20 Call of Duty Guns That Only Good Players Could Use

Sometimes you load into a match of Call of Duty and can instantly tell a player is bad from the weapon they're using. The Lewis from COD World War II is one of those guns that gets used by bad players trying to cheese kills. This piece is about the opposite: 20 guns from COD history that only good players used, counted down to the one I consider the hardest sniper in COD history to use, the Outlaw in Black Ops 4.

20. The XR-2 Rewarded Black Ops 3 Players Who Mastered Its Burst

Let's be honest: the XR-2 was one of the most underrated weapons in Black Ops 3. This three round burst rifle was a default unlock with high base damage, and with High Caliber you could get one burst kills from almost any distance.

It wasn't popular online because the burst was slow, and Black Ops 3's movement was so dynamic that staying on target was difficult. Plus, if you were going to use a burst rifle in that game, you were using the M8A7. So an enemy loading in with an XR-2 was confident with that burst timing and ready to exploit that one burst range. XR-2 players were methodical and precise, and that made them terrifying to face.

19. The P-06 Could Wipe Out a Team in Black Ops 3

The P-06 was a charged three round burst rifle that hardly anybody used effectively, though some people were incredible with it. The charge time after you pulled the trigger made it awkward. You had to predict where your target would be one second later, which was extremely difficult to learn.

Once those three shots left the barrel, though, the damage was enormous, because every one of those bullets could insta-kill if you aimed high enough. Technically, one burst could wipe out an entire enemy team, and there are some wild clips from that era. It was a powerful gun if you dedicated the time, which not everyone was willing to do. If the other team spawned with a P-06, you were probably in trouble.

18. The Banshee Was a Guaranteed One Shot Kill in Black Ops 3

Yes, that's three Black Ops 3 picks in a row. The game had a few high skill weapons, which is one of the reasons I love it so much.

The Banshee was an awkward energy shotgun that fired a little blue slug that slowly traveled across the map, so you had to lead your shots. The payoff was a one shot kill no matter what. It was impossible to get a hit marker. Even if you hit someone in the pinky toe from 100 yards away with a suppressor equipped, they dropped the second the slug made contact. It was a rewarding gun to get good with, but hardly anybody wanted to, because it was hard to get good with.

17. The .50 GS Turned Head Flicks Into Insta-Kills in Modern Warfare

The .50 GS appeared across the Modern Warfare reboots as a modern version of the Deagle. I'm not much of a fan of the new Modern Warfare games, but I'll admit their Deagle is pretty crazy. It was portrayed as a heavy but powerful handgun capable of an insta-kill to the head at good range, and some players took full advantage.

It benefited from mouse and keyboard over a controller. If you tried to use it as a standard spammy handgun, you weren't going to have a good time: the fire rate was low and the recoil was wild. But if you were good at flicking to heads, it was arguably as good as having a sniper in your back pocket. To me, .50 GS players were pretty intimidating.

16. The Kar98k Became a Quick Scoping Favorite in Modern Warfare 2019

The Kar98k is one of the guns that has appeared the most times in COD history, and the 2019 version is probably the most beloved by the community. Unlike other versions, this one was classified as a marksman rifle rather than a sniper rifle. That gave it decent handling, but being lighter, it didn't have a big one shot kill range or handling as steady.

What it did have was a big speed boost over the other bolt action weapons, and that's what made it popular. You could move quickly with it, and if you were trying to quick scope, it was your best friend. That doesn't mean it was easy, because the small one shot kill range demanded consistent aim. People put in the work, and it's still one of the most beloved quick scoping guns in COD history despite being in a widely hated game.

15. The Widowmaker Produced Some of Infinite Warfare's Best Sniping Clips

Probably not many of you used the Widowmaker. Sniping in Infinite Warfare was difficult because the map design and mobility options were so extreme, and the Widowmaker was hard to learn on top of that. It looked like the Intervention from Modern Warfare 2, but it was a two round burst for some reason, which made it hard to stay on target through the recoil.

Much like the P-06, the Widowmaker could drop its target with a single bullet despite firing multiple bullets at once. The few people who got good at sniping in IW put up some incredible montages with it. It was one of the hardest guns in the game, but it also had some of the best potential for multi-kills. I hated the game, but I'll admit Widowmaker clips were pretty hype.

14. The Crossbow Has Been High Risk Since the Original Black Ops

The crossbow was introduced back in the original Black Ops, and ever since then it's been a high risk bonus weapon. Each version has its own quirks, and none of them are easy to use, which is why it's always weirdly terrifying to go up against somebody using one.

