LMGs play an important role in the meta in Black Ops 6and using the best LMG gear will allow you to easily dominate both mid-range and long-range weapon fights.

Most of the LMGs in Modern Warfare 3 were weak and left a lot to be desired, but this is not the case in BO6. From this year Call of duty the game has some fantastic machine guns that can go head to head even with the best assault rifles available.

However, they are not all equally powerful, with some standing out more than others. Here are our recommendations for the best LMG loadouts in Black Ops 6, as well as where they all rank from best to worst.

The best LMG loadouts in BO6

1. XMG

Dexerto

• Optical: Kepler Microflex
• Bot: Compensator
• Underbarrel: Ranger Foregrip
• Rear handle: Ergonomic handle
• Fire modes: 7.62 NATO FMJ

The XMG is the best overall LMG because it deals a lot of damage, has a large damage range, and comes with a huge 100 round magazine by default. This is a remarkably well-rounded weapon that outperforms several assault rifles, including some of the most powerful in the game. Even if you’re not necessarily an LMG user normally, this is worth a try.

One big advantage the XMG has over the other two submachine guns is that its recoil is much more forgiving, and this is especially true if you use our recommended gear. The compensator on this build makes it laser accurate even at extreme distances, which is perfect for dominating larger maps like Red Card, Scud, and Vorkuta.

2. PU21

Dexerto

• Optical: Kepler Microflex
• Bot: Compensator
• Underbarrel: Vertical vertical handle
• Rear handle: Ergonomic handle
• Fire modes: Recoil springs

With a kill time of only 240ms, the PU21’s main strength is its outstanding damage. It is not only the fastest LMG in Black Ops 6, but also the fourth fastest kill weapon in the entire game. That’s not bad at all when you consider that it has a 75-round mag and noticeably better handling than the other two options, which helps if you want to play more aggressively.

The main problem with the PU21 is that its high recoil limits its effective range. The first shots it fires have a lot of vertical kick, which is not a recipe for a high-precision weapon. It still works well at close and medium range, but loses out to assault rifles beyond that due to its sporadic recoil. I recommended fitting a compensator to partially mitigate this and make the PU21 more accurate.

3. GPMG-7

Dexerto

• Optical: Kepler Microflex
• Bot: Compensator
• Underbarrel: Ranger Foregrip
• Rear handle: Quickdraw Grip
• Stock: Balanced stock

Unfortunately, the GPMG-7 is not a good weapon and you want to avoid using it when possible. From its small magazine to its high recoil and slow TTK, there aren’t many reasons to choose this LMG over its competition. He even has the worst maneuverability of the three, so it’s not like you can run and gun with him to take advantage of his rapid fire rate.

If you insist on using the GPMG-7, equipping both the Compensator and the Quickdraw grip is a must to improve recoil and maneuverability. With both of these attachments, it becomes a decent enough weapon that can hold its own. However, no build will make the GPMG-7 better than the XMG or even the PU21, so LMG enthusiasts are better off using one of these.

All Black Ops 6 LMGS Ranked

There are currently only three LMGs in Black Ops 6 at launch, each with a different role and offering unique strengths and weaknesses.

Here’s how they stack up against each other, as well as each of their TTKs and max damage range values:

Meta-analysis

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The XMG is currently the best LMG is Black Ops 6 and it’s not particularly close. This versatile machine gun offers an extremely competitive time to kill, while also having the best damage range and lowest recoil of any of the options available. This makes it by far the most complete option in this category of the three available at launch.

To be fair, PU21 is also a good candidate. While not as full as the XMG, its TTK of just 240ms is amazingly fast by BO6’s standards. As long as you get the first shot in, most other weapons won’t beat you one on one. However, the higher recoil can make landing these shots difficult at times, especially if you want to compete at long range.

Last but not least, the GPMG-7 is not a good weapon in its current state. Not only does it have by far the worst recoil of the three LMGs, but it also has the slowest kill time and lowest magazine capacity. The only thing it has going for it is that it can fire at 909 RPM, but that alone isn’t anywhere near enough to justify using it over its two superior competitors.

For more options to use on your next upload, see the best SMGs and our list of weapon tiers which breaks down all the top options in Black Ops 6. Also, make sure you use either best controller settings or the best settings for mouse and keyboard to land shots more easily, whichever input you prefer.