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The best Warzone 2 guns and how to unlock them

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How to unlock the top tier guns in Warzone 2 and Modern Warfare 2

warzone 2 chimera Modern Warfare 2
(Image credit: Activision)
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The best Warzone 2 guns include a variety of assault rifles, LMGs, SMGs and more, from the likes of the Fennec 45, M4, and RPK. However, there's rarely a bad choice as weapon attachments can vastly improve lackluster weaponry and your personal playstyle dictates what the best Warzone 2 guns are for you. With that said, rapid kill times are obviously favorable and you'll want to make sure your loadout complements how you fight, so specializing your weapons to be highly lethal at their optimal range is ideal.

Basically, don't dive into battle in Warzone 2 wielding something like the Fennec and expecting it to do wonders at medium-to-long distances because it's deadly up close (although if you're hellbent on fighting mid-range gunfights with an SMG, the FSS Hurricane is perfect). 

While the best Warzone 2 and Modern Warfare 2 guns ultimately depends on you, we've got some useful advice and lists on what we feel are the best guns in each weapon category, as well as how you can unlock them. We've also got some ideas on the best Warzone 2 loadouts in Modern Warfare 2 as well if you want to think about your whole set up. Be sure to also take a look at the latest Warzone 2 Season 2 weapons.

Best Warzone 2 guns tier list

These are what I think are the best guns in Warzone 2 right now:  

  • RKG (LMG)
  • FSS Hurricane (SMG)
  • M4 (Assault Rifle)
  • Fennec 45 (SMG)
  • TAQ-56 (Assault Rifle)
  • Chimera (Assault Rifle)
  • Vaznev-9K (SMG)
  • SP-R 208 (Marksman Rifle)
  • SIGNAL 50 (Sniper Rifle)

The M4 in Warzone 2

(Image credit: Activision)

Best Warzone 2 Assault Rifles in Modern Warfare 2

Warzone 2 assault rifles generally play best in the mid ranges. Although options like the M4 and M16 can push into longer distances with good control. The Chimera, on the other hand, can give and almost SMG-like close range performance with the right attachments. 

Warzone 2 Sakin MG38

(Image credit: Activision)

Best Warzone 2 LMGs in Modern Warfare 2

  • RPK (Unlocks by leveling the Kastov 762 to lvl 16 check out our best Warzone 2 RPK loadout to get the best from it.)
  • RAAL MG (Unlocks at MR 25)
  • Sakin MG38
  • HCR 56 (Unlocks by leveling the STB 556 to lvl 20)
  • RAPP H (Unlocks by leveling the Lachmann-556 to lvl 16)
  • 556 Icarus (Unlocks by leveling the M4 to lvl 13)

LMGs tend to play at longer ranges, especially if you burst fire to reign in the recoil. These are all about range and damage, with the RPKs recoil control seeing it continue to combinate in this space. 

The FSS Hurricane one of the best Warzone smgs

(Image credit: Activision)

Best Warzone 2 SMGs in Modern Warfare 2

SMGs are all about close ranges and quick kill so don't pick one unless you're going to rush positions. Things like the Fennec 45, Vaznev-9K and PDSW 528 are all about getting right into enemy's face and downing them before they can fight back. Although I personally like the Hurricane as it's got some good accuracy over range with controlled bursts, giving it an AR/SMG combo feel. 

Best Warzone 2 Battle Rifles in Modern Warfare 2

The Lachmann-762 in Warzone 2

(Image credit: Activision)

Battle rifles are all about higher damage and slower, semi auto fire rates. If you have the precision to land fast accurate shots you can absolutely dominate the medium to long ranges. If you can keep pulling the trigger and getting the hits this class can be devastating. 

