The best loadouts in Modern Warfare 2

Top the leaderboard with the best loadouts in MW2 right now

What is the best loadout in Modern Warfare 2? In true COD fashion, the moment the playerbase first got their hands on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, it became a race to find and share the very best loadouts in the game. Every day sees dozens of articles and videos released claiming to have found the most overpowered guns or builds available. So we decided to cut through the noise with our own list.

Below you'll find eight contenders for the best loadout in Modern Warfare 2 right now. We'll explain the ins and outs of each gun we're suggesting you pick up, and which other primary weapons they work best with.

The best loadout in Modern Warfare 2 depends entirely on the situation you're in and your preferred playstyle. Take two of the best weapons in the game; if one's close-range and the other is mid-range, then you can still be outgunned at marksman or Sniper Rifle ranges. That's why it's best to have a series of builds ready so you can quickly adapt to any environment and need.

Below we'll walk you through eight different weapon combinations which we think make up some of the very best loadouts in Modern Warfare 2. Just be aware that you'll need to save one of your perk slots in your class setup for the Overkill perk, as this is what allows you to take two primary weapons into battle.

The M4 is one of the best guns in Modern Warfare 2 right now, and the perfect foundation for a strong mid-to-close-range loadout such as this one. Kit the M4 out for range and stability as we've done in our Modern Warfare 2 best M4 loadout guide, and you'll have a top-tier monster of an Assault Rifle in your hands.

M4 attachments:

The Lachmann Sub (or MP5), meanwhile, excels at close range as one of the best SMGs in Modern Warfare 2, so it's the ideal counterpart to the M4. It's got a great balance of handling stats and raw damage, particularly when kit out with the attachments we've outlined in our Modern Warfare 2 best MP5 loadout guide.

Lachmann Sub attachments:

While the M4's effectiveness starts to fall off at long ranges, together these guns give you an extremely strong build that can slaughter enemies at mid-to-close-range with some of the most competitive time-to-kill in the game. Pair it with a Stun Grenade for clearing rooms and the best Perks in MW2, and there aren't many loadouts that will come close to beating yours.

The FSS Hurricane is a strong contender for the most popular and sought-after gun in MW2 at the moment. With the right build, this SMG has pretty much zero recoil, allowing you to use it at Assault Rifle ranges without issue. This makes it a fantastic and versatile primary weapon, particularly if you follow the instructions in our Modern Warfare 2 best FSS Hurricane loadout guide.

FSS Hurricane attachments:

Because of its long-range prowess, the FSS Hurricane isn't quite the most competitive SMG up close. That's why it's a great idea to pair it with the Lockwood 300 - the best Shotgun in Modern Warfare 2 in our opinion. This beastly shotty can easily drop enemies in a single hit, and it's surprisingly accurate and far-reaching when you kit it out with the attachments we recommend in our Modern Warfare 2 best Lockwood 300 loadout guide.

Lockwood 300 attachments:

This is a close-range loadout, to be sure, but the great thing about pairing these weapons together is that both guns handily outstrip their immediate rivals in effective range, allowing you to outgun similar loadouts more easily.

The SP-X 80 is our pick for the best Sniper Rifle in Modern Warfare 2, thanks to its lightness and extreme quickscoping potential. This makes it ideal for dominating the particularly aggressive battlefields of MW2. Just make sure you kit it out with the below attachments, taken straight from our Modern Warfare 2 best SP-X 80 loadout guide.

SP-X 80 attachments:

The FSS Hurricane makes another appearance in our list of best loadouts, simply because it's just that good. It's the perfect counterpart to the SP-X 80, capable of holding its own in mid-to-close-range encounters, while also being accurate enough to ensure kills on the rare occasion that a hit with the SP-X 80 doesn't quite deal enough damage to be lethal.

FSS Hurricane attachments:

You'll see we've changed the FSS Hurricane's attachments specifically for this loadout, so that it can better handle close-quarters engagements while still being accurate enough to help out the SP-X 80 at longer ranges. Overall this is an excellent, versatile, lightweight sniper loadout that makes it very easy indeed to reach the top of the scoreboard and rack up the best Modern Warfare 2 Killstreaks.

The FTAC Recon is the best Battle Rifle in Modern Warfare 2, which makes it a very enticing choice for mid-to-long-range class setups. With its high damage per shot and low recoil - along with the right set of attachments recommended by our Modern Warfare 2 best FTAC Recon loadout guide - it's capable of decimating enemies at ranges where Assault Rifles will start to struggle.

FTAC Recon attachments:

The Kastov-74U is here to give you some strong close-range firepower while matching the punchiness of the FTAC Recon. The Kastov-74U is a balance between AR and SMG, giving you the mobility and damage you need to deal with the kind of close-range threats that it would be risky to fight using the FTAC Recon's limited 10-Mag Rounds.

