When it’s crunch time and the final circle beckons, having the right equipment is vital to finishing the match on a high. Following Season 4 Reloaded, one of the biggest balance patches in Call of Duty history, here are the best Warzone loadouts to propel you to another victory!
There are few more difficult challenges than the intense competition of a skill-based battle royale, and crafting a perfect loadout can make all the difference when it comes to taking home the top prize in Call of Duty Warzone.
If that wasn’t enough to focus on, Raven Software constantly tweaks the delicate balance of different loadout configurations from season to season, and sometimes even mid-season.
In Season 4 Reloaded, Raven has made the decision to try and slow down the time-to-kill of just about every weapon in the game. So when you next drop into a match, your go-to kit might not pack the same punch as it used to.
But with difficulty comes opportunity. One of the main points of the Season 4 Reloaded balance changes is to stop the same old guns dominating the whole meta. With the power of its competitors reduced, that peashooter you used to hate might feel like it melts enemies faster than you can say “Gulag”.
By flattening the effectiveness of some of the most powerful and broken loadouts in Warzone, Raven has tried to level the field as much as possible and give some unloved weapons their time in the sun.
We’ll keep this list updated with new loadouts and strategies as they emerge in the Call of Duty Warzone metagame – so you can rinse them for all they’re worth before the nerf-hammer falls.
What are loadouts in Call of Duty Warzone?
An intrinsic part of the Battle Royale genre is starting with nothing, and Call of Duty Warzone is no different.
When you parachute into Verdansk, it will always be with nothing but a knife and a pistol.
However, as the game progresses you can gain a tactical advantage over your opponents by calling in or collecting a multiplayer-style loadout from an airdrop.
This gives you access to not just three powerful perks, but two fully specced-out and customized weapons tailored to your playstyle or the situation at hand.
But remember, this is the best Warzone loadout you’re building, not multiplayer – so there are a few different things you need to consider before you make the final decisions:
- Are you playing solo, or as part of a team?
- Are the other remaining players solo, or a team as well?
- How long is left in the match, and what stage is the circle on?
- What kind of loadout will be best suited to the locations the circle is forcing you into?
Whatever luck the RNG gods have blessed you with will likely pale in comparison to the consistency of a pre-built loadout and will provide you with a stable base to perform your best in a pinch.
There’s so much randomness and variability in a huge multiplayer Battle Royale like Warzone, that a lot of the advantage a quality loadout gives you comes from familiarity. So while there are definitely powerful combinations to be found in the best Warzone loadouts, practice will still make perfect.
Even though Warzone is free-to-play, dedicated operators who have been playing Modern Warfare since launch have an indisputable advantage in the number of options available.
There’s no getting around this fact, but hopefully you’ve made enough progress thus far to mitigate some of the catch-up.
Beyond that, you may notice a running theme throughout the best loadouts: they usually have two primary weapons rather than a main weapon and a secondary.
That is because sniping is very powerful in Warzone, thanks to boosted headshot damage. A single shot to the head from either of the two bolt-action sniper rifles will down any player, regardless of how much armour they have.
Best Warzone Loadouts
Taking into account the opinions of top players, streamers, and the community at large, these are the best Warzone loadouts you can build.
For each loadout we’ll list the equipment necessary, the levels and requirements needed to unlock each part, as well as a description of why it’s the best in any given situation.
We’ll try to give a mix of suggestions for new players just starting out, intermediate players looking to step up to the next level, and top-tier picks that require the highest level gear.
Best loadout for beginners – the best Kilo loadout and best MP5 loadout
| Warzone Best Beginner Loadout – Attachments to work towards | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary: Kilo | ||||
| Attachment 1 | Attachment 2 | Attachment 3 | Attachment 4 | Attachment 5 |
| Monolithic Suppressor | Singuard Arms 19.8″ Prowler | VLK 3x Optic | Commando Foregrip | 60 Rnd Mags |
| Secondary:XM4 | ||||
| Attachment 1 | Attachment 2 | Attachment 3 | Attachment 4 | Attachment 5 |
| Suppressor | 13.5″ Task Force | Tiger Team Spotlight | Raider Pad | 45 Rnd |
Starting out in Call of Duty Warzone is tough. It can seem like you’re waiting in the lobby for an eternity only to be instantly melted as soon as you so much as squint at another player in the distance.
To maximise a fast time-to-kill and not feel like you’re firing a full clip into enemies only to be killed in two shots yourself, you need to make sure your shots are actually hitting the target.
This means a decent assault rifle with manageable recoil is a great pick for beginners.
A good, solid choice is the Kilo assault rifle, which teams low and predictable recoil with decent damage at most ranges.
