The best Black Ops 6 guns to use in Season 1

The best guns in Black Ops 6 Season 1 run the entire gamut. Season 1 has introduced two brand new weapons to the fray — the Saug SMG and the Krig C assault rifle — and it’s safe to say they’re both pretty strong, rounding out a list of best guns that includes every type of firearm.

We’ve tested each and every gun in the game to discover the best loadouts, along with identifying exactly what the top performing guns are in multiplayer. From assault rifles and SMGs, to sniper rifles and shotguns, we’ve included at least one gun from every primary weapon category. If you’ve played a Call of Duty game before, some of these will feel very familiar — and that’s because, as usual, plenty of these guns are almost identical to prior inclusions, albeit with a different name.

Here’s our ranking of the top ten best guns in the Black Ops 6 meta as of Season 1.

The best guns in Black Ops 6 right now are:

Thanks to the launch of Season 1 and some balance changes, our list of the best guns has shifted somewhat since Blacks Ops 6 launched. The one and only Jackal PDW has remained as the king, the AEK-973 has shifted up to second place to replace the AMES 85 (which now no longer features at all), and the XM4 is still in third.

The Krig C is the new assault rifle with the launch of Season 1 and it’s surged up into the fourth place spot, almost on par with the XM4 as the best assault rifle in the game. Meanwhile, the Tanto .22 is still an incredibly strong SMG that can compete at range, and the silenced AS VAL assault rifle has grown massively in popularity and performance.

The LW3A1 Frostline may be a controversial inclusion, as lots of folks prefer the LR 7.62, but though rigorous testing, our recommendation is that the LW3A1 performs better due to having higher damage. The XMG is the only LMG on the list and for good reason — the rest of them are a bit naff — while the Saug enters as the other new Season 1 gun. Then we have the Marine SP, which is a one-hit-kill — provided you can get close enough to your target.

There’s more on each selection below:

While the Jackal PDW has been nerfed slightly since its domination during the first weekend of the beta, it’s still the strongest SMG and the best gun in the game overall.

Our best Jackal PDW loadout is the build you want to use with this fast-firing SMG, because it will shred your enemies to pieces up close, and if you utilize the attachments we recommend, you’ll be running and gunning without aiming down the sights whatsoever. However, it isn’t unlocked until level 43 so you’ll need to wait a little while before kitting it out.

For the most part, you want to use a laser (the Steady Aim Laser or Fast Motion Laser will do the job) alongside the CQB Grip and No Stock. This will make the Jackal PDW an absolute machine up close. For the final two attachments, we’d recommend one of the two Fast Mags, the Ranger Foregrip, the Short Barrel if you’ve leveled the gun up high enough, or the Suppressor.

Unlocked at level 34, the AEK-973 can tear through enemies with one burst if you’re lucky, and reliably with two.

You need to be able to land your shots so focus on managing the recoil, but once you do, the AEK-973 is perfect for playing slowly, tactically, and making your way around the map methodically.

We’d recommend the Ported Compensator and Reinforced Barrel attachments to assist with taking enemies out at range, along with the Vertical Foregrip to manage the horizontal recoil. The Commando Grip, on the other hand, buffs the aim down sight and sprint to fire speed so you have a little more mobility.

An optical sight is necessary due to the poor iron sights on the gun, but the one you go for is personal preference - we like the Accu-Spot Ultra Holo due to the 3x zoom and unobstructed view.

When it comes to jack-of-all-trades, you can’t look further than the XM4. We have the best XM4 loadout covered in a separate guide, but what you’re getting with this gun is your bog standard assault rifle that can do everything. Fighting through hallways and tight corners? Posted up behind cover? Running and gunning? The XM4 is your weapon, especially when you factor in that it unlocks at level four.

It doesn’t truly excel at any one thing, but what that means is you will want to kit it out to deal with any situation. A decent optical sight is a necessity, then we’d recommend going for attachments that improve the damage, range, and recoil control. A foregrip is essential, as is the Long or Reinforced Barrel when you unlock them.

Choosing between the Krig C and the XM4 is mostly down to personal preference because they both fill the same role, but since the Krig C is the new and exciting gun with the latest season, why not take it for a spin? Everything we said above for the XM4 applies here: It’s a gun that can perform in every situation, so the best Krig C loadout focuses on that.

You’ll want to try and manage the recoil with attachments such as the Ported Compensator, Vertical Foregrip, and Recoil Springs, as all of these contribute to the accuracy. Stick on a Long Barrel for the extra damage range and voila! You’ll have a laser beam that will decimate enemies at range. However, you do need to complete page six of the Season 1 battle pass to unlock it.

