The Best Weapons in Call of Duty: Warzone
Since its release in 2020, Call of Duty: Warzone has captured the attention of over 100 million players, making it one of the most successful battle royale games to date. If you’ve played, you’ve probably learned that gaining a victory can be tough, especially if you’re struggling to find a weapon that suits you. Warzone is played way differently than Modern Warfare or Black Ops Cold War‘s conventional multiplayer suite; the goal is to have a diverse loadout that is ideal for all situations in attempts to help you survive against over 140+ other players.
You’ll probably find some decent weapons along the way, but ideally, you should use your custom loadouts, which can be acquired via a Loadout Drop. These can be obtained by purchasing them from a buy station or by finding one that spawns throughout the game, giving you full access to your arsenal of custom guns and attachments.
Now that Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War has been integrated into Warzone, there’s certainly no shortage of weapons to choose from. This list will feature some of the game’s best, most versatile weapons and their recommended attachments, accounting for any and all types of scenarios you’ll encounter.
These are the best weapons in Call of Duty: Warzone.
Recommended reading:
Krig 6
Recommended loadout:
| Muzzle | Agency Suppressor |
| Barrel | 15-inch CMV Mil-Spec |
| Optic | Axial Arms 3x |
| Underbarrel | Field Agent Grip |
| Ammunition | STANAG 60 Rnd |
While the Krig 6 doesn’t have the best time to kill (TTK) in Warzone, it’s arguably the most accurate long-range assault rifle in the game. Compared to the likes of the FARA 83 and EM2 (more on them below), it takes a little longer to secure a kill with the Krig 6, but you will be able to consistently hit your shots with it. The harder-hitting assault rifles have higher recoil, meaning it’s more difficult to actually take advantage of their fast TTKs.
You’ll find the Krig 6 to be reliable, accurate, easy to control, and overall a great weapon, especially for newcomers. This is an ideal choice that works well alongside an SMG or shotgun.
FARA 83
Recommended loadout:
| Muzzle | GRU Suppressor |
| Barrel | 18.7-inch Spetsnaz RPK Barrel |
| Optic | Axial Arms 3x |
| Underbarrel | Spetsnaz Grip |
| Ammunition | VDV 60 Rnd Fast Mag |
The FARA 83 is sort of the other end of the extreme when compared to the Krig 6. It’s one of the most powerful assault rifles in Warzone, but is much more difficult to control — which keeps the meta balanced. According to TrueGameData, the FARA 83 falls in between the Krig 6 and the EM2 in terms of TTK, sort of taking the best of both worlds if you can control the recoil. If you’re experienced with long-range assaults rifles and have mastered the art of the Krig 6, we recommend giving the FARA 83 a try since it deals more damage.
Make sure you pick engagements that are past 25 meters when using the FARA, as it’s nearly useless up close. Once again, bring an SMG or other close-range alternative with you as well.
EM2
Recommended loadout:
| Muzzle | Agency Suppressor |
| Barrel | 27.4-inch Ranger |
| Optic | Axial Arms 3x |
| Underbarrel | Field Agent Grip |
| Ammunition | 40 Rnd |
Hands down, the king of assault rifles right now is the EM2, at least when measuring TTKs. It kills dramatically faster than most of the assault rifles in the game but is even harder to control than the FARA 83 — again, showing Raven Software’s commitment to balance. This weapon has a few quirks we should mention, such as its slow rate of fire and heavy handling. In many ways, the EM2 feels like an LMG, which might be a turn-off to some.
Though, if you build the weapon appropriately, you can significantly improve its mobility and handling. One thing we highly advise is to use a different optic than the default option. This scope has comically slow aim down sights (ADS) speeds and will almost certainly get you killed in the heat of battle. If you equip the Field Agent Grip and Agency Suppressor, you’ll have a much easier time controlling this weapon. In addition, stick with the 40 Rnd to reduce your ADS times (as opposed to the 50 Rnd), as the weapon fires slowly enough to justify having a smaller magazine size.
