In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, you have dozens of attachments available for the many weapons. Some of these can help you aim better. We show you which attachments are the best and how they work.
What attachments are available? Through the Gunsmith feature in Modern Warfare, you can customize weapons to your liking – with all sorts of attachments. Some of these attachments help you aim better. In detail, these are:
- Muzzle Brake (Muzzle)
- Compensator (Muzzle)
- Command Foregrip (Underbarrel)
- Merc Foregrip (Underbarrel)
- Ranger Foregrip (Underbarrel)
- Operator Foregrip (Underbarrel)
- Rubberized Grip Tape (Grip)
Additionally, there is the Bipod (Underbarrel), which we will treat separately. All these attachments have the properties of Recoil Control or Recoil Stabilization.
What are the best attachments? To keep it short: The best combination to improve your aim is to use the Compensator along with the Command Foregrip. We explain how it works and why this combination is so strong in the following article.
The YouTuber TheXclusiveAce has also made a video about this. You can find his analysis here:
This guide is aimed at both beginners and advanced builders. If you need a bit more practice, find the best Class Setup for entering multiplayer here.
How Attachments Improve Your Aim
How do the properties function? For weapon control and thus your aim accuracy, recoil control and recoil stabilization are responsible. The two properties have different effects on your weapon:
- Recoil stabilization reduces the “jumping” of shots from side to side (horizontal)
- Recoil control helps you control the upward deviation of the weapon (vertical)
Among the mentioned attachments, only two have the stabilizing property: The Muzzle Brake and the Command Foregrip. The other attachments assist with the control.
All attachments also help you make the initial shots more accurate. The initial recoil is reduced slightly to significantly with all attachments, so the first shots hit better (and may save your life).
That’s why the combination is important: The individual attachments alone have little influence on the weapon’s behavior. However, in combination, they are extremely powerful.
If you use both attachments at the same time, it prevents the weapon from swaying left and right as well as the need for constant downward correction. You hit more accurately. Here’s an example with the assault rifle M4A1:
Recoil in Modern Warfare
How does recoil work at all? The recoil in Modern Warfare works on nearly all automatic weapons according to the same principle.
The weapon pulls upward and slightly to the right, also jerking back and forth. Only the new RAM-7 has a unique “spray pattern”. You can read more about it in our guide to the RAM-7 assault rifle.
Other Attachments Influencing Recoil
These attachments further change the behavior of the weapon: Some additional attachments also change the recoil of your weapon. These are usually magazine attachments that alter the caliber of the weapon.
A good example is the 9mm Parabellum ammunition and the .485-SOCOM ammunition for the M4A1. The 9mm ammunition improves recoil slightly, while the SOCOM ammunition worsens it.
In both cases, however, the changes are tied to the condition that you aim with it and do not fire from the hip. Both types of ammunition can, however, be improved with the attachments mentioned above. You can read more about it in our guide to attachments and setups for the M4A1.
What is the purpose of the Bipod? Another attachment we’ve already mentioned is the Bipod. This occupies a special position among the attachments that improve recoil.
The Bipod is probably the strongest attachment when it comes to aiming accurately. The downside is that it only works when crouching or lying down. It then functions just like mounting a weapon on surfaces.
A bipod is especially useful for sniper rifles, but it significantly restricts your mobility, making you vulnerable to flank attacks.
More Stable Aiming for Better Results
Why is better aiming important? If you focus on controlling your recoil, more bullets will hit your opponent. Since the TTK in Modern Warfare is very low, averaging 200ms, secure hits are important.
When more bullets hit the opponent at the beginning of a firefight, the likelihood is high that you will kill him before you fall yourself. Depending on the weapon, you need more or fewer bullets – the best weapons of each type are usually the strongest.
Generally, it is safe to make a burst fire aimed at the opponent’s chest, as the recoil causes you to automatically pull up to the head. Here, horizontal and vertical deviation can cost you the victory if a bullet goes astray.
By improving control and stability, the bullets are more likely to hit the target. For players using a controller, such as on PS4 and Xbox One, there is also Aim Assist, which can take some work off your hands. Here’s how to use it optimally: How to use Aim Assist in CoD Modern Warfare effectively.
Interaction with Other Attachments
What you should pay attention to when building weapons: You have only five slots with which you can equip weapons. If you use our recommended attachments for recoil, two of them are already occupied.
This limits the selection of attachments you can use. Additionally, a compensator prevents you from using a silencer. What suppressors actually do and whether they are worth it, you can find here.
If you want to aim very precisely, you should also attach a sight to your weapon. This makes you slower to aim but more precise. The advantage is that you can safely take out your opponent if you fire first.
The downside is that you aim slower and consume another slot, which is why many good players avoid optics.
Is aim stability not important? Some attachments also have the property of “aim stability”. However, this has nothing to do with how well you actually hit in the end.
Aim stability only affects the movement of your weapon while you are standing still. It reduces (or increases) the wobbling of the weapon itself. However, for actual firing and controlling the shots, the property is completely irrelevant.
