“Laser beam” AR dominates Warzone after recent buff

Before weapon tuning is gone for good, Metaphor used Warzone’s controversial feature to craft the perfect AR for medium and short-range engagements.

Content creators making loadouts will look very different in Modern Warfare 3. Sledgehammer Games received a round of applause from community members, announcing the removal of weapon tuning in MW3. The controversial feature allowed players to fine-tune weapons to cater to different playstyles.

For example, an AR could be adjusted to improve mobility and aim down-sight speed for close-range engagements. Or, the feature allowed players to lean the other way and maximize recoil stabilization and damage range.

As a result, content creators made it their mission to find the perfect tuning for every Warzone loadout. However, we still have a while before MW3’s Warzone iteration, so Metaphor used all of the tools at his disposal.

Metaphor crowns Kastov 545 as king of mid-range gunfights

In the October 11 update, The Kastov 545 saw its mid-range damage increase. Without specific numbers, it’s impossible to tell how much of a difference the change made, but Metaphor believes the slight upgrade elevated the AR into Warzone’s meta.

Metaphor argued: “This gun has been kind of a sleeper for a while now and has absolutely zero recoil and is a complete laser beam at range.”

The Kastov 545 doesn’t come without its faults, as Metaphor admitted: “The damage does kind of fall off at super long range, but if they are mid or close range, there are not many guns that are going to beat this thing.”

Best Kastov 545 loadout

Here is Metaphor’s go-to Kastov 545 loadout.

• Barrel: IG-K30 406MM (+0.18, +0.30)
• Optic: AIM OP-V4 (-2.81, -1.65)
• Underbarrel: FTAC Ripper (+0.75, +0.04)
• Ammunition: 5.45 High Velocity (+0.70, -9.00)
• Magazine: 45 Round Mag

Metaphor leaned into the Kastov 545’s strength by focusing all the tuning on improving recoil and damage range. The YouTuber admitted that most ARs need a muzzle, but the recoil tuning made it possible to use High-Velocity ammunition instead.

If the Kastov 545 didn’t quite check every box, check out our guide on the best Warzone AR loadouts.