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Road2Radiant

Rifles

Guardian: damage and tips

The Guardian is a 2,250-credit semi-automatic rifle: few rounds, huge damage (195 to the head, 65 to the body), and strong wall penetration.

Price
2,250 credits
Guardian

Stats

Price
2,250 credits
Fire rate
5.25 rounds/s
Magazine
12 rounds
Reload
2.5 s
Equip time
1 s
Run speed
80% of knife speed
First-shot spread
0.1°
Penetration
High
Fire mode
Semi-automatic
Alt fire
Aim down sights, ×1.5 zoom

Damage by range

Damage per bullet by body part, and shots needed to kill an opponent with 100 HP wearing: Heavy Armor.

Damage by range
RangeHeadBodyLegs
0 to 50 m195 (1 shot)65 (3 shots)48.75 (4 shots)

How to play it

The Guardian is a semi-automatic rifle at 5.25 rounds per second, closer to a marksman rifle than an assault rifle. It hits hard: 195 to the head, 65 to the body, 48.75 to the legs, with no falloff up to 50 m. A headshot always kills; two body shots kill an enemy with no armor or Light Armor, three against Heavy Armor. Right click zooms 1.5x and removes the first-shot spread. Play it at medium and long range, shooting shot by shot and letting the crosshair reset. Its high penetration lets you hit through walls.

When to buy it

A full buy with a good credit reserve, when you prefer a precision rifle over spraying. At 2,250 credits, it's also an alternative when you can't pay 2,900 credits. Remember to keep enough for armor and abilities.

Strengths

  • 195 headshot damage across the whole range: one shot kills, whatever the armor.
  • Two 65 body shots kill a 100 HP enemy with no armor or Light Armor.
  • High penetration: shots through walls and crates still hurt a lot.
  • 2,250 credits: 650 less than a Vandal, which leaves room for abilities.

Weaknesses

  • Semi-automatic, 5.25 rounds per second, and 12 rounds per magazine: a missed shot leaves you exposed for a long time and a close duel is a pain.
  • Against Heavy Armor, it takes 3 body shots: the time to kill gets noticeably longer.
  • No spray: against several enemies or someone running away, you lack firepower.
  • The 1.5x zoom narrows your field of view: easier to catch off guard from the sides.

Tips

  1. Aim for the head on every shot: that's the reason to pick this weapon, and a headshot kills even in Heavy Armor.
  2. Shoot shot by shot at medium range, then let the crosshair reset before the next shot.
  3. Use the 1.5x zoom on distant targets: the first shot has no spread and the fire rate doesn't drop.
  4. Counter-strafe before every shot: +6° of spread while running, +3° while walking, so a bullet fired on the move lands far from the crosshair.
  5. Shoot through walls at known positions: the high penetration hurts without exposing your head.

The aim to train

The Road2Radiant benchmark subcategories that matter most here.

  • Static

    Clicking on static targets

    The Guardian lives on single headshots against stationary targets: the precise flick decides every duel.

    Drills to improve

  • Strafe Click

    Clicking while strafing

    Counter-strafe then click: every shot counts, and you shouldn't fire on the move with this spread.

    Drills to improve
Measure these skills with the benchmark

Compare with

Same category

Train the aim this weapon demands

Sources

Updated on October 13, 2026

Data from patch 13.06. Names, art and weapon stats: Riot Games, via valorant-api.com.