For brand new players, one of the frustrating parts of Call of Duty: Vanguard will be that little locked sign over... well, almost everything. No custom loadouts, no perk choices, no killstreak alterations, and no fiddling with the gadgets on any gun.
But every player has to start off at this place. So the question is, which of these guns can make a severely under-geared player fit in the best? Some of these weapons are truly just asking to be taunted online while others barely need accessories to shine. The difference between the two will define whether the player has a pleasant or nightmarish experience in Call of Duty: Vanguard.
5 MP-40
SMGs are in a notoriously bad place this year. Player movement feels like it is underwater and many maps have areas with long lines of sight. Making an SMG work, if it will work at all, requires a lot of perks and bonuses that simply aren't accessible at the start.
Look, every player is permitted personal preference. But consider that the starting assault rifle is better than the SMG in all four categories, including speed, which is usually the SMG's only advantage. There is absolutely no reason to use the unupgraded MP-40 weapon except to throw the game.
4 Einhorn Revolving
Shotguns are in a similar situation to SMGs this year. Close quarters combat is becoming scarce and the movement speed just isn't good enough to get in close without some real trickery. Plus, without upgrades, it takes two shots to kill opponents. Good luck living for two shots against other weapons.
The reason the Einhorn Revolving outranks the MP-40 is that a clever player can utilize the environment to try and make this work. From cover or around a corner, it's possible to take a shot, duck back, then pop back out for the second shot. It's still not ideal, but at least it is viable.
3 MG42
The starting LMG this year is actually a decent weapon, even for the late game. Aside from speed, it outranks the assault rifle in the other categories. That being said, it still can't quite perform better than the starting assault rifle in most cases.
The MG42 still has that painful reload, which isn't statistically measured. Also, the recoil is unmeasured and, as one might expect from an LMG, it isn't negligible. With a full clip, it will outduel the assault rifle at midrange, but the lack of versatility can make it hard to recommend over its closest counterpart.
2 STG44
It's hard to go wrong with the STG44. As an assault rifle, it is gifted at mid-range, but don't discount it at long or short ranges either. It's better than the starting SMG in every attribute and it has a better range than about half of the assault rifles that need to be unlocked.
For beginners to the franchise, this weapon is likely better than the top weapon on this list because it covers so many modes and battle situations. It's hard to recommend any other weapon for players who are still learning the maps.
1 Type 99
Predictably, the one sniper rifle is the king at first-level play. Being able to find a nice hiding spot and shoot from safety assures that beginners won't blow the game for their team. And this gun doesn't need upgrades to kill opponents with a single well-placed hit.
Thanks to unbelievably slow movement speeds, sniping has never been easier and it's very beginner-friendly. For modes that demand players capture and hold points, don't feel bad about staying back and providing covering fire or watching the back flanks. This is a critical task that the Type 99 lives up to.
Call of Duty: Vanguard was released on November 5th, 2021, and is available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.