Machine guns
Ares: damage and tips
The Ares is a 1,600-credit light machine gun with 50 rounds and strong wall penetration. It gets more accurate the longer you fire.
- Price
- 1,600 credits
Stats
- Price
- 1,600 credits
- Fire rate
- 13 rounds/s
- Magazine
- 50 rounds
- Reload
- 3.25 s
- Equip time
- 1.25 s
- Run speed
- 76% of knife speed
- First-shot spread
- 1°
- Penetration
- High
- Fire mode
- Automatic
- Alt fire
- Aim down sights, ×1.15 zoom
Damage by range
Damage per bullet by body part, and shots needed to kill an opponent with 100 HP wearing: Heavy Armor.
| Range | Head | Body | Legs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 to 30 m | 75 (2 shots) | 30 (5 shots) | 25.5 (6 shots) |
| 30 to 50 m | 70 (3 shots) | 28 (6 shots) | 23.8 (7 shots) |
How to play it
The Ares fires automatically at 13 rounds per second, with 50 rounds, a 3.25 s reload, and 1.25 s to equip. Its spread is high at the start but shrinks as you keep firing: that's its signature trait. Its high penetration lets you punch through walls and light cover. Crouch on an angle, aim down sights, and spray the spot where the enemy will pass. It's slow (5.13 m/s versus 5.4 for a rifle) and bad for peeks: play it on defense or on a retake.
When to buy it
The Ares suits half buys and rounds where you defend a site with few credits. At 1,600 credits, it leaves room for Light Armor. It's weak on attack: avoid it when you have to enter a site. It's worth it when you can shoot through cover.
Strengths
- High penetration: you punish an enemy behind a wall or a crate, which few weapons at this price allow.
- A 50-round magazine at 13 rounds per second: you can spray an angle or a smoke without reloading.
- Two headshots kill up to 30 m even against Heavy Armor (75 damage).
- It's the only weapon whose accuracy improves the longer you keep firing: spread goes from 1° to 0.7° standing.
Weaknesses
- High spread at the start and while running (6.5° when running): it punishes peeks and the first bullets.
- 1.25 s equip and 3.25 s reload: you get caught mid-handling.
- Reduced movement (5.13 m/s versus 5.4 for a rifle): you hold angles, you don't engage.
- To the body it does 30 then 28: it takes 4 to 6 bullets depending on armor and range, so a duel is lost if the head isn't hit.
Tips
- Crouch: spread is multiplied by 0.6, which makes the first bullets far more reliable.
- Start firing on the angle before the enemy is there: the Ares gains accuracy as the bullets go out.
- Shoot through walls at known positions: high penetration turns every piece of info into a possible kill.
- After a spray, change position before reloading: 3.25 s in the open is long.
- Avoid peeking while running: 6.5° of running spread makes the first bullets useless.
The aim to train
The Road2Radiant benchmark subcategories that matter most here.
Reactive
Reactive tracking
You hold an angle and adjust your aim onto an enemy who appears then moves: reactive tracking matters more than clicking.
Drills to improvePrecise
Smooth precision tracking
The spray gains accuracy: tracking a target cleanly for several seconds makes the difference.
Drills to improve
Compare with
OdinThe Odin costs 3,200 credits, has 100 rounds and higher damage (38 to the body versus 30); its fire rate climbs from 12 to 15.6 rounds per second, versus a fixed 13 for the Ares, which costs half as much.
SpectreThe Spectre costs the same, is silenced and far more mobile; the Ares wins on sustained fire, penetration, and magazine size.
Same category
Train the aim this weapon demands
Sources
- wiki.playvalorant.com (opens in a new tab)
- wiki.playvalorant.com (2) (opens in a new tab)
- esportnow.gg (opens in a new tab)
Updated on October 13, 2026
Data from patch 13.06. Names, art and weapon stats: Riot Games, via valorant-api.com.