It’s been just over a month now since the release ofCall of Duty: Vanguard, the latest entry in Activision’s legendary FPS series.Vanguardreturns the franchise to its WW2 roots, with a sprawling campaign taking place in various theatres of the Second World War. As is standard in modernCall of Dutygames,Vanguardalso features a variety of multiplayer maps, game modes, and weapon unlocks.
There are a few different classes of weaponry available to players inCall of Duty: Vanguard’s multiplayer, but none are quite as underrated as the LMGs. Many players avoid LMGs in multiplayer shooters due to them often having worse handling and stronger recoil than Assault Rifles. However, when used correctly inVanguard, certain LMGs can be game-changing, allowing players to lay down unprecedented amounts of firepower. To separate the death-dealers from the pea-shooters, here’s a complete tier list of the current LMGs inCall of Duty: Vanguard.
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S-Tier LMG in Call of Duty: Vanguard
It may surprise some players that theLevel 1 LMG inCall of Duty: Vanguardis also the best one in the game. The MG42’s biggest strength is its phenomenal fire rate, spewing out 17.24 bullets a second. This fire rate gives the German LMG an extremely low Time-To-Kill, meaning that accurate shooting can take out enemies in a heartbeat. Players might be expecting a gun with such a fire rate to be uncontrollable, but the MG42 also boats the lowest horizontal recoil of any LMG.
It’s hard to argue that the MG42 is a snappy weapon, but with up to 250 rounds in a magazine with the right attachments, it shines in area denial. Players who can find a spot to mount their MG42 will have no problem clearing out capture points or suppressing snipers inVanguard’s upcoming free multiplayer weekend.
A-Tier LMG in Call of Duty: Vanguard
Call of Duty Vanguard’sDP27is unlocked at level 18, and offers a middleground between the LMG and Assault Rifle weapon types. While it doesn’t boast the MG42’s fire rate or magazine capacity, the DP27 offers surprising mobility for an LMG. This allows players to adopt a more aggressive strategy, running and gunning rather than being stuck in a fixed position. Overall, the DP27 fills a jack of all trades role among theVanguardLMGs, providing a nice balance between mobility, damage, and recoil.
Although it won’t match up to SMGs or Assault Rifles in real close-range combat, the DP27 remains an excellent mid-range choice in many ofVanguard’s more dynamic game modes. With the right Attachments, players can adapt the versatile Russian LMG for a variety of different purposes, either leaning into its hybrid abilities or sacrificing mobility for sustained firepower. Unfortunately, the DP27 isn’t the favorite weapon of any Operator, meaning that that players are unable to accelerate the levelling process through synergy.
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B-Tier LMG in Call of Duty: Vanguard
TheType 11 is an unusual weapon inCall of Duty: Vanguard, moving even further away from traditional LMGs than the versatile DP27 does. The Type 11 boasts the highest movement speed of all the LMGs inVanguard, and does it without sacrificing on magazine capacity. Unfortunately, this speed does come at a heavy cost in other metrics, with the Type 11 having some of the worst damage, accuracy, and recoil scores inCall of Duty: Vanguard.
With these hefty penalties to contend with, players trying out the Type 11 for the first time may wonder why they’re not just using one ofCall fo Duty: Vanguard’sAssault Rifles. In fact, the mobility of the Type 11 might fool players into thinking they are using an AR, right up until the moment they experience the recoil. However, the Type 11’s downsides can be effectively countered with the right attachments, allowing players to find the sweet spot between speed and power. It’s worth noting though that these changes inevitably come with compromises to mobility, the primary defining feature of the Japanese LMG.
C-Tier LMG in Call of Duty: Vanguard
In the backwards world ofCall of Duty: Vanguard, where the best LMG is unlocked at Level 1, it kind of makes sense that the worst would be unlocked at level 53. The Bren is themost disappointing of all the LMGs inVanguard, burdened by recoil that can ruin even the shortest of bursts. Although the British LMG does deal high damage with each bullet, the recoil means that not enough bullets will hit to make a difference.
The best Bren technique thatCall of Duty: Vanguardplayershave discovered is to treat it like a semi-automatic weapon. With the correct attachments, patience, and a bit of skill, the Bren can be made into a serviceable pseudo-Rifle with a comparatively huge magazine. While this build may be able to save the Bren from being consigned to the bench, it changes the playstyle so much that the weapon no longer fills the role that an LMG is designed for.
Call of Duty: Vanguardis out now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, and Xbox Series X.
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