This guide will detail the two best weapons in Battlefield 2042, what you can use as a backup or for fun, and what you can avoid. Be aware this guide doesn’t cover Portal, as most guns are usable there.
The Best Weapons in Battlefield 2042
If you want to use the most powerful weapons in 2042, you have two choices: the PP-29 and the SVK. Both are effective in almost any engagement and are significantly overtuned as of writing. However, technically the best tool in your arsenal isn’t a gun at all.
The most powerful weapon on the battlefield is a vehicle. Any vehicle, provided you are mildly proficient at driving it. It doesn’t matter if you’re on land or in the air. Every car, truck, tank, helicopter, and hovercraft will melt infantry — and other vehicles — with ease. Your choice depends on whether you want to trade sheer firepower for maneuverability.
An M1 Abrams tank is undoubtedly a bigger target, but it has the killing power to match its size. Played correctly, a single tank can hold down an entire sector on its own. It also demands the attention of at least one whole squad. It also two-shots almost any other vehicle, forcing the lighter, faster ones to disengage before becoming a larger nuisance. A heavy tank can also single-handedly cut certain maps in half, holding down an important sightline with its main and secondary guns.
Size isn’t everything, of course. A smaller, faster vehicle like a truck or hovercraft can harass multiple sectors with its speed. Even with the basic machine gun, it can mow down footsoldiers and lightly-armor vehicles with little effort. That same maneuverability also lets them get away from dangerous engagements and drive circles around the lumbering tanks.
If you want unlimited power, though, I suggest getting your butt into a Nightbird or Apache helicopter and strafing a single point the entire match. Pick one of the most contested zones on the map, like C and D on Orbital, and stay just high enough that regular rockets have trouble hitting you.
Pull a strafing run across high-value areas, and don’t hesitate to take on land vehicles either. All helicopters come equipped with missiles, and the heavy ones have a good twelve or so per volley. Don’t hesitate to use them.
The Best Guns in Battlefield 2042
If you’re on foot, there are only two guns in all of 2042 worth your time: the PP-29 (unlocked at level 18) and the SVK (unlocked at level 14).
Best Submachine Gun
The PP-29 is essentially an assault rifle with a 54-round magazine and a faster rate of fire. It has negligible recoil, a relatively small amount of bloom, and range far exceeding what SMGs should be capable of. Most of all, its damage output exceeds the other two SMGs by several factors.
The PP-29 kills in about half the time of the PDX-45. The only contender for its throne is the K30, but since that weapon defaults to only 20 rounds per magazine, the PP-29 is automatically better. The K30 is also more difficult to handle past close-to-medium range, where the PP-29 is usable far past that.
If you’re looking for an off-meta SMG, the PDX-45 is an easy recommendation. It’s the slowest firing SMG, but it packs a punch to make up for it. A solid headshot multiplayer and its immediate availability to any player makes it an excellent choice for early in your 2042 career and long after.
Best DMR
The PP-29 is the definitive up-close choice, but plenty of maps in Battlefield 2042 call for long-range engagements. Even at medium range, sometimes an SMG or assault rifle won’t do. For these situations, or any fight if your aim’s good enough, the SVK will carry you to the top of the leaderboards.
The simple reason is its stopping power. It doesn’t matter if your enemy is armored or not, or if they’re 200 meters out. The SVK will take them down in two shots. It’s also semi-automatic, so if you find yourself in a sniper duel and the enemy doesn’t land an immediate headshot, you’re going to win that fight every time.
The SVK is also usable at closer ranges, though you’ll need to have both quick reaction times and great aim. I have neither, usually, and even my mediocre butt can turn on someone before their full-auto gun can finish the job.
If you don’t want to, or can’t, use the SVK, the DM7 is a solid alternative. Its main draw is the 15-round magazine and three-shot kill potential out to ridiculous ranges. The DM7 is easy to control, as well, so while you won’t be outshooting an SVK with it, it will give you the upper hand against almost any other weapon not at point-blank range.
The Best of the Rest
At least in the current meta, none of the other guns in Battlefield 2042 are worth talking about. All of them pale in comparison to those listed above. Your only reason for using them should be to level them up for fun or to try out something new.
Sniper Rifle
The NTW-50, unlocked at level 60, offers the greatest one-hit-kill potential across its class. The main drawback is its very slow rate of fire and the size of the magazine: just three bullets per.
You’re unlikely to use this thing outside of medium-to-long range, so the main reason for equipping it is to do as snipers have done throughout Battlefield’s history: sit on a hill or rooftop and take pot shots.
Assault Rifle
None of the ARs in 2042 are standout options. Of the group, the starting M5A3 is the best option, thanks to its predictable recoil, solid stopping power, and general ease of use.
The M5A3 isn’t great at any one thing, but doesn’t suffer anywhere either. As the gun around which all others were probably balanced is a good choice for any situation, just not the best choice.
LMG
Of the two options, the LCMG is a clear choice. It’s easier to control and has better stats all around. Pop a bipod on the thing and you become a stationary machine of death, able to hold down a sightline all by yourself, provided you don’t run up against an SVK or get snuck up on by a PP-29.
Utility Weapon
Sure, the lever-action GVT 45-70 is a fun gun to use, but the 12M Auto, called the Saiga 12 Gauge in previous games, remains the best in class for one reason: you can spam the thing.
If your gameplay stays in close range, this gun, unlocked at level 44, gives you eight rounds of buckshot by default. Not the greatest at one-shot-kills, it makes up for it by putting buckshot downrange. No one will like you for using it, but that’s half the fun, isn’t it?
Sidearm
Your backup weapon will never replace the SMGs or DMRs or whatever else, but the MP28 is the best option out of the three sidearms to choose from. It’s got a serviceable range, works well from either the hip or ADS. The 11-round magazine is a little disheartening, but you’ll be using the MP28 primarily as a clean-up option, so that amount is more than enough for one kill.
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Take a look at our other Battlefield 2042 guides here on GameSkinny.
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