Best SMG attachments in CoD Modern Warfare and Warzone
The best Submachine Guns (SMG) 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
MP5
Currently, the MP5 is the best SMG in the game, and it might even be the overall best gun. This weapon shreds quickly at close and mid range, and on top of that, it is quite good also at long range.
10mm Auto 30-round. Reduces the statistical minimum TTK at mid-long range drastically because it kills with one less bullet (5 instead of 6). Also, the 4-shot kill range is doubled from default, and the fire rate only decreases by approximately 10 rpm (negligible).
Stippled Grip Tape. Reduces ADS time by 2 frames, and it also seems to reduce sprint to fire speed by 5-10%, although isn’t consistent for every weapon.
Commando Foregrip. Provides greater recoil accuracy and stabilizes the MP5 to allow for easier handling. Doesn’t decrease ADS speed and only slightly lowers movement speed (Merc Foregrip is usually better on most weapons if many attachments with ADS speed are equipped).
Subsonic Integral Suppressor. Increases ADS speed by 1 frame with no real downside except bullet velocity, which is kind of negligible on an SMG, and you can still beam players at the 5-shot kill range - I have noticed no bullet delay.
The suppressor keeps you from being heard; no enemy skulls and no bullet tracers is just an added bonus (the stat chart in-game shows a huge range decrease, but that chart is very inaccurate).
Sleight of Hand. Reduces the reload (add) time from 1.74s to 1.15s. It is a mandatory attachment on this weapon due to the lack of extended mags and the slow reload time.
Tier A
AUG
Overall, the AUG is a great weapon, but it is best suited to mid range with this setup, especially because it has a very competitive TTK out to 52m.
5.56 NATO 30-round mags. This conversion kit transforms the AUG from a decent SMG to a beast AR at mid-range, while still being decent at close range. The 3-shot range extends to 12.5m, and the 4-shot range to 40m (without the barrel attachment).
Without this attachment, the weapon is still solid, but only at short ranges. Moreover, it is beaten in mobility, reload speed, and ADS speed by all other Submachine Guns.
Stippled Grip Tape. Reduces ADS time by 2 frames, and it also seems to reduce sprint to fire speed by 2 frames (estimation), although might not be consistent for every weapon.
407mm Extended Barrel. This attachment increases the damage range by 30%: it changes the 3-shot kill range to about 16.25m and the 4-shot kill range to about 52m. It also increases bullet velocity, which is always nice to have but not necessary.
The game tells us that recoil control is improved, however, I have tested this myself and it only affects the 9mm rounds, so it doesn’t help with the 5.56 NATO rounds. Nevertheless, I still think this attachment is worth the slot as nothing else can replace it. It also increases ADS time by 3 frames, which is bad, but the Stippled Grip Tape and the stock make up for it.
The 622mm long barrel is better, but it reduces movement speed by 4%, which makes the gun very slow for an SMG or an AR, so I opted for the 407mm one as it doesn’t reduce movement speed whatsoever. The lightweight barrel is decent, but I don’t think the damage range increase is significant enough, however, it is viable and only reduces ADS by 1 frame.
FORGE TAC CQB Comb. This stock reduces ADS time by 1 frame. Paired with the Stippled Grip Tape, it helps to negate the barrel’s increase of 3 frames. It can be swapped out for “Tac Laser” which is even better, but I don’t like to use visible lasers on my weapons unless absolutely necessary. The ADS time on the AUG is already decent enough and similar to an AR with these attachments equipped.
Sleight of Hand. Very nice to reduce the reload speed from about 1.6s down to approximately 1.0s. It isn’t strictly necessary, so if you prefer to have a little bit more recoil control, you can swap it for the Merc Foregrip. I strongly advise using this recoil attachment above all else as I have tested most of them, including Compensator, Muzzle Brake, Commando Foregrip, etc. (even pairing some together), and discovered that this weirdly beats them all and helps the most.
Please also note that a combination of Compensator and Commando Foregrip doesn’t help as much with the 5.56 NATO rounds if compared to the 9mm rounds.
Notes: I experimented with the 9mm rounds build, but it just wasn’t better than transforming the AUG into an AR. 25 rounds is definitely not enough for an SMG, while 30 rounds with the AR rounds is much better with its slower fire rate.
