Since the beta, Treyarch has juggled things up a bit when it comes to the weapons department, but a lot of it has remained the same. Here are ten tips and things to keep in mind when building the next overpowered loadout in Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War.

10 Playstyle

One of the most important things to keep in mind while building a custom loadout is the playstyle. While aggressive players can rack up kills with SMGs, laid back folks do much better rocking a burst-fire or an automatic AR. The increased mobility of SMGs and light weapons allows for faster movement and easier chase and guns, the LMGs and ARs are better at locking down positions. The higher damage per shot(DPS) and zero damage reduction over long-ranges render ARs highly effective when not running and gunning. Currently, the best SMG in-game is the MP5 with the AK-47 holding the same mantle in the AR department.

9 Time Taken To Kill (TTK)

TTK is another important factor to take into consideration when picking a loadout. Most of the times a lower TTK is better but there are certain instances where this may not be true. In Call Of Duty: Cold War, one burst from the AUG is enough to kill enemies even at a distance of 30 meters, but there’s a time gap between subsequent bursts requiring one to be extremely accurate. On the other hand, fully automatic weapons like the MP5 or AK-47 do have a higher TTK but they’re more forgiving when it comes to missed shots.

8 Game Mode Preference

While most players would prefer to hop on servers with traditional game modes such as Team Deathmatch and Free For All, Treyarch has added VIP Escort and Dirty Bomb into the mix as well. In a Free For All match, the objective is to rack up as many kills as possible which makes selecting a loadout with shotguns preferable due to single shot kills.

In games modes such as the Dirty Bomb, players have quite a few long-range engagements and having a burst-fire rifle or a sniper is ideal.

7 Bullet Velocity

Bullet velocity is one of the most important stats in the game. Players feel that their shots do not connect and this is mainly due to the fact that bullet velocity is on the lower side in most of the weapons. Using attachments that increase bullet velocity while not compromising on the range is key to building an overpowered loadout in Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. Barrels such as the 9.5" Reinforced Heavy on the MP5 increase bullet velocity by a tremendous amount.

6 Attachments

Like other games in the series, Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War allows players to have a maximum of 5 attachments on a weapon(it can be extended to 8 using a wildcard which shall be discussed later). Balanced attachments make the meta weapons even better. Guns such as the Ak-47 have high recoil which can be compensated for using foregrips or tactical stocks. The MP5 can be equipped with an extended mag to take down multiple enemies before the need for reloading arises.

5 Primary Weapons

The current meta for Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War consists of the Ak-47, MP5 and burst rifles such as the M16. Quick-scoping has become easier which makes snipers a very viable choice if players possess the required skills. The M16 is a weapon that can be used at short to mid-range combat and is highly versatile when equipped with the right optics and attachments. The Mp5’s ADS time can be significantly reduced when equipped with the 40 round drum magazine.

4 Perks

The three perk tiers in Call Of Duty: Cold War play an important role in building a perfect loadout. The perks do take some ranking up to unlock but they are worth it. The best Tier 1 Perks include the Flak Jacket and Paranoia. Flak Jacket reduces incoming damage from explosives whereas Paranoia alerts the player whenever someone aims at them. Gearhead and Quartermaster are the go-to perks in Tier 2 with Ghost and Cold-Blooded for the win in Tier 3.

3 Wildcards

Wildcards are a new addition to Call Of Duty: Cold War and they essentially function as an extra perk. There are four Wildcards available at the time of this writing and they consist of Danger Close, Lawbreaker, Gunfighter and Perk Greed. Out of these, Law Breaker allows players to equip an extra perk from a perk category as well as equip a secondary weapon from any class. Gunfighter allows players to add three extra attachments to their weapons making it a total of eight attachments. These two are the most useful Wildcards among the four.

2 Lethal, Tactical, And Field Equipment

Additional equipment besides guns plays a vital role in Call Of Duty multiplayer. Even though most equipment requires levelling up to unlock, lethal equipment such as Frag Grenades, tactical equipment such as the Stimshot and field equipment like the Field Mics are available at a very early stage in the game.

The Stimshot is considered the best tactical equipment in the game as health regeneration is comparatively slow. The Field Mic helps detect players in close proximity to it.

1 Multiple Builds

While the aforementioned tips will help players create an excellent build, having multiple builds helps increase players’ versatility. Loadouts can be switched mid-game when the current one just refuses to cooperate or is unsuitable for the map. Having different long and close-range builds to rock on different maps prevents repetitiveness while increasing your chances of winning. Having said this, nothing can beat a sniper-shotgun combo when looking to own some unsuspecting opponents.

NEXT: Call Of Duty: 5 Things That Are Historically Accurate In Cold War (& 5 Things That Aren’t)