Best M16A4 loadouts in XDefiant: 3 class builds for low recoil and high damage

XDefiant’s M16A4 is not only one of the best weapons in the game, but it’s also the only burst weapon currently available. If you want the best M16A4 build in XDefiant, you’ve come to the right place.

While some players may prefer fully automatic options like the AK-47 or M4A1, the feel of a three-round burst AR isn’t just a gimmick in XDefiant – it’s extremely powerful. The M16A4’s killing potential and low recoil make it worth using, and worthy of its S-tier status in our best weapons tier list.

You’ll need an optimized build though to get the most out of it, so here’s the best M16A4 loadout to use in XDefiant.

Recommended XDefiant M16A4 loadout

These are the attachments you’re going to need to make your M16A4 the best it can be:

• Muzzle: Barrel Extender
• Barrel: Heavy
• Front Rail: Vertical
• Optics: Reflex
• Stock: Lightweight

It’s best to build the M16A4 for both damage and range. By maximizing these stats, the burst rifle becomes much more consistent. The most impactful attachment for this is the Heavy Barrel, which boosts weapon damage by 5%, making it possible take out enemies in two bursts.

To further improve consistency, you’ll also want to equip both the Barrel Extended muzzle and Vertical front rail. These work great together as the muzzle boosts range letting the M16A4 remain competitive from further away, while the front rail reduces vertical recoil, making it more likely all three shots will land in each burst.

Unfortunately, these attachments slow down the M16A4’s handling and make it feel sluggish, which isn’t great in a fast-paced game like XDefiant. To solve this, equip the Lightweight stock which massively boosts ADS Walking Speed and Movement Speed. This enables more aggressive play while still retaining the gun’s main strengths

Finally, with the M16A4 being a precision weapon, you’ll want to use a meta optic like the Reflex sight. The assault rifle’s iron sights aren’t easy to use, which is terrible on a gun where you need to make every shot count. Using the Reflex sight will make doing so much easier, making it a must-have attachment.

Best M16A4 loadout for low recoil

Here is a build for the M16A4 by reducing its recoil to enhance the ease of usage.

• Muzzle: Muzzle Brake
• Barrel: Stabilizing Barrel
• Front Rail: Tactical Grip
• Optics: Holo or Reflex
• Rear Grip: Lightweight

The first one to consider here is the Muzzle Brake. This particular attachment increases the Horizon Recoil Control for the M16A4 by 7%.

The Stabilizing Barrel provides a 2.5% Horizontal Recoil and 2.5% Vertical Recoil. It affects the ADS Walking Speed and Sprint-Shoot time, but that doesn’t feel like a problem since you won’t be running much with the M16A4 anyway.

Tactical Grip provides a 35% Recoil Recovery which is massive for the M16A4. It also provides a 5% ADS Speed, which allows you to quick scope enemies who might be running at you during a match.

The Optics don’t matter too much, though Reflex or Holo sights are the better options as it makes it easier to be aware of your surroundings and thee weapon kick. Using a bigger sight will help you look further, but it does make the gun harder to control.

The final attachment to use here is the Lightweight Grip for your Rear Grip. This attachment increases the Recoil Recovery by 25% and it also provides a 2.5% ADS Walk Speed. This is another attachment that further improves the recoil of the weapon so that you never miss a single bullet.

Best M16A4 loadout for high damage

If you are looking to enhance the damage output of your M16A4, this is what you need to follow:

• Barrel: Chrome Lined
• Front Rail: PEQ-15
• Optics: Reflex
• Rear Grip: Lightweight
• Magazine: Fast Mag

Chrome Lined is exceptional as it increases the damage output of the M16A4 at short and medium ranges by 20%. However, you will lose out on 15% ADS speed while using the Barrel.

The PEQ-15 Front Rail increases your spread accuracy by 80% in total. This attachment makes sure that you are precise with your bullets which further enhances the damage potential of the M16A4.

Reflex Optics is quite standard as enemies are easier to target and the weapon doesn’t feel clunky. In XDefiant you don’t need big scopes in most scenarios and the Reflex sight feels clean and accurate.

The Lightweight Rear Grip is also essential here as you need to manage your recoil while shooting. The 25% Recoil Recovery helps you a lot in longer gunfights.

Finally, one of the key aspects of dealing more damage is ensuring you’ve got more bullets. This is made easier with Fast Mag which increases your Magazine Size by 5 and Reload Speed by 40%, which will help you defeat enemies quickly before they’ve got the chance to recover.

How to unlock M16A4 in XDefiant

The M16A4 is unlocked by completing the following Base Challenge in multiplayer: “Get 20 Assault Rifle Headshot Kills.”

This is a straightforward challenge which you can do from Level 1. Simply equip an Assault Rifle on a loadout, queue into any multiplayer game mode, and try to land headshots where possible. This can be done in any game mode, but something fast-paced like Domination works best.

That’s all for the best M16A4 loadout in XDefiant. For more XDefiant content, check out the best controller and PC settings to make sure your game is running as smoothly as possible. Also, be sure to check out all of the maps and modes that are currently available, and the Season 1 roadmap.