Best MW3 ISO 9mm loadout and class setup

What is the best ISO 9mm loadout and class setup in MW3? In Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, the ISO 9mm is a variant of the ISO 45. If you were a fan of that gun in the last Call Of Duty game, you'll be familiar with what this SMG has to offer. If you're not, you can expect this gun to provide a rapid fire rate and excellent steadiness, even if it isn't the most reliable damage dealer out of Modern Warfare 3's SMGs.

In this guide, we'll take a look at the best attachments, perks and equipment, and the secondary weapon that we'd recommend to build the best ISO 9mm loadout to make this little SMG more competitive.

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Why use the ISO 9mm in MW3?

The ISO 9mm isn't exactly the best SMG in Modern Warfare 3, and this is largely due to its weak damage output. As a result, it needs some fixing up before it can really compete. Luckily, it does boast great mobility and Time To Kill stats, along with a class-topping fire rate. In short, choose the ISO 9mm if you're intent on wielding a close range gun on cramped maps and not terribly concerned about enemy fire from afar.

Best ISO 9mm loadout in MW3

• Muzzle: HMRES Mod Suppressor S
• Rear Grip: EXP Shear
• Stock: Torrent Span-9
• Ammunition: 9mm High Velocity
• Optic: Cronen Mini Pro

Our ISO 9mm loadout is designed to amplify this SMG's good points - accuracy, range, and mobility. You'll also see a modest improvement to recoil, and while this gun still won't be extremely potent in terms of damage, it will certainly be a useful tool for rushing in and out of firefights, offloading a fast explosion of shots to catch opponents off guard.

Muzzle: HMRES Mod Suppressor S

First up, the HMRES Mod Suppressor S is a great muzzle for upping your bullet velocity, making your shots more accurate, improving your range, and most importantly, keeping you off the enemy's radar. You'll sacrifice a little recoil control, but it'll be worth it.

Rear Grip: EXP Shear

For the second attachment, we've opted for the EXP Shear as the ISO 9mm's rear grip. The EXP Shear worked well in MW2 and its stats transfer over nicely to MW3 as a lightweight, tactical grip that can improve your sprint to fire and ADS speeds. Again, your recoil takes a bit of a hit alongside your gun kick, but we'll make up for that with our next attachment.

Stock: Torrent Span-9

The Torrent Span-9 is a solid attachment that'll make up for some of your lost recoil and gun kick control while also improving your hip fire and Tac Stance spread. Consequently, your crouch movement and ADS speeds will decrease, but with a SMG like the ISO 9mm you should be up close and personal for your shots anyway.

Ammunition: 9mm High Velocity

This is where we get into the realm of personal preference. We recommend equipping the 9mm High Velocity ammunition to increase bullet velocity by a staggering 30% with only a 5% loss to recoil control. But if you'd rather go for accuracy, you can choose to equip a laser like the VLK LZR 7MW in this slot instead.

Optic: Cronen Mini Pro

Whether you go with a laser or not, we do recommend selecting the Cronen Mini Pro Optic to provide you with a small blue dot sight, creating a much more precise picture and clear view of your opponents. If you prefer a green dot for your sight, then the Cronen Mini Dot is just as good. Once again, optic choice is highly dependent on what works best for your individual playstyle.

Best ISO 9mm class setup: Secondary weapon

MCW or FJX Imperium.

To make up for the range deficiencies of the ISO 9mm, you'll want to run another primary weapon alongside it with the Overkill vest, which we'll detail in the Perks and Equipment section below. We recommend an AR to assist with mid-to-long range, and out of the best Assault Rifles in MW3, you can't go wrong with the MCW for its excellent range, damage potential, and accuracy. With such an all-rounder to hand, the ISO 9mm may end up running more of a supporting role for those close-range backups when you're out of ammo.

If you're looking to run with two completely different playstyles and fancy some long-range devastation with a Sniper Rifle, then we recommend the excellent FJX Imperium. Perfect for quickscoping, the FJX Imperium is one of the best guns in MW3, and it won't disappoint as a one-shot kill weapon to complement your ISO 9mm bullet barrage.

Best ISO 9mm class setup: Perks and Equipment

Overkill Vest, Assault Gloves, Lightweight Sneakers, Mag Holster, Flash Grenade, Throwing Knife

Given that we want to run the ISO 9mm with another primary weapon, you'll need to equip the Overkill Vest, which also increases your weapon swap speed while allowing you to reload while sprinting. Take the Assault Gloves for their buff to your ADS while jumping, and the Lightweight Boots will continue to bolster the ISO 9mm's mobility by allowing improved movement across the map, both on land and in water. In your Gear slot, we recommend the Mag Holster for a faster reload time, which is incredibly well-suited to such a fast-firing SMG.

For Tactical, we'd go for the Flash Grenade. For Lethal, we've recommended the Throwing Knife to support your close-range gunfights, as this retrievable item can end your opponents in one hit when your ISO 9mm isn't up to the task or has run out of ammo.

Best ISO 9mm alternatives in Modern Warfare 3

Striker or Lachmann Sub

We'd be hard pressed not to suggest two of the best SMGs in Modern Warfare 3. The Striker excels where the ISO 9mm falls short in damage potential and range, and the Lachmann Sub is also an excellent choice if you're looking for another run-and-gun weapon with very impressive stats in fire rate and mobility.

That's everything on crafting the best ISO 9mm loadout and class setup. To get a better idea of the full gun meta, why not have a read of our MW3 weapon stats guide? We've also got loads more of the best loadouts in MW3 right here.