The Most Overpowered Guns In Call Of Duty Games
Call of Duty doesn't mess around when it comes to the weapons that define its single-player campaigns and competitive multiplayer events. While the series consistently tinkers with its formula, one thing has remained constant: the desire to create a loadout of guns that are varied, exciting to use, and balanced.
While the series has rarely struggled with the first two, however, the latter characteristic has been a difficult one to get right. Call of Duty has had its fair share of broken, over-the-top weapons that have completely smothered competitive play, and it seems like nearly every entry in the franchise has flirted with disaster thanks to a dominant gun. They might be difficult to deal with while they're here, but they're typically fond, funny memories after they've finally been nerfed into the ground, so here's our collection of the most overpowered guns in Call of Duty games.
OSA - Infinite Warfare
The OSA combat rifle existed in other forms before Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, but it was this variant of the weapon that truly broke things down on a multiplayer level. The gun's high rate of fire and attached grenade launcher made it incredibly flexible, especially in close quarters.
While that doesn't sound like a weapon that's overpowered, it's important to keep in mind that a lot of competitive Call of Duty is played in tight spaces, as teams converge on each other at certain choke points to prevent pincer attacks or other formational disadvantages. At times in Infinite Warfare's early competitive meta, there would be eight of eight players wielding the OSA in a match, a clear sign of imbalance.
Luckily for those playing the game at a high level, the OSA was eventually banned from competitive tournaments — after a patch was released that was specifically designed to lower its effectiveness. The gun was simply too fast and easy to use, often causing games to devolve into a rotating death pit of two teams wielding OSAs and spraying bullets at anything that moved nearby. The Infinite Warfare variant of the OSA will live on forever as one of the scariest guns in competitive play.
Akimbo Model 1887 - Modern Warfare 2
The Akimbo Model 1887 is still whispered about in some circles. Those who played multiplayer Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will remember the viciousness of this shotgun, which had a strangely quick rate of fire and a range that was way too ambitious for something with the stopping power of a shotgun.
What makes the gun most memorable, and overpowered, though, is the Akimbo perk that players could take that allowed them to dual-wield two of the Akimbo Model 1887 at once. Prior to patches, it was considered to be the strongest shotgun in the game, as well as the best overall weapon for those looking for a competitive edge.
Interestingly enough, it took two patches to remove the Akimbo Model 1887 from a competitive play mainstay. Patch 1.07 was supposed to decrease the range of the weapon, which is what made it such an overpowered shotgun, drastically. A mistake made during the patch didn't actually remove the range of the Akimbo, though, meaning its reign of terror lasted a little longer while the developers scrambled to implement Patch 1.08, which would finally see the Akimbo supplanted by the SPAS-12.
That won't stop the occasional nightmares of an opponent barreling down on us with one of these in each hand, though. Unfortunately, those can't be patched out.
FAL - Black Ops 2
The FAL OSW is a unique case in absolutely broken weapons in Call of Duty history. At the start of Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, the FAL OSW was actually a pretty middling semi-automatic assault rifle that specialized in high damage output. The only thing truly holding it back from premier status within the game was a recoil pattern that was just difficult enough to work with that its accuracy, combined with a shorter two-shot-kill range, that made it just on the edge of competitive stardom.
Then, players clapped on the Select Fire attachment, an attachment that reduces recoil and makes the pattern much easier to discern, allowing for optimal crosshair placement even during combat. The FAL OSW, seemingly overnight, became a staple of competitive play, so much so that it began to threaten the competitive viability of the Black Ops 2 meta.
Understandably, Treyarch stepped in fairly quickly, nerfing the gun after it had threatened to make Black Ops 2 nearly unwatchable from a spectator standpoint. Leagues had already banned the weapon by the time Treyarch adjusted it, but for the brief moment in time that the FAL OSW reigned supreme over Call of Duty, it was a truly overpowered weapon that deserves its place in any discussion of the most powerful weapons in Call of Duty history.
MP40 - World at War
The MP40 is a weapon that needs little introduction, having been at the center of many controversies during Call of Duty: World at War's reign in the series. While Call of Duty has never been the best at balancing its weapons (as this article can attest to), there have been few weapons so egregiously offensive to the notion of competitive multiplayer as the MP40 was during its heyday.
The MP40 is a submachine gun with decent accuracy but exceptionally good handling and power. The damage output of the weapon was completely in a class of its own for SMGs, and its early unlock time and extreme flexibility made it a staple for anyone who considered themselves a competitive player. Spray and pray was the name of the game with this weapon at lower levels, too, as players typically just needed to fire in the direction of a few enemies to be rewarded with a double-kill with little effort.
The biggest problem? The MP40 is one of the few weapons on this list that was never patched. It's a weapon that gutted the multiplayer viability of other SMGs for the entirety of World at War's lifecycle, frustrating players to no end while they waited for the next iteration in the series.
Famas - Black Ops
The FAMAS was the weapon of choice for competitive Call of Duty: Black Ops play, especially on the MLG circuit. It's a fully automatic assault rifle with incredibly fast firing speed and very little recoil, meaning that it's an efficient and flexible choice for anyone looking to kill fast with accuracy. It also has a range that makes it well-suited to long- and short-range combat, and because it's firing speed is so quick, it also plays good offense and defense.
Naturally, being good at basically everything someone could want in a Call of Duty game means that the FAMAS was way too strong for Black Ops. Part of that could be attributed to the fact that Call of Duty: Black Ops actually had a pretty poor gun selection for the most part, featuring some of the most balanced but watered down versions of popular weapons up until that point. Players didn't have a lot of great choices to work with, so the FAMAS was even more revered than normal because it was so flexible without any real drawbacks except ammo starvation.