Some crossbows had bonus attachments. Incendiary bolts turned the target into a walking thermite grenade, and explosive tips turned the target into a mini nuke if they happened to be on a Hardpoint hill or a Domination flag. Because of the slow travel time and the arc of the bolt, the crossbow is hard to get the hang of, and you only see it used by genuinely good players. If you put hours into getting good with it, "you're a freak in a good way."

13. The Pharo Had One of the Fastest Kill Times in Black Ops 3

This was a gun I could not get the hang of, but many people in the community, including competitive players, insisted it was one of the best guns in the game because of how good it could be. The Pharo was a four round burst SMG that functioned like a shrunken down version of the M8 assault rifle.

The burst fire rate was quick, and a burst could get a near insta-kill if you hit all your shots, but the time between bursts is what got you in trouble. If you weren't good with burst weapons at close range, you were probably going to hate it. Most SMG players opted for full auto weapons since they're easier up close, but many skilled players used the Pharo religiously. It was demanding, but its time to kill was one of the fastest in the game.

12. The MORS Made Hard Sniping in Advanced Warfare Even Harder

Sniping in Advanced Warfare was hard because the movement was so fast and so vertical. If somebody noticed you aiming at them, all they had to do was hit the jump button twice to fly out of harm's way.

So not only was the MORS a sniper in a game where sniping was hard, it was a single shot sniper where you had to wait ten years between shots to reload. That's an exaggeration, but the time between shots could get you in serious trouble if your aim wasn't consistent. It was always a one shot kill, so Sledgehammer made sure you were rewarded for mastering jetpack sniping, but this was a hard gun to use.

11. The RW1 Gave Advanced Warfare Snipers a One Shot Pistol

Staying with single shot guns in Advanced Warfare, the RW1 was a single shot rail gun pistol that many snipers kept in their back pocket. I thought that was funny, because a pistol is usually meant to be your trusty spammy gun for firing a bunch of bullets at a weak enemy.

The RW1 only had one shot loaded at a time, but that shot was strong enough to kill whoever it touched. It was hard to stay on target with it. I do remember clips from the AW days of somebody going wild with the MORS and then switching to the RW1 and doing the same. It wasn't a handgun for everybody, but it was a powerful tool if you were good at the movement.

10. The MG34 Was a Skill Based Exception Among LMGs in Modern Warfare 2019

You probably didn't expect an LMG here, because LMGs are generally seen as low skill weapons, and there's nothing wrong with that. They're designed to be easy to use and good at holding down objectives. The MG34 was an exception: it had an incredible time to kill, but so many drawbacks that it could get you killed over and over if you didn't compensate.

The movement was horrible, the recoil was ridiculous, and the ammo capacity was very limited, so it didn't seem worth using. But break down the damage stats and it was one of the fastest killing guns in the game. It was a sleeper, because you had to be careful about how you built and used it. Every once in a while someone locked in with it would dominate a lobby, and there was almost nothing the enemy team could do. You rarely saw it online, but when you did, you paid attention.

9. The G3 Was One of the Best Semiautomatic Rifles in COD 4

Going way back, COD 4 was dominated by the M16 and the AK-74u, and I think the G3 took a lot more effort to stand out. It's also one of the best semiautomatic rifles in COD history, and it's a shame not many of you probably remember it. It had no fire rate cap, no recoil, and would almost always kill in two bullets with Stopping Power.

Its theoretical time to kill was much faster than the M16, but in practice you almost never saw it because the gun was semiautomatic. It had a passionate following in COD 4 and developed another during the Modern Warfare Remastered era. Compared with other semiautomatic rifles, I think it felt extra smooth and responsive. You couldn't run out onto the battlefield like with the M16 or AK-74u; you had to think about positioning and which fights you took. If you played smart, the G3's time to kill was outstanding.

8. The .410 Ironhide Was Underrated in Black Ops Cold War

I'm not sure why this gun was classified as a shotgun, because it's more of a lever action cowboy rifle. It had a solid fire rate and good damage potential, but only a small window for dealing that damage. You had to hit somebody high on their body and be quick enough to land a follow up if the first shot didn't kill.

Cold War also had a long time to kill. If you got a hit marker and let your target see where you were, they were almost certainly going to spray you with a thousand bullets before you lined up that second shot. If you could stay consistent, though, it had good handling and good potential for multi-kills. It wasn't popular because of how hard it was to use, but if you put in the time, I would call it underrated.

7. I Think the M8A1 in Black Ops 2 Is One of the Most Skill Based Rifles of the Classic Era

Some people might have called it a cheap gun back in the day, but I think the M8A1 is one of the most skill based assault rifles of the classic COD era. It was a four round burst with an awkward delay that took getting used to, and it was easy to misjudge the time between bursts, which led to a bad time.

