What is the best Black Ops 6 AMES 85 loadout? As a virtual soldier, there’s nothing worse than feeling inadequate on the battlefield. There’s a strong possibility that your opponent has gunned you down with the AMES 85, and once you get your hands on our loadout, you’ll be ready to do the same.
The Omnimovement system in Black Ops 6 drastically speeds up the pace of combat in the FPS game, which is why it’s important to build loadouts for your Black Ops 6 weapons that are both powerful and mobile. The best Black Ops 6 AMES 85 loadout skews heavier on the damage side, but that’s not to say we haven’t prepared a trick or two to deal with those pesky SMG users in both BO6 and Warzone.
How to unlock the AMES 85 in Black Ops 6
The AMES 85 is unlocked by reaching player level 19, making it a relatively early pickup in each Prestige. Unless you’re particularly attached to the gun, we’d recommend against spending a permanent unlock on it (more on what that entails in our Black Ops 6 Prestige guide).
Best Black Ops 6 AMES 85 loadout
- Optic: Merlin Mini
- Muzzle: Muzzle Brake
- Barrel: Reinforced Barrel
- Underbarrel: Vertical Foregrip
- Rear Grip: Quickdraw Grip
The Merlin Mini is our pick for the AMES 85 optic, but this comes down to preference, so pick whatever suits you best. The stock AMES 85 has a fair amount of recoil, so we’ve gone for the Muzzle Brake to reduce the kickback on your opening shots. If you consider yourself a steady shot, this is vital to scoring headshots which allow you to rack up easy kills. We’ve picked the Reinforced Barrel to improve the AR’s damage range capabilities, and it also speeds up the bullet velocity to increase the time to kill speed.
Next up we have a couple of grips for you to… get to grips with (sorry). The Vertical Foregrip is going to give you loads of horizontal recoil control, making the AMES 85 ridiculously easy to keep stable. Follow that up with the Quickdraw Grip to improve ADS speed and you’ll never get caught lacking.
Best Black Ops 6 AMES 85 class build
- Secondary weapon: C9
- Melee: Knife
- Tactical: Concussion
- Lethal: Frag
- Field Upgrade: Trophy System
- Perk 1: Gung-ho
- Perk 2: Assassin
- Perk 3: Double Time
- Specialty: Enforcer
- Wildcard: Overkill
While you’re not the most mobile while using an AR – especially compared to the SMG users scurrying about the Black Ops 6 maps – we can offset that with our Black Ops 6 AMEX 86 class build package.
The AMES 85 may be able to do a job in CQB, but it’s at its best when firing at mid-range. While you could always juice up the attachment slots with the Gunfighter Wildcard, we reckon the best Black Ops 6 C9 loadout is too good to not take – Overkill it is.
A robust loadout needs robust throwables, which is why we’ve opted for old faithful picks in both the Tactical and Lethal slots – welcome back, Concussion and Frag grenades. As you’re not going to be sprinting around like a soldier possessed, the Trophy System will provide you excellent value when bunkering down objectives.
As for perks, the trio of Gung-ho, Assassin, and Double Time will help offset some of that AR sluggishness, and help you lock down high-value targets for your team. This also grants access to the Enforcer Specialty, boosting your uptime on the map if you can get a steady trickle of kills going. It’s also great if you run the C9 alongside the AMES 85 as it benefits greatly from the mobility boosts.
Best Warzone AMES 85 loadout
- Optic: Willis 3x
- Muzzle: Compensator
- Barrel: Reinforced Barrel
- Underbarrel: Vertical Foregrip
- Magazine: Extended Mag II
While you can always opt for a Gunfighter loadout thanks to the flexibility of the Hawker Hybrid – a two-setting scope that lets you shift between a 3x and iron sights – we have found the most success running the AMES 85 alongside an SMG.
The AMES 85’s raw power excels best at longer range, so we’ve equipped it with the solid Willis 3x. To further maximize its potential from afar, we’ve locked in the Reinforced Barrel due to the extra range and bullet velocity it provides.
To turn the AMES 85 into a low recoil beamer, we’ve prioritized attachments that bring it under control such as the Compensator and Vertical Foregrip. If you’re yearning for a suppressor then leave that to your secondary. Finally, to give you the ammo capacity to mow down whole squads without breaking a sweat, opt for the Extended Mag II.
Best Warzone AMES 85 class build
- Secondary weapon: KSV
- Melee: Knife
- Tactical: Concussion
- Lethal: Frag
- Perk 1: Grenadier
- Perk 2: Quick Fix
- Perk 3: Alertness
- Wildcard: Overkill
Any SMG can be paired with the AMES 85 in this Overkill build, but right now we’re loving the KSV. This incredibly mobile yet powerful weapon is a beast in close-quarters combat – especially when decked out with our best KSV loadout.
The Tactical and Lethal options are largely preferential, but with AR builds we typically keep it simple with the Concussion and Frag grenades. If you’re a movement junkie, however, then the Stim Shot will serve you well.
For perks, we’ve gone for Grenadier, Quick Fix, and Alertness. Grenadier helps keep your shots stable while you’re diving about the place, while Quick Fix is potentially life-saving in firefights thanks to the instant regen start on kill and plate use. Alertness, meanwhile, gives you intel not only on nearby enemies but those who are peeking at you from further afield.
Best Black Ops 6 AMES 85 alternatives
The best AMEX 85 alternative in Black Ops 6 is the best XM4 loadout. As the C9 is the jack-of-all-trades SMG, the XM4 fills this role for Assault Rifles. An impressively malleable weapon, the XM4 is incredibly flexible in how you build it and is arguably the best-performing AR in the game right now.
And with that, you have the best Black Ops 6 AMES 85 loadout at your disposal. Now you have what could be one of the best Black Ops 6 loadouts in general, get out there and show them what you’re made of.
Additional guiding by Aaron Down.