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Black Ops 6: Best Loadouts and Gun Builds for Multiplayer

Dominate every engagement in Black Ops 6 with our most effective weapon loadouts and builds

Image credit: Treyarch, Raven Software, Activision.

Guide by Sherif Saed Contributing Editor

Published on Oct. 28, 2024

It’s still early days for Black Ops 6, but a few of the top weapons and attachments are already turning into the best loadouts to dominate Multiplayer. But while the meta hasn’t fully settled at this stage, you'll definitely come across a few recurring builds the longer you spend playing multiplayer.

We’ve been seeing the same ourselves, so we've put together this list of the the best Black Ops 6 loadouts to help you keep up with the competition and set yourself up for maximum success in multiplayer.

You may have already noticed that Black Ops 6’s maps run the gamut from the shockingly small to unnecessarily large for 6v6. This makes it a little tricky to design weapon builds that work well in every scenario.

The best way to deal with that variance in map size is to stick to your role. Your SMG is not likely to challenge a mounted assault rifle player on the other side of the map, but it’s going to decimate anyone at close-to-medium range.

With all that out of the way, we’ve rounded-up our favourite weapon builds and loadouts so far in Black Ops 6. We’ll be updating this guide regularly with more loadouts as the meta evolves.

Gunsmith and attachment changes in Black Ops 6

Unlike the more recent Call of Duty games - Modern Warfare 2 and 3 - Black Ops 6 takes a more streamlined approach to weapon builds. The Gunsmith returns, but how the pros and cons for each attachment are calculated is entirely different.

For this reason, you’re going to notice that a lot of builds have a suppressor equipped. Suppressors keep you off the minimap when firing, and don’t come with any negatives to aim-down-sight speed or anything like that. If you’re going to go without a suppressor, you best make sure you’ve picked something else equally as effective.

Beyond that, it’s worth keeping in mind that most weapons have five attachment slots you’re entirely free to customise. There are far more categories than free slots, of course, which means that the value of every pick is incredibly high - so don’t waste any slot on unnecessary attachments or mods.

Finally, if you pick the Gunfighter Wildcard, you can increase that to eight attachments on your primary weapon, so keep that in mind when building a weapon that simply requires more than five attachments to excel.

Black Ops 6 best assault rifle loadouts
Black Ops 6 best SMG loadouts

Black Ops 6 best assault rifle loadouts

The best assault rifle loadout in Black Ops 6 multiplayer is built around the AS VAL.

The assault rifle has always been the most versatile, jack-of-all-trades weapon of choice for multiplayer. Assault rifles are even more relevant this year because about half the maps in Black Ops 6 are larger than you’d expect, so it’s never been more important to deck out your AR with the right attachments for the right job.

Right now, the AS VAL is the most popular assault rifle. It has a fast rate-of-fire, and decent range by default. Built right, it can become the fastest-killing AR in the game. The AS VAL will stand toe-to-toe with SMGs at closer ranges, and do very well at challenging other AR users at range.

Best AS VAL weapon builds in Black Ops 6

Here are two of our favourite builds currently for the AS VAL. We’ll start off with one equipped with an optic and a longer barrel for more accuracy at longer ranges, then switch a shredder that excels at close-to-medium range.

Optic: Prismatech Reflex
Barrel: Long Barrel.
Underbarrel: Vertical Foregrip.
Magazine: Extended Mag 1.
Stock: Infiltrator Stock.

Underbarrel: Vertical Foregrip.
Magazine: Extended Mag 2.
Rear Grip: Assault Grip.
Stock: Balanced Stock.
Fire Mods: Recoil Springs.

Best perks to match your AS VAL builds in Black Ops 6

Picking the right combination of perks largely depends on the playstyle you’re going for. It’s also worth noting that picking all three perks of the same family (colour) lets you equip a unique Speciality, which grants even more bonuses beyond what you get by just equipping the perks themselves.

The criteria is certainly more loose here, for obvious reasons, but we still have a few recommendations that will complement the above AS VAL weapon builds.

Perk One: Assassin.
Perk Two: Dexterity.
Perk Three: Double Time.
Speciality: Enforcer.

Best equipment to pick with your AS VAL builds in Black Ops 6

Equipment choices are entirely subjective, and are really up to you. With that in mind, you can still maximise the effectiveness of your build by picking one of these combos.

Lethal: Frag.
Tactical: Concussion.
Field Upgrade: Scrambler.

Lethal: Sticky Grenade (Semtex).
Tactical: Stim Shot.
Field Upgrade: Acoustic Amp.

SMGs pair really well with Black Ops 6's Omnimovement. | Image credit: Treyarch, Raven Software, Activision.

Black Ops 6 best SMG loadouts

The best SMG loadouts in Black Ops 6 multiplayer are built around the KSV and PP-919.

Considering how fast movement speed is in Black Ops 6, what really makes the most of that fluidity, not to mention complement the ever-popular run-and-gun style of combat, is a good SMG build. SMGs in Black Ops 6 do offer some versatility, if you build them to fit a particular playstyle, but they’re generally designed for players who are going to be moving around a lot.

So far, a couple of favourite choices have emerged in the meta, and both of them have seen wide use by content creators and regular players alike. Those being the KSV, and the possibly overpowered PP-919.

We’ve rounded up some of the most popular builds for the two SMGs that really deliver on their promise.

Best KSV build in Black Ops 6

Barrel: Long Barrel.
Underbarrel: Vertical Foregrip.
Muzzle: Compensator.
Rear Grip: Ergonomic Grip.
Fire Mods: Recoil Springs.

Best perks to match your KSV build in Black Ops 6

We’re once again going to go red with this perk package to complement our run-and-gun style with the KSV build above. As we mentioned, however, perk choices are entirely up to you, so don’t be afraid to experiment with different options if you think they’re going to suit you better - just be aware of what you gain/lose with each one.

Perk One: Assassin.
Perk Two: Dexterity.
Perk Three: Double Time.
Speciality: Enforcer.

Best equipment to pick with your KSV builds in Black Ops 6

A cracked loadout such as the one above for the KSV really means you don’t have time to line up throwables. For this reason, we’ve picked this setup.

Lethal: Impact Grenade.
Tactical: Stim Shot.
Field Upgrade: Acoustic Amp.

Best PP-919 weapon builds in Black Ops 6

The PP-919 is one of those weapons that you just know will be nerfed pretty soon, just because of how strong it is. This SMG won’t challenge assault rifles or anything, but it’s extremely effective at its role as a short-range bullet hose - perhaps even too effective.

The PP-919 is already a very good SMG, so this build will try to boost areas where it may not excel by default, making it a little more versatile. So, before it gets hit with the nerf hammer, here’s a current favourite PP-919 weapon build.

Muzzle: Suppressor.
Magazine: Fast Mag 2.
Rear Grip: Ergonomic Grip.
Stock: Balanced Stock.
Fire Mods: Rapid Fire.

Best perks to match your PP-919 build in Black Ops 6

This perk package emphasises stealth with the above PP-919 build. We’re going to pick all three perks from the Recon (blue) category to take advantage of the Speciality.