The best Modern Warfare 3 guns to use in Season 6

It’s here folks: Modern Warfare 3’s Season 6 is the final season before the launch of Black Ops 6 in Oct. 2024, which means it’s time for new weapons to level up and unlock attachments for. But do they find a place in our list of the best guns in Modern Warfare 3?

The DTIR 30-06 and Kastov LSW are the two latest weapons, a battle rifle and LMG (light machine gun) respectively. However, the latter isn’t a usual LMG, as it’s much better suited to shredding at close range rather than posting up and defending from behind cover, while the former has stiff competition in the battle rifle category.

The list of the best guns in MW3 has been shaken up with the new season, although as per usual, we’re not considering all the MW2 guns in the game because there are far too many and for the most part, the MW3 guns are better anyway.

Here’s our full list of the best guns in Modern Warfare 3 you should be using in Season 6.

The best weapons in Modern Warfare 3 are:

Well, it was fun while it lasted wasn’t it? The MCW is back to being the undisputed champion at the top of the list of the best guns in Modern Warfare 3, as the STG44 has been heavily nerfed in the latest patch. The Superi 46 has also been nerfed, but it still sneaks in towards the bottom of the list.

The Striker, another launch day gun, has made its way back into the list now as the best SMG, however, followed by the BP50 and the Kar98k, which holds the crown for the most satisfying gun in the game to nail headshots with.

Assault rifles continue to run rife though with the MTZ-556 being bumped up slightly and the BAL-27 holding its place, followed by the BAS-B, the first battle rifle.

Finally, the SVA 545 also returns to the list, alongside the aforementioned nerfed Superi 46, and the FJX Horus.

Here’s a deeper dive into each of the above choices:

Kicking things off is the MCW, which is unlocked at rank 44. Modern Warfare 3 doesn’t have real weapon names, so the MCW is best known as the ACR from previous installments. Which is all to day, the MCW is a very reliable assault rifle that is fully automatic, with consistent range, recoil, and damage.

Essentially, with the right attachments, the MCW becomes a laser beam. Any of the heavy barrels do the job — we’d recommend the 16.5” MCW Cyclone Long Barrel — along with any vertical grip, though we found the Bruen Pivot to be the best (which requires leveling the SVA 545 to level 12 first). As for the rest of the attachments, an optic is always a good shout for enhanced visibility, alongside any combination of muzzle/stock/rear grip that assist with recoil control and bullet velocity.

For more on how to kit out this weapon, see our dedicated MCW loadout page.

The Striker hasn’t changed too much from our original loadout, as it still performs best when kitted out for mid-range engagements. This gun is basically the UMP-45 from the original Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 in 2009, and as those of you who played back in those days will know, it was one of — if not the best — guns in that game.

Opt for attachments that increase the damage range and improve the recoil control, but also try to improve the handling and mobility where you can, as ADS speed and movement speed are both important things to consider with this gun. Either the Striker Recon Long Barrel or the Striker Elite Long Barrel are two of the best attachments to go for, along with the Sakin ZX Grip and RB Crotalus Assault Stock.

Check out our Striker loadout guide for more info on how to kit out this SMG.

Following an introduction in Season 2, the BP50 (also known as the F2000 from Call of Duty games of old) took a while to find its place in the meta. Now that the dust on the meta is settled, we can safely claimed it as one of the best guns in Modern Warfare 3. It’s an assault rifle with a ridiculously fast fire rate, which makes it better suited to short-to-medium range gun fights rather than taking foes down from afar.

Your best bet is to reduce the recoil a touch though by using attachments such as the STER45 Skyfury Compensator and the Lore-9 Heavy Barrel, both of which do assist with the bullet velocity and damage alongside helping the recoil. Supplement these with other recoil managing attachments and stick an optical sight on it for good measure for the best results.

Our BP50 loadout guide explains more about how to unlock and build this impressive assault rifle.

The Kar98k may not have been in the game for very long but it doesn’t take a genius to realize this marksman rifle is ridiculously powerful. Much like the MCW, you can kit the Kar98k out for fast-paced quick-scoping — thanks to how prevalent that playstyle is in Modern Warfare 3 — or you can treat it like a classic sniper rifle and play much slower. Either approach is viable because it deals so much damage per shot.

For a quick-scoping playstyle, you’ll want to opt for the Bryson Carbine-S Barrel, as it significantly buffs the mobility. In fact, all the attachments are geared toward buffing your mobility, most notably the Repeller Tac Stock and Target Sling, the two of which go hand-in-hand in improving the aim down sight speed. The optical attachment you choose is really down to you, but we found a 2.5x zoom was the perfect blend between speed and distance, as you can pick enemies off from further out with it if you need to.

