Modern Warfare 2 is packed full of fun weapons, they look beautiful, and the animations are slick. But let's get to what you really care about: what are the best guns in MW2? Check out the video for a quick rundown of the S-Tier weapons.
Modern Warfare 2 is a shooter, and so obviously one of the most important factors in your success will be the weapon you use. This isn't like Modern Warfare 2019 where you could basically just use the M4 and beat everything else in most situations. No, you actually have a pretty solid selection of top-level guns to choose from now... and also still some trash of course. But which are the best guns in Modern Warfare 2? And which weapons should you avoid all together? We've barely slept since launch, but we can now answer that question.
Note: This is a tier-list of all the primary weapons for Modern Warfare 2 Multiplayer. Here you can find a ranking of all pistols and here we have the best guns for Warzone 2.0.
Best Guns In Modern Warfare 2 | Ranking
S-Tier Guns In MW2 | The Absolute Meta
As you would expect, you'll find the best weapons currently available in MW2 in this tier. These weapons are all outstanding.
S-Tier: TAQ-56 (SCAR-L) / Assault Rifle
The TAQ is a fantastic AR, with a solid TTK and really low recoil. This is the absolute Ranked Play meta.
S-Tier: Tempus Razorback / Assault Rifle
The Tempus Razorback is an incredible AR that has pretty much everything you want: low recoil, high fire rate, good damage, good range, and great handling speeds. Expect a nerf soon.
S-Tier: ISO Hemlock / Assault Rifle
The Hemlock is quite slow-firing, but hits like a truck. The reason it's S-Tier is that it's very comfortable to use, with low-recoil, decent handling speeds, and access to some great attachments.
S-Tier: Kastov 74u (AK-74u) / Assault Rifle
This is basically an SMG hiding in the AR category. Because of this it has access to AR attachments, which can make it a great hybrid weapon between an AR and an SMG. The perfect flex weapon.
There's no better testament to how strong this weapon is than the fact it's already been GA'd in the European Challengers scene and the CDL. If a weapon is so strong the pros agree not to use it against each other, then you know it's going to fry.
A-Tier Guns In MW2 | Competitive
These weapons are still strong, but they aren't truly "meta". In one way or another they're slightly worse than the S-Tier weapons.
A-Tier: VAZNEV-9K (PP-19 Vityaz) / SMG
This is the SMG we've seen most pros use so far, and although it does require slightly higher skill than the MP5, it's probably one of the best SMGs in the game. The mobility is second to none, the TTK is fantastic in close-range, and it has access to great attachments via the very large AK platform.
A-Tier: Fennec 45 (KRISS Vector) / SMG
The new Vector is really strong in close-range, thanks to a crazy high rate-of-fire. But it's less forgiving than the other close-range weapons because you burn through the magazine very quickly and the damage dropoff over range is significant. So this one is better for higher-skilled players, but maybe not for everyone.
A-Tier: BAS-P (MPX) / SMG
It's not bad in any one department, but at the same time the BAS-P doesn't excel in any direction either. It's a good allrounder though.
A-Tier: ISO 45 (UMP45) / SMG
Unwelcomingly high recoil, but the damage is undeniable. This is really more of the high-skill meta.
A-Tier: Lachmann Sub (MP5) / SMG
The MP5 still is a really good SMG with a great TTK up-close and solid mobility, even with the 50-round drum mag equipped.
You can find our favorite MP5 loadout here.
A-Tier: Chimera (Honey Badger) / Assault Rifle
The Chimera is pretty bouncy and therefore a short-range AR, but it's fantastic in that role. We highly advise it to players who are aggressive, but want something less situational than an SMG.
A-Tier: STB-556 (AUG) / Assault Rifle
The AUG is a comfortable gun to use, with low recoil and decent handling speeds. It basically plays like a really fast AR and can be compared to the Chimera.
A-Tier: Kastov 762 (AK-47) / Assault Rifle
This is another outstanding AR. Compared to the TAQ it has slightly higher recoil but a slightly faster TTK. It's a good allrounder AR for every situation.
A-Tier: M4 / Assault Rifle
It's your classic M4. Call of Duty devs always include one assault rifle that's unlocked from the start that's going to be solidly viable and easy to use throughout the game's lifecycle. In this game it's the M4, although it's not as dominant as MW2019s M4.
A-Tier: Cronen Squall / Battle Rifle
The Cronen Squall is actually really strong. Make sure to get a lot of recoil control with your attachments and the Cronen will just destroy your enemies – especially if you can land a headshot here and there.
Here's a complete guide to the best Cronen Squall loadout.
A-Tier: RAPP H (HK21) / LMG
It's an LMG, so it's always going to struggle to find its place in a Call of Duty multiplayer environment. And this is indeed quite a heavy and slow LMG, but it has great recoil control, decent damage, and a fantastic rate-of-fire, so it's certainly one of the better LMGs.
We have a complete RAPP H loadout for you here.
A-Tier: SP-R 208 / Marksman Rifle
The old SPR from the OG MW2019 is back, but this time it's even stronger. Think of this weapon as the Kar98k of MW2; it's the superfast to ADS sniper that can even be used in close-range with the right optic.
