Best MW3 loadouts: Best loadout in the Modern Warfare 3 beta

What are the best loadouts in Modern Warfare 3 so far? The beta for Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is currently live, and thousands of players around the world are just now getting their hands on the brand new generation of guns in this year's Call Of Duty game. The meta takes time to settle with any shooter - especially one that's as fast paced and chaotic as MW3 - but already we've seen a few specific gun loadouts rise to the very top over the past few days.

Modern Warfare 3 has pushed the health pools of players from 100 up to 150, resulting in one of the slowest time-to-kill stats of any Call Of Duty title. This means picking the right loadout for the task is more important than ever. Below we'll walk you through the 5 best loadouts in the MW3 beta so far, and how to put them together for yourself.

5. MTZ-556 loadout

Here's the best MTZ-556 loadout in Modern Warfare 3:

• Muzzle: HMRES Mod Suppressor
• Barrel: MTZ Clinch Pro Barrel
• Optic: Slate Reflector
• Stock: RB Crotalus Assault Stock
• Magazine: 50 Round Drum

The MTZ-556's fast fire rate, low recoil, and flexibility make it one of the strongest guns in the MW3 beta right now, and this loadout makes it really shine in any of Modern Warfare 3's game modes. The HMRES Mod Suppressor and MTZ Clinch Pro Barrel combine to drastically boost the MTZ-556's bullet velocity and effective range, while also keeping you off the enemy's radar and lowering idle sway while aiming.

Meanwhile, the RB Crotalus Assault Stock boosts the gun's recoil control a surprising amount for a single attachment, and the 50 Round Drum magazine minimises your downtime reloading and gives you some extra breathing room which is very important for such a fast-firing rifle. The ironsights aren't terrible, but we still prefer to add the Slate Reflector optic to help with target acquisition. But if you're fine with the ironsights, we recommend adding the High Grain Ammunition as your final attachment, to further boost bullet velocity and damage range.

4. SVA-545 loadout

Here's the best SVA-545 loadout in Modern Warfare 3:

• Muzzle: HMRES Mod Suppressor
• Optic: Slate Reflector
• Stock: Markeev R7 Stock
• Ammunition: 5.45 High Grain
• Magazine: 45 Round Mag

The SVA-545 from Modern Warfare 3 is pretty much the same gun as the AN-94 from Black Ops and other COD titles, and it features the same powerful "hyper-burst" feature where the first two shots have an exceptionally fast fire rate, allowing you to melt enemies with early headshots. To elevate it to god-tier gun levels, our best SVA-545 loadout features the HMRES Mod Suppressor and 5.45 High Grain Ammunition to boost bullet velocity and effective damage range while also keeping you off the enemy's map. This dovetails perfectly with the fast-paced run-and-gun approach that we use with the SVA-545 once we've attached the Markeev R7 Stock, which boosts movement speed and sprint speed (alongside some welcome gun kick control).

After that we've upgraded the magazine to a 45 Round Mag to give us some more flexibility during fights to keep shooting as needed, and we've also added the Slate Reflector, which is just about our favourite low-zoom optic in MW3 right now. Of course, if you prefer to go without an optic, we'd recommend swapping it out for the powerful Incursion XII Long Barrel for increased range, bullet velocity, and recoil control - although the trade-off is you won't be quite as nippy while running around the map.

3. Rival 9 loadout

Here's the best Rival 9 loadout in Modern Warfare 3:

• Muzzle: Monolithic Suppressor
• Barrel: Rival-38E Fire Starter Barrel
• Stock: Bruen Flash V4 Stock
• Ammunition: 5.45 High Grain
• Magazine: 40 Round Mag

The Rival 9 is flying under a lot of players' radars at the moment because it is outperformed slightly by the Striker SMG in a lot of situations, but when kit out correctly this gun is a beast when it comes to weaving quickly in and out of close-range firefights and killing multiple enemies in quick succession. Key to this Rival 9 loadout is speed, particularly since we've added the chunky Monolithic Suppressor onto the muzzle to suppress our shots and help with recoil control.

