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Road2Radiant

SMGs

Stinger: damage and tips

The Stinger is a 1,100-credit SMG with the highest fire rate in the arsenal. It's the half-buy weapon, built for close combat.

Price
1,100 credits
Stinger

Stats

Price
1,100 credits
Fire rate
16 rounds/s
Magazine
20 rounds
Reload
2.25 s
Equip time
0.75 s
Run speed
85% of knife speed
First-shot spread
0.65°
Penetration
Low
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.

Damage by range
RangeHeadBodyLegs
0 to 15 m67.5 (3 shots)27 (6 shots)22.95 (7 shots)
15 to 50 m57 (3 shots)23 (7 shots)19 (8 shots)

How to play it

The Stinger fires automatically at 16 rounds per second, with a 20-round magazine and a 2.25 s reload. The magazine empties in a little over a second: fire short strings of 3 to 5 rounds, don't spray. When aiming down sights (right click), it switches to a 4-round burst, slower but more stable. It shines under 15 m, especially while moving, because it keeps 85% of your run speed. Beyond that, recoil and spread penalize you. Play tight angles, site entries, and duels where you surprise the enemy. Against several opponents, switch weapons instead of emptying the magazine.

When to buy it

The Stinger is a half-buy or transition round purchase, when you can't afford a rifle yet. At 1,100 credits, it lets you take Light Armor and an ability. It's also handy against a weak enemy economy. Skip it on full-buy rounds if you can afford a Vandal or a Phantom.

Strengths

  • 16 rounds per second: under 15 m, two headshots kill an enemy with no armor or Light Armor, in about 0.06 s.
  • Costs 1,100 credits, so it leaves enough to buy armor and abilities on a half buy.
  • Stays handy: 85% of run speed and 0.75 s to equip, useful for aggressive peeks.
  • The aimed burst mode gives you a more stable option for mid-range duels, without switching weapons.

Weaknesses

  • Only 20 rounds per magazine: a missed duel leaves you with no ammo against the second enemy.
  • Beyond 15 m, the head drops to 57: 2 shots with no armor but 3 against Light Armor. The Spectre is more consistent.
  • Pronounced spread and recoil in sustained fire (increased in patch 11.08): long sprays go everywhere.
  • Weak wall penetration: you rarely punish an enemy behind cover.

Tips

  1. Counter-strafe before shooting, then fire strings of 3 to 5 rounds: beyond that, the spread makes you miss the head.
  2. Aim for the head from the first bullet: under 15 m, two headshots kill, versus four to the body.
  3. Use the aimed burst for duels past 15 m, where continuous fire loses accuracy.
  4. Reload behind cover as soon as you win a duel: 20 rounds go fast and 2.25 s in the open is a long time.
  5. Save it for rounds where you can isolate the enemy in a corridor or a short angle.

The aim to train

The Road2Radiant benchmark subcategories that matter most here.

  • Strafe Click

    Clicking while strafing

    The Stinger is fired in short strings after a counter-strafe: this technique decides whether the first bullet lands on the head.

    Drills to improve

  • Speed

    Fast target switching

    Close duels demand quickly chaining several targets with few bullets, so fast transitions between enemies.

    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.