Operation: Rank Up Report #0049

Day 343 – 10:00:00 PST

Somewhere in California

AGB – Lead Writer

With only three weeks skipped, this Rank Up Report is ending its weekly watch over Modern Warfare and Warzone.

It’s been a pleasure writing this column to wrap up a week of gaining XP, experimenting with new weapons, and exploring new ways to play Modern Warfare. While this is the last Rank Up Report, this is far from the end of the line for this weekly tips and tricks column, especially as the evolution of Warzone and the next chapter of the Call of Duty franchise is coming soon.

But for now – for one last time – let’s get to ranking up:

Operator of the Week

This week, we feature one Operator that’s coming into the DZ hot in the coming days: Sgt. Griggs.

Last heard in the Season Six vignette when he was called in by Captain Price, Griggs will be available in a debut bundle that’s dropping next week. You can grab him and his “Sarge” skin, along with three blueprint weapons – one Assault Rifle, one SMG, and a Combat Knife – and six other items in the aptly-named “Sgt. Griggs Operator Bundle.”

As for the Allegiance, we’re showing off Nikolai and his “Carcajou” skin one last time to represent Season Six’s Battle Pass, which you should grab if you haven’t already.

Top Rank Up Tip – Ten Loadouts You Need to Try

What Loadouts have I been using over the past year in Modern Warfare? For the first time ever, to belatedly celebrate this game’s one-year anniversary, I’m happy to open my game and show you.

Some of these loadouts I’ve kept for months. Others have changed right when Season Six rolled in. But no matter what, each loadout has a purpose, and all of them played a role in helping me rank up and have fun in Modern Warfare.

Over the next week, here are the loadouts you can try out for yourself, as it carried me through a fun and productive year of playing Call of Duty:

M13 Meta

Given my position, I need to stay on top of what’s trending in Warzone. Although a few other Assault Rifles are arguably the “meta” gun, I personally prefer – and feel – that this Assault Rifle is a phenomenal weapon in the current meta.

Fast firing, extremely accurate, and fantastic range are all present in this configuration. It’s one that I feel can be used by all skill levels and take home some victories along with some Akimbo pistols as a reliable back-up in close-quarters.

The Perks are what I see many out there use: E.O.D. to limit explosive damage, Ghost to counter Heartbeat Sensors, and Tracker to track enemies via footsteps. Battle Hardened can go here too, but I usually can shake off those Tactical Grenades enough to stay in the fight.

Equipment is also “meta,” as I know there was a big swap to Thermites over C4 and the Heartbeat Sensor is still a phenomenal option.

Warzone Support

On the other end of the “Warzone Meta” spectrum is this loadout, one that I use purely to throw off other teams.

The Riot Shield can be a wild card against teams who forget how to deal with one, while the Secondary, a .357 filled with Snake Shot, is only used in desperate times. Whenever I play with a friend who is far better than me in skill, I throw this loadout on to act as their pure support player, distracting enemy teams and offering protection when needed.

My usual perk set-up has one change in the form of Tune Up, which gives me a boost in healing up my squadmates to further my support role. Then for equipment, I use the Molotov Cocktail for area denial and to counter fellow shield users, and a Stun Grenade to slow enemy movement so I can move around them for the kill.

Warzone SMG

The more “unconventional” weapons continue with the fastest-firing SMG in the game, kitted purely for range in a game that often demands it.

After learning its recoil pattern, this SMG is an absolute beast inside of 20 meters, making it my go-to CQB weapon. Pair it with a heavy-hitting pistol that can stunt health regeneration, and this becomes a seriously deadly combo in close-quarters.

I use this mainly to counter Assault Rifle-heavy squads, making sure to swap my sidearm with whatever primary weapon they have. That’s basically why I rarely use the Overkill Perk; often, I only need one of my custom creations and whatever the enemy is using – or if I’m lucky, a weapon I find in a Supply Box – to get the job done in Verdansk, all while keeping my Perk 2 slot free.

Warzone AR

Again, another “off the board” pick by some critics, the first Assault Rifle to be unlocked via Battle Pass is a straight up force to be reckoned with. So long as I can control its recoil, which drifts the gun up and to the left, this weapon is incredibly powerful inside of 40 meters.

While it isn’t as forgiving as my “meta” choice, I often gravitate towards this loadout or my SMG one if the circle collapse is heading towards building heavy areas.

The Secondary goes to the PILA, my preferred Launcher across the board for anti-vehicle dealings. If I’m feeling like my shot is on point, I go with a Strela-P for more damage, but otherwise, that lock-on feature is fast and good for action-packed lobbies where there is no time to line up a rocket manually.

Warzone Crossbow

When I wrote the Warzone guide, the Crossbow was my massive tip in the Loadout Drop section. This exact blueprint is the configuration I’ve been running since day one, and it’s been one-shotting enemies in Solos through today.

The secret is explosive bolts; they deal a bit of extra damage to enemies after a bolt downs them, or if I place it near an enemy behind cover, it chips away at their armor and makes it a war of attrition.

