Warzone Season 3 best guns for close-range: JGOD shares 5 meta class loadouts

Popular Call of Duty: Warzone content creator, JGOD, has revealed five guns that his data proves will dominate the Season 3 close-range meta after balancing changes by Raven Software.

After what felt like an endless close-range meta dominated by the MAC-10 and later the FFAR 1, Warzone has been thrown into disarray in Season 3. With a huge variety of weapons now viable at all ranges, choosing the right secondary can be a particularly difficult decision.

The original Season 3 update was soon followed by another patch that introduced additional weapon balance changes, and with so many powerful guns to choose from, many have been waiting on JGOD to parse through the data and identify the best options.

With shakeups to both ARs and SMGs, Raven is attempting to refine the close-range meta in Warzone. In light of these changes, JGOD keys in on five secondary options, each with their own unique characteristics: the Bullfrog, MP5, and LC10 SMGs, along with the Sykov and M19 pistols.

JGOD’s best Season 3 close-range weapons

Taking a look at strafe and movement speeds combined with TTK (time-to-kill) based on distance, JGOD analyzes how all of the potentially meta weapons stack up against one another, and how they compare to older versions of themselves (prior to the latest buffs and nerfs by Raven).

• Read more: What is open bolt delay in Call of Duty: Warzone?

As his results show, while many ARs still have competitive TTKs, the latest changes have knocked down their mobility compared to other close range options like SMGs and pistols — very much in line with Raven’s idea of creating different playstyles based on each weapon class.

Guns like the Akimbo M19s, MP5, and Bullfrog have all been cemented in the upper half of the close-range meta, while previously dominant ARs like the FFAR and FARA are now outclassed at short distances, but maintain more consistent damage output during long-range engagements.

Best Warzone secondary: Bullfrog, MP5, LC10, Sykov, or M19s?

When it comes to the best close-range secondaries in Warzone’s new Season 3 meta, JGOD still believes there’s plenty of viable choices, but mostly focuses on SMGs and pistols since these weapons offer more of an advantage than their AR alternatives.

Rounding out his choice of secondary SMGs are the Bullfrog, MP5 (both Cold War and Modern Warfare versions), and the LC10. While JGOD’s personal favorite is the MP5, he confirms that all three options provide excellent mobility and close-range DPS output.

His final two recommendations are the Sykov and M19 pistols from Modern Warfare. The already infamous Sykov is still an excellent choice when built correctly (despite previous nerfs), and the content creator’s akimbo M19 class can dominate in close-quarters firefights.

• Read More: Warzone devs reveal plan to increase TTK for all guns in future updates

While SMGs and pistols will maximize your close-range effectiveness, JGOD clarifies that other weapons are still viable: “Shotguns [are] still in the mix, you can use the AS VAL, the AK-47, the FARA, the FFAR, the XM4. You’ve got a lot of options, [SMGs and pistols are] just what I prefer.”

Based on JGOD’s analysis, Warzone’s close-range meta now favors SMGs and pistols over other options like shotguns and ARs. However, as the YouTuber notes, that certainly doesn’t mean you can’t still create some powerful class setups with devastating ARs in your secondary slot.