Your primary weapon in Modern Warfare 3 is your main source of damage, so you’ll want to unlock and use the best weapons available to gain an advantage over your opponents.
As Modern Warfare 3 has a large selection of weapons to choose from, we’ve listed the top 8 best weapons below to help you narrow down your options. If you want to have two powerful primary weapons while traveling, check out our page explaining how to carry two primary weapons.
For more help with weapons, we also have individual pages on the best assault rifles, sniper rifles, SMGs, LMGs, shotguns, and sniper rifles.
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The best primary weapons in Modern Warfare 3
Starting from their base stats, attachment potential, and community observations and placing them in the current meta of best weapons, there are eight main weapons we recommend using in Modern Warfare 3:
- MCW
- DG-58
- Holger 556
- Bow
- Striker
- Rival-9
- Pulemyot 762
- Low-B
Please note that while we’ve based this page on raw statistics and community observations, our top picks are subjective. They may not necessarily be the ones you agree with or find best to use.
Image credit: Activision
With that in mind, here is more detailed information on the eight best Modern Warfare 3 main weapons:
MCW (assault rifle)
How to unlock: Reach player level 44.
Base Damage: 44 headshots, 37 upper torso, 34 lower torso.
Base range: 26.7 m for effective damage range and 45.2 m for minimum damage range, with a bullet speed of 710 m/s.
Base rate of fire: 714.3 rpm.
Base ADS speed: 240 ms.
Remember the ACR from the original Modern Warfare 2? The MCW is basically the newest version of this fan-favorite weapon. If you’re not familiar with it, the MCW is such a great assault rifle to handle in large part because of its very lightweight frame, which means it has amazing recoil control even before adding accessories. It’s a very easy weapon to use in almost all encounter types in MW3, but the MCW is best used to take out enemies at medium and long range.
You need the right build to use this versatile assault rifle, so here are our recommended attachments for the MCW in Modern Warfare 3:
- Optics: MK.23 Reflector
- Barrel: 16.5″ MCW Cyclone Long Barrel
- Muzzle: L4R Flash Hider
- Rear Grip: RB Talon-X3 Grip
- Ammunition: 5.56 NATO High Grain
For more details on how to play MCW, check out our dedicated MCW gear page.
DG-58 (assault rifle)
How to Unlock: Reach Player Level 25 and make it Active in the Armory, then complete three daily or bonus challenges.
Base damage: 61 headshots, 48 upper torso, 44 lower torso.
Base range: 35.6 m for effective damage range and 44.4 m for minimum damage range, with a bullet speed of 720 m/s.
Base rate of fire: 209.8 rpm.
Base ADS speed: 240 ms.
Image credit: Eurogamer/Activision.
Even if you’re not a fan of burst assault rifles, we recommend trying the DG-58 at least a few times to see if it converts you, as it has such a good TTK (time to kill) that limited burst fire won’t work. convinces you. Really do not care. With the right accessories, you can take out enemies with just a few DG-58 bullets, even from longer distances.
You need the right build to use this burst assault rifle at medium to long range, so here are our recommended attachments for the DG-58 in Modern Warfare 3:
- Cannon: DG-56 LS18
- Optics: SZ Mini
- Muzzle: Casus Brake
- Comb: FSS Last resistance
- Under the barrel: FTAC Ripper 56
For more details on how to play the DG-58, see our page dedicated to DG-58 equipment.
Holger 556 (assault rifle)
How to unlock: Reach player level 37.
Base Damage: 58 headshots, 46 upper torso, 42 lower torso.
Base range: 36.8 m for effective damage range and 47 m for minimum damage range, with a bullet speed of 690 m/s.
Base rate of fire: 588.2 rpm.
Base ADS speed: 260 ms.
The Holger 556 may have a slower rate of fire compared to other fully automatic assault rifles in Modern Warfare 3, but it has the best damage to compensate for this. The slower rate of fire means it’s also easier to control, making the Holger 556 one of the best primary weapons to use, as long as you don’t mind a slower assault rifle.
You need the right build to use this powerful assault rifle, so here are our recommended attachments for the Holger 556 in Modern Warfare 3:
- Optics: Slimline Pro, Cronen Mini Dot or Cronen Mini Pro
- Muzzle: Shadowstrike Suppressor or Sonic Suppressor
- Underbarrel: SL Skeletal Vertical Grip
- Stock: RB Crazy Assault Stock
- Ammunition: 5.56 NATO High Grain bullets or 5.56 overpressure +P
For more details on how to play the Holger 556, see our page dedicated to Holger 556 equipment.
Longbow (sniper rifle)
How to Unlock: Reach Player Level 4.
Best build: Quickscope or mid-range.
Base damage: 240 headshot, 180 upper torso, 120 lower torso.
Base range: 12.7 m for effective damage range and 63.5 m for minimum damage range, with a bullet speed of 770 m/s.
Base rate of fire: 111.1 rpm.
Base ADS speed:: 550 ms.
