Valorant Guardian tier list: All skins ranked from best to worst

The Valorant Guardian is one of the most powerful middle-cost guns in Riot Games' shooter. It is known for its high accuracy, one-shot headshot kills, and high wall penetration. The semi-automatic powerhouse is relatively less mobile than other rifles in the title, like the Phantom and the Vandal. However, it offers a much higher accuracy.

This often makes the Guardian an attractive choice for players who cannot afford the Vandal in Valorant, which costs 2900 credits. The Guardian is priced at 2,250 credits in the game.

This article ranks some of the best Valorant Guardian skins in a tier list.

Note: This tier list is subjective and solely reflects the opinions of the writer

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Valorant Guardian skins tier list

S tier

Sovereign Guardian (Image via Riot Games)

The S-tier Valorant Guardian skins are some of the most sought-after cosmetics in the game. They have brilliant finishers, kill sounds, and visual effects. Some of them are also incredibly expensive due to their high quality.

Here are the Guardian skins that fall under the S tier:

• Ruination
• Sovereign
• Spectrum
• RGX 11z Pro
• Prime

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A tier

Ruin Guardian (Image via Riot Games)

The A-tier consists of skins that have interesting finishers and effects but pale in comparison to their S-tier counterparts. While some of these skins are amazing, they are better suited to the Vandal or Phantom rather than the Guardian.

Here are the Guardian skins that fall under the A tier:

• Gaia's Vengeance
• Magepunk
• Neptune
• Oni
• Reaver
• Recon
• Soulstrife
• Ruin
• Reverie

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B tier

Ego Guardian (Image via Riot Games)

The B-tier Valorant Guardian skins may not necessarily have a lot of animation incorporated into them. This means an absence of kill effects, finishers, and any other special audio or visual effects. However, some of these cosmetics do provide players with variants.

Here are the Guardian skins that fall under the B tier:

• Ego
• Immortalized
• Guardrail
• 9 Lives
• Infinity
• Starlit Odyssey
• Moondash
• Intergrade

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C tier

POLYfox Guardian (Image via Riot Games)

The Valorant Guardian skins in the C tier are not very popular among fans of the game. Most of them are offered in the battle pass and come from the Select or Deluxe classes. They also do not offer any variants or special effects.

Here are the Guardian skins that fall under the C tier:

• Aero
• Jigsaw
• Nitro
• Shellspire
• Silhouette
• Deluxe Songsteel
• Tacti-Series
• VALORANT GO! Vol. 1
• MK.VII Liberty
• Infantry
• POLYfox
• Starlit Odyssey
• Blush
• Fortune's Hand

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D tier

Spitfire Guardian (Image via Riot Games)

The D-tier Guardian skins cannot compete with those in higher tiers because they offer no variants, have color schemes that aren't popular, and simply lag behind in terms of overall aesthetics.

Here are the Guardian skins that fall under the D tier:

• Spitfire
• Signature
• Panoramic
• Hydrodip
• Tethered Realms
• Nebula
• Abyssal
• Galleria

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Is the Guardian optimal over other rifles?

The Valorant Guardian is an amazing rifle, but it has its limitations. First of all, it is a semi-automatic weapon, which puts it behind the likes of the Phantom and Vandal.

This is a major limitation, but in return, the Guardian offers unmatched accuracy and stability. You don't have to worry as much about recoil since it does not provide the player with automatic fire to begin with.

That being said, the Guardian still has more wall penetration than either of the aforementioned rifles and many other automatic weapons on the buy menu. This feature makes it a very well-suited weapon for Sova and even post-nerf Cypher. This is because both Agents can benefit from wall-banging opponents after scanning their positions.

Cypher can see opponents through walls with his trapwire, while Sova can easily launch a recon dart to achieve the same.

Mastering the Guardian is a matter of skill. Spraying with this weapon is technically impossible, so it may be difficult to compete against an opponent spraying down a Spectre in close range.

The Valorant Guardian gun also has a smaller magazine than the other rifles in the game. While the Phantom and the Vandal offer 30 and 25 bullets, respectively, the Guardian only offers 12 bullets.

Thus, the Guardian has its benefits and limitations. It's a viable option during lower buy rounds, but some may find the Bulldog in Valorant to be a more suitable weapon instead.

This is because the Bulldog costs 2,050 credits, making it cheaper than the Guardian. It also offers automatic fire with sights down and a burst fire mode with aiming sights activated. However, it does not offer the Guardian's one-headshot kill at range.