PPSh-41
Recommended loadout:
| Muzzle | Sound Suppressor |
| Barrel | 15.7-inch Task Force |
| Stock | Raider Stock |
| Underbarrel | Spetsnaz Grip |
| Ammunition | Spetsnaz 71 Rnd Drum |
Kicking off our SMG recommendations is the PPSh-41, a great all-around option that works well in many scenarios. It doesn’t have the best TTKs up close, but it’s a tremendous weapon to use past 17 meters or so. Typically, SMGs are far less effective past 15 meters, but this is where the PPSh shines. With that in mind, this is a good weapon to use as sniper support or alongside a long-range assault rifle like the Krig 6.
The best thing about the PPSh-41 is its massive magazine potential of 71. This is enough to wipe a full squad before needing to reload, which is major. Despite being physically larger (especially with that huge ammo drum), the PPSh has fantastic ADS speeds and mobility, coming in line with the best SMGs in the game. The PPSh-41 is continuously slept on and is absolutely worth trying out during season 5.
Milano 821
Recommended loadout:
| Muzzle | Agency Suppressor |
| Barrel | 10.6-inch Task Force |
| Optic | Axial Arms 3x |
| Underbarrel | Field Agent Grip |
| Ammunition | Salvo 55 Rnd Fast Mag |
It’s funny to see the Milano 821 at the top of our recommendations list since it was so terrible when it was first added to the game. We’d almost prefer simply using our fists over having the vanilla version of the Milano from launch day. Nonetheless, it’s now a top SMG, but oddly enough, it might not excel in the way you’d expect. Due to the Milano’s lower rate of fire and virtually no recoil, it actually works fantastically at range. In fact, you can build it like an assault rifle to secure long-range eliminations.
It doesn’t hit as hard as an assault rifle, but since it falls in the SMG category, it’s lightweight with fast ADS times. It has near assault rifle properties without many of the downsides. Again, this is a great weapon to use as sniper support.
MAC-10
Recommended loadout:
| Muzzle | Agency Suppressor |
| Barrel | 5.9-inch Task Force |
| Laser | Ember Sighting Point |
| Stock | Raider Stock |
| Ammunition | STANAG 53 Rnd Drum |
We’ve covered two SMGs that work well at range, but what about a close-quarters option? After all, that’s what an SMG is primarily used for. In this case, the MAC-10 is one of the best choices in the game, with solid TTKs up close and a larger magazine potential, and it’s decent at range. The benefit of the MAC is its fast fire rate and high mobility, meaning you can zip around and pull off quick kills before your opponents know what hit them.
Between 10 and 20 meters is where the MAC-10 shines the brightest, outclassing many other SMGs in the game. Even after being slightly nerfed recently, this weapon is still worth using since it’s so reliable.
OTs 9
Recommended loadout:
| Muzzle | GRU Suppressor |
| Barrel | 8.1-inch Task Force |
| Laser | Tiger Team Spotlight |
| Stock | KGB Skeletal Stock |
| Ammunition | VDV 40 Round Fast Mag |
Our last SMG pick is the OTs 9, a weapon that easily outclasses every other option in the game — at least within 8 meters or so. The OTs 9 is the king of close-quarters, allowing you to take down your opponents faster than any other SMG, as long as you’re close enough. It has low enough recoil when used up close that it’s easy to use while allowing you to wipe the floor quickly with your opponents.
But surely a weapon this good has its downsides, right? Well, the OTs 9 is practically useless past 15 meters, and its recoil past that range becomes high enough to make it hard to use. The other major flaw is that it has a low ammo capacity of 40, meaning you likely won’t be able to take on more than two opponents at a time with it. To help mitigate this flaw, we advise using the VDV 40 Round Fast Mag, which gives you faster reload times. Despite its downsides, it’s well worth trying, thanks to its extremely fast TTK up close.
Gallo SA12
Recommended loadout:
| Muzzle | Agency Choke |
| Barrel | 21.4-inch Reinforced Heavy |
| Laser | Ember Sighting Point |
| Stock | No Stock |
| Ammunition | STANAG 12 Rnd Tube |
Speaking of close-quarters, let’s touch on a weapon category that is often overlooked: Shotguns. Since shotguns are only useful at around 8 meters or so, many players opt against using them, which is understandable, but if you play your cards right, you can become unstoppable with the right setup. Arguably the best option in the game is the Gallo SA12. It’s tough to measure TTKs with a shotgun, but based on our testing, you can down a player in as low as two shots depending on proximity (and how much armor they have equipped).
