Average Day In America ADIA Guns Tier List
Revolvers through rifles ranked for open-world fights — community consensus with practical Verdania notes.
How to read this guns list
This page ranks Average Day In America firearms for open-world PvP across Verdania. Criteria match the Tier List Hub: TTK and head breakpoints, draw speed, fire control after recoil updates, ammo, range, and how hard the gun is to buy or crate. Community tier videos (including the embedded ranking) still describe modern damage and firerate well even when shop coordinates moved — always double-check dealer locations in the weapons guide.
Pair every primary with a plan for close range. When someone sprints a melee weapon into your reload, gun tier alone will not save you. Fund purchases with EBT and jobs from the make money guide before you dump a paycheck into a crate AR you cannot feed.
S tier — buy these when you can
Compact Revolver — Cheap for the power, accurate, and beloved in community notes as a skill-friendly one-tap machine. Excellent first serious sidearm after you outgrow junk pistols.
Heavy Revolver — Brutal head damage and intimidation. Slower cadence than compact options, so missed shots hurt, but a clean peek ends most street duels.
Combat Shotgun — Doorway and bank-hall monster. High body breakpoint at short range; respect the draw time so you are not stuck unequipping during a shove.
Assault Rifle / top crate ARs (Assault Rifle, strong Carbine variants, Service / Infantry when available) — Mag dumps that win mid-range multi-peeks when you have ammo. Expensive and loud; third parties will hear you.
Hunting Sniper / Marksman Rifle — Long Newbury and highway angles. One mistake on a miss and you are exposed, but nothing else holds a sightline like these.
A tier — excellent everyday meta
Revolver (standard) — Fast draw culture favorite; still a top recommendation for players who want reliability without waiting on heavy revolver cash.
Combat Pistol — Community secondary staple. Strong breakpoint for the price band; often preferred over flashy suppressed toys.
Heavy Pistol — High damage semi that rewards aim. Great partner to a shotgun or rifle primary.
Enforcement Pistol (+ suppressed variant for stealth flex) — Budget head-pressure tool. Suppressed looks cool; damage is the same family as base enforcement — do not overpay only for the can unless you value sound discipline.
Auto Pistol / Micro SMG / SMG — Close-mid spray kings for bank rooms and alley sprays. Ammo hungry; fantastic when you already practiced trigger control.
Defense Shotgun — Slightly behind combat shotgun for many fighters but still deletes close targets. Common in Newbury shop talk.
Military Rifle / Semi Carbine / solid semi rifles — Controllable mid-range when full-auto crate guns are out of budget.
B tier — niche or skill-dependent
Semi Mac / Semi Sten — Polarizing. Some players call Sten abysmal; others use Mac as a Newbury shop workhorse. Good if you already like semi cadence.
Compact Pistol — Works with friends and clean aim; lacks the forgiveness of combat pistol for solos.
Compact Rifle — Illegal-shop energy on a budget. Fine until ARs outclass it.
Hunting Rifle / Old Rifle — Situational long arms. Hunting rifle teaches bolt timing; old rifle is a bridge weapon, not an endgame flex.
Patriot / Golden LMG-style heavies (when crate luck hits) — Mag volume is fun, movement and reloads are clumsy in knife range.
C tier — replace ASAP
Duty / “doodie” style starter pistols — Meme energy. Fists plus a plan often beat dumping early cash here.
Ultra-budget pistols with painful shot-to-kill — Keep only until Compact Revolver or Enforcement money lands.
If a gun is missing from a shop after a place swap, check updates and the weapons guide before assuming it was vaulted from the tier list.
Loadout recipes that actually work
- Street starter: Compact Revolver + any light melee + food/bandages.
- Benton chaos: Combat Pistol or SMG + Defense/Combat Shotgun for rooms.
- Heist crew: One shotgun entry, one AR mid, one sniper overwatch — call targets so you do not stack the same tier role.
- Budget grind: Enforcement Pistol while you warehouse and mine; upgrade revolver before crate gambling.
Practical tips beyond the letters
- Pulling a gun inside a gun store can aggro NPCs and players — buy, holster, leave.
- Cars deal mph-scaled damage; sometimes a vehicle beat an S-tier rifle peek.
- Recoil and camera shake added after older tier videos still leave damage ranks mostly intact; your tracking skill matters more now.
- Bank fights favor shotguns and SMGs; open farmland favors rifles and revolvers.
- Store extras in bank storage and cash in ATMs so a death does not erase an S-tier purchase — habits covered in getting started.
Related pages
- Melee tier list — what beats you in shove range.
- Weapons guide — Sei’s, Doug’s, illegal Benton dealer, armories.
- Combat guide — peeks, bleeds, and KO rules.
- Players Hub — wanted heat and griefing patterns that change which gun you should risk.
Revisit this list after major gun sound or recoil patches. The S-tier philosophy stays stable: fast, decisive sidearms and purpose-built range tools beat collecting every crate skin.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the most common Average Day In America questions.
What is the best starter gun in ADIA?
Most players should save toward a Compact or standard Revolver, or an Enforcement / Combat Pistol, instead of dumping cash into weak duty pistols.
Are shotguns still good after map updates?
Yes at close range. Combat Shotgun remains a top room clearer; just respect slow draws in open streets.
Do illegal dealer guns outclass legal shop guns?
Often for automatics and some semis, but price and heat matter. A legal revolver still wins many fair duels.
Where should I learn shop locations?
Use the weapons guide for Sei’s Tool and Weapon Supply, Doug’s Verdanian Firearms, the Benton illegal dealer, and police armories.
Why is my favorite SMG only A or B?
Spray tools dominate indoors but burn ammo and lose long peeks to revolvers and rifles. Tier letters reflect open-world flexibility, not one map room.