In Season 3 of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone, the Bruen Mk9 was introduced. The new weapon is an LMG and could compete with the current king of the class, the PKM. MeinMMO takes a closer look at the stats, attachments, and setups.
What is the Bruen Mk9? The Bruen Mk9 is a light machine gun (LMG), introduced with Update 1.20 on April 29, 2020 in Modern Warfare and Warzone. The weapon is similar in many respects to others of its kind and is primarily used for suppressing enemies.
However, the Bruen Mk9 can be modified with the right attachments to adopt some characteristics of assault rifles, similar to the secret G36 from the Holger-26. Therefore, the Bruen Mk9 is suitable for various playstyles.
A unique feature of the Bruen Mk9 is that it has no delay between pulling the trigger and firing the first bullet, unlike other “Open Bolt” LMGs in the game. It is therefore one of the three underrated weapons you should definitely try.
How strong is the Bruen Mk9? Here are some technical specifications for the LMG:
- Rate of fire: 759 rounds per minute
- Damage (to the torso): 34 (up to about 40m), 30 (up to about 65m), 24 (beyond 65m)
- Required bullets for a kill (to the torso): 3-5, depending on distance
- TTK (at torso hits): 158ms (up to about 40m), 237ms (up to about 65m), 316ms (beyond 65m)
- Reload time: 4.71s (3.80s with Sleight of Hand)
The Bruen Mk9 has an additional headshot multiplier that further increases the damage. However, it is not enough to reduce the minimum number of bullets needed and thereby the TTK. You will always need at least three bullets.
The reload time is slightly faster than that of the PKM, while the stats are otherwise almost identical. Here you can find the detailed guide to the PKM. YouTuber and CoD expert TheXclusiveAce has discussed some additional stats and characteristics of the Bruen Mk9 in his video, which we will embed here:
Unlocking the Bruen Mk9
How do I get the weapon? Unlike the other weapons from Season 3, the Renetti and the SKS, you do not unlock the Bruen MK9 through the Battle Pass. Currently, there are two ways to unlock the LMG:
- you purchase the “Encryption” bundle in the shop for 1200 CoD Points (about €11-12)
- or you complete a challenge
For the challenge, you have to kill three opponents with an LMG while they are near smoke, and do this in 15 matches. So it takes a while to unlock the Bruen Mk9 at all.
However, Co-Design Director Joe Cecot confirmed that unlocking the Bruen Mk9 will soon be faster as kills will also count if you are in the smoke yourself. However, we do not know when the change will come.
The best attachments and setups for the Bruen Mk9
How do I best modify the Bruen Mk9? Through the Gunsmith feature in Modern Warfare, you can equip the LMG with various attachments. If you have purchased the bundle, you will have a pre-made blueprint that is relatively strong and well-suited for the start and unlocking further mods.
MeinMMO presents three different builds here that are useful both for Modern Warfare’s multiplayer and for the Battle Royale Warzone, catering to different playstyles.
Setup 1: BR Solo/Multiplayer 6v6
- Muzzle: Suppressor (Monolithic)
- Barrel: Bruen 18.0″ Para
- Stock: Default Stock or Optional: Sleight of Hand
- Ammunition: 60-Round Magazine
- Grip: Stippled Grip Tape or Laser: 1mW Laser
With this setup, the Bruen Mk9 becomes more of a hybrid between assault rifle and LMG. With the suppressor, you have greater effective range and conceal your shots, which is extremely useful in close-quarter firefights.
The barrel allows you to aim faster without a sight, along with the lack of a sight. With Stock/Grip or Optional/Laser, you choose whether you prefer to play at medium distance and precise or at very close distance and fast.
The core of the setup, however, is the 60-Round Magazine. While this may compromise ammunition, it provides significant advantages like faster aiming, increased mobility, and above all, much faster reloading. You reduce the reload time to 1.69 seconds (1.30 with Sleight of Hand).
Setup 2: BR in Team/Multiplayer 10v10
- Muzzle: Compensator or Underbarrel: Merc Foregrip
- Barrel: XRK Horizon 23.0″
- Sight: Any Short-Range Sight, like Mini Reflex Sight Solozero
- Stock: Default Stock
- Grip: Stippled Grip Tape
This setup is best suited for modes where you are not alone. While you can also play solo with it, you are a bit slower than with most weapons, so some cover fire from teammates is quite helpful.
The strength of this setup is high precision with the compensator/foregrip at medium to long range along with the strong 100-Round Magazine (Standard). This allows you to easily eliminate multiple enemies in a row, even if they are fully armored in Battle Royale.
