‘Modern Warfare 3’ best weapons ranked
Modern Warfare 3 will likely feel familiar to many, thanks to its roster of classic Modern Warfare 2 maps. However, the weapon pool is entirely new, which means there’s a fresh meta to learn.
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If that sounds daunting, then our guide should help. We’ll break down the top ten best weapons in Modern Warfare 3, explaining what makes each of them so powerful so that you can find the perfect gun for any scenario.
‘Modern Warfare 3’ best weapons
Below, you’ll find the ten best weapons in Modern Warfare 3:
- MCW
- Striker
- Longbow
- Rival 9
- MTZ-556
- BAS-B
- AMR9
- Holger 26
- KV Inhibitor
- SVA-545
After having tested the pool of weapons that we had access to in the Modern Warfare 3 beta, the MCW settled as a clear winner. This gun feels very similar to the incredibly popular ACR from the original Modern Warfare 2, and we expect it to become an instant favourite at launch.
Below, we’ll break down what makes each of the best weapons in Modern Warfare 3 so powerful.
MCW
The MCW is the best weapon in Modern Warfare 3, and it’s going to be an obvious pick for many. It’s a versatile weapon that can quickly adapt to feel strong at any range, but it’s best suited to medium-range engagements. That makes it perfect for the classic roster of mid-sized Modern Warfare 2 maps, such as Favela, Highrise and Afghan.
However, with a high fire rate and decent mobility, you’ll have no trouble running and running in close quarters either. Whatever your preferred playstyle, the MCW is sure to be a meta weapon that deserves a place in your loadout.
The default MCW already comes with high damage and very low recoil, but a few attachments can transform this weapon into a laser that’ll pick enemies off without giving them any chance to react. Check out our Modern Warfare 3 MCW loadout if you’re wondering what to equip.
Striker
Despite nerfs over the beta weekend, the Striker is still Modern Warfare 3’s best SMG. This gun shreds through enemies at incredible speed, and its high mobility makes the Striker perfect for charging around smaller maps, such as Rust and Scrapyard.
The nerfs that arrived during the beta targeted the Striker’s longer-range capabilities, lowering its damage from afar. Fortunately, that doesn’t impact where it performs best, so you can still use this weapon knowing that it’ll decimate enemies at close range.
The Striker already feels snappy, but you can make it even faster by removing the stock and adding a few other attachments. You can learn how to kit out this weapon with our guide on the best Striker loadout in Modern Warfare 3.
Longbow
The Longbow is one of Modern Warfare 3’s bolt-action Sniper Rifles and it is incredibly powerful. If you’re after a weapon that can deliver consistent one-shot kills while you sprint around the map, then this gun is perfect.
The Longbow has incredibly high damage and accuracy, making it perfect for popping heads across the map. However, with some attachments to bump its handling and mobility, you can also make it a killing machine at close-medium range.
That might not be what you expect from a Sniper Rifle, but the versatility offered by the Longbow makes it one of the best guns in Modern Warfare 3. The True-Tac Short Barrel and the Demo 650 Grip, for example, will massively improve the sprint-to-fire and ADS speed stats, creating an unstoppable weapon that is sure to prove popular at launch.
Rival 9
While the Striker is an obvious pick for the best SMG, the Rival 9 is certainly worth trying out. With similar damage and a slightly higher fire rate, the Rival 9 could actually outperform the Striker if you manage to land your shots.
Unfortunately, that’s going to prove a lot harder with the Rival 9, as it has lower accuracy and recoil control than the Striker. That was enough to place it lower on our list of the best weapons in Modern Warfare 3, but some attachments to make it more stable could make the Rival 9 a particularly strong gun.
MTZ-556
The MTZ-556 has a higher fire rate and mobility than other Assault Rifles, which often makes it outperform the MCW in close-quarters situations. While it lacks the medium-range strength that makes the MCW so strong, the MTZ-556 is perfect for smaller run-and-gun maps.
Of course, the higher fire rate does come with some problems, as the MTZ-556 trades off some recoil control and accuracy. This makes it a little harder to place your shots, making it a less versatile option than the MCW.
