7 Hardest Battle Royales, Ranked

Battle royales jumped into the spotlight—and our hearts—with fast-paced competition in large groups. When you’re the clear-cut winner in a lobby of 100 real players who wanted it just as bad, it makes your victory just that much sweeter.

Whether you’re playing in a squad, or running solo, battle royales demand constant awareness, split-second decisions, and strategic thinking. Over the last decade, we’ve seen BR’s becoming one of the most popular genres, and the games are evolving quickly.

For all the thrill-seeking, competitive gamers out there, we’ll review the top 7 hardest battle royales that truly push players to their limits if they want to be able to come out on top.

7 Naraka: Bladepoint

Melee Masters

Naraka sets itself apart from other BR’s by putting their primary focus on melee fighting. While you can attack from range using weapons like bows or muskets, close-quarter combat with melee weapons such as great swords, katanas, and daggers are the center of Naraka’s gameplay.

With 22 different characters to choose from, each having their own abilities and ultimates that have a massive effect on the game, personalizing your experience not only through weapon choice, but by choosing abilities that allow you to heal, teleport, stun, and much more will be critical to manage if you want to have a chance at victory.

Mixing melee combat management with powerful abilities not only makes for a unique BR experience, it presents us with very complex combat and a high skill threshold.

6 Off The Grid

Cybernetic Prosthetics

Off The Grid is breaking the mold in many ways. Set in a dystopian future, you play a bio-hacked soldier competing in a live-streamed death match. Choosing your loadout doesn’t just mean your guns and grenades, it also means choosing what cybernetic limbs to use.

Each cyberlimb has its own unique advantages, including mobility buffs, grappling hooks, invisibility, increased damage, and stuns. This allows you to experiment with loadouts, and create a personalized build tailored to your preferences.

Jetpacks are also a big part of the gameplay. In combination with other mobility buffs, abilities, and futuristic weapons, OTG is difficult to be good at. Mobility is probably the biggest factor when it comes to difficulty in Off The Grid, as it forces you to make split-second decisions, like when to engage, or when to reposition to get a better shot.

5 Spellbreak

The Elemental BR

Released in 2020, Spellbreak let us harness the power of elemental abilities and take our battles to the skies. Players could choose two elemental gauntlets to use before each match. A primary gauntlet that can’t be switched during the game, and a secondary gauntlet that you can replace multiple times.

Having two gauntlets means elemental synergies. Players could choose between wind, frost, fire, toxic, stone, and lightning, which means 36 different possible combinations. The great thing about this is the elements react with each other in different ways. For example, if you went stone primary and fire secondary, you could throw a boulder and then light it on fire to increase your damage.

With so many different synergies, and the ability to engage/escape fights quickly using flight, Spellbreak created a really challenging BR experience. The combination of super-high mobility, and complex elemental synergies, means enemies could be flying at you from anywhere with an elemental combo you may not yet be familiar with.

Unfortunately, due to a low player count, the Spellbreak servers were shut down in 2023.

4 PUBG: Battlegrounds

Battle Royale Pioneer

PUBG has made a huge impact on the world of Battle Royales. While it may not have been the very first BR experience, it definitely played a critical role in catapulting the genre into the spotlight.

Positioning and strategic thinking are two of the main reasons why PUBG is hard to play at a high level. It’s essential to scout your surroundings, be aware of where enemies are, or could potentially be, and make sure you’re always close to cover in case you encounter a player unexpectedly.

Practice controlling gun recoil, and familiarize yourself with tactical gear to become more efficient in your matches. Being an innovator in the genre, PUBG has a die-hard fanbase and remains one of the most popular games in the genre, cementing itself in the battle royale hall of fame.

3 Apex Legends

True Mastery Can’t Be Programmed

Apex Legends has brought a refreshing take to the BR world, with a big emphasis on abilities. With 26 different legends to play as, each with their own unique abilities, including things like defensive barriers, smoke grenades, massive movement speed buffs, and tracking abilities, fights become extremely complex.

Having great aim and being skilled with guns is always a big deal, but in Apex, it takes a lot more than that. Game IQ is crucial, as being familiar with all the abilities of every legend will allow you to know what you’re up against when you run into another squad.

Always remember to check the patch notes after a new update to see what has changed within the game.

2 Fortnite

Carpentry level 99

Fortnite remains one of the most popular BRs for good reason. With constant updates and improvements, fun events, collaborations with other games, and many different modes, Fortnite has it all. Combining building with combat creates an extremely high skill-cap, making Fortnite a great choice if you’re looking for a challenge.

The build feature allows for so many different uses. If you can’t one-shot an enemy, chances are they will immediately build a fortress around themselves within just a few seconds. Instead of a short gun battle, you’re now locked into a full-on fortified war that will draw attention from other enemies nearby.

We’ve seen Fortnite players build at break-neck speeds, which is one of the main reasons why this game can be so difficult. It’s not an easy mechanic to master either.

1 Call Of Duty: Warzone

Expect Contact Early

Warzone has evolved an incredible amount since its initial release in 2020, with new maps, weapons, vehicles and improved movement. One of the great things about Warzone is there are a lot of different ways for you to play the game at a high level.

Getting your loadout just right will take some real commitment, as you’ll need to level up your guns in order to get access to all the attachments. There are also perks that will give you stat bonuses, and lethal/actical equipment. Having such complex possibilities for loadouts is one aspect of why bringing home the win can be so challenging in Warzone.

Movement is the key. Warzone players take advantage of the ability to parachute off buildings, jump out windows, or essential movement tricks like slide-cancelling and jump-strafing. This is why Warzone is so challenging, but if you can master your movement, your KDA will thank you dearly.