Independent of the contextual meta of Black Ops, though, the FAMAS was still the cream of the crop in this game's weapons loadout. It's recoil pattern is remembered for being particularly easy to memorize, and when a gun has that kind of accuracy for an invested player, it quickly becomes overpowered in their hands and the bane of the existence of competitive players everywhere.
Auger DMR - Black Ops 4
The Auger DMR is the most recent entry on this list and, as such, things will still need to shake out a bit more in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 before we know if it will truly live up to its potential as one of the most overpowered guns in the series. It's the earliest frontrunner we have in Black Ops 4, though, so it deserves a look, especially because it's the first gun in series history to be overpowered in the new Blackout battle royale mode.
The Auger DMR is a semi-automatic tactical rifle that is so powerful it can essentially double-down as a sniper as well. It has a slow rate of fire, but only takes three or four shots to kill an opponent and, on a bigger map like those in Blackout, it's an incredibly powerful weapon that specializes in mid-to-long range combat and thrives in both. That kind of flexibility is rather unheard of in Blackout mode, which typically features weapons with clear cut uses in specific situations.
Luckily for balance concerns, the Auger DMR is extremely rare and won't factor into decisions too often since it's difficult to get a hold of — though we could see players move toward wanting the gun nerfed anyways, since it does seem a cut above everything else going on in Blackout. Time will tell for the Auger DMR, but for now, enjoy using it to make other players miserable in Black Ops 4.
MSBS - Ghosts
The MSBS didn't imbalance the Call of Duty: Ghosts meta too badly, as it fluctuated between whichever guns got buffs from patch updates and never really saw the need to overtly nerf a bunch of different weapons that were dominating. While the MSBS isn't as godly as weapons from other series entries in that regard, however, it was rock solid and was one of the few guns that made underbarrel attachments and mods unnecessary thanks to its already high advantage, a surefire sign of a weapon on the teetering point of being broken.
The MSBS is an assault rifle with a 3 round burst, and it has a solid range of 42 meters, able to kill enemies in a few bursts even over a fair distance. It's the only default burst fire assault rifle available in Multiplayer and as such, players typically begin practicing with the MSBS very early into their Call of Duty: Ghosts careers. It also featured prominently in high-level competitive play while it was legal, as yet another case of a weapon that was just too good at too many things to be ignored for balancing purposes.
The MSBS was very clearly on another level compared to other assault rifles, and was the closest thing the game had to a weapon that probably should have been in a discussion for reduced functionality and power, getting banned from the esports side of Call of Duty: Ghosts because of its impressive all-around stats.
Vesper - Black Ops 3
The Vesper is definitely the weirdest case in the pantheon of overpowered Call of Duty guns. When Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 released, the Vesper was hardly a consideration for the best gun in the game, serving rather as a roleplayer in competitive play that had few defenders given the perceived depth of the SMG pool.
Then, the Vesper got a buff. The patch notes described it as the Vesper receiving increased recoil stability, which meant that it became easier to control for accuracy and headshots. Unfortunately, that was all it took to push the Vesper, which featured a very impressive fire rate, over the edge. Professional players even referred to it as the best submachine gun, best assault rifle, and best sniper rifle all in one. The Vesper was genuinely that terrifying, and it threatened the game's long-term health with its stifling presence.
The Vesper was eventually fixed again and its reign of terror over Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 halted, but it's the most prominent example of how the small fixes developers make to these kinds of multiplayer games can be dangerous. All it takes is a slight buff to recoil or rate of fire and an unassuming weapon can suddenly become the only viable one in competitive play.
Thundergun - Black Ops
The Thundergun is, unlike the other weapons we've discussed, not at all useable in competitive multiplayer play. It's also arguably the most memorable Zombies mode weapon ever, as well as one of the most fun to wield in series history.
The Thundergun is iconic for the way it can brutalize hordes of undead in Zombies. It can blow them into dust with strong air currents while throwing those who survive its gigantic blast radius back, stunning them for several seconds and allowing players to open fire free of any pressure.
The Thundergun is a wonder weapon, and can also be found in the Black Ops campaign during the Numbers mission, which means players do get a few different chances to wield the air-spitting cannon. It's a recommended experience, too; unlike overpowered weapons in multiplayer, which can make the game feel like a chore, the Thundergun just makes Zombies mode a riot. It's also made a few appearances in Black Ops 3 and Call of Duty Online, so we may not have seen the last of this bizarre weapon.
Kar98k - WW2
It takes a lot for a sniper rifle to be considered overpowered, since it is at its core a niche weapon that requires distance to be good and isn't typically capable of a bunch of kills all at once, making it a dangerous decision in competitive multiplayer games that can be decided in mere minutes depending on the map.
But Call of Duty: WW2 provided the iteration of the Kar98k sniper rifle that almost broke the game's online meta. Weirdly enough, it wasn't reload time, rate of fire or range that made the weapon too good, but rather its Aim Down Sight time. The ADS time on the Kar98k meant players who suddenly found themselves in close quarters still had a decent chance to get the perfect shot off, making the weapon one of the most versatile snipers ever created in Call of Duty.
The gun's ADS was nerfed to be consistent with other premier sniper rifles early into the game's life cycle, so the Kar98k only had a brief time in the sun as one of the most overpowered weapons in series history, but it was a memorable one. It's not every day snipers are being complained about relentlessly in Call of Duty forums, and we may never see it again on the same scale.