Fortunately, we can fix that with certain attachments, such as the Chewk Angled Grip Underbarrel and the Casus Brake Muzzle, which will improve its medium-range accuracy while maintaining the speed that makes the MTZ-556 so powerful.
BAS-B
An unlikely contender, the BAS-B is a Battle Rifle, which would usually leave it in an awkward middle stage between the faster Assault Rifles and more powerful Sniper Rifles. However, that middle ground only serves to make the BAS-B a versatile and powerful option in Modern Warfare 3, where it excels at medium-range in its automatic mode before quickly swapping to semi-auto for those longer-range headshots.
Since we want it to be effective in semi-auto and full-auto, you’ll want to equip attachments such as the D37 Grip, Bruen Laur4 Light Precision Stock and VT-7 Soulstealer Suppressor to improve the accuracy and recoil control, along with the bullet velocity. This’ll lower the recoil issues that can plague the BAS-B in full auto, while making your bullets fly faster when you’re after kills across the map.
AMR9
The AMR9 is the last of the Modern Warfare 3 beta SMGs, and while it falls below the others, it still absolutely deserves a spot on this list of the best weapons. The AMR9 has the highest damage, range, and accuracy among the SMGs, making it feel more like an Assault Rifle in combat.
However, that power and accuracy mean that the AMR9 must sacrifice some mobility, which makes it far worse for the run-and-gun playstyle that is sure to dominate the many smaller maps in Modern Warfare 3.
The AMR9 won’t contend with the Striker and Rival 9 while charging around Rust, then, but some attachments to tweak it to be more like an Assault Rifle will make this gun powerful on mid-sized maps, such as Afghan and Terminal.
Holger 26
The Holger 26 is Modern Warfare 3’s best LMG, with high power and precision making it an excellent pick for medium-range encounters. While it doesn’t contend with the snappier options that rank higher for mobility and handling, the Holger 26 is sure to appeal to those who are after massive magazines that pack plenty of punch.
While the Holger 26 lacks mobility, it does have a high fire rate that will make it easy to quickly kill enemies, despite Modern Warfare 3’s long time-to-kill. With a few attachments to lower the weight so that you can sprint around faster, you should find that the Holger 26 settles fairly high in the Modern Warfare 3 launch meta.
KV Inhibitor
Unlike the bolt-action Longbow, the KV Inhibitor is a semi-automatic Sniper Rifle that fires fast while still delivering huge damage. If you need something more forgiving while you get familiar with sniping, then the faster-firing KV Inhibitor should be your long-range pick at launch in Modern Warfare 3.
However, the KV Inhibitor falls short with its accuracy and recoil control. Both of these stats are significantly lower than the Longbow, which’ll make it much harder to land shots from long distance. With that in mind, we’d recommend leaning into the KV Inhibitor’s short-medium range strength, where it absolutely dominates as you charge around the various classic maps in Modern Warfare 3.
SVA-545
The SVA-545 is the last of Modern Warfare 3’s Assault Rifles that showed up in the beta, and while it falls short compared to the MCW and the MTZ-556, it’s still worth considering for your loadout. It has very similar stats to the MCW, with slightly lower damage, recoil control and a slower fire rate trading off for faster handling and mobility.
However, what makes the SVA-545 deserve a spot on this list is its Hyper-Burst ability. This makes the first two shots fire incredibly fast, which means those with impressive reflexes can potentially get two quick hits on an enemy and secure an easy kill.
With the longer time-to-kill in Modern Warfare 3, landing those two shots consistently can make the SVA-545 outperform many other weapons in the game. You just need to be accurate, which makes it a harder weapon to recommend for everyone, as newcomers will likely find the other weapons on this list easier to use.
That covers our list of the ten best weapons in Modern Warfare 3. For more on the game, take a look at our interviews with the developers at Sledgehammer, in which they explained the game’s visibility changes and time-to-kill.
The post ‘Modern Warfare 3’ best weapons ranked appeared first on NME.
Hayden Hefford
NME