You lack some mobility, however. If you are rushed by someone with a submachine gun or a fast assault rifle, you’ll be in trouble without a teammate nearby to cover you.
Setup 3: Suppressive Fire (Ground War)
- Muzzle: Compensator or Stock: FORGE TAC Stalker
- Barrel: XRK Summit 26.8″
- Sight: PBX Holo 7 Sight
- Underbarrel: Bipod or Stock: FORGE TAC Stalker
- Ammunition: 200-Round Belt
Our third setup is not designed for getting many kills, but rather for securing targets and areas to achieve victory in a round. This completely sacrifices mobility, but allows you to fortify and hold a position effectively.
With the longer barrel and sight, you can prevent enemies from storming your position even at greater distances. The compensator provides the necessary precision, and the magazine allows you to hold out for several minutes.
Using the bipod, you can declare virtually any position as your hold point. If you have the option to mount the rifle against a wall, skip the bipod and use the stock instead.
As mentioned before, this setup is not designed for getting a lot of kills. With this configuration, your responsibility is to defend a point in Ground War or larger multiplayer modes alone, or to suppress the enemy while your own team storms.
Building the Best Build for the Bruen Mk9 – Loadouts
These loadouts are the best: For each setup, we have compiled a loadout that perfectly matches the playstyle intended for the setup. Since the setups themselves are quite specialized, the loadouts are also meant for specific situations.
For the multiplayer mode, you can choose your killstreaks as you like. Our recommendation is the VTOL Jet and Helicopter Support.
Loadout 1: BR Solo/Multiplayer 6v6
- Secondary Weapon: .50 GS or .357 as a shotgun
- Blue Perk: KRD or Fast Hands (Multiplayer)/Cold-Blooded (Warzone and Multiplayer)
- Red Perk: Ghost
- Yellow Perk: Battle Hardened or Tracker
- Primary Equipment: Molotov or Fragmentation Grenade
- Tactical Equipment: Stun (Multiplayer)/Heartbeat Sensor (Warzone)
- Field Upgrade: Dead Silence or Specialty Ammo
Depending on how you build the Bruen Mk9, you should choose the .50 GS or the .357 revolver as backup to protect yourself in an emergency.
Loadout 2: BR in Team/Multiplayer 10v10
- Secondary Weapon: Renetti (around in the “OP Setup”)
- Blue Perk: KRD
- Red Perk: Hardline (Multiplayer)/Pointman or Alarmed (Warzone)
- Yellow Perk: Shrapnel (both) or Amped (only Warzone)
- Primary Equipment: Thermite or Semtex
- Tactical Equipment: Stun (Multiplayer)/Heartbeat Sensor (Warzone)
- Field Upgrade: Ammo Box or EMP Drone
With the Renetti, you have the option to protect yourself at close range in an emergency when attacked and no teammates are nearby. However, this loadout is aimed at team play.
Loadout 3: Suppressive Fire (Ground War)
- Secondary Weapon: PILA
- Blue Perk: Fixer
- Red Perk: Hardline or Scavenger
- Yellow Perk: Eager or Amped
- Primary Equipment: Claymore or Thermite
- Tactical Equipment: Smoke Grenade
- Field Upgrade: Ammo Box or Tactical Insertion
We generally advise against using this setup in Battle Royale, as suppressive fire is only conditionally useful here. However, the PILA rocket launcher will especially help you deal with annoying vehicles and enemies in Ground War. It can be replaced as needed.
Pros and Cons of the Bruen Mk9
Bruen Mk9 vs. PKM – which weapon is better?
Currently, the PKM is still considered the best weapon of its kind. However, the Bruen Mk9 could potentially replace it in the mid-term.
The Bruen Mk9 has a faster TTK and is more versatile with its attachments than the PKM. It is suitable for all modes with the right setup and has the significant advantage of no delay between trigger pull and fire. This makes it feel generally smoother and more enjoyable to play.
However, the PKM still has the advantage in its specific area as an LMG, being slightly stronger. It only falls short when it comes to modification.
Which of the two weapons can ultimately rise to the top remains to be seen. For now, the Bruen Mk9 is still too new to say definitively.
However, the strength of the Bruen Mk9 lies clearly in its versatility. You can adapt the new LMG to many situations and have a strong setup ready for it. For those who like that about the weapon, the M4A1 might also be interesting. We have analyzed the best assault rifle in detail here.
