Best SMGs in Warzone and Modern Warfare 3

Whether you take a stealthy close-range approach, or like to pick-off enemies from mid-range, it's good to know the best SMGs in Warzone and Modern Warfare 3 for your personal playstyle.

We've went over the three best SMGs you can use in Warzone and Modern Warfare 3 below, including how to unlock them and what their ideal attachments are.

For more help, check out our pages on the best assault rifles, best sniper rifles, and how to level up fast.

Best SMGs in Warzone and Modern Warfare 3

Going off their base stats, potential with attachments, and community observations and place in the current meta of best weapons, the three best SMGs we recommend using in Warzone and Modern Warfare 3: the Striker, WSP Swarm, and Rival-9, with the Striker being the best SMG out of the three.

Keep in mind that although we've based this page off raw stats and community observations, our best SMG picks are subjective. They may not necessarily be ones you agree with or find the best to use.

With that in mind, here's more detailed information on the three best SMGs in Warzone and Modern Warfare 3:

Note: Some weapons are balanced with different values and numbers in Warzone and MW3, so we've provided the base stats for each mode - if the mode isn't stated for a particular statistic, that means it's the same across both modes.

Striker

How to unlock: Reach player Level 4

Base Rate of Fire: 645.2 rpm

Base ADS Speed: 215 ms

Base Damage: 46 Headshot, 39 Upper Torso, 36 Lower Torso

Base Range: 12.7m for effective damage range (9.7m in MW3), and 35.6m for minimum damage range, with 540 m/s Bullet Velocity

This weapon is our pick for the best SMG to use in Warzone and Modern Warfare 3 for both its effectiveness at short and medium-range, depending on your build. If you played the original Modern Warfare 2, you'll be more familiar with its old name, the UMP-45. It plays a lot like this old UMP-45, but the biggest difference is increased difficulty in just using its iron sights, so we recommend equipping an Optic to make up for this.

You need the right build to make use of this powerful SMG, so here's our recommended attachments for the Striker in Warzone and Modern Warfare 3:

• Optics: MK. 23 Reflector
• Barrel: Striker Recon Long Barrel
• Stock: FSS Titan Stock
• Rear Grip: FTAC G-5 Exo
• Ammunition: .45 Auto High Grain Rounds

If you'd like more of a close-range build, then swap out the FSS Titan for the Lachmann MK2 Light Stock.

For more details on how to play the Striker, check out our dedicated Striker loadout page.

WSP Swarm

How to unlock: Reach player level 27

Base Rate of Fire: 1090.9 rpm

Base ADS Speed: 175 ms

Base Damage in Warzone: 29 Headshot, 27 Upper Torso, 27 Lower Torso

Base Range in Warzone: 6.3m for effective damage range and 35.6m for minimum damage range, with 450 m/s Bullet Velocity

Base Damage in MW3: 33 Headshot, 30 Upper Torso, 30 Lower Torso

Base Range in MW3: 4.6m for effective damage range and 34.3m for minimum damage range, with 450 m/s Bullet Velocity

Standing out to me very early on in MW3's early days, I was curious to see how the WSP Swarm would play out over time and sure enough, with the launch of Season 1 and Warzone and a couple of buffs to its handling, it's slowly rising as a popular pick among many.

It's an SMG with a very high rate of fire and one that might take some getting used to, but in the right hands, it can be very strong indeed, and has flown up in popularity over the last couple of weeks.

To get the most out of its impressive close-range potential, below are the attachments we're recommending for the WSP Swarm in Warzone and Modern Warfare 3:

• Optic: Slimline Pro or Player Preference
• Barrel: WSP Infiltrator Integrated Suppressor
• Underbarrel: Bruen Heavy Support Grip
• Stock: FSS Fortress Heavy Stock
• Ammunition: 9MM High Grain Rounds

If you're wanting to lean even more into a close-range, bullet-hell build, you could always throw on the WSP Akimbo Brace Stock Conversion Kit, allowing you to wield two WSP Swarms at one time - keep in mind, this will mean lots of recoil, so this will no doubt take even more getting used to than the gun on its own!

For more on the WSP Swarm and how to build the best class to complement it in Warzone and MW3, be sure to check out our best loadouts page.

Rival-9

How to unlock: Reach player Level 25 and make its associated challenge 'Active' at the Armory, then complete any combination up to three of the following: win a match (repeatable), or complete daily challenges (three per day)

Base Rate of Fire: 909.1 rpm

Base ADS Speed: 190 ms

Base Damage in Warzone: 32 Headshot, 27 Upper Torso, 27 Lower Torso

Base Damage in MW3: 37 Headshot, 31 Upper Torso, 31 Lower Torso

Base Range: 14m for effective damage range (10.2m in MW3) and 45.7m for minimum damage range, with 450 m/s Bullet Velocity

Another speedy SMG, the Rival-9 is a gun added in the Modern Warfare 3 era. For now, we think the WSP Swarm and Striker outperforms the Rival-9 for silent close-range effectiveness, but they aren't far off. As they are all new weapons however, they are all more likely to have a greater focus when it comes to future weapon balances and nerfs, so this may get shaken up over time.

To get the most out of its close-range potential, here's our recommended attachments for the Rival-9 in Warzone and Modern Warfare 3:

• Barrel: Rival-38E Fire Starter Barrel
• Underbarrel: XRK Edge BW-4 Handstop
• Rear Grip: Rival Vice Assault Grip
• Muzzle: Monolithic Suppressor S
• Magazine: 40 Round Mag

For more details on how to play the Rival-9, check out our dedicated Rival-9 loadout page.

Good luck racking up those SMG kills in Warzone and Modern Warfare 3!