A-Tier: SP-X 80 / Sniper
It might not shoot as fast as the Signal, and the torso might still produce hitmarkers, but in every other respect the SP-X 80 is a great sniper with a competitive ADS. It is definitley the fastest of the heavy snipers.
A-Tier: SA-B 50 / Marksman Rifle
This is another Kar-like weapon, that can be made super fast to ADS. Hit the upper body and you will one-shot everything.
A-Tier: LA-B 330 / Sniper
And another one of those quick-scope snipers. Just make it fast and go for ADS speed and you will have a really good gun.
A-Tier MX Guardian / Shotgun
The MX Guardian is the first full auto shotgun in Modern Warfare 2 and extremely strong on short distances. So especially for maps like shipment, the MX Guardian is probably one of the best guns ever.
B-Tier Guns In MW2 | Viable
All of the B-tier weapons are still viable, and none of these were "painful" to level up. They're just noticeably a worse than the S or A-Tier weapons, usually with at least one or two underwhelming factors.
B-Tier: VEL 46 (MP7) / SMG
The MP7 is better at mid-range than most SMGs because it's very controllable and has access to a larger magazine by default. But in close-range, the VEL 46 will lose to most other SMGs because of its slightly weaker TTK.
B-Tier: FSS Hurricane (an M4 with P90-style mags) / SMG
This weapon can be built in a thousand different ways because it has access to attachments from the M4 platform. It's also a huge plus that you get 50-rounds in the default magazine. But, much like the VEL, when push comes to shove, this weapon would lose in most 1 on 1s against the other SMGs.
We have a complete loadout for the Hurricane here.
B-Tier: MINIBAK (PP19 Bizon) / SMG
Yes, you get extra rounds in the magazine, and that might make this a good Warzone choice, but in every other respect it just feels like a worse version of the VAZNEZ-9K. Not C-Tier, because it's still completely viable, but unimpressive.
B-Tier: PDSW 528 (P90) / SMG
As is Call of Duty tradition, the P90 is underwhelming. Thanks to the 50-round default mag, the devs always feel the need to make it a pea shooter, and in MW2, it feels especially weak. But, it does have fantastic bullet velocity, and it's not at all unpleasant to use.
B-Tier: Kastov 545 (AK-74) / Assault Rifle
This is the AK chambered in a weaker caliber. And while your damage goes down compared to the outstanding 762 Kastov, you don't seem to gain anything in exchange for that downgrade. Instead, you get fairly averge stats in most categories, and a noticably poor TTK that makes this weapon behind the rest of the ARs.
B-Tier: Lachmann-556 (HK33) / Assault Rifle
This is a decent AR, with a decent combination of recoil control and damage. The problem is it that it isn't quite good enough in any one department to truly compete with better weapons, and it's a bit too slow and sluggish for what it offers. Still playable and especially interesting if you're looking for a change from the same old meta weapons.
B-Tier: HCR 56 (AUG H-BAR) / LMG
Similar to how the RPK is basically a different kind of the Kastov 762, the HCR 56 is just a different kind of STB-556. That makes it viable for pubs, but it's just not good enough in any one department to be classed higher than B-tier.
B-Tier: 556 Icarus (the M4 with a belt-fed receiver) / LMG
Think of this as the more-mobile/lower-TTK LMG. It's viable, but there are just so many better options, and they seem to have nerfed the broken build we were all using during the beta.
Here is the best 556 Icarus loadout.
B-Tier: RPK / LMG
The RPK is probably the best LMG, and that's because it can basically become a different style of Kastov 762. However, it will always be slower than the AR version and in multiplayer mobility is key.
B-Tier RAAL MG / LMG
The RAAL hits like a truck, but is suuuuper slow. If you can set up in a nice position you destroy absolutely everyone, but you shouldn't be caught on the move because you will need a minute to aim in.
B-Tier: Signal 50 (GM6 Lynx) / Sniper
The aim-assist on this thing is absolutely broken, and it's mobility and handling aren't terrible for a sniper either. What really bumps it up, is the rate-of-fire. It's absurd how quickly you can put out follow-up shots if you're trying to hold a lane. But it's only a B-Tier because it's simply too slow for 6v6 multiplayer.
B-Tier: FJX Imperium / Sniper
This weapon is needlessly big for multiplayer, but it's not so slow that it's unusable. In fact, we're putting it in B-Tier because you can hold lanes pretty comfortably with the FJX.
B-Tier: MCPR-300 / Sniper
As with the Signal 50, the aim-assist seems absolutely broken on this thing. It's a great sniper but not quite A-tier, as it has a slower rate of fire than the Signal 50 and it's also not fast enough to be "great" for 6v6.
B-Tier: TAQ-V (SCAR H) / Battle Rifle
I wish I could say the SCAR H was better, I really wanted to love it, but the recoil is just too poor to use full-auto effectively at mid-range. In semi-auto it's completely unremarkable, and hence, the TAQ-V is B-tier.
