VANTAGEFIELD MANUAL
FM-24-01SECTION
04 / GUIDES

Best Loadouts, By Tier

Damage, unlocks and attachments are Season 2 numbers from MetaForge’s weapon database. The tiers are MetaForge’s last published ranking from 2026-09-08, before Season 2 cut base damage on .308 (25%), 7.62x54R (20%), 7.62x39 (19%) and .50 cal (16%). Read a tier next to its damage change: an S-tier gun that lost a fifth of its damage may not hold the spot. 31 of 38 weapons have a tier. Full attachment editing lives in the loadout builder.

New in Season 2

One new gun per infantry role. None has a tier yet.

  • TCX-SPRAssault Rifle
    Damage
    34
    Fire rate
    800 rpm
    Vendor
    $3,200
    Unlock
    Assault level 20 - $100,000
  • PP-19 BizonSubmachine Gun
    Damage
    22
    Fire rate
    700 rpm
    Vendor
    $1,000
    Unlock
    Unlocked by default
  • Evo-3 UltraLight Machine Gun
    Damage
    45
    Fire rate
    700 rpm
    Vendor
    $7,250
    Unlock
    Support level 30 - $200,000
  • M14Marksman Rifle
    Damage
    45
    Fire rate
    700 rpm
    Vendor
    $7,400
    Unlock
    Recon level 25 - $100,000

Flagship picks

The three S-tier picks from the 2026-09-08 list, one per major role. The PKM and SVD both lost 20% base damage in Season 2; the M4 kept its damage but now unlocks at Assault 28.

M4Assault Rifle
S-tier
MAGAZINESTANAG 20 RND Magazine +2OPTIC2.5x Combat Optic +13MUZZLE3 Prong Flash Hider +6UNDERBARREL45° Angled Foregrip +9
Damage
28
Rate of fire
800 rpm
Eff. range
500 m
ADS time
0.49s
PKMLight Machine Gun
S-tier
MAGAZINEPKM 100 RND BoxOPTIC2.5x Combat Optic +13MUZZLEConstrictor Brake +5UNDERBARRELPKM Bipod
Damage
44
Rate of fire
600 rpm
Eff. range
1000 m
ADS time
0.73s
SVDMarksman Rifle
S-tier
MAGAZINESVD 10 RND Magazine +1OPTIC2.5x Combat Optic +19MUZZLEDeadeye Flash Hider +4UNDERBARRELSVD Bipod
Damage
44
Rate of fire
480 rpm
Eff. range
800 m
ADS time
0.53s

Full tier list

TierWeaponCategorySeason 2 damageCommentary
SFALAssault Rifle45 (was 60, -25%)
SM4Assault Rifle28
SPKMLight Machine Gun44 (was 55, -20%)
SSVDMarksman Rifle44 (was 55, -20%)
AAMR 50Sniper Rifle90 (was 107, -16%)
ABMR-308Marksman Rifle45 (was 60, -25%)
ACompound BowBow77
AM249 SAWLight Machine Gun28"The average life of a Machine Gunner in Nam was 7 seconds - I hope to improve on that".
ASuper-45Submachine Gun30
AT-21Assault Rifle28
BA-91Assault Rifle28
BAK74Assault Rifle26"A weapon all fighters love." - Y.O.
BAMP-9Submachine Gun22
BGalilAssault Rifle28
BM500Shotgun25
BMGL-40Launcher100
BMK22Sniper Rifle45 (was 60, -25%)
BMP5Submachine Gun22
BSKSMarksman Rifle34 (was 42, -19%)
BSV98Sniper Rifle44 (was 55, -20%)
CBushmaster M17SAssault Rifle28
CDeaglePistol63
CGGX 18Pistol22
CJudgePistol45
CKH-2002Assault Rifle28
CMosin NagantSniper Rifle44 (was 55, -20%)
CMP43Shotgun25
CPP-19 VityazSubmachine Gun22
DGGX 17Pistol22
DM1911Pistol30
DScout Rifle TDSniper Rifle28

Tiers: MetaForge, 2026-09-08. Damage: Season 2. Early Access balance moves fast, so the next patch can change any of this.

Sources - compiled 2026-10-16

Community-run WARDOGS references, not an official Bulkhead API. Numbers can drift after a balance patch.