Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2: The Best Assault Rifles

Want to improve your Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2.0 game? Tired of being bottom frag? Stop being that useless teammate in the Gulag and help your squad get those wins in! With our assault rifle guide, never again will you be guessing which gun works and which one doesn’t, after all, nobody wants to spend a quarter of the game getting your loadout custom weapon only for it to underperform when the action starts. Spend less time in the gunsmith and more time winning!

Both Modern Warfare 2 and its free-to-play component Warzone 2.0 have been stellar hits for Infinity Ward, with over $1 billion dollar in sales globally the franchise is more popular than ever. Call of Duty has always been a pick-up-and-play kind of first-person shooter game, now with crossplay across PlayStation, Xbox, and PC this is truer than ever. Infinity ward’s seasonal updates only further establish the game’s continued popularity for many months to come. Now with the preliminaries out of the way, let’s get started.

6. AUG

A decent all-rounder kind of assault rifle, the STB 556 AKA AUG, needs no introductions. One of the advantages of the STB is that its iron sights are relatively clean compared to other assault rifles, giving you the ability to allot that valuable attachment slot elsewhere.

Both the FTAC FB20 and Bruen Turaco 686mm are decent barrel choices for medium to long-range engagements, but if utmost recoil control is needed, then the FTAC FB20 with the Sakin Tread-40 muzzle attachment will negate the majority of the recoil. This is perfect for building-to-building multiplayer maps like Embassy, Farm 18, Al-Bagra Fortress, Taraq, or open-field combat situations in both Ground War and Warzone 2.0.

A distinct disadvantage of the STB is that a 42-round magazine is its maximum clip capacity, this might leave you wanting in larger gunfights, especially in high-adrenaline situations in multiplayer or against multiple 3-plated opponents in Warzone 2.0.

Remember: switching to your sidearm is always faster than reloading.

5. TAQ-56

One of the greatest strengths of the TAQ-56 is its relatively low recoil in stock form. Combine this with a foregrip attachment like the FTAC Ripper 56 and Harbinger 020 muzzle, and you will indeed dominate mid to long-range gunfights with relative ease.

Not all players would consider using a perk slot for “Fast Hands”. If so, it’s advisable to switch to either the 40-round or 60-round mag; this is more of a “what if” scenario in case the situation requires taking down multiple players, as the standard 30-round mag can sometimes be found lacking. Another possible disadvantage is its cluttered iron sights.

A quick visit to the gunsmith can remedy this, although using up one attachment slot purely for sights might not be favorable to some players.

4. M13B

A surprisingly fast TTK over long ranges assault rifle; the M13B combines top-class damage output with damage range and decent recoil control in one deadly package. An almost necessity would be equipping the 60- round magazine simply because you would be burning through your clip size due to its high fire rate.

Taking advantage of the already decent recoil control, the FTAC Ripper 56 and 14” Bruen Echelon barrel will turn this beast into a perfect anti-sniper deterrence. However, take note that during close-range engagements, it will be outpowered by most other Assault Rifles and SMGS, so keeping a secondary close-range weapon will be a wise decision.

3. Chimera

Known in the community as the Honey Badger, the Chimera is an absolute unit of a weapon when it comes to close-range engagements, capable of going up against the Fennec, which is saying something.

As always, using the weapon’s inherent strengths is always the best method of modding in the gunsmith.
In the Chimera’s case, mobility is its most significant advantage. Switching out the stock barrel for the 6.5” EXF Vorpal barrel will increase not only the overall ADS speed but damage range also gets a slight bonus too. Although recoil control is decreased, you shouldn’t mind that anyway in hallway ranges or otherwise close-range firefights.

The VLK LZR 7MW dramatically increases ADS speed as well, combine this with the Ravage-8 stock and Bruen Flash grip, and you’ll get an assault rifle that destroys at close range with some ability to damage players a tad farther out.

2. M4

One of the most versatile weapons in the game, it is virtually impossible to build a bad M4 as it can be modded for practically any situation; switching out the standard barrel with the Hightower 20” barrel increases the M4’s long-range capability to compete even with the battle rifles. The Gauge-9 mono muzzle attachment further increases recoil stability to assist in across-the-field damage dealing, which makes up at least 50% of the Warzone 2.0 Al-Mazrah map.

Of course in Multiplayer game modes where most engagements are defined as close to medium range, having an all-out short-range build might be the wiser choice, for example dropping the Hightower barrel for an ADS-boosting laser sight and removing the scope for even quicker ADS speeds.

1. Kastov 762

AKA the AK-47, this gun has almost always remained a top-tier gun in previous Modern Warfare games, it’s no different here. While the 40-round magazine mod might not seem like a lot in a firefight, though the Kastov’s insane TTK up close and decent damage mid-range, it works as a proper all-rounder if the horizontal recoil can be kept in check.

A lightweight build with the Markeev R7 Stock, FSS OLE-V Laser specializing in ADS speed and mobility, and a commando foregrip to ease the recoil, this thing absolutely shreds in urban warfare zones like Al-Mazrah City, Ahkdar Village, and Hydroelectric in Warzone 2.0 or maps like Shipment or Breenbergh hotel in Modern Warfare 2.

Going long-range will require switching out to the Kas-10 584mm barrel, the FTAC Ripper 56, and your preferred scope, while this may not be the easiest gun to control out there, it definitely wins our top spot for overall usage across a multitude of ranges across Warzone 2.0.

Conclusion:

Now that you know what assault rifle to pick from the get-go, there’s no reason why you can’t rack up those kills, and eventually get those wins! The gunsmith is a very intricate system, this guide only points you in the right direction, we haven’t even discussed tuning which is far more specific to the individual player.

Remember, these guns can be partnered up with each other through the overkill perk, giving you the ability to have the best of both worlds. Mix and match, and adaptation have always been integral to the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2.0 experience, combine that with map knowledge, not to mention teamwork, and you’ve now got all the right tools to become a Warzone pro.

Stay Frosty!

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S

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