  • Lachmann-762
  • SO-14 (Unlocks by leveling the EBR-14 to lvl 12)
  • TAQ-V (Unlocks by leveling the TAQ-56 to lvl 11)
  • FTAC Recon (Unlocks by leveling the M4 to lvl 13)

The ERB-14, a good warzone marksman rifle

(Image credit: Activision)

Best Warzone 2 Marksman Rifles in Modern Warfare 2

  • SA-B 50 (Unlocks by leveling the SP-R 208 to lvl 13. Take a look at our best SA-B 50 loadout in Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2)
  • ERB-14
  • SP-R 208 (Unlocks at MR 7)
  • Lockwood MK2 (Unlocks at MR 28)
  • LM-S (Unlocks by leveling the Lachmann-762 to lvl 17)
  • TAQ-M (Unlocks by leveling the TAQ-56 to lvl 20)

Warzone Marksman Rifles are a sniper compromise that gives you a better fire rate at the expense of damage. So if you like to snipe but aren't great at one shot kills, these let you get in more rapid shots. The SP-R 208, ERB-14 and TAQ-M are all strong options and Modern Warfare 2 weapon tuning increase their effectiveness even further. 

MCPR-300, the best Warzone sniper

(Image credit: Activision)

Best Warzone 2 Sniper Rifles in Modern Warfare 2

  • MCPR-300 
  • SIGNAL 50 (Unlocks at MR 44)
  • LA-B 330 (Unlocks by leveling the SA-B 50 to lvl 16)
  • SP-X 80 (Unlocks by leveling the LA-B 330 to lvl 17)

Sniper Rifles in Warzone 2 and Modern Warfare 2 are all about the accuracy. They're slow to fire but with massive damage so if you want to play at range and you can make your shots count, this is the class you want. 

Lockwood 300 Warzone sniper

(Image credit: Activision)

Best Warzone 2 Shotguns in Modern Warfare 2

  • Bryson 800
  • Expedite 12 (Unlocks at MR 9)
  • Lockwood 300 (Unlocks at MR 36)
  • Bryson 890 (Unlocks by leveling the Bryson 800 to lvl 16)

Shotguns are all about getting in close. So, like SMGs, these are all about closing the distance and getting the kill. Just remember that unlike SMGs these have slow fire rates and high damage, so pick your poison if you want to rush clear rooms. 

The best Warzone pistol: the P890

(Image credit: Activision)

Best Warzone 2 pistols in Modern Warfare 2

While usually a back up sidearm, dual pistols work well at close range with fire rates and damage that can the SMG role. The P890 has been the best Warzone 2 pistol for a while with best Warzone 2 Akimbo pistol loadouts still a popular choice. 

Best Warzone 2 Launchers in Modern Warfare 2

All Modern Warfare 2 guns

(Image credit: Activision)

Generally these work well in Modern Warfare multiplayer, especially in the larger Ground War and Invasion games that favor large enemy groups and vehicles. They're much less of a thing in Warzone. 

  • PILA 
  • STRELA-P (Unlocks at MR 14)
  • JOKR (Unlocks at MR 24)
  • RPG-7 (Unlocks at MR 32)

Best Warzone 2 Melee weapons in Modern Warfare 2

All Modern Warfare 2 guns

(Image credit: Activision)
  • Riot Shield (Unlocks as a primary weapon at MR 37)
  • Combat Knife (Unlocks as a secondary weapon at MR 17)
Josh West
Josh West
Editor-in-Chief, GamesRadar+

Josh West is Editor-in-Chief of GamesRadar+. He has over 18 years of experience in both online and print journalism, and was awarded a BA (Hons) in Journalism and Feature Writing. Josh has contributed to world-leading gaming, entertainment, tech, music, and comics brands, including games™, Edge, Retro Gamer, SFX, 3D Artist, Metal Hammer, and Newsarama. In addition, Josh has edited and written books for Hachette and Scholastic, and worked across the Future Games Show as an Assistant Producer. He specializes in video games and entertainment coverage, and has provided expert comment for outlets like the BBC and ITV. In his spare time, Josh likes to play FPS games and RPGs, practice the bass guitar, and reminisce about the film and TV sets he worked on as a child actor.

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