The arrival of Season three means that gamers can finally use new ground loot in Warzone. While some in the community are disappointed with the adaptation of Verdansk in Season 3, there are a lot of positives to take away from the update.
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Updated by Payton Lott on May 17, 2021: This season appears to be one of the most diverse and balanced sets of ground loot in Warzone. Raven has decided to include only Cold War weapons in Season 3. New guns like the FARA and LC10 shine as some of the best early match options for gamers. Others, like the Hauer and M60, are not quite as dominant. This guide will cover all the ground loot weapons and blueprints in Season 3, ranked from D to S tier. Launchers and semi-auto pistols were excluded from the rankings.
The M60 does not have very much upside. The gun has a slow fire rate and a ton of horizontal bounce, which is the most challenging type of recoil to rein in. These four weapons should be avoided at all costs, as the base Sykov can outperform them. Players that have extremely good aim may have a fluke kill here and there, but very rarely. The slow fire rate will penalize any missed shots heavily, and any weapon that is not a pistol on this list will be superior.
The Swiss does not have a role in the current sniper meta. The gun is okay at best. To make matters worse, it has the longest ADS speed of any sniper in history. It honestly might be faster to find a Pelington or M82 than aim down sight with this gun. People will be smart to avoid the Swiss, which should be used only when there is no other option.
Pump shotguns will probably never be usable as secondary weapons in Warzone. They are only manageable if fired behind cover due to how slow it takes for the pump animation to complete. People with good movement can down one enemy with the gun, but it will usually take three shots. At any distance beyond 5 meters, a pistol will out-duel the shotgun.
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The Gilded Rose is marginally more viable than the ground loot Hauer. It will take three pumps for a down, which is an eternity compared to the guns lower on this list. The blueprint works against anyone with no plates, but that is about it.
Most players know that the CW AK-47 received a recoil buff this season. The assault rifle does a ton of damage at all ranges, but it is still tough to control. The 2x scope on all of the AK-47s makes the recoil look even worse than it actually is. It is interesting how Raven has made the AK-47 as difficult to control as possible.
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Players that can hit their shots will down enemies very quickly, but aiming in tight spaces takes a lot of skill. The Epic AK actually has a 4x scope, which is even harder to aim. People will have more success with the other three AK options.
Players will be okay if they can keep the rapid-fire PPSH on target. The PPSH has moderate recoil and viable damage values, however. If given the choice, the LC10 will down enemies faster and at longer ranges. The Epic PPSH is actually decent, but the recoil is hard to ignore. Gamers can get a few kills with the weapon, but after a few minutes, it will be a liability.
The Diamatti is a usable early game weapon with limited range. In small rooms and hallways, it can be used to down one or two opponents. The pistol will pull up when fired, making it taxing to aim and connect with targets more than a few meters away. Limited ammo is another reason why people will prefer many of the other weapons this season.
Raven nerfed the M16 in the recent update, increasing the burst delay that made it so overpowered in-game. The M16 still has a two-shot kill potential, but missing shots spells trouble due to how slow it fires now. If this weapon had a sight, it would rank much higher in the list. Trying to spot and hit enemies with the iron sights can be annoying, especially when fighting someone that has a viable weapon. The Powderizer is superior.
The M16 needs a sight to be viable, and the Powderizer has a good one. Gamers will be able to two burst enemies at medium range and shoot campers off of head glitches. Of the ground Tactical Rifles this season, the Powderizer takes the top spot.
The FARA is the crown jewel of ground loot this season. Every single version of the FARA is viable early in a match. Even the uncommon FARA will tear through enemy armor in a split second. However, the uncommon FARA is quite slow because it does not have the Raider Stock. The Rare and Epic versions of the gun have a few more attachments, but not enough ammo to take on more than one enemy. For that reason, the non-blueprint FARAs fall somewhere between the B and A tier.
On the other hand, the Counter Offer provides a few things that the non-blueprint FARAs are missing. The blueprint has 15 additional rounds, and it has the Speedgrip to help with ADS speed. Players will have no issues fighting two or even three enemies while using the weapon. It feels faster and more controllable than the other ground loot FARAs.
Raven increased the burst delay and magnitude of recoil on the AUG. As a result, it is no longer a meta weapon in Warzone. That does not mean it is no longer usable. With the same two burst potential as the M16, players should not shy away from the epic build. Managing recoil at range is no longer an option, but the gun is still a mid-range killer.
Even though it is a legendary blueprint, the Anodized Karbon is not a preferable weapon. The Tactical Rifle has a Hangman RF optic, which is seemingly impossible to use on the AUG. People will feel the increased recoil while attempting to use this gun.
The MAC-10 is not the gun it used to be, but it is still viable as a ground loot SMG. Even after the nerf, it still has a competitive TTK and an average recoil plot. The only ground loot SMGs that are better are the LC10 and Bullfrog. The MAC-10 just does not have the range to be competitive beyond 10 or so meters. Within that range, enemies can be dispensed of relatively quickly. The SMG is a top option for players that grab ghost or fully loaded.
Unfortunately, the Swindler only has 32 rounds. It has all of the downsides of using the other MAC-10s, but barely has enough ammo to down and finish one player. Anyone will have a better chance of survival if they use the rare or epic MAC-10 instead. The 32 round clip is also a fast mag, which means a steep ADS penalty.