Aside from the high damage potential, shotguns are great because they’re primarily fired from the hip, as opposed to aiming down sights. This means you can start dealing damage to your opponents first since your pellets will come out faster. The Gallo SA12 is the best option for longer ranges — of around 10 meters or so. Even though a maximum of 12 pellets doesn’t sound like much, you’d be surprised how much damage you can deal with that amount.
JAK-12
Recommended loadout:
| Muzzle | FORGE TAC Marauder |
| Barrel | ZLR J-3600 Torrent |
| Laser | 5mW Laser |
| Ammunition | 20 Round Drum Mags |
| Perk | Frangible — Disabling |
If you’re new to using shotguns, there’s one more recommendation you might want to try. The JAK-12 is our second choice in the shotgun category due to it being fully automatic. This means you can simply hold down the trigger to fire off a consistent stream of pellets. Up close, this is absolutely devastating, even though each pellet doesn’t deal as much damage as the Gallo SA12. If you’re within 5 meters or so, the JAK-12 pretty much beats anything else, so it’s at least worth trying out.
One thing to note is that we advise using the Frangible — Disabling Perk on this weapon, which slows your foes’ running speed when you deal damage to them with the JAK. This allows you to close the gap faster, potentially leading to an easier elimination.
Stoner 63
Recommended loadout:
| Muzzle | Agency Suppressor |
| Barrel | 21.8-inch Task Force |
| Optic | Axial Arms 3x |
| Underbarrel | Field Agent Grip |
| Ammunition | Fast Mag |
LMGs are tough to recommend since they’re so slow and clunky. It’s common to lose a gunfight while wielding an LMG simply due to their slow handling. However, if you know how to use these weapons, you can certainly come out on top. Arguably the best in the game is the Stoner 63, an LMG with relatively low recoil, high accuracy, and competitive TTKs. When using the Stoner 63, we advise equipping the Fast Mag attachment so you can reload quicker. You’d be surprised how often this saves your life.
The best thing to do when using the Stoner 63 is to stay behind cover to ADS, then pop out to take your shots. If you try to ADS while an enemy already sees you, it could lead to losing the gunfight. We also highly suggest mounting the weapon to significantly reduce its recoil. Considering how much damage this weapon does compared to its low recoil, you can easily take out opponents at 40 meters away, as long as you’ve got them lined up before they see you.
Kar98k
Recommended loadout:
| Muzzle | Monolithic Suppressor |
| Barrel | Singuard Custom 21.2-inch |
| Laser | Tac Laser |
| Optic | Sniper Scope |
| Rear grip | Stippled Grip Tape |
In Warzone, being able to take out enemies from afar quickly is ideal, and that’s where the Kar98k comes into play. This sniper is meant to be used much more aggressively than something like the HDR and works great in fast-paced engagements. The Kar doesn’t have the range of the slower, heavier snipers, but that doesn’t mean you can’t secure long-range eliminations from hundreds of meters away with it.
The main reason the Kar is so useful is that it features high damage and fast ADS speeds, meaning you can quickly scope in, pull off the shot, and adjust if need be. It’s deadly accurate and can be fired off quickly, making it one of the best snipers in the game — especially for aggressive players. It’s recommended to couple this weapon with a close-range firearm, like an SMG or shotgun.
Swiss K31
Recommended loadout:
| Muzzle | GRU Suppressor |
| Barrel | 24.9-inch Combat Recon |
| Laser | SWAT 5mW Laser Sight |
| Ammunition | Vandal Speed Loader |
| Rear G=grip | Serpent Grip |
The Swiss K31 is virtually identical to the Kar9k. However, the Swiss is slightly slower but deals more damage to the chest, so it warrants your attention, for sure. Pretty much everything we explained about the Kar98k applies to the Swiss. It has fast ADS speeds, is lightweight, and is great for aggressive players. One of the other upsides to using the Swiss K31 is that it has a built-in sniper scope (as opposed to the Kar). Because of this, you essentially have an extra attachment slot to use, which could give it the upper hand against the Kar.
In this case, we like using the Vandal Speed Loader, which grants you significantly faster reload times. Being able to reload quickly could save your life, so we suggest giving this attachment a try when using the Swiss. Ultimately, the Swiss and Kar are both fantastic. Which one you end up leaning towards will come down to slight differences and personal preference.
Editors’ Recommendations
