There has been a long standing debate within the Valorant community on which gun is superior: the Phantom or the Vandal. While the majority of players seem to sway towards the Vandal, which is undoubtedly more popular based on the selection ratio, many can’t seem to explain as to why they choose it over the Phantom. If these regular players took the time to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of each gun, many may find that the Phantom is the more preferable choice.

Even though in terms of pick rate, the Vandal is way higher at 44.52% than the Phantom with 15.19%, there are many factors to consider when deciding which gun is best suitable for each individual player. 

For starters, the type of agent you play can determine which gun is better to use. If you play a lot of smokes or controllers, the Phantom would be the best choice. When you do not have a clear line of sight to your opponents, you would generally start spraying in hopes of getting a lucky kill or at least to prevent them from entering the site. In this case, you would need to choose the gun that could shoot faster. The Phantom’s fire rate is 11 rounds per second while the Vandal only sits at 9.75 rounds per second. Not to mention, the Phantom has 5 more bullets in the magazine that can potentially assist you in a spraying battle with an opponent who has the same garbage aim. On the other hand, if you generally play duelists and have the adequate skills for entry, the Vandal’s “one shot, head shot” is rather more helpful. 

Sentinels’s star player, Tenz, stated in a podcast that theoretically speaking, the Vandal would be the better choice. However, “[With] all the utility, you don’t even know what’s happening on your screen most of the time. If there are four ults in a round, what is going on? In that case, the Phantom is more reliable.”

Furthermore, the spray patterns of these two guns are not the same. After the initial shot, the Vandal’s spray pattern is wider than the Phantom, making the recoil harder to control and giving the player a less accurate shot. In a close range fight against an opponent, missing the first shot with the Vandal can cost you more. 

The Phantom also has a suppressor, the Vandal does not. This makes you a less easy target when you are randomly shooting through a smoke. The average player will probably whiff those shots regardless, but the Phantom gives you more of an advantage in this case. 

The biggest argument people make when choosing the Vandal is that it will kill enemies with just one head shot in any range. Though it is a valid point, many fail to consider things such as utility, maps, agents, or they just overestimate their basic mechanical skills thinking that a “better” gun would magically help them rank up. Unless these gamers have god-like aims like pro players Tenz (Sentinels), s0m (NRG), and Asuna (100T) who consistently hit one taps, they should try the overlooked Phantom instead. Maybe then they’ll start winning more games, gaining more RRs to finally escape the shackles of being a hard-stuck bronze.