Builds

Every gun in Black Ops Cold War arrives bare, and the Gunsmith gives you five slots to fill, or eight with the right Wildcard. Our ten weapon pages each offer several full class setups for one gun. This guide does the opposite: it lifts one build from each page, sorts the ten weapons by class, and puts the attachment lists side by side so you can compare an assault rifle with a sniper on the same screen. The individual pages hold the alternatives, from no-recoil setups to Warzone variants.

How a loadout fits together

A class is a primary with its attachments, a secondary, a tactical and a lethal piece of equipment, a Field Upgrade, three perks and a Wildcard. Our pages lean on three Wildcards: Gunfighter, which the AK-47, FFAR 1 and MP5 pages use so that a rifle can carry all eight attachments at once; Danger Close, which the Krig 6 page pairs with Semtex and C4; and Law Breaker, which the M82 and Type 63 pages take. The attachment slots themselves are the same on every weapon.

Pick your weapon

Assault rifles

Four of our ten pages are assault rifles, and each offers a build for a different range. The setups below are the ones each page presents as its all-round or balanced option, except the AK-47, where we have taken the aggressive build because it shows what Gunfighter’s eight slots buy you.

The other builds on those pages fill in the extremes. The XM4 page has a Warzone setup with a Salvo 50 Round Fast Mag and a long-range build on the Axial Arms 3x with a 13 inch Paratrooper, the Krig 6 page has a Powerhouse build on Gunfighter and an Ultra Instinct setup with a 15 inch CMV Mil-Spec barrel for reaction time, the AK-47 page tames the recoil for larger maps with a Field Agent Grip and Warden Tight Grip, and the FFAR 1 page offers a movement build on the 9 inch Ultralight barrel.

Submachine guns

The MP5 page argues for the Cigma 2 as a secondary because a launcher that knocks down spy planes and attack helicopters helps the whole team on maps with little cover, for C4 thrown into your own smoke, and for the Jammer on a Domination point. The AK-74u page adds an extra-range build on the VisionTech 2X with an Agency Suppressor and 5 inch Paratrooper, and a no-recoil build on the Quickdot LED with a Spetsnaz Grip and 40 Rnd Drum for players who miss shots to kick.

Tactical rifles

The M16 page keeps Flak Jacket, Gung Ho and Scavenger on all four of its builds and only changes the gun: a low-recoil setup on the 15.9 inch Strike Team, a one-shot build on the 16.3 inch Rapid Fire that suits hardcore, and a run-and-gun build with an SFOD Speed Grip and Duster Stock. The Type 63 page splits its builds by map size, with a Methodical Warfare setup on the Axial Arms 3x and Agency Silencer for larger modes and an Airbender build on the Millstop Reflex, Marshal Foregrip and Fast Mag for players who jump corners.

Sniper rifles

The Pelington 703 page has six builds in total, splitting the difference between an Offensive Loadout on the 26.5 inch Tiger Team with a Fast Loader, a Defensive Class Setup with a Bipod and 27.2 inch Combat Recon for hardscoping, and a Multiple Takedown setup with a Sound Moderator and 7 Rnd magazine. The M82 page keeps things to three: the Quick-Scoper on a Royal and Kross 4x and Marathon Stock, the American Sniper with a Wrapped Suppressor and Bipod for covering teammates, and the build in the table above.

The perks that keep showing up

Across the ten pages the same handful of perks appear in almost every loadout, and our perks guide explains why: it names Flak Jacket, Tactical Mask, Scavenger, Quartermaster, Ghost and Ninja as the six best. Perks come one per slot.

Unlocking the attachments

Weapon progression is slow, which is why several of our pages describe the same barrel or grip on more than one build: use whatever you have that is closest until the named part unlocks. Our rank up fast guide covers the quickest routes, from redeeming Double XP codes off marked snacks and drinks, to chasing the early weapon challenges on as many guns as possible, to objective modes such as Domination, Hardpoint and Control, where kills on the objective pay extra; PlayStation players in a party also gain 25 percent more weapon XP. Once the guns are built, our best settings page tunes the field of view, sensitivities and audio so they behave the way the builds expect.

Frequently asked questions

Which weapon should I build first?

The MP5 if you fight up close, since our page rates it above the AK-74u for control and range, and the XM4 if you want one rifle for every situation. Both are on the table above with a full attachment list.

What does Gunfighter actually do?

It lifts the attachment limit from five to eight, which is why the AK-47, FFAR 1, MP5, M16 and Type 63 builds above list so many parts. Without it, trim to the five that matter for the range you play at.

Are these Warzone builds?

Mostly not. Only the XM4 page carries a dedicated Warzone build; the rest are written for Cold War multiplayer. For everything else we cover, start at the Black Ops Cold War hub.