LMGs play an important part of the meta in Black Ops 6, and using the best LMG loadouts will let you dominate both medium and long-range gunfights with ease.
Most LMGs in Modern Warfare 3 were lackluster and left a lot to be desired, but that isn’t the case in BO6. This year’s Call of Duty game has some fantastic machine guns that can go head to head with even the best Assault Rifles available.
However, they aren’t all equally strong, 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.
Best LMG loadouts in BO6
1. XMG
- Optic: Kepler Microflex
- Muzzle: Compensator
- Underbarrel: Ranger Foregrip
- Rear Grip: Ergonomic Grip
- Fire Mods: 7.62 NATO FMJ
The XMG is the best overall LMG, as it deals a lot of damage, has great damage range, and comes default with a whopping 100 round magazine. This is a remarkably well-rounded weapon that outperforms multiple assault rifles, including some of the strongest in the game. Even if you aren’t necessarily an LMG user normally, it’s well worth giving this a shot.
A big advantage the XMG has over the other two machine guns is that its recoil is much more forgiving, and this is especially true if you use our recommended loadout. The compensator on this build makes it laser accurate even at extreme ranges, which is perfect for dominating larger maps like Red Card, Scud, and Vorkuta.
2. PU21
- Optic: Kepler Microflex
- Muzzle: Compensator
- Underbarrel: Vertical Foregrip
- Rear Grip: Ergonomic Grip
- Fire Mods: Recoil Springs
With a time to kill of just 240 ms, the PU21’s main strength is its remarkable damage. It isn’t just the fastest-killing LMG in Black Ops 6 but also the fourth fastest-killing gun in the whole game. That’s not bad at all when you consider it has a 75 round mag and noticably 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 few shots it fires have a lot of vertical kick, which is not a recipe for a high accuracy weapon. It still performs well up close and at medium range but loses out to assault rifles beyond that due to its sporadic recoil. We recommended equipping a compensator to partially mitigate this and make the PU21 more accurate.
3. GPMG-7
- Optic: Kepler Microflex
- Muzzle: Compensator
- Underbarrel: Ranger Foregrip
- Rear Grip: Quickdraw Grip
- Stock: Balanced Stock
Unfortunately, the GPMG-7 is not a good gun, and you want to avoid using it when possible. From its small magazine to its high recoil and slow TTK, there’s not much reason to pick this LMG over its competition. It even has the worst handling of the three, so it’s not like you can run-and-gun with it either to take advantage of its fast rate of fire.
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If you insist on using the GPMG-7, equipping both the Compensator and Quickdraw Grip is a must to improve recoil and handling. 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 just using one of those instead.
All Black Ops 6 LMGS ranked
There are currently only three LMGs in Black Ops 6 as of launch, with each serving a different role and offering unique strengths and weaknesses.
Here are how they stack up against each other, as well as each of their respective TTKs and maximum damage range values:
| RANK | GUN | TTK (MS) | MAX DAMAGE RANGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | XMG | 258 | 61m |
| 2 | PU21 | 240 | 46m |
| 3 | GPMG-7 | 264 | 56m |
Meta analysis
The XMG is currently the best LMG is Black Ops 6, and it’s not particularly close. This versatile machine gun offers a highly competitive time to kill while also having the best damage range and lowest recoil of any of the available options. This makes by far the most well-rounded option in this category of the three available at launch.
To be fair, the PU21 is also a good contender. While it isn’t as complete as the XMG, its TTK of just 240 ms is staggeringly quick for BO6’s standards. As long as you get the first shot off, most other guns aren’t going to beat you one on one. However, its higher recoil can make landing those shots tricky at times, especially if you want to compete at long range.
Last and definitely 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 time to kill and the smallest magazine capacity. The only thing it has going for it is that it can fire at 909 RPM, but that alone is nowhere near enough to justify using it over its two superior competitors.
For more options to use on your next loadout, check out the best SMGs and our gun tier list that breaks down all of the top options in Black Ops 6. Also, make sure that you are using either the best controller settings or the best mouse and keyboard settings to land shots more easily, regardless of what input you prefer.