Modern Warfare 4 worst guns: which 12 should you avoid?

Modern Warfare 4 has some weapons that just don't hold up in its current state, and I've ranked the 12 that I think are the worst. With skill based matchmaking cranked the way it is, these are guns I'd steer clear of. The list will change over time, but as things stand, these are the ones I'd leave out of my loadout.

Some of them have potential. Most everything in the game does.

12. The Apoch 338 is slow, hits softly and fights you on recoil

I can't find anything witty to say about the Apoch 338, because it simply isn't fun to use. It holds 50 rounds at once, which is great, and it fires relatively slowly for this game. You'd expect that slow fire rate to mean it hits hard, making up for the sluggish handling and the lack of bullets coming out of the barrel. Instead, you get sluggish handling, a poor time to kill and insane recoil on top.

The October 28 patch made it even worse. For whatever reason, it reduced the Apoch 338's damage at medium and long range, making an already cumbersome weapon even less appealing. Its Apex attachment converts it to a semiautomatic weapon with a 10 round belt, but that feels like taking a weapon that's already difficult to use and giving it an entirely different set of problems. The Apoch probably has potential, but I don't want to spend an entire match fighting my own weapon.

11. The Crate P68 pistol gives you no reason to pick it

The Crate P68 is a semiautomatic .45 caliber pistol with a 10 round magazine and a relatively controlled rate of fire. On paper, that sounds like a perfectly reasonable sidearm. But this is Call of Duty, where the average gunfight involves somebody sprinting around a corner and spraying enough bullets to kill the whole team twice over.

The Crate's biggest problem is that it doesn't offer enough of a reason to choose it over the other pistols. You're working with a small mag, a slower fire rate cap and the need to place your shots instead of holding the trigger and hoping. Its Commando Apex attachment adds an integrated tactical knife, which I think is an interesting gimmick, and it can occasionally make you feel like you're using Commando Pro, which I think is what they were going for. But when a pistol needs to bring a knife to a gunfight to seem appealing, that's not a good sign. A player with good aim can make it work, but I'd rather have a secondary that works without asking me to get excited about a bonus knife.

10. The Pila launcher tries to do everything and does nothing well

The Pila is constantly getting negative attention in the new Modern Warfare games. It has shown up in, I think, every one of them, and it's never good. It's supposed to be the hybrid of free fire and lock on that most Call of Duty games have, but it's extremely slow and extremely unreliable against human players. The reload animation feels like it takes six business days, so good luck getting more than one shot off without getting killed.

If you want something to shoot down killstreaks, there are better options. If you want something to blow enemy players apart, there are better options too. If you're looking for a jack of all trades launcher, accept that you don't get one. Commit to shooting down streaks or commit to shooting enemies. The Pila tries to do both and isn't good at either.

9. The 50GS Desert Eagle is underwhelming again

Another Modern Warfare game, another Desert Eagle, and once again it's underwhelming. I think the last time we got a good one was all the way back in Modern Warfare 2019. Ever since then, the 50GS has been clunky and awkward, and the Modern Warfare 4 version is no different. It fires enormous .50 caliber rounds, carries seven shots in the magazine and delivers serious stopping power when you can control the recoil.

The problem is that controlling the recoil is an important part of the equation. It's a slow firing pistol that demands accurate shot placement, and missing even a couple of shots can leave you in an uncomfortable position while someone with a fully automatic primary empties half their mag into you. Its Magna Apex attachment turns it into a fully automatic .50 caliber sidearm with a far more aggressive rate of fire, but the weapon description practically comes with a warning label about accuracy. It's entertaining, but when you need to win consistently, there are better choices.

8. The PM40 Anvil grenade launcher is too niche to be worth it

The PM40 Anvil is a pump action grenade launcher designed for room clearing. It carries three rounds with six more in reserve and fires at approximately 38 rounds per minute. When I hear the phrase pump action grenade launcher, I imagine something that can turn an entire room into a scene from an action movie.

To be fair, the Anvil can hit extremely hard at close and medium range. The problem is that its slow fire rate and limited ammo make it unforgiving. You get three shots before you're forced to reload, and if they don't do what you intended, you're in trouble with somebody already charging at you with an SMG. It also unlocks at level 54, so you spend a lot of time playing before you even get it, and then it's so niche it's hardly worth equipping. I appreciate the thought, but this is a big swing and a big miss. If you want a grenade launcher that badly, put a noob tube on your primary and move on.

7. The Cronin Squall is stuck between an assault rifle and a battle rifle

The Cronin Squall is an interesting weapon for sure. It takes the battle rifle concept and gives you something that feels like a hybrid between a traditional assault rifle and a heavier marksman weapon. It fires at approximately 660 or 673 rounds per minute, uses a 20 round mag and offers the damage profile you'd expect from a more powerful rifle.

Unfortunately, that combination doesn't necessarily translate into a weapon that's fun or effective. That's a small mag for a full auto weapon, and the Squall feels caught between two roles. It doesn't have the forgiving handling of a conventional AR, and it doesn't offer the immediate payoff of a heavier hitting battle rifle. Up against weapons like the M4, that middle ground identity is a problem. It isn't necessarily a disaster, but it can feel like you're putting in far more effort to get the same results as someone using a much easier weapon. I guess that's Call of Duty in a nutshell.

6. The Warlord shotgun's slow reload outweighs its big capacity

The Warlord is a pump action 12 gauge shotgun that feeds from dual magazines, giving you a relatively generous 14 round capacity. Considering how much ammo shotguns can burn through, that's appreciated. Unfortunately, it has a significant drawback: reloading it is slow, and its overall performance doesn't always justify the inconvenience. Once you run dry, you're reminded that reloading a shotgun is not the fastest activity in the world.

