Call of Duty Vanguard has been out since last week and the meta for it’s multiplayer is slowly shaping up as the days go by. I’ve been running and gunning like the rest of the community, grinding their way at maxing out their guns and getting those insanely rare weapon camos. If you’re starting out and wonder which is considered the best weapons in Vanguard, i’ve composed a list of guns you should definitely use in multiplayer.

Assault Rifle - STG44

This weapon is available at level 1 and should be your go-to weapon if you want to be a force to be reckoned with on your first ever game in Call of Duty Vanguard. Without attachments, this assault rifle is deadly from short to even long range encounters.

It’s a solid choice if assault rifles are your jam and it’s performance can be improved further if you put the right attachments. Adding the VDD 760mm 05B barrel or the F8 Stabilizer muzzle can give you that extra punch if you occasionally see enemies surviving just barely during fights. It’s weird to see a starting weapon perform as well as the STG, so don’t underestimate this one only because it’s available on the get-go.

SMG - MP40

The MP40 felt like the king of SMGs during the beta and that seems to be the case at launch. It’s hard not to like this guin as it has great control and a decent range to a point that you might pull off winning some mid-range fights.

If you’re all about going aggressive and never letting go of the gas pedal, the MP40 will be a perfect fit. The default ammo size and the hip-fire accuracy is decent without attachment and you can improve that further through selected attachments to give you a better chance at those close quarter gun fights when flanking.

LMG - MG42

If running around with an SMG isn’t your thing and would rather prefer setting shop with an LMG on hand then you’ll find success with the MG42. It has a crazy fire rate by default and can be easily controlled once you get used to it. It’s not ideal to use LMGs in Call of Duty game but if you want to use one, this is your best bet.

With attachments, always think about improving recoil. Slap on a Mercury Silencer, a Heavy Foregrip and you’ll see it being more efficient when dealing with enemies from afar.

Shotgun - Einhorn Revolving

I was close to considering the Combat Shotgun over this but the Eihorn can really pressure the opposing team in small maps, killing enemies by the dozens thanks to it’s wide-spread autofire and with the right attachments to improve hipfire accuracy.

Once you get used to this beast, you can easily run around hip firing corners with ease. The only downside is the slow reload time, so there will be a break in-between the madness.

Sniper Rifle - 3-Line rifle

I find all the snipers available to be solid choices but the 3-Line Rifle gives you a better chance at getting a one-shot kill. Any shot anywhere in the body except the limbs will result in a kill, making this a prime choice for long range sniping.

You can’t go wrong with this one as it performs well in it’s role even without attachments. But don’t use this for short range encounters as the Lar98k is more suited for quickscoping.

Special Mention: Marksman Rifle - M1 Garand

Marksman rifles are in a weird spot in Call of Duty Vanguard as it’s not the most ideal weapon of choice due to how strong the other weapon types are in this game. But if you must use a marksman rifle for any reason, the M1 Garand remains the top choice in this category.

It doesn’t result in that many one-shot kills but it has a decent fire rate and recoil that it can consistently two-shot enemies with ease. The only downside is the amount of ammo resulting in you reloading quite a lot and hearing that satisfying “shing” sound when it’s out of ammo. I suggest you improve your ADS speed through attachments as that will help you if you suddenly find yourself in a fight against someone with an SMG.

These are the best guns to use and level up when playing Call of Duty Vanguard. The list above is of course not set in stone as this list guide is currently based on the launch of Call of Duty Vanguard as of November 2021. The weapons mentioned below will likely change in performance in future patches. But don’t worry, this will be updated if there’s a sudden power shift where one weapon is now overperforming more than the rest.

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