Another option from level 1 to take a look at is the XM4, which despite feeling the full force of the nerf hammer is still decent, especially when specced out for short-range combat.
Since brand-new players have access to both of these guns right from the off, they’re both good choices to start levelling up quickly so you can buff them with attachments.
Next, team your AR with a supplementary close-range weapon, an SMG or another faster-firing AR is best.
Strong early choices are the Modern Warfare MP5, Cold War MP5, or the LC10 or Mac-10 if you have them unlocked.
| Warzone Best MP5 Loadout | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attachment 1 | Attachment 2 | Attachment 3 | Attachment 4 | Attachment 5 |
| Agency Suppressor (CW), Monolithic Suppressor (MW) | Tiger Team Spotlight (CW), Merc Foregrip (MW) | Raider Stock (CW), FTAC Collapsible (MW) | Bruiser Grip or Serpent Wrap (CW), Slight of Hand (MW) | STANAG 50 Rnd Drum (CW), 45 Round Mags (MW) |
In fact, the XM4 can also be specced out as a closer-range secondary, and does a very good job when it is. If you want a double-AR build to level up two versatile guns at once, then you can’t go far wrong with the two we’ve mentioned.
For your perks, as we mentioned before, Overkill is a must-have which grants you access to two decked-out weapons that will carry you into the end-game.
As well as that, survivability is absolutely key in Warzone, where one wrong move can send you back to the queue. This makes E.O.D, which reduces the damage of enemy explosives, the generally accepted go-to blue pick.
Otherwise, you’re never more than a lucky RPG – slung out of nowhere like a lightning bolt from Zeus – away from a short trip to the Gulag.
Then Amped rounds out pretty much any loadout perfectly, allowing you to spend less time messing around with your different pieces of equipment and more time ready to shoot.
Getting caught indisposed and unaware is probably the most common thing that gets new players killed, as you’ve not developed that sixth sense for sources of danger.
Then for your lethal, consider the powerful C4 explosive if you have it unlocked. The large explosion of which is useful both offensively for digging out campers and defensively when stuck to the walls of choke points. But most explosives are fine.
As for the tactical slot, this is again more personal preference based on your playstyle and game type, with stun grenades helping to set up breach-and-clears with your party or a heartbeat monitor giving you vital information when playing solo.
Best Krig 6 loadout
| Warzone Best Krig 6 Loadout | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attachment 1 | Attachment 2 | Attachment 3 | Attachment 4 | Attachment 5 |
| Agency Suppressor | 19.7″ Ranger | Field Agent Grip | Axial Arms 3x (or Royal & Kross 4x) | STANAG 60 Rnd |
Once you’re ready to move on from the weapons unlocked right at the start of Warzone, you’ll run into the Krig 6, which is one of the main winners in the Season 4 Reloaded balance changes.
Where a lot of the other good assault rifles saw their effectiveness nerfed, the Krig actually got a buff to its base damage. This, teamed with its ease-of-use, makes it a strong, adaptable, choice as your primary weapon in Warzone.
The attachments in this loadout are favoured by YouTuber BennyCentral, who in his video below explains how they help you to snap onto enemies quickly and emphasise the Krig’s best qualities.
As usual, you want to pair the longer-range weapon with something that handles close-range engagements more easily. Either of the MP5s accomplish this well, but if you have access to the new weapon, the OTs 9, that works perfectly as well.
Best OTs 9 loadout
| Warzone Best OTs 9 Loadout | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attachment 1 | Attachment 2 | Attachment 3 | Attachment 4 | Attachment 5 |
| GRU Suppressor | 8.1″ Task Force (or Spetsnaz Grip) | Tiger Team Spotlight (or Serpent Wrap) | Spetsnaz 40 Rnd | Spetsnaz Stock |
Like the MG82 before it, the OTs 9 is a bit of an anomaly. When the rest of the guns in Warzone are being slowed down, Raven drops a new weapon with a comparatively quick time-to-kill.
However, thanks to its puny 40 round magazine, the OTs 9 probably won’t be instantly nerfed like the MG82 was, and you could find yourself running out of ammo while trying to wipe a team.
Our suggested attachments for the OTs 9 loadout here favour mobility and ADS, which are both pivotal during close-quarters engagements.
It might not be as dominant as some other flavour-of-the-month weapons have been in Warzone in the past, but this new SMG isn’t one to sleep on.
Best Kar98k loadout and best AK-47 loadout
| Warzone Best Kar98k Loadout | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attachment 1 | Attachment 2 | Attachment 3 | Attachment 4 | Attachment 5 |
| Monolithic Suppressor | Singuard Custom 27.6″ | Tac Laser | Sniper Scope | STVOL Precision Comb (or FTAC Sport Comb) |
After the Season 4 Reloaded changes, snipers have gotten a massive boost. With the reduction in time-to-kill for pretty much the rest of the field, sniper rifle headshots are even more potent.