After a bullet velocity buff, the LC10 is a formidable option in the early game. The gun shines at medium range because of its low recoil and distant damage drop-off. The sights on the weapon are better than most SMGs as well. On Rebirth, people can rely on the weapon in the final circle if necessary. The rare LC10 has a few more attachments, making it slightly better than the uncommon version.
The Thrasher is the best LC10 to pick up at the beginning of the match. It has a large enough clip, and in addition to the attachments on the epic version, it has a Combat Stock. Gamers will be able to move quicker and compete with most loadout SMGs in-game.
The best selling points of the RPD are recoil and magazine size. Unlike many of the ground loot weapons this season, the RPD has plenty of ammo. Even the uncommon RPD has 75 rounds, which is more than enough with its slow fire rate. Taking on more than one enemy is more straightforward with the RPD than nearly every weapon on this list. It is an LMG, so reloading will take a minute. One final downside to the gun is that the iron sights are not good enough to see character models from far away.
The rare and epic RPD builds have better barrels for Warzone, so they edge the Dead Bit by a thin margin. Last season, the blueprint had a sight and was better equipped for ranged combat. This season, the weapon only has iron sights, so it is not really much of an improvement from the uncommon RPD. That being said, the Dead Bit is one of the more reliable weapons off of the drop.
Nerfs to the FFAR have increased the viability of the XM4, especially in the first minutes of a match. The XM4 has controllable recoil and a very solid time to kill. The gun's iron sights are a visual obstruction, which causes issues the farther an enemy is. At close and intermediate ranges, the XM4 will get the job done.
For the top spot in this list, is a toss-up between Vex Lord, Fast Leak, and Counter Offer. Ultimately, the 60 round magazine and range of the Vex Lord makes it a more well-rounded weapon. Players have to be careful shooting enemies off of head glitches because the gun only has iron sights. This season, it is unquestionably an S-Tier gun, and could be the top ground loot option.
The Pelington has taken a back seat to many of the other snipers in Warzone since it was introduced. This version of the Pelington has a 4x scope, which provides two benefits. The first is a clear sight picture, and the second is no glint. It is a great weapon to catch campers and roof dwellers off guard at the start of a game. The Pelington has low bullet velocity, so snipers will need to aim high to get headshots.
Zealous Acolyte is the same weapon as the epic Pelington with a few extra bullets in each clip. Again, low bullet velocity is the major drawback of the blueprint. The M82 is a more preferable option because of its optic and velocity.
It is no surprise that the legendary Streetsweeper is an A tier weapon. The gun was so powerful that Raven removed the other Streetsweepers from ground loot at the beginning of the season. It is still limited to just a few meters, but it packs a punch. Players that have automatic tactical sprint may want to turn it off while using the weapon, as it is harder to hip fire if the setting is on.
At point-blank range, none of the weapons in this list can compete with the Gallo. The shotgun will kill enemies in just a couple of shots, and it has more range than the Streetsweeper. Magazine size does hinder the potential of the weapon, but it needs to have at least one downside. Reloading can be slow when using the Gallo too, although it will use a lot less shells than the Streetsweeper.
Having just 12 rounds in a shotgun is less than ideal. Still, the Flash Point is the number one shotgun people can pick up early in a match because of its TTK and extended range. For the reasons outlined above, players will want the Flash Point over the Brutalizer.
The Bullfrog has great headshot damage and essentially no recoil. Up to ten meters, the MAC-10 and LC10 will lose if players hit a headshot or two. After the first damage drop-off, however, the Bullfrog takes close to a second to down an enemy. The gun's headshot multiplier will drop the TTK drastically, making it a terror in the early game. This weapon is so dominant that it can be used at the end of a match. The slight nerf to the Bullfrog did not have a huge impact on the gun's performance.
Glow Catalyst has a bigger magazine than the rare Bullfrog, making it a little bit better. Not much else needs to be said about the gun, it is a top ten ground loot gun with little downside.
Even after the FFAR nerf, the gun remains a viable weapon at close range. While the TTK has dropped more than 100 milliseconds, hitting headshots will lower the time it takes to down an enemy considerably. Recoil has always been an issue with the FFAR, but at close range, it should not be too much cause for concern. The blueprint has enough bullet velocity to compete with most of the ground loot this season.
Mobility can be an issue with the Stoner, but the gun is S Tier nonetheless. It has a good enough recoil plot, a manageable sight, and great damage at range. As a longer-ranged weapon, the Stoner is one of, if not the best weapon available. Similar to the RPD, reload time and weapon raise time are irritating to manage in confined spaces.
The Forsaken Treaty has a Hawksmoor optic, which has less visual recoil than the rare version of the gun. The build has a SOCOM Eliminator, which conceals the player's position on the map. Anyone lucky enough to find this gun will be set for the initial collapse.
Up to 100 meters, the M82 is the most consistent sniper on the ground in Warzone. The epic version of the gun does not have an extended barrel though, so gamers will need to aim above the head at range to get a one-shot kill. The Sniper has a good scope and its mobility is enough to be useful at the beginning of a game. Love it or hate it, the M82 is S tier this season.
The only addition to the Big Game Hunter is an extended barrel. It has more range than the epic M82 and can hold its own at some distance. Beyond 100 meters, it will take precision focus and aim to snipe opponents.