Best gun in Black Ops 6 won’t be terrorizing lobbies in Open Beta

The Jackal PDW quickly emerged as the standout SMG during the Black Ops 6 Closed Beta. While it dominated almost every lobby over the first weekend, Treyarch is already on the case with nerfs at the ready.

As soon as the first Black Ops 6 Beta weekend went live, it instantly became clear what the very best weapons were. While the AMES 85 Assault Rifle led its category, the Jackal PDW SMG stood tall as not only the best in its class but the single strongest gun in the game overall.

With the right attachments, the Jackal’s lightning-quick TTK, paired with BO6’s new Omnimovement, made it the most popular pick over the course of the Closed Beta. With everyone using it to some degree, Treyarch has stepped in to put a stop to its dominance.

When the Open Beta period gets underway on September 6 from 10 AM PT, the Jackal will be toned down from what we experienced in the first weekend.

Mercifully, the reign of the Jackal looks to be over. “Take a break” from using the SMG, Treyarch advised in a September 5 announcement. “It’s been tuned for Weekend 2.”

Obviously, the exact nature of its balance adjustments are unclear for now, though we’ll soon learn the full details once patch notes go live on September 6. It could be anything from specific attachment tweaks to overall TTK being reduced to align it with the rest of the game’s arsenal.

We also have a number of new weapons joining the mix in the Closed Beta, thanks to the increased level cap now letting players grind to level 30. Among the list is a new SMG, the Tanto .22. Perhaps the Jackal has some competition on its hands.

Despite its reign of terror, however, the Jackal isn’t actually the best in class when it comes to every statistic. Much to the surprise of the community, the C9 boasts a faster TTK, so there’s every chance the first SMG unlocked could prove more of a problem in the coming days.