The Kar98k is the classic Call of Duty fast aiming, one-shot-one-kill sniper rifle, and if you can master the reflex-intensive skill of lining up your shots under pressure, you will be incredibly difficult to play against.
Your biggest question when deciding the best Kar98k loadout is less about obsessing over attachments and more about which support weapon you team it up with.
However, a popular and accessible partner for the Kar98k is the Cold War AK-47 with attachments to increase movement speed and reduce ADS time. This combination makes for a quick and deadly loadout with a high skill gap befitting one of the best snipers in Warzone, but big rewards.
| Warzone Best AK-47 Loadout | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attachment 1 | Attachment 2 | Attachment 3 | Attachment 4 | Attachment 5 |
| Suppressor | 20″ Spetsnaz RPK Barrel | Tiger Team Spotlight | KGB Skeletal Stock | 45 Rnd |
You can also make similar loadouts by replacing the AK with the competitive SMGs, the Modern Warfare MP5, OTs9, Mac-10, or AK-74u.
Best Mac-10 loadout
| Warzone Best Mac-10 Loadout | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attachment 1 | Attachment 2 | Attachment 3 | Attachment 4 | Attachment 5 |
| Agency Suppressor | 5.9″ Task Force | SOF Target Designator | Raider Stock | STANAG 53 Rnd Drum |
Nippy and fast-firing, the Mac-10 SMG might not have the surprising range of its pre-nerf iteration, but there’s still a lot to enjoy about its manoeuvrability and manageable recoil.
The generally accepted best loadout for the Mac-10 increases its viability in intense situations by attaching a drum magazine for a big boost to ammo count.
This lets you down and finish off enemies without reloading, as well as engage multiple foes at one time should the need arise in a tight space. Then, when you’re rounding out the rest of the build, you can alleviate the increased ADS time with other attachments while further buffing your movement speed and range.
Best Swiss K31 loadout
| Warzone Best Swiss K31 Loadout | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attachment 1 | Attachment 2 | Attachment 3 | Attachment 4 | Attachment 5 |
| 24.9″ Combat Recon | SWAT 5mw Laser Sight | Serpent Wrap | GRU Suppressor | Raider Stock |
As well as benefitting from the dampening of the rest of the field generally, the Swiss K31 got some specific tweaks that make it easily one of the most powerful weapons in Warzone.
Thanks to a rework of its ADS animation and optics, the Swiss is now much easier to use in most situations. This is a big deal when you’re trying to make every shot count.
If you don’t really vibe with the scoping animations of the Kar-98k, then this should be your sniper rifle of choice, capable of dishing out precise one-shot kills that take enemies out of the game before they can do anything to stop you.
Again, like the Kar-98k, you’ll want to team the Swiss K31 up with a powerful close-range assault rifle like the AK-47. Or you could opt for one of the stronger SMGs where, as we said above, the new OTs 9 is great and the Mac-10 is good as well.
Best AMAX loadout
| Warzone Best AMAX Loadout | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attachment 1 | Attachment 2 | Attachment 3 | Attachment 4 | Attachment 5 |
| Monolithic Suppressor | XRK Zodiac S440 | Commando Foregrip | VLK 3x Optic | 45 Round Mags |
Not too long ago, the AMAX undisputedly ruled the roost. However, the whole field of assault rifles has recently been reworked to be more viable and balanced, so it’s not the insta-pick it used to be.
However, despite a significant nerf to its headshot damage multiplier, the adaptable AMAX assault rifle is still the first choice of a lot of players simply because of familiarity – which shows you just how strong it was in the first place.
With that said, like most things in Call of Duty, there’s a high skill cap when it comes to mastering the AMAX’s recoil pattern, which can be mitigated with your choice of foregrip as the underbarrel attachment.
A radar-busting Monolithic suppressor is always a sensible choice to starve your opponents of location information, while the XRK Zodiac barrel and VLK 3.0x zoom sight round out the medium-to-longer range capabilities of this versatile AR.
For those spray-and-pray situations, team the AMAX with an SMG: specifically the one of the MP5s.
Here the attachments prioritise time-to-kill and movement speed, opting for the Agency Suppressor over the more typical Sound Suppressor because the base weapon doesn’t need the boost to ADS speed.
Next up are the Tiger Team Spotlight Laser and Raider Stock to really drive home the mobility advantage in tight spaces.
For more on the less loved weapons in Call of Duty, check out our lists of the best shotguns and best LMGs in Warzone.