To that end, we've added the Rival-38E Fire Starter Barrel and the Bruen Flash V4 Stock, both of which serve to drastically improve your movement speed with the Rival 9, allowing you to run-and-gun like an absolute demon. The remaining two attachments are just as necessary - the 40 Round Mag is important because 30 rounds just isn't quite enough to keep up with the quick playstyle you need with the Rival 9; and the 5.45 High Grain makes another appearance simply because the extra bullet velocity and effective range is a must-have for such a low-range SMG. Try this loadout out - you won't be disappointed.

2. Striker loadout

Here's the best Striker loadout in Modern Warfare 3:

• Muzzle: VT-7 Spiritfire Suppressor
• Barrel: Striker Recon Long Barrel
• Optic: Slate Reflector
• Stock: Lachmann MK2 Light Stock
• Magazine: 48 Round Mag

The Striker SMG (essentially MW3's UMP) is one of two guns that are head and shoulders above the rest of the Modern Warfare 3 armory when it comes to power and popularity. The Striker is the best SMG in the game right now with its balance of speed, damage, and control, and this Striker loadout works to upgrade the gun to new heights without breaking that delicate balance.

The Slate Reflector (or an optic of your choice) is a must-have on the Striker because the ironsights are really very poor. We'd also highly recommend using the 48 Round Mag once you've unlocked it, because it hits the sweet spot of giving you enough bullets to spit at an enemy without slowing your gun down too much. After that you should attach the Lachmann MK2 Light Stock to make the gun lighter and faster to move with, which is very important because our final two attachments will weigh down the Striker quite a bit.

Those all-important last two attachments are the VT-7 Spiritfire Suppressor and the Striker Recon Long Barrel. Suppressors are just so important in MW3 for keeping you off the enemy's radar while you shoot, and the Spiritfire, unusually, doesn't come at the cost of any ADS speed, which makes it a fantastic choice for the Striker SMG. And the Long Barrel is necessary for the incredible boost to range and bullet velocity, as well as overall improvements to gun control which allow you to acquire and eliminate your targets as quickly and easily as thinking about it.

1. MCW loadout

Here's the best MCW loadout in Modern Warfare 3:

• Muzzle: VT-7 Spiritfire Suppressor
• Barrel: 16.5" MCW Cyclone Long Barrel
• Optic: Slate Reflector
• Magazine: 40 Round Mag
• Rear Grip: RB Rapidstrike Grip

The MCW (or ACR) is currently considered the very best, most effective weapon in the Modern Warfare 3 beta. It hits like a truck, is laser-accurate, and is easy to use even without the perfect set of attachments, making it a great weapon to upgrade early on. And with the above attachments equipped, our best MCW loadout becomes more or less unstoppable.

Let's get the obvious choices out of the way. Most good loadouts in MW3 will have a magazine upgrade thanks to the increased TTK, so here we've opted for the 40 Round Mag to give us some leeway during fights. And the Slate Reflector (or any optic of your choice) helps massively with target acquisition - although if you feel like you can do without an optic, we'd recommend using that final attachment slot on the ever-useful 5.45 High Grain Ammunition.

The 16.5" MCW Cyclone Long Barrel is among the heaviest Assault Rifle barrels, but the incredible upgrade to bullet velocity, damage range, and recoil control is too good to ignore. To compensate, we've gone for the lighter VT-7 Spiritfire Suppressor instead of the Monolithic Suppressor (you've gotta have a suppressor, after all). And we've also added the RB Rapidstrike Grip, which improves our handling with a sizable boost to our ADS speed and Sprint-To-Fire speed. Overall this results in a MCW that's very slightly slower than the default, but unbelievably accurate and easy to use.

That wraps up our guide on the very best gun loadouts in MW3 so far in the beta. Happy hunting, and check back often for all the latest details on the best loadouts in Modern Warfare 3. Why not bring them to bear in the new Modern Warfare 3 Cutthroat game mode?