Vanguard weapons still dominate Warzone meta despite Modern Warfare gun buffs

Jacob Hale
warzone operator holding assault rifle

Despite the buffs to Modern Warfare weapons in Season 4 Reloaded, and the much more varied meta that has come from it, Vanguard weapons still dominate the Warzone meta almost entirely across the board.

As with the natural cycle of Warzone, the current mainline CoD game is always atop the meta. When Black Ops Cold War first came out, guns like the DMR, Mac 10, and C58 worked their way into the meta, and that was no different when Vanguard dropped in 2021.

While guns like the NZ41, Automaton, and STG have sifted in and out of the Warzone meta, and the NZ being a completely dominant force with a very high pick rate throughout the early days of Season 4, the Season 4 Reloaded update made the meta far more balanced.

There are now a number of viable assault rifles and SMGs to use across Caldera, Rebirth Island and Fortune’s Keep, but, according to the stats, the Vanguard weapons still reign supreme despite Modern Warfare buffs.

According to WZRanked, eight of the top ten most popular weapons are all from Vanguard. Looking at the pick rate of all weapons in Warzone, only the M13 and Kilo manage to compete — but they’re not actually seeing much success on the battlefield, anyway.

The Kilo 141 is averaging out to a 0.83 KD and a 1.90 win rate — far below the NZ41, for example, which has a slightly higher pick rate but a far superior KD and win rate.

The M13 is faring almost equally poorly. The pick rate is lower, but with a 0.88 KD and 2.17 win rate, it still isn’t much to write home about.

Warzone meta weapons on August 3, 2022
The Kilo and M13 can’t keep up with the Vanguard assault rifles.

Among the top 10 most popular weapons, the Vanguard ARs are far superior, with only the Cooper Carbine and STG putting up numbers as low as the Modern Warfare assault rifles.

Even among the lower-picked weapons, ARs like the Volk have far better stats, so if you’re looking to go off-meta, you’re better off looking at weapons such as that or the Nikita to still be able to do some damage in your lobbies.

While many long-time Warzone players have enjoyed running around with the Kilo and M13 again, it’s fair to say that they’re not able to really compete with the top weapons.

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About The Author

Jacob is Dexerto’s UK Editor and Call of Duty esports specialist. With a BA (Hons) in English Literature and Creative Writing, he previously worked as an Editor at Ginx TV. Jacob was nominated for Journalist of the Year at the 2023 Esports Awards. Contact: jacob.hale@dexerto.com.