The FAL comes into focus for many players after a hefty buff and the nerf of the strong Grau 5.56. For Call of Duty: Modern Warfare & the Battle Royale Warzone, the weapon is a top choice. MeinMMO shows you why and presents a few strong setups as well.
What kind of weapon is this? The FN FAL is one of the few weapons in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare that appears in the game under its real name. The name “FAL” is an acronym and stands for “Fusil Automatique Léger”, in English “light automatic rifle”. This Belgian model is one of the most widely used weapons in the world and has been in use for nearly 70 years (via Wikipedia).
In CoD MW 2019 and the Battle Royale Warzone, the assault rifle is the only semi-automatic AR available in the standard version and deals a lot of damage. It has the by far lowest Time-to-Kill (TTK) of the Warzone among the assault rifles, but plays very differently as a semi-automatic rifle compared to its class counterparts.
If you have control over this thing and a stable trigger finger, you get a really strong rifle here that was already considered one of the strongest weapons of the Warzone even before the buff with the “Season 4 Reloaded” update. In multiplayer, the gun can achieve one-shot kills with headshots after the buff and thus becomes a strong choice in both current CoDs.
MeinMMO presents the stats of the AR and two setups that will make you stronger in Call of Duty if you can handle the semi-automatic.
Semi-Automatic Assault Rifle FAL a Hit in Warzone and MW
What are the values? To give you an impression of where the assault rifle stands, here is a comparison of the FAL with a weapon that plays very similarly (the DMR SKS) and one of the most popular assault rifles (the M4A1):
Fire rate – rounds per minute (RPM)
- FAL: 500
- M4: 833
- SKS: 328
Damage torso up to meters
- FAL: 78 damage up to 19 m / 54 damage up to 42 m / 40 damage from 42 m
- M4: 28 damage up to 27 m / 23 damage up to 50 m / 18 damage from 50 m
- SKS: 57 damage up to 50 m / 54 damage from 50 m
Lowest TTK torso hits – MP & Warzone with 3 plates
- FAL: MP – 120 ms / WZ – 360 ms
- M4: MP – 216 ms / WZ – 576 ms
- SKS: MP – 180 ms / WZ – 730 ms
Time to aim (ADS time)
- FAL: 228 ms
- M4: 250 ms
- SKS: 284 ms
The TTK of the FAL is fantastic in multiplayer and the Warzone. At short distances, the rifle even outperforms submachine guns, which is really extraordinary for a semi-automatic rifle. This is due to a buff with Season 4.
What did the buff look like? With the mid-season update in Season 4, the FAL received another “damage shelf.” The developers gave the weapon a completely new damage profile up to a range of 19 meters.
Previously, it dealt the same damage in this range that it now inflicts up to 42 meters without attachments. Headshots at these short distances now deal 105 damage to the opponent and can take out enemies with one hit in normal multiplayer. With attachments, this value even rises to 27 meters.
A hefty damage value that makes the rifle a nasty killer in multiplayer. With special ammunition, even torso hits are enough in multiplayer. This is even more noticeable in the Warzone. It beats the M4A1 by more than 200 ms in the lowest TTK without headshot hits, killing enemies nearly 40% faster.
For close to medium distances, you currently can’t get anything stronger in your hands, and if you haven’t tried the FAL yet, now is the time. You can find even more stats and information about the weapon’s recoil in the English video of CoD expert and YouTuber “JGOD,” which we embed here for you:
Balanced FAL Setup for Warzone & Modern Warfare
Attachments of the balanced FAL setup
- Muzzle: Silencer (Monolith)
- Barrel: XRK Marksman
- Scope: VLK 3.0x Scope
- Under barrel: Commando Foregrip
- Ammunition: 30-round magazine
The attachment combo is recommended by the German YouTuber “xHankyy,” who has been posting videos with gameplay and tips for the Battle Royale on his channel almost daily since the start of Warzone. He plays the FAL only in the Warzone, but his build works well in multiplayer too. Here is his video on the FAL:
What makes the setup strong? The large marksman barrel and the monolith suppressor extend the range of the strong initial damage profile to 27 meters and allow you to deal really nasty hits at that distance, even one-shot kills with headshots in multiplayer.
This gives you a significant advantage over almost all weapons in multiplayer and the Warzone up to this 27m distance. Unless a foe with a shotgun, sniper, or the crazy Kali sticks is right in front of you, you have the strongest weapon in hand and can take out everything.
The VLK scope gives you more range thanks to the 3x zoom, with which you can still quickly aim in, allowing you to utilize the strengths of the weapon even at shorter distances. The colleagues at GameStar see this scope as a secret tip. Together with the semi-automatic fire and the larger magazine, you are able to suppress or attack enemies at all distances for a long time.
To stabilize the recoil, “xHankyy” uses the commando grip, which helps with horizontal recoil and doesn’t take away the ZV speed from the weapon like some of the other strong under barrel attachments.
FAL Setup to Optimize Strengths
Strong setup for FAL in Warzone and Modern Warfare
- Muzzle: Silencer (Monolith)
- Barrel: XRK Marksman
- Laser: 1mW Laser
- Under barrel: Merc Foregrip
- Ammunition: 30-round magazine
This setup is recommended by “JGOD” in his analysis video, which we have embedded at the top. After spending a long time with the weapon, he believes that the weapon is also very good for hip-fire kills, making it even stronger.
What makes the setup strong? As with the setup from “xHankyy,” “JGOD” also includes the range attachments Marksman Barrel and Monolith Suppressor. The Monolith is indeed one of the attachments we recommend for almost any weapon, as it suppresses shots and increases range by 7.5%.
The 30-round magazine is also a must. However, instead of a scope, he prefers to use the 1mW laser and replaces the commando grip with the merc variant. Both improve the weapon’s hip-fire, and the grip gives you a hidden speed buff and helps with vertical recoil.
While the grip increases your time to aim, since you are using the “Iron Sight,” you still have a strong balance, and the weapon still aims in at a lightning speed.
However, he also mentions that the weapon is very flexible when it comes to the equipment. With the semi-automatic fire, you determine the speed of the shots yourself and thus the recoil. Experiment a bit and see if you can manage with the “Iron Sight”. If you don’t feel comfortable, “JGOD” recommends swapping the laser or the under barrel for a scope. Also, he highly recommends the burst modifier that turns the weapon into a 3-round rifle.
Conclusion of the FAL – Pros and Cons
This is what MeinMMO author Maik Schneider says about the FAL: What a device. Whether in the Warzone or in multiplayer, at the moment there is nothing better at short and medium ranges if you can handle the semi-automatic.
I have long only used semi-automatic rifles in CoD, but for just as long, I haven’t at all. When leveling up months ago, I already noticed how strong the FAL is, and I have had a FAL setup in my back pocket for the Warzone for a while.
However, after the buff and adjustments to the Grau, the gun now plays a bigger role for me again. And I have to say, it’s really a lot of fun to take out enemies in record time. Grab the FAL now and see for yourself how quickly 3 armor plates can melt away.
After the biggest adjustments that have ever been made in CoD MW 2019 and the Warzone, the FAL has pushed itself far up in terms of damage and utility due to its hefty buff. With the current stats, the weapon is now playing in a league with the strongest weapons of Modern Warfare and also in the Warzone.