Kastov-74U attachments:

By following the attachment recommendations laid out in our Modern Warfare 2 best Kastov-74U loadout guide, you can create for yourself the perfect foil for the long-ranged FTAC Recon. It's an unusual build, but in capable hands that find the right circumstances, it can gain an edge even over the most popular current-meta loadouts in the game.

If you're looking for a more dedicated long-ranged sniper setup than the SP-X 80 build above provides, then the Signal 50 is an obvious first choice of weapon. With its very high damage and best-in-class refire time, it's very easy to kill enemies without giving them any time to fight back. And by following our Modern Warfare 2 best Signal 50 loadout guide, you can extend the Signal 50's range and effectiveness in a very big way.

Signal 50 attachments:

The SZ Holotherm 2x scope does make it easier to use the Signal 50 at mid-range, but in reality you'll need a secondary weapon more suited for closer engagements. The STB 556 is one of our favourite Assault Rifles thanks to its extreme accuracy, and pairing it with the Signal 50 gives you two weapons that can outrange most loadouts that enemies will be touting across the battlefield. Just be sure to kit the STB 556 out correctly with the attachments in our Modern Warfare 2 best STB 556 loadout guide.

STB 556 attachments:

Overall this is a tremendously powerful class setup that focuses on dominance at long-range encounters, thanks to the combined effectiveness of two of the strongest guns in the current MW2 meta.

The Kastov 762, Modern Warfare 2's equivalent of the AKM or AK-47, is a very powerful Assault Rifle with greater stopping power than the M4. With the below attachments (which you can learn more about in our Modern Warfare 2 best Kastov 762 loadout guide), you can mitigate the gun's recoil enough to start slaughtering enemies in record time at mid-range.

Kastov 762 attachments:

You can opt for either close range or long range with your secondary weapon, but we love the synergy of the hard-hitting Kastov 762 and the blistering fire rate of the Fennec 45 for help clearing rooms in a hurry. There are few weapons better for blitzing through dangerous close quarters encounters.

Fennec 45 attachments:

You won't be able to compete very well at long-range against Battle Rifles, Marksman Rifles, or Snipers. But at mid-to-close-range, everyone else will need to watch out for the Kastov 762/Fennec 45 combo, because it's a lethal one.

The 556 Icarus is a strong contender for the best LMG in Modern Warfare 2, and it's easy to see why once you've kitted it out as we recommend in our Modern Warfare 2 best 556 Icarus loadout guide. Its recoil can be pretty wild, but in capable hands it can output some devastating firepower in almost any situation.

556 Icarus attachments:

Obviously you'll want to pair a weighty gun like the 556 Icarus with something faster for close-range combat. The Expedite 12 is one of the most reliable and powerful Shotguns in MW2 at the moment, and it's well-suited for taking out multiple enemies at a time in the kinds of close-quarters areas where the 556 Icarus might struggle. Learn more about the Expedite 12 with our Modern Warfare 2 best Expedite 12 loadout guide.

Expedite 12 attachments:

The 556 Icarus's blinding firepower and the Expedite 12's incendiary fire make this an intimidating set of weapons to take into battle. The Expedite 12's mobility and reliability make it the perfect pairing with the heavier and longer-ranged Icarus.

The great thing about this loadout is that the guns are easy to obtain. The MCPR-300 is the first Sniper Rifle you'll use in Modern Warfare 2, and it's a real whopper, boasting potentially the highest single-bullet damage in the game. For dedicated sharpshooting from a fortified sniper nest, there's not much better, particularly with the attachments laid out in our Modern Warfare 2 best MCPR-300 loadout guide.

MCPR-300 attachments:

For such a dedicated sniper setup, you don't really need the mobility afforded by an SMG, or even a nippy AR such as the M4. Instead we like to pair up the MCPR-300 with the Lachmann-556, an impressive and accurate early Assault Rifle which you can push to the max with the attachments mentioned in our Modern Warfare 2 best Lachmann-556 loadout guide.

Lachmann-556 attachments:

The Lachmann-556 is formidable and controllable enough to fend off assaults at mid or even close range in a pinch, leaving you with the safety and time to perfect your sharpshooting capabilities with the monster that is the MCPR-300.

That brings our list of best loadouts in Modern Warfare 2 to a close. Feel free to experiment with alternatives if you don't get on with one of the guns in the loadout of your choice. You'll be doing a lot of mixing and matching of weapons once Warzone 2.0 comes out, that's for sure.

In the meantime you can sure up your skills with our guide on how to level up fast in Modern Warfare 2, as well as our primers on how to slide-cancel in MW2 and how attachment tuning works in Modern Warfare 2.

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