If you got good at the timing and stayed within its effective ranges, you could shred the lobby. A good M8A1 player could get one burst kills in almost every scenario, but they had to be careful about how close they got and when they reloaded, because the reload was long unless you used Fast Mag. It's one of the most iconic competitive weapons in COD history for good reason. Not everyone could use it, but if you put in the work, it was your best friend and your team's best friend.

6. The MK2 Carbine Suited Only Confident, Aggressive Players in Modern Warfare 2019

I still remember when this game came out and everybody tried to get good with this thing, and then a few weeks later everybody gave up on it. It was a lever action rifle with a very high fire rate and amazing handling, but a tiny one shot kill range.

You had to be careful with it, especially in a game as campy as Modern Warfare. It was built for aggressive, confident players who would make very few mistakes, so hardly anybody used it online. But every once in a while you'd see somebody confidently running into every gunfight like John Wayne, and it was one of the coolest things in COD history. "Even in a game as bad as MW, this was cool."

5. The KSG Was the First and, I Think, Best Slug Weapon in Black Ops 2

The KSG is one of the hardest shotguns in COD history to use. It was the first slug weapon ever put in a Call of Duty game, and I think it's the best to this day. The hitbox was tiny, but the damage range was almost unreasonably good, and you could get one shot kills from a long way away.

The fire rate was fast, but you had to be careful about which fights you took. Even if somebody ran up in your face, you had to be sure you'd hit your first shot, because they'd punish you otherwise. If you were good at snapping onto targets and stayed consistent, getting one shot kill after one shot kill was satisfying. I also think it has one of the best shotgun firing sounds in COD history. It was chunky every time you pulled the trigger.

4. The Trek-50 Rewarded a Few Dedicated Infinite Warfare Snipers

Be honest if you don't remember this gun existed. The Trek-50 was a single shot sniper rifle similar to the MORS from Advanced Warfare, added to Infinite Warfare a few months after launch. Many people missed it because they had already tuned out of the game.

Remember, sniping in Infinite Warfare was hard on its own. Imagine sniping in that game with a gun that had a painfully slow fire rate but killed instantly regardless of where you hit the target. There were a few monsters out there who put in the hours to master the handling and take full advantage of the Trek's stopping power, and I respect that.

3. The Ballista Demanded Aggressive Quick Scoping in Black Ops 2

You knew this one would be near the top. The Ballista was a bolt action sniper with silky smooth handling, a solid fire rate, good ammo capacity and a quick ADS animation. All of that was balanced by a small one shot kill range that forced you to aim high if you wanted to succeed.

After the DSR was infamously nerfed, the Ballista became the popular sniper of choice, but it wasn't nearly as easy to use because of that range. You either played slowly and cautiously with the DSR, or you forced yourself to get good at quick scoping and aggressive play with the Ballista. If you put in the time, you were a madman on the battlefield. Ballista nuke gameplays are some of the most iconic in COD history.

2. The Locus Showed Black Ops 3 Sniping Was Changing

The Locus was your starting bolt action sniper, which is wild, and it showed us COD sniping was about to change forever. Unlike previous snipers, Black Ops 3 bolt actions had no aim assist on controllers, and now everybody could run on walls and use thruster packs. Sniping was harder than ever.

Treyarch threw snipers a bone with the Locus: a fast ADS animation, a ridiculous one shot kill range, a good fire rate and a 10 round default magazine. On paper, I think it was kind of broken, but it was still extremely skill based. You had to predict when targets would jump on a wall, thrust out of the way or activate a specialist ability. There were so many moving parts that performing well seemed impossible, and yet some players did it and showed it off to their friends. I respect those players.

1. The Outlaw in Black Ops 4 Is the Hardest Sniper in COD History

At number one, I'm going with the Outlaw. It's definitely the hardest sniper in COD history to use. It had the fastest fire rate of any bolt action rifle in the series but the smallest one shot kill range. It also had a big magazine, which helped players like me who needed two, three, four or five shots to drop somebody.

If you were good at aiming and aimed high every time, the Outlaw had some of the most ridiculous potential of any sniper, especially in a game where health pools were huge and the average time to kill was long. I didn't play a lot of Black Ops 4, I'll admit, but whenever a good Outlaw gameplay showed up in my feed, I'd stop for it. It was impressive.

You absolutely had to be good with your aim, or it made you a sitting duck in every engagement. Its potential was absurd, but only a good player could unlock it. If you weren't a decent sniper, you weren't going to be good with the Outlaw, and if you saw someone on the other team running it, you knew you were in for a rough time.