Call of Duty: Warzone: best loadouts for Season 5 Reloaded | Digital Trends (2023)

Whether you’re gathering cash in Plunder, defeating enemies on Rebirth Island and Fortune’s Keep, or trying to survive in Battle Royale on Caldera, you’re generally at a serious disadvantage in Call of Duty: Warzone simply due to the number of players against you. Finding the right weapons will certainly improve your odds, but you’ll do even better if you’ve got the right custom loadouts.

In Plunder, you can spawn in with your custom loadout, but in Battle Royale, you’ll need to find one that randomly drops or purchase one from a Buy Station. However you acquire the loadout, it’s best to customize it to fit your needs. Since each Warzone game mode plays differently from one another, we recommend having a class created specifically for each. Which loadout you come equipped with might also change depending on if you’re playing Solos, Duos, Trios, or Quads.

With that in mind, we’ve got you covered with the best Call of Duty: Warzone loadouts for Season 5 Reloaded. You should be aware that these loadouts aren’t an exact science. You’re free to alter them as you see fit to suit your specific playstyle.

Further reading:

• How to survive the Gulag in Call of Duty: Warzone
• 7 tips to help you win in Call of Duty: Warzone
• All Warzone Bunker locations: where they are and what’s inside

UGM-8 long-range loadout

Primary: UGM-8

Recommended loadout:

Secondary: AMP63

Perks

Equipment

This is meant to be a focused loadout that primarily leans into long-range battles. The UGM-8 is easily the best ranged weapon currently, thanks to its virtually non-existent recoil, power, and ease of use. With the addition of the AMP63, you’ll also perform well up close, though we suggest swapping it for a better SMG when you can (keep this in mind for all non-Overkill loadouts listed here).

Use the new Quick Fix Perk to get to trigger health regeneration after securing an elimination or utilizing an armor plate, and use Combat Scout to easily spray enemies through walls. While this is easily the best class in the game for range, the UGM-8 can be a little unwieldy and heavy since it’s an LMG. If you want a lighter-ranged option, our next entry is for you.

Vargo 52 mid- to long-range loadout

Primary: Vargo 52

Recommended loadout:

Secondary: AMP63

Perks

Equipment

Unlike the UGM-8, the Vargo 52 is a lighter option that feels snappier. Sure, the UGM has its advantages, but if you plan on zipping around the map while still engaging in long-range battles, the Vargo 52 is a top choice. Thanks to recent changes to the meta, this Cold War assault rifle is easily one of the best in the game.

It’s easy to control and hits quite hard, especially since it has almost no recoil. For this loadout, we like to use Tempered, which allows you to reach max armor with two plates instead of three. Utilize the Stim to immediately trigger health regeneration, even inside the gas.

Type 100 aggressive close-range loadout

Primary: Type 100

Recommended loadout:

Secondary: RPG-7

Perks

Equipment

Next up is a loadout meant for aggressive close-range players. This one requires a bit of skill since it has a few downsides, but expert players will absolutely dominate with it. For this class, use the Type 100, which offers one of the fastest TTKs in the game when built properly. Building it this way will penalize your recoil control, but given that it’s meant to be used up close, it’s not as hard to control as you might think.

The other kicker is that this Type 100 uses the 36-round mags to obtain that faster TTK. This will be hard to work with, so you’ll need to pick your battles intelligently. The main point is that you’ll rarely lose 1v1 gunfights with this one, thanks to its rapid fire rate and power. Aside from that, bring Quick Fix, Tempered, and Stims along to help you reset gunfights quicker, allowing you to get the jump on your enemy when they don’t expect it.

Akimbo Marco 5 close-range loadout

Primary: Marco 5

Recommended loadout:

Secondary: RPG-7

Perks

Equipment

This loadout is absolutely bonkers because of how well it performs. You’ll take your enemies by surprise, for sure, and rack up plenty of eliminations in the process. Start by using the Akimbo (dual-wield) version of the Marco 5, which has one of the fastest TTKs in the game. The key to this build is to make sure you use it within 7 meters or so since you can only hip-fire it. This means you can’t ADS while utilizing this build, but as long as you only take on battles within 7 meters, you’ll rarely lose gunfights.

Likewise, the RPG-7 is crucial, as you can use it to clear out a room to either eliminate or severely damage your foes. Then, rush in and take out anyone still standing. Most players don’t anticipate being taken down by an RPG from afar, so be sure to catch them off guard. This build is more so meant for close quarters, so make sure to give it a try on Rebirth Island.

Aggressive, midrange Volk loadout

Primary: Volkssturmgewehr

Secondary: AMP63

Perks

Equipment

Since we’ve already covered two of the best long-ranged builds, it’s time to touch upon a great midrange class. For this, we recommend the Volkssturmgewehr, built sort of like a sniper support weapon, prioritizing speed without sacrificing much recoil control. The Volkssturmgewehr is excellent, even at close range, but this particular build is more so meant for those midrange engagements.

