The Warzone expert “JGOD” has evaluated all weapons from Call of Duty: Warzone for their suitability in Battle Royale with his chat during a stream and packaged the results in a 30-minute video. MeinMMO presents the results from the English stream and shows: What is the meta and what is useless?
First of all: The majority of weapons from Call of Duty: Warzone are strong and usable. No weapon is so far ahead of the others that there is currently THE meta weapon that everyone should play. Nevertheless, there are differences that you should consider depending on your playstyle or your personal performance jump.
The Warzone expert “JDOG” has categorized all Warzone weapons into 4 categories to show their strength at a glance:
- Meta
- Top-Tier-Viable
- Mid-Tier
- Don’t Use
What does Meta mean in this case? JGOD makes a fairly strict distinction, and only the absolute top weapons are considered meta in his ranking, which sometimes are not that easy to play. For him, weapons that you are more likely to win in a 1vs1 duel under certain conditions are meta.
However, flexibility or factors like magazine size also play a role. A meta assault rifle still has little chance against a meta submachine gun in close combat. Therefore, JGOD categorizes the meta weapons more into classes and areas of use. That’s why JGOD considers 3 rocket launchers to be meta.
Just because a weapon is considered meta, doesn’t mean you should switch to it immediately. Different standards may apply to you, and, for example, low recoil may be more important to you than maximum damage. Thus, we have also created our list of the best weapons and focus more on playability and only then look at damage.
Here is the meta list of weapons according to their areas of use:
Range Meta – Assault Rifles, LMGs, Tactical Rifles, SMGs
- Meta
- AK-47 Cold War
- XM4
- EM2
- MG82
- Top-Tier-Viable
- FARA 83
- C58
- QBZ
- AMAX
- M4A1
- Grau 5.56
- Krig
- RAM-7
- StG44
- Grav
- Milano
- Stoner
- Bruen
- PKM
- RPD
- LAHS LMG
- FiNN
- Mid-Tier
- M13
- Kilo 141
- Scar
- FAL
- AN94
- Oden
- FR 5.56
- SA87
- MG34
- Holger
- DMR 14
- CARV.2
- AUG Cold War
- Type 63
- M1 Garand
- Don’t Use
- M60
- M91
- M16
The distribution already shows how many weapons currently pass as usable in Warzone. Just a few months ago, it would have looked very different, especially the “Don’t Use” category would have been significantly larger. However, there are currently many options for your playstyle with range weapons.
Sniper Support Meta – Assault Rifles, Submachine Guns, DMRs
- Meta
- AK-47 Cold War
- Top-Tier-Viable
- EM2
- M4A1
- AMAX
- XM4
- FFAR
- AS VAL (Solo-BR)
- MP7
- AUG CoD MW
- Type 63
- Mid-Tier
- Groza
- FARA
- RAM-7
- AK-47 Cold War
- Milano
- P90
- DMR 14
Sniper support is a sort of intermediate class and not really defined. These weapons should cover the range that is too close for your sniper rifle. The currently controllable and strong AK-47 from Cold War is at the top here, but single-shot weapons are also considered useful at this time.
SMG Meta – Submachine Guns
- Meta
- MAC-10
- PPSh
- OTs 9
- MP5 Cold War
- Top-Tier-Viable
- Bullfrog
- TEC-9
- MP5 CoD MW
- Milano
- MP7
- CX-9
- AK-74u
- AUG CoD MW
- Fennek
- LAPA
- Mid-Tier
- Uzi
- Bizon
- ISO
- P90
- Nail Gun
- LC10
- Don’t Use
- KSP
- Striker
The MAC-10 is a good example that damage is not the only factor that plays a role in the meta. The small fire rate monster quickly puts a lot of bullets on your enemies and shakes hit targets. Players simply like the weapon, even though it also has disadvantages due to its open-bolt delay.
Sniper Meta – Sniper Rifles
- Meta
- Kar 98k
- Swiss
- Top-Tier-Viable
- HDR
- ZRG 20mm
- SPR
- Pelington
- AX50
- Tundra
- Mid-Tier
- M82
- Rytec
- Don’t Use
- SKS
- MK2 Carbine
- Crossbow CoD MW
- Crossbow Cold War
- Dragunov
In terms of sniper weapons, the two aggressive sniper rifles Kar 98k and the Swiss are clearly the meta. The two weapons offer one-shot kills with headshots and are much more mobile than the larger calibers.
This is because the large sniper weapons help you take out enemies at long distances. However, really good players can manage with the fast sniper rifles, which are harder to hit with but quicker to aim.
Sidearm Meta – Pistols
- Meta
- AMP63
- Sykov
- Diamatti
- Top-Tier-Viable
- M19
- Renetti
- Mid-Tier
- X16
- 1911 CoD MW
- 1911 Cold War
- Don’t Use
- Magnum CoD MW
- Magnum Cold War
- Desert Eagle
- Marshal
Except for the Sykov and the AMP63, JGOD recommends the Akimbo version for all pistols. In this setup, you hold 2 weapons, but cannot aim down sights.
RPG Meta – Rocket Launchers
- Meta
- Strela
- RPG CoD MW
- RPG Cold War
- Top-Tier-Viable
- JOKR
- Cigma
- Pila
- Don’t Use
- Grenade Launcher
Rocket launchers are a category of their own. The explosive launchers are very good for putting pressure on enemies, and if you hit an enemy directly with a rocket, it’s a one-shot kill.
The Strela is essentially a kind of rocket sniper – the rockets fly very quickly, and hits on large targets like vehicles up to 150 meters are no problem. The RPGs work well in anti-personnel combat.
The homing rockets are found in the second category. JGOD has classified the Pila in “Don’t Use” here but says about the Cigma – “Cigma is good because it can lock onto targets”. The Pila can do that too and thus falls into the “Top-Tier-Viable” category for us.
Melee Meta – Melee Weapons
- Meta
- Kali Sticks
- Riot Shield
- Don’t Use
- Kodachis
- Ballistic Knife
- Knife CoD MW
- Knife Cold War
- Wakizashi
- Machete
- E-Tool
- Baseball Bat
- Sledgehammer
If you want to engage in close combat, JGOD considers only 2 weapons to be viable: the Riot Shield and the Kali Sticks. The shield offers a crazy play style that requires a good balance of aggressive and passive play. Wins without kills are also possible with it. The Kali Sticks, on the other hand, simply offer better stats than other melee weapons.
If you want to take a look at the English video, we embed it here:
What about shotguns? JGOD has already indicated when entering the shotgun ranking that he holds a low opinion of shotguns. Throughout the ranking process, communication with his chat led him to classify all shotguns as “Don’t Use”.
This is partly because shotguns are difficult to play in Warzone, especially for “normal” players. If you know how to use a shotgun, this play style is often viewed as toxic and less liked. JGOD then states: “I’m not even trolling. You have to find out for yourself if you want to use shotguns”.
What’s next for Warzone? A major transition to the Vanguard engine is coming this year.
The meta ranking is unlikely to change significantly before the end of the “old” Warzone. A nerf of the AK-47 from Cold War mid-season is possible. However, with the introduction of the Vanguard weapons, things will get lively again, and the next list will be noticeably longer.
If you want to read more about the transition to the Vanguard engine, check here: The 5 Most Important Changes When Warzone “Fuses” with CoD Vanguard
