The best Warzone 2 Season 3 meta weapons

Warzone 2 Season 3 new FJX imperium sniper rifle intervention — (Image credit: Activision)

The Warzone 2 Season 3 meta weapons are going to be must-picks for your loadouts if you want the best chances of emerging victorious in battle royale. Despite the launch of Season 3 adding in quite a few weapon adjustments, there are still plenty of familiar guns dominating the Warzone 2 meta and standing out from a now huge pool of weapons to choose from. Hopefully you’ve already got some of the following weapons leveled up and ready to go so you can adjust your loadouts accordingly and drop in. Here are what we feel are the best Warzone 2 weapons for the Season 3 meta.

Warzone 2 Season 3 weapon meta

Here are the Warzone 2 Season 3 weapons that stand out as top picks for your loadouts:

ISO Hemlock (Assault Rifle)
TAQ-56 (Assault Rifle)
Kastov 762 (Assault Rifle)
Lachmann Sub (SMG)
Vaznev-9K (SMG)
VEL-46 (SMG)
Sakin MG38 (LMG)
RPK (LMG)
MCPR-300 (Sniper Rifle)
KV-Broadside (Shotgun)

Top Warzone 2 loadouts

Warzone 2 Black Site Key Stronghold guide — (Image credit: Activision)

We've compiled our best Warzone 2 loadouts for all sorts of weapons all in one place

Due to the fast, aggressive, and sometimes unforgiving nature of Warzone 2 matches, weapons that allow you to keep up with the pace through rapid kill times or excellent handling and control are always going to fit the meta and stand above the rest. A good starting place when facing a new meta is to look at the Assault Rifles and SMGs with low or easily controllable recoil as these are often effective and can be even more so with the right attachments. Make sure you’re clear on how your favorites have been affected by the Season 3 launch update in these patch notes.

ISO Hemlock

Highly reliable with good damage and controllable recoil. Despite some nerfs with the launch of Season 3, the Hemlock is still a powerful weapon and is made even better with attachments and tuning that lean into controlling recoil and accuracy further.

TAQ-56

Much like the Hemlock, the TAQ-56 is also very reliable and accurate. With the extra TAQ receivers available, it’s also a very versatile weapon and you can customize it to suit pretty much any playstyle. Check out our best TAQ-56 loadout in Warzone 2.

Kastov 762

Call of Duty Warzone 2 gun — (Image credit: Activision)

For a harder-hitting assault rifle option, you’ll want the Kastov 762. It’s well-suited for medium and long range gunfights, so it’s naturally a great primary weapon for Warzone 2. Make sure you opt for attachments that help with accuracy and recoil control to set it above the likes of the Hemlock.

Lachmann Sub and Vaznev-9K

Call of Duty Warzone 2 gun Lachmann Sub SMG — (Image credit: Activision)

Despite some Season 3 balancing adjustments, the Lachmann Sub and Vaznev-9K are still some of the best SMGs for Warzone 2. They’re both great all-rounders with highly manageable recoil and decent range. They’re so similar that your choice is down to your own preference and how it fits into your loadout - take a look at our best Vaznev-9K loadout for Warzone 2.

VEL 46

Even with a small nerf to headshot damage for Warzone Season 3, the VEL-46 remains a great close-range SMG. Its high fire rate, relatively large magazine, and excellent hip fire means it's a good secondary weapon to whip out for when enemy players get too close.

Sakin MG38

The Sakin remains a great LMG choice for Warzone 2 due to its good statistics and best-in-class default magazine size of 100 rounds. You’ll be able to lay down lots of suppressing fire with it, but make sure you’ve got a good secondary weapon for close-range fights.

RPK

Call of Duty Warzone 2 gun RPK LMG — (Image credit: Activision)

Like the Sakin, the RPK is also still a really good option if you enjoy LMGs in Warzone 2. It generally feels less clunky than the Sakin due to its smaller size and less bouncy recoil, so it feels more like a very heavy assault rifle than a fully-fledged LMG - we've covered it here in out best Warzone 2 RPK loadout guide.

MCPR-300

If sniper rifles are your forte, the MCPR-300 is a great bolt-action rifle for long-range gunfights. I’d argue its default 10-round magazine makes it a smidge better than the Victus XMR and the new FJX Imperium, although they all have very similar statistics anyway. Regardless of your choice, make sure you slap on the Nilsound 90 muzzle attachment and Explosive ammunition to bring down fully armored enemies with a single headshot. You can also learn more about the best Warzone 2 sniper rifles here.

KV Broadside

The Broadside is probably the best shotgun choice for Warzone Season 3 thanks to its good range and rate of fire. It’ll come in handy for those frantic super-close-range battles, but one of the SMGs featured in this list might be a better option overall depending on your preference and your loadout’s other weapon.

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Will Sawyer is a Guides Editor at GamesRadar+ with over five years of experience in writing online guides, news, and features, and has a BA (Hons) in Journalism. Starting as a freelancer, Will contributed to startmenu and Game Rant before joining the GamesRadar+ team in August 2021. Since then, he has written hundreds of guides about a huge range of games, with shooters and action games being his areas of expertise. Outside of writing about games, Will hops between multiplayer shooters with friends, such as Darktide and Helldivers 2, and delves into whatever has been on his backlog for far too long. He also tries to get through his never-ending Warhammer pile of shame of grey Tyranids, Aeldari, and Chaos Space Marines.