The Longbow is making waves for a reason, as it is a one-shot sniper that is best used for quick or mid-range kills. It’s also a very easy weapon to unlock, available as soon as you have access to custom loadouts at Player Level 4. If you own the Vault Edition of Modern Warfare 3, you’ll also get early access to the Longbow’s many attachments.
You need the right build to use this speedy sniper rifle, so here are our recommended attachments for a quick-sight longbow in Modern Warfare 3:
- Rear Grip: Demo 650 GRIP
- Bolt: SA-M Quickbolt
- Magazine: 10 round magazine
- Laser: 10-round Mag
- Ammunition: 7.62X39MM High Grain Rounds
For more information on a medium and long range build, check out our page dedicated to Longbow equipment.
Forward (SMG)
How to Unlock: Reach Player Level 4.
Base Damage: 46 headshots, 39 upper torso, 36 lower torso.
Base range: 9.7 m for effective damage range and 35.6 m for minimum damage range, with a bullet speed of 540 m/s.
Base rate of fire: 645.2 rpm.
Base ADS speed: 240 ms.
This new weapon is our pick for the best SMG to use in Modern Warfare 3 for its effectiveness at both short and medium range, depending on your build. If you played the original Modern Warfare 2, you’ll be more familiar with its old name, UMP-45. It looks a lot like this old UMP-45, but the biggest difference is the greater difficulty in simply using its iron sights, so we recommend equipping an optic to compensate for this.
You need the right build to make use of this powerful SMG, so here are our recommended attachments for Striker in Modern Warfare 3:
- Optics: MK. 23 Reflector
- Barrel: Striker Recon Long Barrel
- Cylinder head: FSS Titan cylinder head
- Rear grip: FTAC G-5 Exo
- Ammunition: .45 high grain automatic rounds
If you want a closer build, swap out the FSS Titan for the Lachmann MK2 Light Stock.
For more details on how to play Striker, check out our dedicated Striker loadout page.
Rival-9 (SMG)
How to Unlock: Reach Player Level 25 and make it Active in the Armory, then complete three daily or bonus challenges.
Base Damage: 37 headshots, 31 upper torso, 31 lower torso.
Base range: 10.2 m for effective damage range and 45.7 m for minimum damage range, with a bullet speed of 450 m/s.
Base rate of fire: 909.1 rpm.
Base ADS speed: 190 ms.
Image credit: Activision
The Rival-9 is a fast submachine gun that is best used in close-quarters encounters and for sneaking up on enemies. It deals excellent damage and has a huge rate of fire, so as long as you shoot first and are fairly accurate, the Rival-9 will make quick work of your opponents at close range.
To make the most of its short-range potential, these are our recommended attachments for the Rival-9 in Modern Warfare 3:
- Barrel: Rival-38E Fire Starter Barrel
- Under the barrel: XRK Edge BW-4 manual stop
- Rear Grip: Rival Vice Assault Grip
- Muzzle: Monolithic Suppressor S
- Magazine: 40 Round Mag
For more details on how to play Rival-9, check out our dedicated Rival-9 loadout page.
Pulemyot 762 (LMG)
How to Unlock: Reach Player Level 4.
Base Damage: 54 headshots, 49 upper torso, 45 lower torso.
Base range: 38.1 m for effective damage range and 45.7 m for minimum damage range, with a bullet speed of 810.
Base rate of fire: 491.6 rpm.
Base ADS speed: 450 ms.
If you’re not normally comfortable using LMGs, then the new Pulemyot 762 might change your mind, as with the right accessories it’s a surprisingly stable and accurate weapon for an LMG. You need the right build to make use of this unique light machine gun, so here are our recommended attachments for the Pulemyot 762 in Modern Warfare 3:
- Optics: SZ Mini
- Muzzle: VT-7 Suppressor
- Magazine: Round Belt 75
- Stock: Ivanov HSS ergonomic stock
- Grip: Ivanov ST-70 Grip
For more details on how to play Pulemyot 762, check out our page dedicated to Pulemyot 762 equipment.
BAS-B (battle rifle)
How to unlock: Reach player level 17.
Base damage: 54 headshots, 46 upper torso, 46 lower torso.
Base range: 35.6 m for effective damage range and 53.3 m for minimum damage range, with a bullet speed of 790.
Base rate of fire: 666.7 rpm.
Base ADS speed: 260 ms.
The BAS-B is a great choice for medium-range encounters and, with the right accessories, can hold its own at longer ranges as well. With solid damage and recoil, the BAS-B is an excellent choice for those who want something that falls between an assault rifle and a marksman rifle.
You need the right build to use this battle rifle, so here are our recommended attachments for the BAS-B in Modern Warfare 3:
- Optics: KR V4 1X Riser
- Barrel: Wyvern’s Respite Long Barrel
- Muzzle: VT-7 Spirit Fire Suppressor
- Under the barrel: FTAC Tiger Grip
- Magazine: 30 round magazine
For more details on how to play the BAS-B, see our dedicated BAS-B equipment page.
Good luck racking up those kills in Modern Warfare 3!
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