Best Handguns Pistols attachments in CoD Modern Warfare and Warzone
The best Handguns / Pistols and attachments in Call of Duty Modern Warfare and Warzone. All guns are split in four tiers.
The analysis has been provided by qKatana, a veteran Call of Duty player who wrote each gun guide only after unlocking the corresponding Gold camo.
Note that optics are very subjective, and you may prefer a different one depending on your personal preferences, your tactical approach, and the game mode: this is particularly relevant in Warzone as we fight in a large map.
Related:
Tier S
.357
The .357 is excellent when using a specific attachment: “Snake Shot”. It changes the magnum into a shotgun that is outrageously strong, even post nerfs.
Snake Shot. A vital attachment for this weapon, effectively transforming it into a shotgun pistol. You have an insane mobility with shotgun damage and pistol fire rate - a combination to be reckoned with.
5mW Laser. The sprint to fire speed is very helpful for this pistol because it allows you to run and gun effectively. Furthermore, you gain a significantly tighter hip fire spread which means more bullets hitting, equating to higher damage. Can be swapped for the 1mW laser if you don’t want a visible laser, but it doesn’t tighten spread as much.
Lightweight Trigger. Increases fire rate by 30% to 157 RPM, which allows for multiple kills in quick succession.
Sleight of Hand. The gun reloads a lot faster from 2s to 1.18s, which is an incredible 40% decrease in time.
.357 Long. There aren’t really other helpful attachments, and this barrel seems to be the only one that actually changes your range (Silverfield Ordnance doesn’t work well). Unfortunately, it decreases movement speed slightly. The other benefits and downsides are not important. You can use Stippled Grip Tape if you want to ADS, but sprint to fire speed won’t increase.
M19
The M19 is the pistol with the fastest fire rate while having the same damage and almost the same range as the X16 and 1911. This pistol is primarily used in scrims, also among pro players.
Lightweight Trigger. I have changed my mind on this trigger for the M19. I used to think the Match Grade Trigger was enough, but now I definitely side with the Lightweight Trigger. It increases your fire rate from 331 RPM to 451 RPM, which changes the statistical TTK from 362ms to 266ms.
5mW laser. Though the laser is visible, you won’t see it while running, and it provides 103% movement speed. Furthermore, when running low on ammo and swapping to the pistol, the laser won’t matter since you are already in a fight. It increases sprint to fire speed by quite a bit, and tightens hip fire spread.
XRK V Extended. Increases range by 20% and reduces ADS speed by 1 frame, which is absolutely fine since you’ll be using Stippled Grip Tape. Don’t use the stronger variant as it only increases range by 5% more, and reduces movement speed by 2% and ADS by 3 frames.
Stippled Grip Tape. Increase ADS speed for free while also reducing the sprint to fire time. It also decreases aiming stability, but it is irrelevant.
Sleight of Hand. Decreases reload speed from a quick 1.07s to an even quicker 0.67s. Can be swapped for Monolithic Suppressor, but I prefer the reload speed.
Tier A
.50 GS
The infamous .50 GS is a great secondary to run. This weapon doesn’t get many helpful attachments, but can be great even without any. I placed this pistol in Tier A and not in Tier S because it is not overpowered, but it is still very good.
The one-shot potential to the head kind of makes this gun. The TTK is very competitive until you miss a shot or two, and then it drops dramatically because of its fire rate. I really struggled to come up with a loadout for this one, but here it goes.
Stippled Grip Tape. Hip firing isn’t the greatest with this firearm, so ADS is your best bet, and what better way to increase that than this attachment.
10 Round Mags. 7 isn’t quite enough in a lot of situations, and 13 is plenty but has some noticeable downsides such as a 1 frame increase to ADS time and a -2% movement speed penalty. The 10 rounds only reduces movement speed by 1%, and is enough for taking out 2-3 players.