The Tanto .22 is an interesting pick because while it is an SMG, it fires incredibly slowly compared to most. It makes up for this shortcoming with the amount of damage it deals, though, so while it’s not great up close and personal and will be outperformed by any SMG with a faster fire rate, at a slightly further distance this thing is a monster. You can get your hands on it at level 16.

Our Tanto .22 loadout goes into more detail about how to build this weapon out, but in summary, you want to lean into the above by going with the Ported Compensator to manage recoil, then aim to have the rest of your attachments buff both recoil and mobility. The Ranger Foregrip is a strong choice, as is the Commando Grip and Balanced Stock. Finally, we’ve opted for an optical sight, but any red dot or holographic will do the job.

The AS VAL is an interesting assault rifle because it has a built-in suppressor by default. This makes it perfect for those of you who like to keep a low profile when playing, but it also excels in Search & Destroy as opposed to respawn modes, thanks to how slow the pace is. It’s a solid assault rifle choice though thanks to how much damage it puts out. You don’t unlock it until level 55 though, so it’s a bit of a grind.

You don’t want to be running and gunning with this gun though. You should be playing slowly and methodically, aiming around each corner and using cover. The goal should be to compete at mid-long range with it, so pick attachments that contribute towards that such as the Reinforced Barrel, Vertical Foregrip, and Recoil Springs. We’d also strongly suggest picking an Extended Mag; without it, the AS VAL only has 20 bullets per magazine. You can read more about our picks in our best AS VAL loadout guide.

The best sniper for Season 1 is the LW3A1 Frostline, a bolt-action sniper rifle with more mobility and handling than its contemporaries. While you can kit this sniper out to play slowly and pick enemies off from afar, it’s better suited to the quickscoping style of play, especially since Black Ops 6 is a fast-paced shooter.

It’s also the first sniper you get, so you’ll have it as soon as you reach level four.

You want attachments that will improve the mobility even further, so go for a mid-range scope — our recommendation is the Dobrych 4x — and the Muzzle Brake to help manage recoil and reset your aim.

The Short Barrel, Commando Riser, and Light Stock attachments all help with mobility further so you can aim down the sights quicker, move faster, and bring your gun up from sprinting quicker.

The XMG is by far the best LMG in the game which means that while it isn’t suited to a run-and-gun playstyle, if you’re content playing slower and laying down lots of suppressive fire, the XMG is a beast.

It has the highest firepower and mag size in the category, so when it comes to attachments, you want to make it slightly more mobile to ensure you can compete in as many situations as possible while retaining the recoil control. You also unlock it early on at level 13.

One important thing to note with the XMG is that we don’t recommend an optical sight, because through our testing, the recoil is most manageable with the iron sights. However, we would suggest going with the Reinforced Barrel to improve the damage range, and the Ranger Foregrip to manage the horizontal recoil and improve your movement speed slightly.

The Commando Grip and Balanced Stock improve the mobility, then the Recoil Springs help you keep it all under control.

The other gun added with Season 1 (alongside the Krig C), the Saug is essentially a mini Uzi. It’s an SMG that will delete enemies up close, but the damage range falls off pretty quickly, not that you’d be able to land many shots at a distance anyway thanks to the heavy recoil. You’ll also need to complete the third page of the Season 1 battle pass to unlock it.

For that reason, our best Saug loadout recommends using the Akimbo Saug attachment, so you can dual wield two of them simultaneously. You’ll want Overkill so you can also equip a primary weapon better suited to long distances, but this means that with a laser and some recoil-managing attachments, you’ll be hipfiring your way to the big leagues. You just need to stay mobile and get as up close and personal as you can.

The Marine SP shotgun runs riot on the smaller maps available in the game, such as those in the Face Off Moshpit playlist, because of the sheer damage it can deal per shot. Ensure you keep moving and you can kill foe after foe with one shot each time because there isn’t room on these maps to fight at range.

Don’t worry about needing to unlock the Marine SP, either, as it unlocks at level four, which is also when custom loadouts become available.

You’ll want the Combat or Quick Load Barrel, Ranger Foregrip, Balanced Stock, Steady Aim Laser, and the Rapid Fire attachment to make it the best it can be. If you decide to run this gun on other maps, make sure you use Overkill to equip another primary that can deal with longer range fights.

Other loadouts we can recommend are the AMES 85 and the AK-74, plus it’s worth an honorable mention for our best C9 loadout suggestion. The MP5-inspired SMG isn’t worthy of inclusion on this list, but it is still very strong with the right attachments, and deserves your time once you’ve exhausted the Jackal PDW.

Elsewhere, we have explainers on maps and Double XP, as well as guides for the campaign, including safehouse puzzles and safe code locations.