There’s also the XTEN Phantom-5 Handstop underbarrel grip as the fifth attachment, as it buffs the aim down sight speed further.

For more details on how to kit out this quickscoping machine, check out our Kar98k loadout page.

In Modern Warfare 3, the MTZ-556 has the fastest fire rate out of all the assault rifles, which means it isn’t a great fit for ranged engagements. However, it does mean it’s essentially a very hard-hitting SMG, so you should be comfortable running and gunning with it in your hands. It’s taken a while for this gun to show up in the top ten, but Season 4 has finally seen it come into its own in the meta.

The goal with the MTZ-556 should be trying to mitigate the recoil while also enabling it to be mobile and versatile. The T51R Billeted Brake muzzle deals with this recoil, while the MTZ Clinch Pro Barrel will assist in ranged engagements. You may want to go for an optical attachment as the iron sight isn’t ideal and that can also help with fights where you must aim down the sights, then for your other attachments, look for anything that will assist with the mobility. Grip and stock attachments are usually best for this.

Finally, we have the BAL-27 — an assault rifle that plays the flex role so well. It has arguably the best iron sight in the game, which means you don’t need to waste an attachment slot on an optic, and it can play the role of both an SMG and an assault rifle.

By far the most crucial attachment for the BAL-27 is the Prowl-IV Barrel, which gives a serious buff to the bullet velocity and range while also preventing your shots from showing up on enemy radar. However, you’ll want to kit the rest of the build out to focus on elevating the close quarters combat elements, such as the Hammer Grip, Clarent Light Stock, and STOVL DR Laser Box.

Our guide to the best BAL-27 loadout in MW3 goes into more detail, so you can build this new gun exactly how you like it as soon as possible.

All the weapons in this list are fairly similar: fully automatic guns that are best at varying ranges. The BAS-B is no different. The first and only battle rifle on the list, this is the gun you want to switch to if our MCW build above still doesn’t have enough range for you. It doesn’t fire quite as quickly as the MCW, but each bullet packs way more of a punch, and once you have some recoil-managing attachments on there, you can put a longer-range optic on it, such as one of the 2.5x options.

When you’re in the opening levels of using the BAS-B though, we have just a few recommended attachments. The Bruen Venom Long Barrel is a no-brainer thanks to the range it adds, and the 30-round mag — or the 45-round once you unlock it — ensures you can mow down multiple enemies without needing to reload. We’d also recommend the Ravage-20 Heavy Stock, which you unlock once the BAS-B has reached level seven.

For more on how to kit out this weapon, see our dedicated BAS-B loadout page.

The SVA 545 is another launch day assault rifle that has a very interesting quirk: the first shot you fire actually shoots two bullets in quick succession. If you can tap fire consistently, you can basically fire two bullets at a time every time. Ensure you’re landing headshots and this absolutely shreds through enemies with ease.

The best attachments for this assault rifle focus on improving the recoil, such as the STV Precision Barrel and the FTAC Castle Comp. You also need to be able to compete up close though, so the FSS Ravager-45 Stock is a great choice for this, or if you want to lean further into managing the recoil, go for the Mane V6 Stock.

We’ve got more info on how to build this gun on our SVA 545 loadout page.

In keeping with the jack-of-all-trades style of play, despite being an SMG, that’s also the best fit for the Superi 46. Giving it the buffs necessary to compete at a longer distance than most SMGs can make it the best in class, but you do lose a little mobility and need to play a little slower to account for that.

To enable this, make sure you pick the Houndguard Heavy Barrel as it significantly buffs the bullet velocity and range, while the Phantom Grip helps out in the handling department, improving the sprint to fire and ADS speeds. We’ve partnered those with the slightly less crucial but still helpful FTAC RS-9 Stealth Angled Grip and Rescue-9 Stock, with the former buffing the accuracy and handling, while the latter focuses on recoil control and mobility.

Kit this weapon out as best you can with our Superi 46 loadout page.

Following a nerf to the WSP Swarm, the FJX Horus (introduced in Season 3) replaced it as one of the best SMGs. It fills almost the exact same role, where you want to fire from the hip or use the tactical stance rather than aiming down the sights.

You can do this by equipping attachments such as the Ruse-90 Light Barrel to buff your movement and aiming speeds, the Point-G3P 04 laser to massively improve your accuracy when firing from the hip, and the Lockgrip Precision-40 underbarrel to help manage the recoil.

For more on how to kit out this fast-firing machine pistol, see our dedicated FJX Horus loadout guide.