Lightweight Trigger. Slightly Increases the rate of fire from 189RPM to 213RPM, which isn’t much at all, however, there aren’t many attachments you can get a large benefit from for this weapon.
Tac Laser. I know this isn’t the greatest attachment to have on weapons due to the visible laser - I don’t like it either. Nevertheless, I think this is one of the better options to choose from when it comes to attachments for the .50 GS.
It can be swapped for the 1mW laser, but it won’t provide a great benefit. Monolithic Suppressor could also be useful for taking out enemies with stealth, but I don’t think it’s needed.
Sleight of Hand. Reduces reload time substantially from 1.2s to 0.7s, quite fast either way, but again there aren’t many good attachments to use. Can be swapped out for an optic if preferred, though I personally don’t think a sight is necessary, and it seems to hinder my shots instead.
Notes: Increasing the damage range of the Deagle with an extended barrel is quite pointless since the range is already very far and pistols aren’t meant for that great distance, though this one can handle that range.
Tier B
X16
The X16 is a decent pistol, but definitely not great by any means, so placing it in Tier B seems suitable.
Lightweight Trigger. Probably the best trigger on almost all pistols. It increases the fire rate from 309 RPM to 405 RPM, and significantly improves your DPS changing your TTK from 388ms to 296ms.
Stippled Grip Tape. A staple for every weapon, including the pistols, but due to its already fast ADS time it’s not as big of a deal.
Singuard Arms Advantage. Increases damage range by 20% and reduces ADS speed by 1 frame, which Stippled Grip Tape cancels out.
5mW Laser. You’ll be mostly running around with a pistol, or whipping it out after using all your ammo, so the laser isn’t really a big deal because you don’t see it when running, and when you run into an enemy, it doesn’t really matter if they can see your laser.
It benefits you greatly in the CQB range with the sprint to fire speed. You could change it for 1mW if in competitive, though I don’t recommend the X16 as your pistol for competitive.
Sleight of Hand. Not at all necessary, but nice to have as it decreases the reload speed from 1.1s to 0.8s. Possible substitutes include Monolithic Suppressor or an optic if necessary.
Notes: I have chosen no negative movement speed attachments because running with a pistol is the fastest in the game at 103% (base stats).
Tier C
1911
This 1911 isn’t bad by any means, but the X16 is pretty much the same, and with a faster fire rate and higher default magazine size. I am not sure why you would choose this over the X16 (though I am also not sure why you’d choose either pistols over the M19).
Lightweight Trigger. Significantly increases the rate of fire from 284 RPM to 361 RPM, also cutting the statistical minimum TTK by 100ms. A must have for this pistol.
15 Round Mags. It only reduces movement speed by 1.5%, which is definitely worth it for the 1911 as it begins with 7 rounds, so you are able to kill only 1 person on average with a whole mag. 10 Round mags decreases your movement speed by 2%, so there is no point in using that over the 15 rounds.
It could be swapped for Sleight of Hand if you don’t want reduced movement speed, but I think the mag is a better choice.
5mW Laser. Increases sprint to fire speed, which is crucial for pistols since you can sprint around a corner and get your sidearm up quicker than any other weapon. It improves also hip fiore accuracy. The laser won’t be visible when sprinting, so you may as well use this over the 1mW.
Stippled Grip Tape. Super good for the free aim down sight speed. Also, a small improvement to sprint to fire speed as well.
Monolithic Suppressor. This last attachment can be anything, but I went with the suppressor literally just for the suppressor; the damage range is just an added bonus.
All barrels are pretty much pointless due to their downsides, optics are also useless, but you could get one if you prefer. Other muzzle attachments are meaningless, and lastly, perks are pretty worthless too since Sleight of Hand isn’t required with this mag size, plus the gun reloads quick already. FMJ doesn’t really work, Akimbo is fun but only practical for immediate ranges.
More Call of Duty articles:
Credit for guides and gun images: qKatana - Header image: Activision