We recommend using this class if you happen to pick up a decent sniper along the way since it’s so versatile. With this, we advise Restock since you’ll likely infiltrate buildings more often. Use Snapshots in conjunction with Restock to always know where nearby players are. And with Cold-Blooded and Battle Hardened, you’ll negate the Combat Scout Perk and enemy Snapshots, respectively.

Cooper Carbine with Ghost loadout

Primary: Cooper Carbine

Recommended loadout:

Secondary: AMP63

Perks

Equipment

Even though Ghost was nerfed recently, it’s still good to have at least one class with this Perk, just in case. And what better weapon than the Cooper Carbine? Sure, the UGM-8 and the Vargo 52 are fantastic at the range, but they don’t work as well up close, which is where the Cooper comes into play. This isn’t an SMG by any means, but it does hold its own in close quarters, even when built for range.

You’ll want to take advantage of this as you search for a secondary replacement since you won’t be running Overkill on this class. The Cooper doesn’t hit as hard but is relatively easy to control and is versatile enough to hold you over until you find a more suitable close-range weapon, such as the Marco 5 or Type 100. The beauty is that you’ll remain hidden from enemy Heartbeat Sensors and UAVs (as long as you’re moving).

3-Line Rifle with Overkill loadout

Primary: 3-Line Rifle

Secondary: Volkssturmgewehr

Perks

Equipment

Snipers sure aren’t what they used to be in Warzone, but the 3-Line Rifle is close enough to the old Kar98k and K31 Swiss that we can safely give you a recommendation for it. With this one, we’ve got an Overkill class that works well alongside another fantastic sniper support weapon. But before we get into that, you should be aware of how the 3-Line Rifle works when compared to the Swiss or Kar. It doesn’t have as fast an ADS time as those weapons, but it’s close and can still secure one-hit eliminations at any range. On top of that, it has a whopping 20-round mag, which is just absurd for a sniper.

Aside from the sniper rifle, you’ll want to bring the Volk along with it, thanks to the Overkill Perk. This weapon is absolutely fantastic as sniper support, and although it doesn’t outshine the Type 100 or Marco 5 up close or the UGM-8 from afar, it does its job at midrange. You’ll also want to utilize the Amped Perk to quickly swap between weapons. If you happen to come across another loadout in the wild, we advise swapping over to the aforementioned Type 100 class, which still has Quick Fix and Amped but includes Tempered instead. Then, drop the Type 100, pick up the 3-Line Rifle and the Volk, and you’ll get to keep both weapons but will be able to use Tempered instead.

Automaton regain Ghost loadout

Primary: Automaton

Secondary: AMP63

Perks

Equipment

For our last loadout, we recommend making a class specifically for regain situations. These are times when you win your Gulag very late in the game or get bought back during the final stages of a match, forcing you to “regain” all the loot you’ve accumulated thus far.

By default, you’ll spawn in with little ammo and be unequipped to handle many situations, especially if you’re being bought back. For this, we advise using the Automaton built for long-range, but with the Fully Loaded weapon Perk so you’ve got full ammo. In addition, we advise utilizing Ghost so you can stay off enemy Heartbeats and UAVs, which is important during the end of a match. Bring Cold-Blooded, too, so you don’t trigger High Alert or Combat Scout, and make sure you have Snapshots so you can see exactly where certain enemies are, even behind cover.

Other loadout tips

In general, there are lots of combinations of weapons that are successful for Warzone. A good rule of thumb is to pick weapons that excel at long-range and have a silencer to avoid being detected. Most of the firefights you encounter in Warzone will be from medium- to long-range, so it’s always a good idea to have some sort of assault rifle, sniper, LMG, or Marksman rifle for those situations.

Overkill used to be essential in Warzone since it gives you two primary weapons, but now, much of the floor loot is completely viable, meaning you can get away with skipping this Perk. Instead, either pick up a dead enemy’s weapon, use floor loot, or grab a second loadout to obtain a second primary. It’s always best to have one weapon for long-range (like an assault rifle, LMG, or sniper) and a weapon for close-quarters (such as an SMG).

In addition, Ghost is no longer as useful as it was since it only activates while you’re moving and since UAVs aren’t as common anymore. Still, having Ghost at the end of a match can work wonders, as enemies will have saved a UAV they’ve acquired earlier in a match.

Since Ghost isn’t as viable, we recommend using Tempered, which allows you to reach max armor with two plates instead of three, or Restock, which replenishes your Lethal and Tactical Equipment every 25 seconds.

Editors' Recommendations

• The best Nintendo Switch games for 2023
• The best upcoming PC games: 2023 and beyond
• The best upcoming PS5 games: 2023 and beyond
• The best Mac games for 2023
• The best Xbox Series X controllers for 2023