Submachine guns are strong close-combat fighters in Call of Duty: Warzone, dealing a lot of damage while remaining mobile. MeinMMO lists the currently best SMGs for you here – in the categories of damage, range, and hip fire.
Where do the weapon infos come from? To provide you with the best submachine guns, we at MeinMMO regularly look at the latest trends from players, review analyses, and add a dose of our own experience.
Submachine guns are divided into 3 categories in Warzone:
- Damage – Pure close-combat fighters with a lot of punch
- Range – Lose damage late, good as sniper support
- Hip fire – You save yourself the trip to the sights
To keep you updated on which submachine guns are currently popular and strong in Warzone, we regularly update the list for you and report on any changes in the weapon meta. In our selection, we pay attention to a good balance between control and damage, so there might be stronger alternatives that are harder to play.
Important sources can be found at the bottom of the article and you can find our comprehensive list of all the best weapons in Warzone here.
MP5 from CoD MW – The best submachine gun with high damage
Warzone: MP5 CoD MW Setup
- Barrel: Suppressor (integrated, Monolithic)
- ADS penalties, but more range, bullet speed, and sound suppression
- Stock: FTAC foldable
- Increases vertical recoil but improves almost all mobility stats
- Underbarrel: Merc Foregrip
- Slightly decreases mobility but improves vertical and horizontal recoil
- Ammunition: 45-round magazine
- More shots, more damage potential – but ADS penalties
- Perk: Sleight of Hand
- Improves reload speed
What makes the MP5 from CoD MW strong? After some changes to the SMGs, the “old” MP5 is back at the top in damage. Chest shots can take out enemies in 526 milliseconds: a top value for submachine guns. And you only need one headshot to further reduce this time to 451 milliseconds.
Furthermore, the MP5 is quite stable and maintains full damage with the suggested setup up to just under 11 meters. Due to its stability, you can even use the MP5 from CoD MW at medium distances, though the damage isn’t as impressive then.
This good control and high damage make the MP5 so strong. But if you are looking for a more mobile variant, try the OTs 9 or the MP5 from Cold War.
Pros & Cons of the MP5 from CoD MW
Alternatives among damage SMGs
- AUG from CoD MW – Top damage and ADS stats, but low movement speed
- OTs 9 – Less range, but higher fire rate – best mobility
- MP5 from Cold War – Has an exciting setup with vehicle damage
Bullfrog – The best submachine gun with range
Warzone: Bullfrog Setup
- Muzzle: GRU Muzzle Brake
- Decreases mobility but suppresses shots, adds range and bullet speed
- Barrel: 10.6″ Tactical
- More range and bullet speed, but slightly higher recoil
- Laser: Tiger Team Spotlight
- Improves mobility
- Stock: KGB Skeletal Stock
- Helps sprint-to-fire speed and ADS speed, but reduces hip fire
- Underbarrel: Startup Grip
- Increases movement speed, improves hip fire
What makes the Bullfrog strong? The Bullfrog can do almost everything, but it falls behind in damage. However, this disadvantage offers a wide range of advantages in return:
- Very large standard magazine with 50 rounds
- Low recoil for easy control
- Good range for an SMG
You will need 639 milliseconds in the first damage range for a kill with chest shots, and if you land a headshot, the TTK drops to 559 milliseconds. With the setup above, this applies to kills within 16.5 meters. To land your hits, you get 50 shots without additional attachments, theoretically allowing you to take out 5 enemies in a row – with 9 hits per kill.
Pros & Cons of the Bullfrog
Alternatives among range SMGs
- MAC-10 – More range, higher fire rate, but Open-Bolt Delay
MP7 – The best submachine gun for hip fire
Warzone: MP7 Setup
- Muzzle: Suppressor (Monolithic)
- ADS penalties, but more range, bullet speed, and sound suppression
- Laser: 5mW Laser
- Helps sprint-to-fire speed and improves hip fire
- Stock: No Stock
- Increases vertical recoil but boosts mobility and hip fire
- Underbarrel: Merc Foregrip
- Slightly decreases mobility but improves vertical and horizontal recoil
- Ammunition: 60-round magazine
- More shots, more damage potential – but decreases mobility
What makes the MP7 strong? The MP7 has already thrilled multiplayer players in CoD MW with its hip fire capabilities and can do the same in Warzone. With this playstyle, you do not aim down sights (ADS) in close combat but simply hold down the trigger “from the hip.” This saves you the time of aiming down sights and gives you an advantage against other SMGs in close combat.
The MP7 features a very tight spread pattern, and even at 10 meters, your bullets still hit reliably. Though not as reliably as when aimed down sights – but thanks to its high fire rate, the time-to-kill only increases by 63 milliseconds per missed shot. This allows for 3 to 4 shots to go astray before your opponent is on your sights.
However, by specializing in hip fire, it suffers in other skills. Despite its controllable base recoil, the MP7 is still usable up to 20 meters, but don’t expect miracles.
Pros & Cons of the MP7
Alternatives among hip fire SMGs
After the nerf of the MP5 from Cold War, currently only the MP7 is worthwhile as a pure hip fire SMG in Warzone.
Your weapons determine your play style, and once you find the right firearms that you feel comfortable with, it is a significant advantage.
Try out different ones, always look at the current meta weapons, but also let your preferences guide you. The best OP weapon won’t bring victories if you don’t enjoy using it. The same goes for match strategies. There are indeed rather sure ways to get to the endgame, but sometimes you just don’t feel like undertaking countless reconnaissance missions.
