Top 10 worst Warzone metas: From Verdansk to Urzikstan

❘ Updated: 2024-01-10T14:18:55

Lockwood 300 shotgun being inspected on Quarry map in MW3.

Throughout its four-year history, Warzone has seen all kinds of meta but not all of them have been well received. This is our breakdown of the worst Warzone metas of all time from Verdansk to Urzikstan.

When it was first launched in March 2020, Warzone took over the FPS scene by storm becoming a massive success amongst both CoD fans and newcomers to the franchise.

However, despite its popularity many meta Warzone loadouts have left the community enraged. Some of these are universally hated while others have proven more divisive.

Either way, this is our list of the worst Warzone metas ever that just about everyone remembers for all the wrong reasons.

10. FAL

FALassault rifle reloading in Modern Warfare.

Generally speaking, semi-auto guns in Warzone are either underwhelming or utterly broken. For the one week this meta lasted the FAL most definitely fell into the latter category. Whilst technically an assault rifle, an oversight with the FAL’s close-range damage potential made it the best SMG on Verdansk.

The FAL was capable of getting downs in just three shots which with its fast fire rate meant the iconic rifle had a TTK of just 350 ms. For context, that’s closer to what you’d expect in multiplayer than Warzone. Not only did SMGs not stand a chance up close, but even shotguns were losing to this beast.

9. R9-0 Shotgun (“Doof-doof”)

The so-called “Doof-doof” meta was one of Warzone’s worst, or at least most toxic. The R9-0 Shotgun became top-tier with the addition of the Dragon’s Breath Rounds which created a close-range monster capable of downing enemies in two quick shots before pumping, hence “Doof-doof”.

Something that made the R9-0 especially powerful was its extraordinary ease of use. You never had to ADS with it and it had great mobility. It was the true run-and-gun GOAT perfectly suited to that era’s fast-paced gameplay. However, the lack of counterplay infuriated players and it was eventually nerfed.

8. MAC-10

Of all the guns featured on this list, the MAC-10 is probably the least egregious as it wasn’t spectacularly broken per se but rather this SMG just had no real flaws. It was the perfect submachine gun offering a fast TTK, great handling, solid range, and top-tier mobility.

Truthfully, while the MAC-10 was overturned the real reason the community came to detest its existence so much was because of its partner in crime. Those who know will already be cursing the name. Those who don’t will find the culprit further up on this list.

7. SP-R 208 (Norma/Lapua)

Soldier holding SP-R 208 marksman rifle for sniping in Call of Duty: Warzone.

If a sniper was going to feature on this list you may have expected to see the Kar98k, but as dominant as the Karabiner was it had nothing on the launch SP-R 208. This monster was hitscan up to 400 meters meaning it could down players in one shot with zero lead or prediction required.

With how open Warzone’s maps are that is a terrifying prospect effectively making it impossible to move anywhere against a half-decent team. That is unless you won the sniper battle. This logic saw the SP-R 208 become a must-use weapon on Verdansk until its problematic ammo types were nerfed.

6. Akimbo Snake Shot revolvers

The meta akimbo snakeshot Basilisk pistols in Warzone 2 Season 4 Reloaded.

Be it the Magnum, Basilisk, or the more recent TYR loadout, Snake Shot revolvers have plagued Warzone for years and have consistently been amongst its worst metas. These pocket shotguns seemingly always come back and never fail to deliver the ultimate one-two punch that nothing else can compete with.

They can be fun for a short while but whenever the Snake Shot revolvers stick around for too long it becomes a painful experience. Especially in Solos and Duos where their limited magazine size isn’t even a con. They are out of the meta for now but how long until these cursed hand cannons rise again?

5. AUG/M16 (Black Ops Cold War)

Burst guns have always presented a potential slippery slope in Call of Duty ever since the early days. The M16’s first appearance in CoD 4 and later Modern Warfare Remastered resulted in easily the best primary weapon in that game’s multiplayer.

Warzone has mostly avoided this issue but one of the earliest metas following Black Ops Cold War’s integration saw both the AUG and M16 become top-tier. With their accuracy and unbelievable TTK, most other guns dropped into obscurity and these utterly dominated Warzone for far too long.

4. FR 5.56 (underbarrel shotgun)

FR 5.56 loadout with underbarrel shotgun

In terms of sheer brokenness and absurdity, nothing matches the prime FR 5.56. More specifically, the FR 5.56 with the Masterkey underbarrel shotgun equipped which resulted in a freak of a weapon that invalidated every other option.

It didn’t last long and was clearly a bug, but for a short stint, this weapon could one-shot down enemies at any range where at least one pellet landed. It was the best close-range weapon in Warzone history and thus was also responsible for one of the worst metas we’ve seen. Thankfully, this was fixed fairly quickly.

3. RPG-7

RPG-7 launcher being inspected in Modern Warfare 3.

Going back to the beginning of Warzone there were a few weapons that were just not balanced properly. The biggest offender of these was the RPG-7 which could down an entire squad in just one shot. Keep in mind back then you could also shoot rockets mid-air while parachuting, raining down a makeshift airstrike in the process.

This RPG was particularly devastating in the late game where teams often grouped in buildings waiting for the zone. A single rocket through a window was enough to end your squad’s game and there wasn’t much counterplay other than running EOD, but even that would fail when more rockets inevitably followed.

2. Lockwood 300 (Dual Trigger)

Sawed off lockwood 300 with dual trigger attachment in Warzone.

You don’t have to go too far back in time to stumble across a truly cursed Warzone meta. Right at the end of Al Mazrah shortly before the MW3 integration, the devs added the Maelstrom Dual Trigger attachment for the Lockwood 300.

It let players shoot both barrels at once which while fun turned out to be a real problem in Warzone. This attachment gave the Lockwood 300 the potential to down enemies in one shot up to around 9 meters. It wasn’t versatile but who cares with that kind of lethality? Needless to say, players were not impressed.

1. DMR 14

Infamous DMR 14 marksman rifle in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War

We’ve already mentioned the MAC-10 and now it’s time for its nightmare-inducing partner in crime. Make no mistake, the DMR 14 was by far the most broken weapon in Warzone history and single-handedly responsible for the battle royale’s worst-ever meta.

This marksman rifle had zero recoil, could down enemies in just two shots, had a fast fire rate, and was extremely easy to use. Its introduction killed off every other option and worst of all this meta lasted well over a month during a period when lots of new players were getting involved causing irreversible damage.

That’s all for the worst metas in Warzone history. For tips to dominate the current iteration of Warzone check out these guides: