The best Warzone loadouts, custom gear and what to pick

warzone loadout
(Image credit: Activision)

The best Warzone loadout can make or break a win in Call of Duty Warzone. Getting the best guns and gear - assuming you can claim it all - will massively swing a game in your favor. But with so many guns, equipment variations, and a constantly changing meta, it can be tough to know what to take. There are obviously a lot of great Warzone weapons, but there are also some clear top tier guns you'll be at a disadvantage without. Even with the steps being taken to better balance weapons, increase time to kill, and bring all the guns into a better competitive range there are some still top end options you'd be foolish  to miss. Plus there are perks, and tactical or lethal gear to chose between, making a lot of combinations to work out. To help you we'll go through all the best Warzone loadouts here, and give you some ideas on how best to pick gear and use it in Verdansk.

How do you call in a Warzone loadout?

How do you call in a loadout in Warzone?

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There are two ways to get your Warzone loadout in any given match. The first, and fastest way is to purchase one from a Buy Station. In regular Verdansk ‘84, a Loadout Drop can be purchased for $10,000, while on Rebirth Island it’ll only set you back $7,500. You get cash by looting, completing contracts, or picking it up from dead players, so make sure you’re moving around a lot to rack up your money.

The other way to get a Loadout Drop is to wait for a free one to spawn during a match. A Loadout Drop spawns twice during a match. The first one spawns 10 seconds prior to the start of the second circle, while the next one spawns right at the beginning of the fifth circle.

Keep in mind, a loadout drop will always spawn at these times, though where it appears will differ. For instance, if you are within close proximity of other players, multiple Loadout Drops will appear next to one another and will be risky to approach. If you’re off on your own on the edge of the map, you’ll most likely get a Loadout Drop all to yourself. 

The main thing to pay attention to are the number of boxes that appear. If there are multiple, it’s a good indication enemy players are nearby. If it’s just one, you’re more than likely safe. Be aware of this before you dart towards the free Loadout Drop, as you could get taken out as you pick your weapons. 

Best Warzone primary weapons

Best Warzone loadout primary weapons

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Now that you’re aware of how to get your gear in a match, you should learn how to actually build your Warzone loadout. First, we’ll touch on a few different primary weapons, which will be the bread and butter of your custom class.

There are a ton of different weapons to choose from depending on preference and playstyle, but the main type you should consider are assault rifles. These will be ideal at medium to long range and should be built with accuracy in mind. Weapons like the FARA 83 , Krig 6, and RAM-7 are excellent, as they pack a punch and have low recoil that’s easy to control. Check out our best Warzone FARA 83 loadouts to help you with the first one. 

If you’re more inclined to use a heavier weapon that works at range, perhaps an LMG might work for you. We recommend the Stoner 63, the best Warzone MG82 loadouts are great, and the best Warzone Bruen loadouts too. Keep in mind, these weapons will be much slower firing, but highly effective at longer ranges.

Beyond that, you might want to try some of the Warzone best SMGs options for close quarters, such as a few Warzone MP5 builds (the Cold War variant in particular), then there's Warzone best PPSh 41 loadouts to consider, or some Warzone best LC10 loadouts. All of these have pros and cons, but the main point is that they excel from close to mid-range.

Finally, the most skilled players will opt to utilize sniper rifles and Marksman rifles. These are weapons that should be used from afar, with the potential to down or eliminate a player in one shot. They’re harder to use, but most effective when you learn to master them. We advise the Kar98k, the best Warzone ZRG 20mm loadouts , and the best Warzone Swiss K31 loadouts.

Best Warzone secondary weapons

Best Warzone loadout secondary weapons

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Your secondary weapon will often save your life, so it’s a good idea to bring one that works well for your playstyle. Most of the handguns are bad, but the Sykov is a fantastic choice since it almost feels like an SMG. We've got some best Warzone Sykov loadouts to help you there. Likewise, the Diamatti is excellent up close as well.

Though, oftentimes, a more explosive approach works best. For that, we’d advise the RPG-7 or the Strela-P, both of which can be fired freely to damage players. Finally, there are a slew of melee weapons, but by far, the best are the Kali Sticks, which can be swung extremely quickly, making it easy to down players up close. 

Of course, if you’re running the Overkill perk (which we’ll cover below), you’ll have a much more varied loadout.

Best Warzone loadout perks

Best Warzone loadout perks

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Unfortunately, there aren’t many viable options when it comes to the best Warzone perks. That’s mostly because only a handful of them are useful, while most of the others are underpowered and put you at a disadvantage. But there are some good Warzone perk option you should consider: 

  • Perk slot 1: The two we’d recommend are either E.O.D. or Quick Fix. The nice thing about E.O.D. is that it’s quite practical, making you less susceptible to damage from thrown explosives. Quick Fix is another good one, since it triggers immediate health regeneration after eliminating an enemy player. It’s far more useful in squad-based modes like trios and quads, so keep that in mind. Double Time is also a decent choice, but it’s less useful than the other two.
  • Perk slot 2: basically only has two options. The most commonly used choice is Ghost, as it prevents you from appearing on the minimap during a UAV and keeps you from showing up on heartbeat sensors. The other viable option is Overkill. This gives you two primary weapons, which is obviously ideal. Many players will opt to get an Overkill loadout first, followed by a Ghost loadout - that way they’ll have two primary weapons while still having Ghost equipped.
  • Perk Slot 3: Finally, the third perk slot consists of mostly useless options, but our go-to is Amped, which gives you faster weapon swap speeds. Tracker is also decent, but more so if you’re using an SMG or other close range weapon. This perk gives you the ability to see enemy footsteps on the ground temporarily.

Best Warzone lethal option

Best Warzone lethal loadout option

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When it comes to lethal Warzone loadout equipment, there are multiple viable options. Molotov Cocktails are good because of their spread damage, as are Thermites. Semtex grenades seem to be the most used due to their versatility and ability to explode shortly after being thrown. Those who like to snipe should probably use Claymores or Proximity Mines to watch any nearby entrances. 

Other skilled players will actually utilize throwing knives to quickly finish off a downed player. Many times, a player will get taken out while attempting to eliminate a downed player. Or perhaps they’ll get caught reloading after shooting a downed player. The throwing knives are much more practical since you’ll almost always use them, but won’t work well for crowd control, so they’re a trade-off. 

Best Warzone tactical option

Best Warzone Loadout

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Most of the Warzone Tactical equipment isn’t great, but there are a couple that stand out above the rest. The most useful piece of Tactical equipment is the heartbeat sensor. This will show any nearby enemies within a 50-meter radius, so long as they aren’t Ghosted. The other useful Tactical equipment is the Stun grenade, which, as its name suggests will temporarily stun your opponents when thrown near them. This can make or break certain gunfights making them highly practical.

If you’ll be utilizing a second loadout as mentioned above, you should probably use a heartbeat sensor on the first one, and stuns on the second. That’s because most players will likely be Ghosted by the latter portions of the match, making a heartbeat sensor far less effective than stuns. 

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Joseph Yaden

Joseph loves Nintendo and horror games. With the Nintendo Switch, he's ready to get spooky anytime, anywhere. He specializes in covering Call of Duty: Warzone and action RPGs like Dark Souls, so you can bet he's looking forward to Elden Ring, the brainchild of George RR Martin and Hidetaka Miyazaki. You can find Joseph's work at GamesRadar, Digital Trends, Inverse, and PLAY Magazine. When he's not writing about video games he can usually be found petting his cats and listening to some Progressive Metal. He thinks Meshuggah is tight.