You want the best builds for all weapons? It”s more complicated in Modern Warfare 2 than in any other Call of Duty. We can help.
If you love Call of Duty, you love screwing with virtual weapons. Ever since Modern Warfare 2019 launched the Gunsmith as a big new feature, it”s been hard to imagine CoD DNA without tacting with different attachments. Everyone is looking for the best builds, wanting to turn their M4 into a long range monster or a run&gun shaver. Even in the rather unpopular Vanguard, it was insanely fun to soup up your SMG into such a hip-firing machine that you could permanently give the rear sight the boot.
But in Modern Warfare 2, the Gunsmith is complicated – for many reasons. For example, the advanced weapon tuning had to be deactivated after release due to bugs, so you can”t even use the lategame feature for fully upgraded weapons yet. Whew.
But there are other stumbling blocks or peculiarities of Modern Warfare 2 that often even make screwing with guns the wrong way to go. On the internet, for example, some of the biggest experts are of the opinion that weapons without attachments are actually the better choice. There is no trace of a best build.
So let”s take a look at it
The problem with best builds
The root of all evil: Modern Warfare 2 has an insanely short time to kill of under 300 milliseconds and rather crude weapons. Crude means: in neutral state without all attachments, the guns already tear pretty badly and flap back and forth even without continuous fire. You can compensate for this, of course, but almost every attachment in CoD costs you ADS time, which means that you have to aim more slowly over the front and rear sights. CoD expert TheXclusiveAce shows this very nicely in his video:
And do you know what a high ADS time leads to? That”s right, you can dock slower, shoot slower, and with such a low Time to Kill, you”ll get shot over before you can even react. In the current state of Modern Warfare 2, you often screw up your weapon build by filling all five attachment slots with attachments.
So looking for the one best build won”t really get you there. You need to understand what you don”t have, what you want and what you can do without. But at least we can give you a general build, because it should bring upgrades for every type of player:
- FSS Sharkfin 90: One of the few attachments that have exclusively positive effects. In this case, the crosshairs wobble less when you attach. Always worthwhile if you would otherwise leave the slot empty.
- Aiming laser: There are various laser attachments that only become active when you aim through the rear sight. So you won”t be running around like a glowing Christmas tree all the time, but you will get more precision when aiming.
- Red Dot: The smallest scope costs you a bit of ADS time, but should make aiming so much easier that the small penalty hardly matters.
In our example build, we added a 20-round magazine to the Kastov because it improves the ADS time. But this is where the disadvantages begin, because if you have to reload frequently in CoD, you are taking a risk.
Which build is the best for me?
We”re not into fortune telling, but let”s go out on a limb here: you”re looking for the best weapon build because you want to play better. So the first question you need to ask yourself is: What is the problem? And then decide what price you want to pay to compensate for your disadvantages.
An example: You”re always seen before you see the enemy? Then put Ghost in your inventory as a perk and set it to Silencer. Or do enemies shoot you all the time while you”re reloading? Pack a big magazine. Yes, this will cost you penetration and ADS time, but you”ll have to experiment to find out where the limit is for you.
Are you constantly losing gunfights because the enemy knocks you out first? Then maybe your weapon isn”t the problem, but your speed. If you sprint too much and run around corners in Modern Warfare 2, you”ll usually bite the dust. Sure, try an SMG with attachments that reduce the ADS time … but we promise you: If you generally take the speed out, you”ll play better in MW2.
Ironic enough, it even helped us to experiment with a weapon with a completely messed up ADS time in order to internalise a calmer play style:
With this LMG build from the Lachmann series, you”re about as agile as the Bundestag building, but you”ll shave the wrinkles off an enemy”s forehead at 200 metres. Pack it up, snort it around corners and behind cover, use the mount function more often and see if your game flow improves.
More about Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2
Infinity Ward needs to get busy to patch the problems out of Gunsmith. Once weapon tuning becomes part of the game again, the hunt for the best builds per weapon should change drastically once again. In the current state, many attachments are high risk and you have to consciously test and weigh them.
Don”t let this frustrate you. Modern Warfare 2 is a nerve-wracking experience at times with its mercilessly low time to kill, but once you find your rhythm, matches will flow better, I promise.
