Warzone 2 / MW2: Best LMGs Tier List

Light Machine Guns, or LMG’s, provide heavy sustained fire with their large ammunition count. In the latest release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2, players will no doubt be looking to find out which LMG’s are worth leveling up. We’ve learned the stats for all Light Machine Guns, and we are here to share that info with you – thus providing insight as to which gun would be best to use in any given scenario.

Related: Modern Warfare 2 Meta: Best Assault Rifles Tier List

We’ve ranked each Light Machine Gun and placed them into tiers, all based on their performance in Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2. Modern Warfare 2 will likely see many updates in the coming months. Therefore, we will continue to update this tier list to reflect any changes that push one weapon up or down on the list. Make sure to save this page to stay up to date for any changes.

Updated by Nathan Round on 21st July 2023: We have reassessed each weapon within the LMG category, and have adjusted the list according to the changes made to each weapon – following various patches introduced since the launch of Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2.

Warzone 2 / Modern Warfare 2 Gun Ranking Criteria

This tier list ranks the guns according to the following criteria:

1. Time-To-Kill
2. Recoil Control and Stability
3. Damage Range
4. Mobility
5. Bullet Velocity

COD Modern Warfare 2 & Warzone 2 LMG Tier List

Best LMG In Warzone 2 & MW2 – Light Machine Guns

RPK

For an accurate player who can land those close-range headshots, the RPK is going to be the best LMG – which just narrowly beats the slow heavy hitting RAAL MG. Interestingly, it also has the fastest TTK for limb shots out of all the LMGs, but the lowest for the upper torso. For mid-to-long-range, it sees an average TTK performance. The RPK also sports the second-best level of handling and mobility, while still maintaining decent levels of range and recoil control. Definitely a solid choice for most scenarios.

Related: Modern Warfare 2: Best PC Settings For Better Performance

RAAL MG

The RAAL MG is a heaviest-hitting Light Machine, sporting the highest level of damage among its weapon type. Though this weapon does bear an extremely low fire rate, it possesses the best range, accuracy, and recoil control for the LMG category. The RAAL MG is quite literally one of the best LMGs for the long-range meta in Warzone 2. However, the biggest drawback of this gun is how sluggish it feels, giving it the lowest level of handling and mobility – which puts you at a disadvantage for close-quarters combat.

Great LMGs for Warzone 2 & MW2 – Light Machine Guns

Sakin MG3B

The Sakin MG3B is a pretty decent choice, especially given that it is a default weapon unlock. It sees the best use in long-range encounters, but can still be used to good effect in mid-range fights. In fact, it sports the second-best level of damage, range, and recoil control among its weapon category. Much like other weapons, it bears a very slow reload speed, just behind the heavy-hitting RAAL MG for a partial reload – but falls behind for an even worse empty reload.

556 Icarus

The 556 Icarus may not be the best LMG to use at a distance, as virtually every other weapon of its type has a higher level of damage and range. However, despite this major weakness for the 556 Icarus, it makes up for it in other areas. This nifty Light Machine Gun sports the highest level of mobility, along with one of the best levels of handling. These two major factors, along with its fast fire rate, make the 556 Icarus the best choice for close-range encounters.

Good LMG MW2 / Warzone 2 – Light Machine Guns

HCR 56

The HCR 56 follows close behind the 556 Icarus, having a slight performance boost in the 40-50m range. It performs decently up close, but is one of the worst long-range LMG’s. With its high rate of fire and fastest reload time, it is by no means a bad choice. However, the 556 Icarus is in fact a slightly better choice for most scenarios. Unfortunately, it also suffers from a low total number of down potential per magazine, making it rank pretty low on this list.

Worst LMG In MW2 / Warzone 2 – Light Machine Guns

RAPP H

The RAPP H finds itself in an unfortunate position as one of the worst choices for the LMG category. It doesn’t excel at anything in particular, sporting the lowest damage per bullet among all the weapons in its category. Additionally, with its smaller ammo count, it has the lowest potential for downs per reload. Its handling is also quite slow, only narrowly beating the hard-hitting RAAL MG. The kicker for the RAPP H however, is its poor level of recoil control – which can be pretty hard to handle when firing at opponents beyond mid-range.

Next: Modern Warfare 2 Meta: Best SMGs Tier List