Overall, the AUG was fun and easy to use, and I completed the challenges with no struggles; apart from the longshots as the bounce is significant, even with the best recoil-reducing attachments.
P90
The P90 was very easy to complete, and I encountered no problems. There isn’t much variety in attachments, so some choices aren’t what I’d usually get on a weapon.
FORGE TAC Retribution. Increases damage range by 35%, which is excellent for the P90, but unfortunately it decreases ADS speed by 3 frames and movement speed by 3%. I think this barrel is still worth it over the other one that gives only 20% damage range as you can make up for the cons via the other attachments.
Stippled Grip Tape (Rear Grip). Make sure this isn’t the underbarrel grip! Reduces ADS time by 2 frames and sprint to fire time by about 5-10% (1-2 frames): it is an approximation as it is different for every weapon.
Monolithic Suppressor. Usually, I wouldn’t choose this one, but it was really the only decent option as the underbarrels are all terrible. I hate using lasers, and I don’t like optics on an SMG. Compensator is a potential option, but it doesn’t help a lot since you won’t be shooting players at great distances.
FORGE TAC CQB Comb. Increases ADS speed by 1 frame, and it is more useful than the Fly Strap stock as I don’t want to add lasers. It decreases aiming stability, but it is negligible.
Sleight of Hand. Reduces reload speed from about 2s to 1.5s: it isn’t a huge decrease if compared to other weapons, but it is still worth it.
Notes: I don’t like using lasers, but if you do, you can take out Monolithic Suppressor or Sleight of Hand and swap it out for Tac Laser, then switch out the stock for the “Fly Strap” stock attachment. This gives the weapon a much better sprint out time (25% faster) and a better ADS and aim walking movement speed.
PP19 Bizon
The PP19 Bizon really surprised me, and I had a lot of fun while getting gold camo on it. The 3-shot kill range on this gun is approximately 14m with a TTK of 182ms, which is excellent, though it significantly drops its TTK potential at mid-long ranges.
8.7” Polygonal. This barrel attachment increases the damage range by 20% and reduces ADS speed by 1 frame. The Steel version only gives an extra 5% damage range, and reduces ADS speed by 2 frames and movement speed by 2%, definitely not worth the extra 5%.
Muzzle Brake. This muzzle attachment surprised me: it dramatically reduces horizontal recoil and makes it much less shaky. The recoil on the Bizon with Muzzle Brake is just dead straight vertical for the first 30 bullets or so, then it stops moving upwards and instead sprays in a tight spread for the rest. Monolithic Suppressor is the other option and paired with “no stock” is great for CQC.
Stippled Grip Tape. Reduces ADS time by 2 frames, and it also seems to reduce sprint to fire speed by 5-10%, although isn’t consistent for every weapon.
Corvus Skeleton Stock. Even after the nerf this stock is still great. It increases ADS speed by 1 frame and strafe speed by approximately 12%, while only decreasing aiming stability (weapon sway). The “no stock” attachment is great too for CQC, except Muzzle Brake becomes useless with it and the weapon reverts back to significant side-to-side recoil.
Sleight of Hand. Reduces the reload (add) time from 1.7s to 1.15s (awesome), however, since the Bizon has 64 rounds in its magazine, this is not necessary by any means. Other options include any laser or Frangible Wounding; the latter is very annoying for the enemy since it shakes their screen too.
Notes: The Bizon is one of the best weapons for hardcore mode (Tier S) thanks to its one-shot kill potential range and large ammo capacity.
MP7
The MP7 is a very strong weapon overall, but it is best suited for very close range fights, especially because it has a very competitive TTK out to 13.5m with this class at 186ms. The attachments are designed to create a rush setup with many buffs to movement speed and a silencer to be stealthy.
FSS STRIKE. This barrel increases your damage range by 20%: it isn’t a lot for the MP7 as it only increases the 4-shot kill range from about 10-10.5m to 12.5m, but it does help. The added bullet velocity is a nice perk, and the only downside is an increase to ADS time by 1 frame.
The FSS RECON barrel is better with a 30% range and a slight increase to recoil control, however, it also slows movement speed by 2%, so I decided to not use it.
