The Best Marksman Rifles In Black Ops 6

The Call of Duty series is all about its weapons, and each entry in the series aims to give players a wide variety of weapons to use and plenty of loadout options to experiment with. Black Ops 6 is no different as it brings a ton of different weapons to play with and find the best fit. One of these weapon types is the marksman rifle, which offers a sort of middle ground between sniper rifles and assault rifles. They give players more accuracy and range, with the caveat being a reduced fire rate.

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Despite them being an often-overlooked batch of weapons, marksman rifles can be great tools to bring into a match. With their versatility, they offer players power in most encounters, which is why it’s important to know which ones are the best options. There are only a small handful of these weapons available at the time of writing, but that doesn’t mean that players shouldn’t know which ones they should spring for. There are four marksman rifles in the game right now, and this is how they rank from worst to best.

4 SWAT 556

Unlocked At Level 1

The basic option for the Marksman Rifles is the SWAT 556, which doesn’t have very much benefit to using it. Despite it having solid accuracy that can land shots fine, this gun doesn’t really do enough damage. This makes its time-to-kill very slow, and then this is combined with its mediocre mobility. These work together to make a gun that is slow to move with and slow to use.

Sure, the SWAT 556 could work fine in a pinch, and there will certainly be people who find ways to make it work effectively, but on paper, it just doesn’t bring enough to the table to justify it being anything but the last option on this list. It simply does not do enough, and with the other marksman rifles available, it isn’t going to turn any heads.

3 Tsarkov 7.62

Unlocked At Level 22

This entry earns its place above the previous marksman rifle for the fact that it offers better time-to-kill and much better mobility. Using the Tsarkov 7.62 will not feel nearly as slow as using the SWAT 556, and that makes it a much better option. Plus, players can actually take their targets out in a timely manner and won’t have to worry as much about giving their opponent time to return fire.

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That doesn’t mean the Tsarkov 7.62 is free from drawbacks, as it does boast one of the worst recoil patterns in the marksman rifle category. If a player misses their shot, it is going to be much harder to line the next one up. When rapid fire is added to the mix, it can get chaotic and become difficult to control very fast. This is what keeps the Tsarkov 762 on the lower half of this list.

2 DM 10

Unlocked At Level 43

It’s time to get into the marksman rifles that really make Black Ops 6 fun to play. The DM 10 is the second-best option in this category thanks to its great time-to-kill. Players can quickly down their targets with this gun, bringing far more efficiency to the game than the last two. It also has great mobility, which makes moving around the map much more fun, which is always a good thing.

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However, the DM 10 does come with one downside that keeps it from claiming the top spot on this list: a slow ADS speed. This means that being able to aim for the right shot in time is not easy, and it can sometimes feel like this is counteracting its excellent mobility. It’s hard to play with a gun that allows players to zip around with ease, but then slows things down to a crawl when they want to make a shot. This keeps it here in the second spot primarily because of its lack of quickscoping.

1 AEK 973

Unlocked At Level 34

The very best marksman rifle on this list is the AEK 973, which is currently the top-picked marksman rifle in the game. While some players may be wary of its burst fire mode due to a possible accuracy issue, those fears should be put to bed with the fact that its time-to-kill is outstanding. One burst from this gun can take an enemy out, and opens the player up to move on to their next target in no time.

Players really can’t ask for more than that. It offers a feeling similar to the M16 in Call of Duty 4 with Stopping Power equipped. Plus, the AEK 973 has very manageable recoil, so it’s easy to line another shot up if the player misses with their initial burst. It’s a truly formidable weapon that can make anyone using it a force to be reckoned with. With that, it has earned its spot at the top of the marksman rifles in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.

Released

October 25, 2024

OpenCritic Rating

Strong