There are many weapons in VALORANT, the tactical first-person shooter made by Riot Games. In order to become a master of the game, it's pivotal that you learn to master the weapons in it. That's why we've made a series of weapon guides for VALORANT weapons discussing the weapon cost, the weapon damage, and controlling the weapon's recoil. In this guide, we'll be talking about the Marshal sniper rifle.

Cost

The Marshal is a relatively cheap weapon in VALORANT, costing just 1100 credits. It's designed as a placeholder weapon to defend areas where you can spot the enemy from far away, such as the long alley leading to the C site on Haven. You buy the Marshal until you've gathered enough money to purchase a heavier weapon, such as the Operator if you're committing to being a sniper player, or a Vandal if you want to have the option to defend at closer range as well.

Damage

As can be expected from a sniper rifle, the Marshal does a lot of damage. A headshot is a guaranteed kill on any target. A body shot will kill an enemy without a shield, but won't be quite enough to take down an enemy with a Light Shield or Heavy Shield. Shots landing in the target's leg will bring them to low health, but you'll need to hit them one more time, anywhere on the body, to secure the kill.

The table below shows the exact numbers for the damage the Marshal does in VALORANT:

The tradeoff for the Marshal's high damage output is that you fire bullets at an extremely low rate: it shoots 1.5 bullets per second, which is the second-lowest fire rate in the game. The Marshal can fire five times before it needs to be reloaded.

Hipfire accuracy

The Marshal is 100% accurate when you fire it while zoomed in. The scope, which provides a 2.5 zoom, helps you land those high impact shots at targets far away. But, somewhat surprisingly, the Marshal is pretty accurate even when you don't use its scope function. Even if you fire as quickly as you can, the Marshal suffers from no recoil at all. It won't hit the target all the time, but still does so unexpectedly often.

Of course, it's highly recommended that you use the Marshal's scoped fire mode to make 100% sure you hit the target your crosshair is placed at. But its hipfire accuracy is a big asset. If you get ambushed by an enemy up close, you won't have to wait until the zoom-in animation has finished. You can just spam fire in hipfire mode, and still do a lot of damage to your opponent.

To summarize:

The Marshal is an incredibly useful sniper rifle at a very low cost. Its damage output is solid, and it will reliably let you kill enemies if you put in a bit of practice. The Marshal is an excellent 'transition weapon', which you buy as you accumulate more money to purchase heavier weaponry in later rounds.

VALORANT weapon guides:

For more VALORANT content including guides, patch notes, and news, check out our dedicated VALORANT section!

Images via Riot Games