Venator
The Venator is a Rare semi-auto medium-ammo pistol that fires two rounds per trigger pull — widely considered the best sidearm in the game and an S-tier close-burst king with a 2.5x headshot multiplier. It is Anvil's main competitor for the secondary slot, unbeatable inside its effective range but falling off hard beyond it.
Role
2-Shot Pistol
Core Mechanic
Double-round semi-auto fire — unmatched point-blank burst that empties fast under spam.
Rarity
Rare
Overall Tier
OverallModeratePlaystyle
Fires two shots at a time.
Recommended Builds
Aggressive precision sidearm
Full guide →Open at range with a rifle, then swap to Venator for an instant close-range burst kill.
Close-range duelist backup
Full guide →Reserve it for must-win duels and finishing wounded enemies; vertical grip and medium mag steady the burst.
Best Attachments
- Vertical Grip II/III — Controls the recoil of the paired shots for tighter grouping.
- Extended Medium Mag II/III — Buffers its heavy per-trigger ammo drain.
Strengths
- +Unmatched close-burst damage — double-round fire out-trades many primaries.
- +Consistently the recommended best sidearm for high-level PvP.
- +Low slot cost keeps your primary free for any meta rifle.
Weaknesses
- −Very range-limited — falls off hard beyond close range.
- −Heavy burst ammo consumption runs it dry in extended fights.
- −Poor PvE scaling — overkill with no armor focus.
Why This Tier
Moderate on the Overall (ARC armor-pen) axis despite being an S-tier PvP sidearm — its double-shot burst rules player duels but does little against armor.