Black Ops 6 SMGs at Launch

With the recent release of Call of Duty Black Ops 6, a wide array of new weapons are now available to choose from.

There are more than 30 extraordinary weapons to discover and add to your ideal loadout. One of the most popular weapon classes for any veteran player of the franchise is the SMG.

These fast and compact weapons can fire numerous bullets in a short time, making them perfect for medium- and especially close-range encounters. These weapons are extremely lethal, quickly accumulating kill streaks and surprising the enemies. 

All the while, the player retains speed and can keep moving around the map to find their next target. There are a total of six SMGs to pick from in this title. Here are the best Black Ops 6 SMGs.

6. Tanto.22

By default, this weapon comes with four magazines of 30 bullets each. In the case of the Tanto.22, there’s no real need to increase the magazine size, but it’s advisable to increase its firing speed slightly.

Thanks to its low fire rate, it has almost no recoil, making it perfect for extended shooting range. With a decent weapon sight, it could even destroy targets from a considerable distance.

It’s not the most recommended SMG on the list, but it has various aspects that will undoubtedly be advantageous for certain types of players.

A loadout with this weapon won’t rely so much on movement speed but rather on avoiding being spotted on the map and finding specific spots to shoot from.

Among the features that stand out most for this weapon are its handling and mobility. Without a doubt, it’s one of the most accurate SMGs in Black Ops 6. Although it doesn’t seem like a particularly precise weapon based on its base stats, this changes significantly in practice.

Pros

• Good accuracy
• Solid base handling and mobility
• Effective at long range

Cons

• Low fire rate
• Slow to reload
• Not very fast

5. KSV

For the second SMG that can be unlocked after the default option, the KSV is an extremely fast weapon with very low recoil.

To unlock this Call of Duty weapon, you must reach level 7 in the multiplayer mode. This weapon also comes with 30 bullets in its four basic magazines.

In the case of this Black Ops 6 SMG, it’s recommended to use the extended magazine attachment to increase mag capacity to 40 bullets. Due to its high fire rate, it will consume bullets quickly, so this magazine is essential to balance any loadout with the KSV.

It has excellent mobility for any loadout using Enforcer perks and, from the start, provides high mobility and handling, making it ideal for close-range encounters.

However, among its disadvantages, it has low firepower, meaning it will need many bullets to take down an enemy. Its accuracy isn’t the best either, so it’s not recommended for anything beyond close encounters.

Among the recommended attachments for this weapon, rapid-fire is important, and as for sights, it’s best to leave it without one. The Overkill Wildcard pairs this weapon best with another primary weapon that has a greater range than the KSV. It is recommended to use it with an assault rifle.

Pros

• Incredible fire rate
• Great base handling and mobility for fast classes
• Almost no recoil

Cons

• Low accuracy beyond close range
• Low damage per bullet
• Not suitable for larger maps

4. Kompakt 92

This is the last SMG you’ll unlock by playing multiplayer at level 49. Like most SMGs in Black Ops 6, this one also has four magazines with 30 bullets each. This weapon is among the best in its category in terms of handling. This is immediately evident when you observe that it essentially has no recoil.

Among the features of the Kompakt 92, it’s a weapon that can function well at medium and short range, making it much more versatile compared to other smaller submachine guns. You can even add scope to it to eliminate enemies at a considerable distance. All this takes advantage of its zero recoil.

Another standout feature of this weapon is its mobility; in contrast, its accuracy isn’t the best, but in practice, it doesn’t seem to be quite that bad.

Another advantage of this submachine gun is that it has excellent base firepower, meaning it needs far fewer bullets to take down its target.

When you combine these advantages with an extended magazine, this SMG can significantly impact combat, excelling in all map classes, not just the smaller ones. Another noticeable thing when using this weapon is that it reloads quite slowly compared to others in the same category.