Its Lumin Apex attachment adds a blinding strobe effect whenever you aim down sights, a nod to the SG12. It's a gimmick, and it doesn't solve the weapon's underlying limitations. If you try slug rounds, the October 28 update reduced their second medium damage range by 10 percent. The Warlord can be dangerous in the right circumstances, but other shotguns make close range combat much less complicated. If I'm using a shotgun, I want something that makes people regret walking into the room, not something that makes me regret having to reload it.

5. The Sang 9mm is respectable but not good enough in MW4

The Sang 9mm is a pistol designed for close quarters combat, with a relatively high rate of fire, minimal recoil and a 13 round mag. Thirteen is a strange number, and I don't know why they went with it. So why is it on this list? Because being a perfectly respectable pistol doesn't automatically make it a good weapon in Modern Warfare 4.

The Sang is built around rapid follow up shots, which makes it forgiving compared with some heavier sidearms. But its damage output and limited ammo mean you'll work much harder than someone using almost any primary. Its Breach Apex attachment adds an underbarrel shotgun for close range encounters. That's wild, and it's interesting, but it also feels like an admission that the original version needed help. It's not terrible, but it competes against weapons that deliver more firepower without you dedicating an attachment slot to turning your pistol into a miniature shotgun.

4. The Signal 50 sniper rifle is my hot take

Hear me out on this one. The Signal 50 is a .50 caliber sniper rifle with a recoil reducing reciprocating barrel, which allows easier follow up shots if you miss your first one, like I always do. It carries seven rounds at a time, which is nice for a weapon of this size. So what's the problem? It's competing in a game where sniper rifles are supposed to reward precision, and it can feel like it's trying to do too many things without being good at any of them.

The larger caliber gives it plenty of potential stopping power, but the handling and overall responsiveness make it far less appealing for aggressive players. If a sniper doesn't give you the immediate satisfaction of a quick follow up shot or the reliability of a more traditional precision weapon, you may have a difficult time justifying it in your loadout. Its Inferno Apex attachment adds incendiary ammunition and more damage against vehicles and killstreaks, but that's a very specialized benefit. It looks fantastic in the gunsmith menu, but if I'm picking a sniper, which I'm not, I'd rather feel like a deadly marksman than a guy carrying a tree trunk around. I know that's a hot take, because I think plenty of people are enjoying that gun.

3. The M9 marksman rifle wants a slower game than MW4 offers

The M9 is a semiautomatic marksman rifle designed for players who prefer a slower, more methodical approach to gunfights, which is a nice way of saying it struggles in a game like Modern Warfare 4. It carries 20 rounds, fires 315 rounds per minute and offers high damage with relatively controllable recoil. That's all well and good, but people aren't lining up in straight lines for you in this game. They're sprinting around corners, sliding into doorways and jumping over furniture like it's one giant game of the floor is lava.

The M9 can be effective at medium and long range, but its semiautomatic firing means you need to land shot after shot to keep up. The Apex attachment converts it into a fully automatic rifle, but that changes the entire character of the weapon. It wants a deliberate style of Call of Duty while the rest of the game encourages you to sprint around like the squirrel from Over the Hedge. If I wanted to spend a match carefully lining up individual shots, I'd play a different game or switch to DMZ.

2. The Mojave 357 revolver demands accuracy the game won't allow

The Mojave 357 is this game's equivalent of the .357 Magnum, and its identity revolves around devastating stopping power at close range. It carries eight rounds, fires at approximately 141 rounds per minute and has the kind of design that makes you feel like you're about to walk into a saloon and challenge someone to a duel. The average Modern Warfare 4 lobby isn't interested in that traditional western showdown, though. You face full auto rifles, high capacity SMGs and enough movement mechanics to set you up on a date with a gymnast.

The Mojave's biggest issue is that it demands accuracy and patience in situations where neither is possible. Miss a shot and you're dead. Its Lawless Apex attachment lets you fan the hammer and fire rapidly from the hip, trading precision for speed, which is eerily similar to a revolver from Infinite Warfare that functioned the same way. It's entertaining and looks cool, but it forces you to rely on luck, which is another thing you usually don't have in this game. You don't have to pretend you're Clint Eastwood in a lobby full of people using ARs.

1. The Asteroth 57 single shot sniper is the worst gun in Modern Warfare 4

The Asteroth 57 sounds like a gun from World of Warcraft. It's a sniper rifle that looks designed to make every shot count, which is unfortunate, because it only gives you about three chances to prove you can aim before sending you back to the lobby with your tail between your legs. It fires enormous rounds at supersonic velocities, and the weapon description makes clear that one clean hit is all it takes. All of Infinity Ward's visual and audio strengths are on display here.

The catch is that it's a single shot sniper rifle, so there's no room for error. I understand the appeal of eliminating someone with one clean hit, and some players enjoy that challenge. But in a game like this, missing is brutal: you're left waiting for another opportunity while the other guy is halfway through unloading his mag into you. Its Infiltrator Apex attachment uses sonar pulses to detect enemies through certain types of cover, essentially a wall hack, but it removes the ability to equip an optic, as if the developers wanted to make it even less convenient.

It might be capable of impressive things in the right hands, but for the rest of us, it's an exercise in frustration. You can tell me to get good all you want, but even the players who say that have to admit this thing is fundamentally worse than almost everything else in the game. You might feel cool with it every once in a while, but that doesn't make up for all its objective shortcomings.