No Stock. Reduces ADS time by 2 frames and increases movement speed by 4%, which changes from 99% (base) to 103%.
Recoil control is increased slightly, but it doesn’t really matter with the MP7 as it extends the magnitude but produces the same pattern: this is not an issue when intentionally countering the recoil. Besides, this weapon won’t be used at very long ranges since its TTK is very slow at 372ms at its 7-shot kill range, which is pretty short at approximately 20m by default or 25m with this setup.
Stippled Grip Tape. Reduces ADS time by 2 frames, and it also seems to reduce sprint to fire speed by 5-10% (1-2 frames), although isn’t consistent for every weapon.
Sleight of Hand. An excellent choice as it reduces the reload speed from about 1.5s down to approximately 1.1s. This isn’t necessary if you prefer to have more control on the recoil, and can be swapped out for the Merc Foregrip. I strongly advise to use this recoil attachment above all else as I have tested most of them, including Compensator, Muzzle Brake, Commando Foregrip, etc. (even pairing some together), and discovered that this weirdly beats them all and helps the most.
Monolithic Suppressor. Silencers aren’t always great as many other attachments are better, however, exceptions are made when a weapon doesn’t have many options, and the MP7 is one of them.
The other options include Compensator or Muzzle brake, but they didn’t seem necessary to me through testing. The underbarrels didn’t help at all. There is no need for Tac Laser as the ADS time is already fast enough, and the optics are completely useless as the gun will seem much bouncier with them. Finally, also mag size is already good.
Notes: The MP7 is a monster at close range and is very forgiving for missing bullets, but still kills slower at that close range than the MP5 by 40ms, and it is beaten by the latter at all ranges statistically. That said, the MP7 has a higher rate of fire and is very good overall.
It was easy to get gold with the MP7, especially with hip fire kills as the hip fire spread is the best in the SMG category, but the longshots were a pain. I do not recommend this gun for Ground War: its atrocious TTK at long ranges makes it very bad. There is no need for recoil-reducing attachments if you’re only shooting out to 25m maximum.
Tier B
None.
Tier C
Uzi
The Uzi is horrible. The open bolt mechanic similar to the real-life weapon causes a small delay in firing, so you’re at a disadvantage from the beginning. No set of attachments can make this weapon great, nevertheless, this setup is the best I could think up. Getting it to gold was frustrating at times because even if you held the trigger down first they will still kill you quicker.
16.5” Factory Carbine. This barrel extends the damage range by 35%, which increases its 4-shot kill range from 14m to 19m: it isn’t a lot, but it can make all the difference with this weapon, especially because its fire rate is the slowest in the SMG category. The recoil reduction improvement is pretty negligible, but it makes it more vertical than horizontal.
Monolithic Suppressor. Usually, I don’t use a suppressor on weapons as many other attachments are better, but the Uzi needs a silencer because if you miss a shot and they attack you with the MP5 you could be killed easily. The damage range of 7.5% maximizes the 4-shot kill range paired with the barrel out to 20m.
Stippled Grip Tape. Reduces ADS time by 2 frames, and it also seems to reduce sprint to fire speed by 5-10%, although isn’t consistent for every weapon.
No Stock. Reduces ADS time by 2 frames and increases movement speed by 4%. This attachment also reduces recoil control, but it doesn’t seem to make a big difference with the Uzi due to its very accurate and easy to control recoil pattern. Therefore, I’d rather get this attachment over the Close Quarters stock that only gives a reduction to ADS time by 1 frame.
Commando Foregrip. This recoil stabilization attachment just gets rid of some of that annoying side-to-side bounce, and only reduces movement speed by 1%.
Alternative attachments are the 1mW or 5mW laser as the Uzi has the best hip fire accuracy. I wouldn’t suggest Sleight of Hand as the Uzi already has the fastest reload speed in its class by default. Lastly, Frangible Wounding, which is a really annoying attachment as it doesn’t only delay health regeneration but also causes a screen shake, so it can benefit you in a fight against a better weapon as the opponent might miss a shot.
Notes: Please don’t use this weapon, it is the worst SMG in the game.
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Credit for guides and gun images: qKatana - Header image: Activision
