Loot Guide
Fortnite Weapon Rarity Explained
Every rarity tier in Fortnite from grey to mythic, including color codes, stat differences, and the best ways to find higher-tier weapons.
Rarity Tiers Overview
Seven distinct rarity tiers exist in Fortnite. Each tier has a color, stat multiplier, and approximate drop frequency.
Common
The lowest rarity tier. Common weapons are everywhere on the map in floor loot, barrels, and basic chests. Reliable for early game, quickly replaced.
Stats: Baseline
Frequency: Very common
Uncommon
A small but meaningful step up from grey. Green weapons are reliable early picks and hold their own until you find something better.
Stats: +5% damage over Common
Frequency: Common
Rare
Blue is where most competitive mid-game loadouts start. Solid stats, worth keeping through the mid-circles.
Stats: +10% damage over Common
Frequency: Moderate
Epic
Purple weapons are endgame capable. Chests, Supply Drops, and upgrade benches are your best sources for Epic tier.
Stats: +15% damage over Common
Frequency: Uncommon
Legendary
Gold is the top of the standard rarity system. Hard to find, immediately noticeable, and worth prioritizing in any loadout.
Stats: +20% damage over Common
Frequency: Rare
Exotic
Exotic weapons are above Legendary but below Mythic. They often have unique effects not found on standard rarities. Found from specific NPCs or special loot sources.
Stats: Varies (unique effects)
Frequency: Very rare
Mythic
The highest rarity in Fortnite. Mythic weapons have the best stats, distinct visual effects, and often unique mechanics. In Reload, they drop from chests and Supply Drops at rates as low as 1 in 7,000.
Stats: +25% damage over Common, unique effects
Frequency: Extremely rare
How Rarity Affects Weapon Stats
Each rarity tier adds roughly 5 percent damage over the tier below. This compounds across a full loadout. A Legendary AR deals about 20 percent more damage per shot than a Common AR of the same type. In a game where shotgun fights can swing on single digits of health, rarity differences matter.
Accuracy also scales with rarity. Higher-rarity weapons have tighter bloom, meaning your shots land closer to where you're aiming. At Common, hipfire spread is visibly wider than at Legendary. In close-range fights this is less noticeable. At medium-to-long range the difference is significant.
Reload speed and magazine size generally stay constant across rarities for the same weapon type. The gains are focused on damage, accuracy, and effective range.
| Rarity | Color | Damage vs Common | Example Drop Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Common | Grey | Baseline | Floor loot |
| Uncommon | Green | +5% | Floor loot, basic chests |
| Rare | Blue | +10% | Chests, barrels |
| Epic | Purple | +15% | Named POI chests, upgrade benches |
| Legendary | Gold | +20% | Supply Drops, dev chests |
| Exotic | Teal | Unique | NPCs, special sources |
| Mythic | Gold particles | +25% + unique effects | Rare chests, Supply Drops |
How to Find Higher-Rarity Weapons
Supply Drops
Supply Drops have a separate, more generous loot table weighted toward Legendary and above. In Reload, they spawn more frequently and should be tracked from the first circle. Reaching a Supply Drop before another squad is one of the most reliable ways to secure top-tier loot.
Upgrade Benches
Upgrade Benches let you spend Gold Bars to advance a weapon up one rarity tier, from Common to Uncommon, all the way to Legendary. You cannot upgrade to Mythic. If you find a strong weapon early and have enough materials, upgrading is more reliable than hoping to find a higher-rarity version in a chest.
Boss Fights and Mythic Locations
In standard Battle Royale, boss characters at named POIs drop Mythic weapons on elimination. These are the most reliable Mythic sources in BR. In Reload, Mythics are chest-pool drops with no boss fight requirement, which changes the strategy entirely toward volume and Supply Drop routing.
Dev Chests
Certain map locations spawn developer chests at fixed positions that consistently produce high-tier gear. These are not marked on the in-game map. Map knowledge from playing or watching content like LizardArtist's channel is how you learn these locations. They are among the best consistent sources for Legendary and above.
Rarity in Reload vs Battle Royale
Fortnite Reload changes how the rarity system works in a few key ways. The most significant: there are no boss-based Mythic drops. Every Mythic in Reload comes from the same chest and Supply Drop pool, meaning rarity is pure chance rather than a skill-gated boss fight.
The compressed map and auto-respawn mechanic in Reload also means you open more chests per unit time than in Battle Royale. More chest opens means more chances at high-rarity weapons, which is why Reload is the mode where rare loot hunters focus.
The Reload loot pool is also more curated than the main BR pool. Certain weapons from earlier chapters are kept in rotation in Reload even after being vaulted in BR, including the Heisted weapons and older Mythic variants like Midas' Drum Gun.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the weapon colors in Fortnite?
Fortnite weapons come in seven rarity colors: Grey (Common), Green (Uncommon), Blue (Rare), Purple (Epic), Orange/Gold (Legendary), Teal (Exotic), and Gold with particles (Mythic). Each color represents a tier of power, with Grey being weakest and Mythic being strongest.
What is the rarest weapon rarity?
Mythic is the rarest weapon rarity in Fortnite. Mythic weapons drop at extremely low rates from chests and Supply Drops, roughly 1 in 7,000 odds in Fortnite Reload. They are distinguished by their gold particle effects and unique drop sound.
How much more damage does each rarity do?
Each rarity tier adds roughly 5 percent damage over the tier below it. Common is baseline, Uncommon adds about 5%, Rare about 10%, Epic about 15%, Legendary about 20%, and Mythic roughly 25% over Common, plus unique effects.
Is mythic better than legendary in Fortnite?
Yes. Mythic is the highest rarity tier in Fortnite, above Legendary. Mythic weapons deal more damage, have better accuracy, and often have unique effects not available at lower rarities.
What rarity is gold in Fortnite?
Gold coloring in Fortnite usually refers to Legendary rarity, which has an orange-gold color. Mythic weapons also appear gold but with particle effects and are a separate, higher tier. The distinction: standard gold glow is Legendary, gold with floating particles is Mythic.
Watch the Rare Loot Hunts
LizardArtist hunts the rarest weapons in Fortnite Reload on YouTube. Every mythic, exotic, and dev chest find documented.