Pros

• High precision
• Good handling and accuracy
• Suitable for medium and short range

Cons

• Low fire rate
• Slow to reload
• Limited speed handling

3. Jackal PDW

Currently, many veteran players are choosing the Jackal PDW as their meta SMG for most of their loadouts. To unlock this SMG, you’ll need to reach level 43 in Black Ops 6 multiplayer. This SMG also comes with four base magazines of 30 bullets each.

Among its basic features, the most notable are its handling and mobility, which are practically the same. They’re among the best and highest of all the available submachine guns in Call of Duty.

One of the most prominent features of this weapon among its accessories is the option to equip it with an extended magazine holding up to 50 bullets. This quantity of bullets can make a real difference in a multiplayer match.

This accessory literally makes this weapon unstoppable, allowing you to take down practically an entire team without even reloading. Using all Enforcer-type perks, a loadout with this weapon as the main one can be devastating in a small map match.

It has a bit more recoil than most SMGs and doesn’t have as much base firepower. However, its spectacular speed compensates for these shortcomings, making it an ideal weapon for a speed-based loadout.

Obviously, medium and small maps are the best places to use this weapon. Make use of as many mobility-related benefits as you can. The use of the Jackal PDW in the medium range is not recommended.

Pros

• Extraordinary fire rate
• Spectacular speed
• Large magazine capacity

Cons

• High recoil
• Low precision
• Only useful at close range

2. PP-919

Despite the fact that this SMG doesn’t have as much firepower compared to other submachine guns from this category, it makes up for it with outstanding accuracy and very low recoil when shooting.

Black Ops 6 multiplayer mode unlocks the PP-919 at level 37. Additionally, the PP-919 breaks the formula by coming with only two magazines, each holding 64 bullets instead of the usual four. This makes it the submachine gun with the highest base capacity in the entire game.

Due to its unique magazine design, one downside is that it reloads quite slowly. However, with its 64 bullet capacity, it practically eliminates the need for constant reloading.

One of the attachments to consider for this SMG is a quick magazine, which reduces the capacity to 50 bullets but reloads much faster.

The most notable characteristic of the PP-919 in this Call of Duty is its extremely high handling capability. On the other hand, its accuracy and mobility are also quite high, making it extremely balanced within the submachine gun category.

Although it will require a considerable number of bullets to eliminate each target, its high magazine capacity will counterbalance this disadvantage.

Its recoil is practically nonexistent, so it will all depend on accuracy when eliminating an enemy, even if it means losing many more bullets than necessary. This weapon is not recommended for medium- or large-range shooting.

Pros

• Almost no recoil
• Good accuracy
• Superb magazine capacity 

Cons

• Slow reload 
• Low firepower 
• Low accuracy at mid-range 

1. C9

Currently, it is considered one of the most used submachine guns in the Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 meta. This weapon category unlocks the SMG C9 by default, making it one of the most frequently used weapons in the early stages of multiplayer mode. It also comes with four magazines of 30 bullets each.

Although it’s available by default, the best attachments take time to unlock, but they will be key to improving the use and handling of this weapon.

The base C9 has incredible mobility and handling, making it one of the highest among all submachine guns in the game. Its accuracy is also quite considerable compared to other stats.

It doesn’t have as efficient a fire rate as other SMGs, but it compensates for this by dealing much more damage with each bullet, not requiring as many to kill an enemy.

It is quite accurate at medium and close range. One of its drawbacks is that it reloads rather slowly for a submachine gun.

Being significantly larger than other submachine guns, its accuracy and recoil are significantly high, and when equipped with a decent sight, it can perform well on a medium-sized map, resulting in a more balanced loadout.

Equipping it with an extended magazine can give it up to 40 bullets, making it much more devastating in a match, as it requires very few bullets to eliminate targets.

Pros

• Low recoil 
• Great accuracy and base firepower 
• Effective at medium and close range

Cons 

• Slow reload
• Slow fire rate 
• Average speed 

What’s your favorite weapon in Call of Duty Black Ops 6? Let us know in the comments!