Just in case I get stuck up-close, I serve those enemies with some “Apple Pie” – the Akimbo sidearm blueprint weapon, that is (Season 4 Tracer Pack: Freedom Bundle). Otherwise, I swap these out for my enemy’s weapon and keep pressing forward with that and my Crossbow on my hunt for victory.

Warzone Sniper

If my physics calculations are off for the day and I can’t shoot in an arc with my Crossbow, then I go to this tried-and-true Sniper/SMG combo.

It’s no secret that the SP-R 208 has become one of the most popular sniping tools in the community, and it’s not even a Sniper Rifle! I kit this weapon for max range and go for headshots, as it only takes one of those to down an enemy with this weapon.

The secondary is the “Efflux” SMG blueprint, found in the Dr. Karlov Lives bundle. Forget the flashy electric tracer rounds (or don’t because they look cool): this exact configuration is downright deadly in close quarters and gets a generous range boost to make it viable within about 17 meters.

In games where I’m lucky to have two Loadout Drops extremely early on, I usually take this one first, then take the AR/SMG/Crossbow one to get Ghost.

WZ/MP Semi

Before Modern Warfare even came out, I loved this semi-auto Assault Rifle, so much so that I touted it in my last Rank Up Report.

Again, do not count this weapon out as one phenomenal Assault Rifle, especially if you know how to hit headshots. You’ll need a fast trigger finger and solid reaction time to control its recoil, but if you got the skills, this thing can steal souls (literally, since it’s based off the “Soul Reaper” blueprint).

This loadout bridges the gap between Warzone and Multiplayer for me, as shown with my Specialist Bonus activated and three extra Perks picked. In Multiplayer, the PILA gets swapped out for a weapon that my teammate or enemy drops, but may get used to down a UAV before it it’s the deck.

Challenge Chaser

Whether it’s chasing Gold camos on every weapon or completing Officer Rank Challenges, I always dedicate one Loadout to be in flux for gaining XP and working towards game completion.

Because I’ve been wrapped up with a few other weapons, I’ve yet to max out the ISO, and that Ghost: Grim Reaper bundle, which also includes the “Soul Reaper” blueprint, gave me the chance to get back to it with the “Purgatory” blueprint.

The rest of the Loadout was for Officer Rank Challenge hunting; I needed Launcher multi-kills, Shrapnel Lethal Grenade kills and some more Thermite kills, so I slapped together the RPG-7, Shrapnel, and Thermite together in a loadout to get them all done. Again, this loadout is constantly changing, so by the time you read this, it’ll probably be something completely different.

Streak Denial

Everyone should have this kind of loadout for Multiplayer, or in Warzone for vehicle-heavy situations.

The main weapon is a high-capacity LMG – the “Slaughterhouse” blueprint found in Season Four’s Nikto: Take No Prisoners bundle fits the bill here – with the FMJ Weapon Perk, which I swapped in for the Optic attachment this weapon comes with. The secondary is, of course, the PILA, a weapon that I’m extremely close on getting Obsidian on.

Basically, I take this out whenever the enemy has a Killstreak, or when they are being unbearable with a Vehicle.

Main Multiplayer

And finally, the loadout I use when I want to dominate lobbies in Multiplayer.

We’ll get to the Primary Weapon in the Gunsmith Custom Creation section, but the Secondary are my “Hit Sticks” (found in the Season Four Gaz: Operator Bundle). This melee weapon is the fastest in the game, letting me move around the map at blistering speed before I go for the kill with my Primary.

Everything else is standard – and yes, I personally still use the C4 at times, as I’ve learned to live with the new delay and can deny many an objective push with it.

Gunsmith Custom Creation

In celebration of what’s to come for Call of Duty, my final Gunsmith Custom Creation is based on a Soviet Assault Rifle whose reliability spans across decades. Recently, it was featured in the “Dr. Karlov Lives” bundle as the “Resonant” blueprint with Electric Tracer Rounds.

This is the blueprint I based my “Shock & AWW” creation on.

First, I kept the Barrel as well as the Stippled Grip Tape. The “AWW” part of the equation comes from the “Pink Perforator” blueprint, found in the Season One “Mwah” bundle. Off that, I took the 5.45X39mm 30-Round Magazines to convert this into an SMG-like weapon, and the No Stock attachment. Finally, I threw on the Tac Laser from the “Waliima” blueprint, unlocked by completing the Season Six “Specialist Spectacle” Mission.

In summary, this weapon is an SMG-like weapon with phenomenal range thanks to its Barrel, with all Aim Down Sight (ADS) and Movement Speed penalties completely wiped out and improved thanks to the four other attachments.

I’ve used this weapon across multiple seasons in Modern Warfare Multiplayer for challenge completion, especially those that require high Killstreaks. I change the blueprint configuration around as new ones come in, but I’ve used this exact attachment setup since I unlocked everything on this Assault Rifle.

It’s also the weapon I’ll be using all next week to send off this incredible game and welcome in a new one, with both set to make Warzone one of the most content-rich battle royale experiences out there today.

For now, I’ll see you online in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone.

Stay Frosty.

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