Best Tactical Rifles in Warzone: a guide to the best Tactical Rifles in Call of Duty: Warzone
Which of these Cold War weapons is best in Season 6?
Looking for the best Tactical Rifle in Warzone? Tactical Rifles in Warzone have been through a rollercoaster in the meta. They completely dominated the early days of Cold War integration, but have since fallen out of favor. They’re still good weapons though and can be a fun switch from the full-automatic beams in the Assault Rifle category.
The best Tactical Rifle in Warzone
Right now, the best Tactical Rifle in Warzone is the DMR 14. This semi-automatic beast will hit your enemies like a bag of bricks, and can drop them very quickly with a few well placed headshots. It’s a tight race though, so let’s take a look at some stats before we break down the list.
Here's the best Tactical Rifle in Warzone
- DMR-14
- CARV2
- Type 63
- AUG (Cold War)
- M16
DMR-14 - Best Tactical Rifle in Warzone
The DMR was a menace in earlier Cold War seasons. After a few months of balance patches though, it’s no longer quite so oppressive. Its time-to-kill is rock solid at most ranges, but semi-automatic fire can be unforgiving. If you’re hitting your shots though, it can compete with Assault Rifles up close.
The key is hitting your headshots. Tactical Rifles are precision weapons, and precision is required to make them shine in Season 6. If you aim for the chest and kick up onto the head before pulling back down, you will wipe out enemies shockingly fast. A lot of players run their DMR as an SMG substitute. If you're looking for a change from the usual close-range fare, the DMR 14 is an excellent place to start.
If you want to give it a try, check out our guide to the best best DMR loadout in Warzone.
CARV 2
If you prefer rapid burst-fire, the CARV 2 isn’t far behind the DMR. It has lower damage per shot than other Tactical Rifles but makes up for it with a much higher rate of fire. The CARV also has great ADS speed and reload times.
The only real downside is the subpar headshot damage, but your average time-to-kill will still be very good. The CARV 2 just doesn't quite have the ceiling of harder-hitting Tactical Rifles. This is the smoothest handling Tactical Rifle in the business though. There's something to be said for that.
Check out our guide for the best CARV 2 loadout in Warzone.
Type-63
The Type-63 has the best damage output in the Tactical Rifle category up close. Unfortunately, it’s also the only Tactical Rifle with a major time-to-kill decrease after its damage drops off at mid-range. Beyond that point, its lower rate of fire compared to the DMR 14 holds it back. It really is still pretty good though and will crush enemies up close if you can overcome the limitations of semi-automatic fire. You just have to accept that you won't achieve the consistency of a fully-automatic Assault Rifle or LMG. Regardless, it's a perfectly viable option for the SMG-replacement playstyle.
AUG (Cold War)
The Cold War AUG was another early Cold War monstrosity that got knocked down a peg earlier in 2021. After the near-universal decrease to Assault Rifle time-to-kill way back in Season 4 though, it’s actually in a decent spot. It’s very close to the CARV and DMR in its damage output but can’t beat either out right now. If you prefer the feel of this methodical three-round burster though, it will serve you well in Verdansk. Just prepare for clunkier handling than its competitors.
If you plan to give the AUG a go, give our guide to the best AUG loadout in Warzone a look.
M16
The M16 is really lagging behind the other Tactical Rifles in damage right now. It can occasionally kill faster than the CARV with enough headshots, but that’s a big ask. You just won’t get the same consistent damage output as other Tactical Rifles. The upside is that the M16 has much better ADS speed than the AUG, so you may find it feels better to use. The damage math does not favor this classic weapon, but if you prefer it over the AUG it will perform just fine. The M16 might be at the bottom of our list, but it isn't a bad gun.
Build the best M16 with our guide to the best M16 loadout in Warzone.
To round things out we have a comprehenisve stat table covering each Tactical Rifle. Give it a look for some extra context on our rankings.
Name | Damage | Shots To Kill | RPM | Mag | Reload | ADS | Move % | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
DMR-14 | 112 | 60 | 55 | 55 | 1-3 | 2-4 | 2-5 | 3-6 | 370 | 20 | 2.28s | 288ms | 94% | |||
Type 63 | 124 | 72 | 66 | 66 | 1-3 | 2-4 | 2-5 | 3-6 | 343 | 25 | 2.03s | 267ms | 94% | |||
M16 | 72 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 2-3 | 3-4 | 3-5 | 4-7 | 436 | 30 | 2.50s | 300ms | 95% | |||
AUG | 72 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 2-3 | 3-4 | 3-5 | 4-7 | 464 | 30 | 2.50s | 396ms | 95% | |||
CARV | 61 | 37 | 36 | 34 | 2-4 |3-5 | 4-7 | 5-8 | 514 | 30 | 2.37s | 308ms | 95% |
If you're looking for stats on other weapon classes, visit our full Warzone weapon stats page for more!
And there you have it! Hopefully now you're a master of the Warzone Tactical Rifles arsenal, and you're ready to put your newfound knowledge to the test. But in case you're still hungering for tips and stats, be sure to check out our guide to the best guns and best loadouts in Warzone!