costs almost $400,000.

What the Military Rifle excels at:

• Damage output: better choice than the Assault Rifle
• Fire rate: shreds at 462 rounds per minute
• Versatile: good for PVP and low-intensity PVE

How to get the Military Rifle:

• Bought from Ammu-Nation
• Bought from the Agency armoury (Added with Contract DLC)
• Bought from the Gun Van

Military Rifle Details:

• Description: This immensely powerful assault rifle was designed for highly qualified, exceptionally skilled soldiers. Yes, you can buy it. 
• Ammo capacity: 30 rounds (45 with an extended clip)
• Price: $397,500

3. Bullpup Rifle MKII

Up next is a community favourite: the Bullpup MKII. Based on the FAMAS, this monster has been shredding lobbies since it came out with the Doomsday heist.

Hear this out: it has the highest Damage Per Second in the rifle class. Combined with a heavy barrel and grip, this gun simply bullies people into passive mode because it maintains good accuracy at fully automatic fire.

What the Bullpup Rifle MKII excels at:

• DPS: highest DPS in a rifle
• High fire rate: perfect for PVP
• Stability: maintains recoil even for far targets

 How to get the Bullpup Rifle MKII:

• Buy standard variant from Ammu-Nation
• Purchase a Weapons Workshop
• Upgrade it to MKII through the workshop

Bullpup Rifle MKII details:

• Description: So precise and exquisite, it's not so much a hail of bullets as a symphony.
• Price: $105,750 (conversion at the workshop)
• Capacity: 20 rounds (specialised ammo), 30 rounds (60 with Extended Clip)

2. Heavy Sniper MKII

The Heavy Sniper MKII is the only sniper on our list, and the only sniper you should care about. Why? It kills a level 100 player with one shot to the chest.

The Heavy Sniper MKII was built for long-range combat for NPCs and players. You can’t win a long-range gunfight even with the best Assault rifle or machine gun, so a sniper rifle is a must-have.

The MKII variant allows you to equip explosive rounds, which make this rifle the single most dangerous weapon in the game. You can one-shot any player or blow up any vehicle within the 1500-metre range. You can also equip a thermal or multiple-zoom scope for better accuracy.

What the Heavy Sniper MKII excels at:

• Damage: normal rounds one-shot anything that lives; explosive rounds blow up anything that moves.
• PVP: mandatory for long-range combat against players
• Versatile: can be used against players, NPCs, cars, planes, or anything else.

 How to get Heavy Sniper MKII:

• Buy standard variant from Ammu-Nation
• Purchase a Weapons Workshop
• Upgrade it to MKII through the workshop

Heavy Sniper MKII details:

• Description: Far away yet always intimate, if you're looking for a secure foundation for that long-distance relationship, this is it.
• Price: $165,375 (conversion at the workshop)
• Capacity: 4 rounds (specialised ammo), 6 rounds (8 with Extended Clip)

1. Special Carbine MKII

The very best rifle in GTA Online, hands down, is the Special Carbine MKII. The entire community uses this mechanical chaos machine for everything: missions, PVP, heists, gang wars, and deathmatches.

This GTA version of the real-life G36C has the second-highest DPS of any rifle, right after the Bullpup MKII. It also has excellent accuracy, low recoil, and good attachments, which make it the perfect death machine for both PVE and PVP. It’s nothing extraordinary, but it does what it does best.

Also, this rifle is the only rifle you can keep at the MKI variant and not feel too far behind because you get to keep the 100-round mag (removed from the MKII for obvious balancing reasons).

What the Special Carbine MKII excels at:

• Damage: better than 90% of the rifles
• PVP: excellent DPS; can be combined with incendiary or armour-piercing rounds for even better performance.
• The perfect rifle for PVE, you can use it from Gerald’s missions all the way to the Doomsday Heist.
• Simple yet so efficient, it has all the nice perks of the other rifles.
• Can be unlocked early and kept as a MKI variant, making it perfect for a starter loadout.

How to get the Special Carbine MKII:

• Buy standard variant from Ammu-Nation
• Purchase a Weapons Workshop
• Upgrade it to MKII through the workshop

Special Carbine MKII details:

• Description: Combining accuracy, manoeuvrability, firepower, and low recoil, this is an extremely versatile assault rifle for any combat situation.
• Price: $135,000. (conversion at the workshop)
• Capacity: 20 rounds (specialised ammo), 30 rounds (60 with Extended Clip)

That’s it for our list; we hope you enjoyed reading it and got a good idea of what your next main rifle will be in GTA Online!

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