The best Call of Duty: Vanguard guns in Warzone
The finest WW2 weapons to wield in Caldera.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Want know the best Vanguard Warzone guns? Of course you do. Thenew Caldera mapis the perfect stomping ground for these weapons to shine bright, but whichWarzone gunsto choose?
Call of Duty: Vanguard has a whole host of guns in Warzone now, so I’m here to help you narrow down which ones you should level up first. Without further ado, then, here are the best Vanguard guns in Warzone, helpfully divided by weapon category and offering a little extra advice to help you figure out which direction you want to take your Caldera journey.
The best Vanguard guns in Warzone, by weapon type
Assault rifles
Assault rifles are your bread and butter in Warzone, and these are the ones you should be looking at to try out first:
STG44
Best Warzone loadout:The gear to chooseBest M4A1 Warzone loadout:Top all-purpose AR buildsBest MP7 Warzone loadout:Effective SMG setupsBest Grau Warzone loadout:Strong AR buildsBest M13 Warzone loadout:Attachments to chooseBest Kilo 101 Warzone loadout:Boost the punchy AR
The STG44 was completely dominant in the Vanguard early access period. This hasn’t changed a bit in its integration into Warzone. The STG44 is great at a variety of things, from mega-ranged, almost LMG-style play, to supporting a sniper or marksman rifle. You can kit this gun out in so many ways and it’s unlocked by default —what a treat.
Have a look at ourbest STG44 Warzone loadoutsif you want to know exactly how to kit this weapon out.
Automaton
The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
If you’re going for long-range dominance, go with the Automaton. It isn’t massively powerful, but in the same vein as the likes of theBruen loadoutsof old, it has exquisite recoil control and keeps a respectable time-to-kill up to huge ranges. Boost that recoil control and bullet velocity and the Automaton will be a reliable threat in Warzone.
Go and try some of ourbest Automaton Warzone loadoutsfor a bit more info on it.
NZ-41
The NZ-41 is a slightly different beast than the other two weapons in this category. It’s a slow-firing assault rifle with a huge amount of power per shot. Remember when theCR-56 AMAXdominated the Warzone meta? The NZ-41 should give you a similar feeling. You can kit it out for range or for versatility, but either way, it’s well worth ranking up and giving a shot when you get it unlocked.
Here are ourbest NZ-41 Warzone loadoutsto help you make the best of this gun.
SMGs
SMGs are best used at close range, traditionally with quicker time-to-kill values than ARs, until you get further out. Here are the best ones to try out in Caldera:
PPSh-41
ThePPSh-41 from Vanguardis a terrifying monster of an SMG. When you bring the right loadout, this gun allows you to completely tear your enemies to shreds. Per shot, the PPSh-41 isn’t really anything to write home about, but the fire rate of this gun brings its time-to-kill to unassailable levels.
Also, bring a 71-round mag—you’ll need it when you realise how quickly this gun spits out bullets.
MP-40
The MP-40 is a classic SMG that’ll feel absolutely golden and familiar to anyone who’s used to using weapons like theMP5andBullfrog. The MP-40 is a versatile SMG that’ll reward quick, run-and-gun play, and shouldn’t take too much time and effort to master. It’s a grab-and-go SMG that’ll treat you excellently in Caldera’s close-quarters situations.
Shotguns
I wouldn’t recommend shotguns as your primary option, but you can do a number on enemies if you bring the right one and kit it out well:
Combat Shotgun
The Combat Shotgun is as close as you’ll get to a usable shotgun from Vanguard in Warzone. It has some decent ranged potential for a shotgun and allows you to get a few kills if you get the drop on your enemies. You’ll get beaten out by a lot of guns at a lot of ranges, but the Combat Shotgun can hold its own, too.
LMGs
LMGs are traditionally the big, hefty ranged guns. These ones are no different:
Bren
The Bren is my favourite LMG in Warzone. It’s got the potential for all kinds of different loadouts, from a standard low-recoil LMG to a .50 calibre monster with a slow fire rate, huge recoil, but huge amounts of damage. It’s a fun one to use in a number of different ways.
Interested? Here are thebest Bren Warzone loadouts.
DP27
The DP27 is a different kind of LMG, sacrificing the ludicrous range you can get out of the Bren for a slightly lighter build. With a lot of DP27 loadouts, you’ll be trying to adapt into more of an assault rifle-type weapon. Working great as sniper-support, it’s going to be a fan favourite for a while.
Marksman rifles
Marksman rifles come in all shapes and sizes. From pseudo-snipers to semi-automatic rifles with two and three-shot kill potential, you’ll want to pick the right one for Caldera. In other words, the following:
SVT-40
The SVT-40 is the best marksman rifle in Warzone. It’s a semi-auto gun that works similarly to theFALandDMRof old. It isn’t devastating the meta as the DMR did at one point, but with solid mobility and decent firepower, the SVT-40 is a decent off-meta pick.
Sniper rifles
Sniping is essential in Warzone, and you’ll want to get to grips with the best Vanguard snipers to ensure you’re bringing the right kit into long-range engagements.
Kar98k
TheWarzone Kar98kis already in the game, but this version works just the same. It’s just in the sniper rifle category. I enjoy using it as a quick-scoping beast with an assault rifle on hand, but feel free to bring out a more accurate and long-ranged loadout, too.
There is simply too much going on in Black Ops 6 Season 1
Best Black Ops 6 PP-919 loadout and class setup
To appease a Steam user’s demands for straight representation, Webfishing added a ‘Straight’ title that costs 9,999 fish bucks
