MeinMMO editor Maik Schneider is the first to get upset about OP weapons in Call of Duty and then slots them into his loadout. He reminisces about the unpleasant encounters he’s had over the years.
How did the list come about? World at War (2008) was my first Call of Duty and since then about a dozen more have been added. Over the course of my “career,” I have taken quite a few hits from OP weapons.
Here I list the 5 worst weapons I have experienced over the years. I base this on my own experience but have also looked at similar lists, which I’ll include in the sources. My list does not represent a ranking.
So let’s start with some nostalgic weapon knowledge that brings back long-forgotten rage-quits. If you want to know what’s going on in the current CoD, check out the Season 3 trailer:
Brecci Shotgun – Black Ops 3 (2015)
We start off with a shotgun from the Black Ops series, which was praised for its balancing until BO3. To this day, Black Ops 2 is considered the best CoD in terms of balance and competitive gameplay.
Shotgun players are already a special breed of people – you should have seen my Titan in Destiny working with a shotgun … unpleasant. If you give these people an OP weapon, you can’t guarantee anything.
The weapon became really strong with a certain mod. That provided a high rate of fire. This, combined with the tight distribution of the pellets and the high headshot multiplier, made the Brecci an unwelcome guest in every lobby.
MP40 – World War II (2017)
The MP40 has made appearances in many CoDs and was especially overpowered in the CoD of 2017. It came with the trifecta of submachine guns: high rate of fire, strong damage, accurate hip fire.
And it was also useful at distance. A real monster.
Even in Call of Duty: Vanguard (2021), the MP40 had a fixed place in many loadouts. In the beta and for weeks after the release, the gun dominated at close range and received a hard nerf.
BAL-27 – Advanced Warfare (2014)
The Call of Duty of 2014 brought not only the standard versions of weapons but also special, unlockable variants. These came with different stats, and the “Obsidian Steed” was particularly wild.
Compared to the normal version, it had a good portion of extra damage, which usually allowed kills with 3 shots. Combined with the high rate of fire, it was a nightmare. Plus, it had minimal recoil.
The perfect weapon in a shooter where opponents bounce around like rubber balls through the lobbies.
Model 1887 Akimbo – CoD MW2 2009
In the still-celebrated MW2 from 2009, the sniper “Intervention” was my personal arch-nemesis. I spent little time in public matches that year. Most of my gaming time was spent training in private lobbies.
But regardless of which list you pull up for the OP weapons in CoD history: the little shotgun with the Akimbo mod can be found everywhere.
Even without the aiming function, there were hits from the hip at sniper distances. Together with some movement perks, I was almost unbeatable. The 725 from MW 2019 stirred memories of these OP beasts for many players.
I don’t want to talk about the noob tubes from MW2 2009. Please respect my pain.
DMR 14 – Warzone 1 (2020)
My personal highlight of the list. This single-shot weapon came out just before Christmas 2020 from CoD: Cold War to the Battle Royale Warzone and completely shook up the meta. It was super strong and easy to use. Moreover, no updates came over the holidays, making it far too strong for weeks.
The cruel part was: due to the single-shot mode, a certain skill gap remained. If one had little experience, they couldn’t take advantage of the strength of the OP weapon. For seasoned players, however, it was a blessing.
The nerf protests even made it to the real world. And since CoD: Warzone was still extremely popular at that time, probably more players were affected by this OP weapon than by most before it.
That was my list of the most terrible OP weapons in the history of Call of Duty.
Opinions on the topic are diverse; I noticed that during my research. So leave me a comment about which weapon you think is missing from the list or which one you would remove.
If you want to know what’s going on in this generation of CoD, here’s a personal assessment: Call of Duty has had the worst year in a long time and is now even worse off than after CoD Vanguard
