The Phantom vs Vandal Debate in Valorant: Which is the Smarter Pick?

In a fast-paced, competitive FPS game like Valorant, every minute decision you make on the battlefield can be of utmost importance. From how you use your Agent’s abilities to your preferred choice of weapon in any given round, one wrong decision is often all it takes to lose grasp on a match that you otherwise should’ve won. As we’ve already discussed the importance of aim and abilities in Valorant in a prior article, today we’ll be turning our attention to the game’s various weapons. Valorant offers a diverse arsenal of weapons for players to pick up depending on their preferred position, round economy, and other factors, but none of them divide the community like the age-old debate between the Vandal and the Phantom. Every Valorant player, at some point in their journey to Radiant, has wondered whether the Vandal’s one-tap potential is worth the trade-off for the Phantom’s silencer and overall consistency. But is there even a conclusive answer to this? Is one of these two Valorant rifles clearly superior to the other one? Phantom vs Vandal Stats Comparison To have a better understanding of which rifle is superior in Valorant, the first thing we should do is take a look at the individual stats of both guns. The first metric of comparison here is the weapon damage, where the Vandal is the clear victor due to its ability to take out enemies with a single headshot at all ranges. Note that the Phantom is able to 1-tap enemies too, but only under the 20m mark, which is about the distance between the Attackers and Defender meeting points in Ascent B-Main (see image below). Phantom can 1-tap enemies in Ascent B-Main Prior to the Phantom buff that we saw in Valorant patch 9.10, the 1-tap headshot distance for the gun was only 15m. At the time of writing, any enemy farther than 20m needs at least two bullets from a Phantom to kill, which is why it’s often compared to the M4A1-S in CS2, while the Vandal is compared to the AK-47. Below, we have listed the detailed weapon stats of the Phantom and the Vandal in Valorant: Phantom stats Vandal stats Taking a glance at the two images, it’s evident that the Phantom compensates for its lack of damage at longer ranges with its increased fire rate and a larger magazine size. While most of the other weapon stats remain the same for the two rifles, there are some additional nuances that we’ll get to later. What’s Your Playstyle? In Valorant, or any other tactical FPS, players generally take on various “roles” based on their preferred playstyles. Some prefer to get explosive entries onto bombsites, some are more adept at supporting their entry fraggers, while others tend to lurk away from their team in hopes of getting a sneaky pick and keep their enemies on their toes. Needless to say, your choice of weapon should be somewhat dependent on your preferred playstyle. Generally speaking, if you find yourself taking a lot of close to medium-range engagements, Phantom should be your ideal pick, while players who like taking long-range duels often find more comfort in the 1-tap potential of Vandal. While this is a good rule of thumb to keep in mind while choosing your preferred weapon, there are a bunch of other factors that should come into consideration before you make your pick. For instance, if you main a Controller, the Phantom lets you rack up easy frags by spraying through your smoke without giving away your position. On the other hand, Agents with built-in escape tools like Jett and Chamber can make the most out of the Vandal by going for aggressive headshots and quickly disengaging. The Hidden Factors Other than the obvious stat differences that we’ve listed above, there are a number of hidden factors that influence which rifle performs better in different situations. As mentioned earlier, Phantom’s suppressed shots give it a clear advantage in situations where you’re trying to spam through smokes, but did you know that its bullets are also completely silent to enemies more than 40m away? Additionally, the Vandal can also feel extremely punishing in “off” games where you’re unable to connect consistent headshots. At times like these, it can be better to pick up the Phantom and go for the spray and pray instead. Lastly, what not many players realize is that the Phantom has much better first-shot accuracy when compared to the Vandal. For the same reason, despite being better at long ranges in theory, the Vandal can feel rather inconsistent at landing headshots when your enemy is far away. Despite this, the Vandal still remains the go-to weapon for most players in maps like Breeze and Pearl, where the majority of engagements are long-range, while the Phantom finds its dominance in tighter, close-quarters maps like Split and Bind. What the Pros Use (And Why That’s Misleading) If you’re still confused about which weapon to pick in your ranked games, you might be tempted to check out the pro scene of Valorant to identify what the best players in the world use on the big stages. At one of the biggest Valorant tournaments of the year, Masters Bangkok 2025, the Vandal enjoyed nearly twice the pick rate of the Phantom. As per data from THESPIKE, the Vandal was picked up 2,020 times over the course of the event, while the Phantom was only bought 1,047 times. However, these raw numbers might be a bit misleading. Some further inspection reveals that the kill efficiency of the Phantom is much higher than that of its counterpart. The data shows that Phantom had a total of 2,587 total kills in the event, which equates to 2.47 kills per buy, while the Vandal only had 2,749 total kills, or roughly 1.36 kills per buy. Taking a look at the map data from the event, we can see that while Vandal remains the most picked gun in every single map, the Phantom actually managed to get more total kills in Bind and Fracture. Image Credits: THESPIKE.GG It’s Not Always Either/Or From the stats above, it’s evident that your weapon choice should depend on the situation instead of blind preference for either gun. Instead of sticking to one weapon all the time, you should choose the one that best suits your playstyle and the map you're playing on. Day-to-day performance matters too. If you're struggling with landing consistent headshots, consider switching to the Phantom for its forgiving spray pattern, as opposed to the Vandal’s reliance on 1-taps. Lastly, take note of your opponents’ playstyles and try to adapt to the situation. Fast-paced, close-range skirmishes may favor the Phantom’s spray control, whereas slower, long-range engagements might warrant the precision of the Vandal. Verdict It’s tough to objectively declare a clear winner between the Phantom and the Vandal. Both weapons have their own distinct strengths that they bring to the game, and their effectiveness often depends on how and where they’re used. At the end of the day, what truly matters is personal preference, confidence in your aim, and your ability to read the situation. Sticking rigidly to one weapon is likely to do you more harm than good and limit your adaptability. You should constantly look to make the most out of the arsenal provided to you and switch guns based on the map, your role, and the situation. As a result, it’s also strongly recommended that players learn the spray control of both weapons. While you’ll find yourself spraying with the Phantom far more often than with the Vandal, there will still be situations where you’ll need to commit to a Vandal spray. Knowing how to handle both gives you the freedom to adapt based on the situation.