B-Tier: Lockwood 300 (725) / Shotgun
I hate that they've included this weapon so much. This is basically the 725 from MW2019 and it's one of the most annoying and unsatisfing weapons to fight. Sadly, it will beat almost anything within close-range, and so we have to put it in at least B-tier.
C-Tier Guns In MW2 | Better Than Punching
These are now the "bad" weapons. It's still Call of Duty, and so you can get by with most anything and make a few kills, but these weapons won't help much.
C-Tier: MX9 (AUG Para) / SMG
Much like the AR AUG, this is a very comfortable weapon to use, but for most players, this weapon is simply too weak in TTK, and doesn't have strong enough mobility to compete with the higher ranked SMGs.
C-Tier: M16 / Assault Rilfe
Sadly, this isn't the OG Modern Warfare M16; you won't kill people with a single-burst and that makes this weapon noticeably struggle against other ARs. And while it can do a better job at long-range on single-fire, at that point you might as well just use the SPR.
Here you can find the best M16 loadout.
C-Tier: M13B (MCX) / Assault Rifle
A new variant of MW2019's M13, the M13B is a very low-recoil weapon, capable of taking engagements at a much greater distance than most ARs. But you just don't need that extra range-potential on these 6v6 maps, and in close-range it feel distinctly C-Tier.
C-Tier: SAKIN MG38 (M249) / LMG
Whereas the Icarus is the "fast" LMG, this is at the other end of the spectrum. It's very heavy, and very slow. So while it does have good damage, you probably won't even have shouldered the weapon before you get outgunned.
C-Tier: Lachmann-762 (G3) / Battle Rifle
The Lachmann-762 Battle Rifle can basically be made into a heavy, high-damage AR. However, it feels pretty sluggish and is hard to use effectively.
Here is our best Lachmann-762 loadout.
C-Tier: Tempus Torrent (SR-25) / Marksman Rifle
This is the marksman rifle for the M4 platform, and it's about on par with the TAQ-M and EBR-14, although ever so slightly better. You can use it okay-ish from a distance, but it's very difficult to have much impact on the map if you're using an MMR.
C-Tier: TAQ-M (SCAR H in 6.5 Creedmoor) / Marksman Rifle
The SCARs Marksman Rifle will not be to everyone's taste as it requires a decent trigger-finger for follow-up shots. But that said, it's one of the better two-shot semi-autos because it has access to the SCAR platform's fantastic attachments.
C-Tier: EBR-14 / Marksman Rifle
The EBR isn't quite as awful as the other weapon in the platform, the SO-14, because it has enough power to sometimes win mid-range gunfights, but there's no situation in which this is going to be a strong weapon.
C-Tier: FTAC Recon (the M4 in a higher caliber) / Battle Rifle
This starts out as a terrible base weapon, but as you begin to add attachments it becomes viable for mid-to-long range firefights. Especially when you get big enough mags and good enough recoil control to use it on full-auto.
You can find a great FTAC Recon loadout here.
C-Tier: KV Broadside (Saiga-12) / Shotgun
The Broadside came in during Season 2 and it was pretty obvious they just wanted a shotgun that would be viable for Warzone. It's great in that environment, but it's also pretty solid in multiplayer, and has really decent range for a shotgun.
D-Tier Guns In MW2 | Don't Do It
These weapons are not worth using. The Lockwood will be popular because it's objectively cool, and making kills with it is badass, but if you had to play a 1 on 1 for a huge amount of money and you could pick between these weapons and almost anything listed above, I know what you would pick.
D-Tier LM-S (PSG1) / Marksman Rifle
Just use a sniper capable of 1-shotting people. There's no reason to opt for this hit marker machine.
This is our best LM-S loadout if you still want to give it a try.
D-Tier: Victux XMR
Great for Warzone, but too much for multiplayer. The only reason you should pull for this in 6v6 is to level it up.
D-Tier: Expedite 12 (Benelli M4) / Shotgun
It will one-shot people within five meters pretty reliably, which is exactly what you want from a shotgun, but follow-up shots aren't quick and the damage at anything past five meters is pitiful.
D-Tier: Bryson 800 (Mossburg 500) / Shotgun
This is the first Bryson you need to unlock, and it's not very good. It's slower than the Expedite and it has greater kick back. I really don't see why you would use it, when you have the Broadside.
D-Tier Lockwood MK2 (Marlin 30-30, just like the old MK2) / Marksman Rifle
The MK2 has good damage, but you have to rechamber a round after each shot. If you don't always hit the target, you're as good as dead. Simply not a good weapon for the rather small maps.
D-Tier: SO-14 (M14) / Battle Rifle
You can play it full auto, but it has terrible recoil. Just not a good weapon and you should only use it to unlock camos.
D-Tier: Bryson 890 (Mossburg 590) / Shotgun
This is the second Bryson you unlock and it has greater potential as a "combat shotgun" because you get improved handling. That said, there's still really not much point using it when you could have the Broadside.
That was our current ranking of the weapons we've seen in Modern Warfare 2 so far, what do you think, are we faded? Are we sleeping on a meta-weapon? Let us know in the comments.
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