Treyarch and Raven Software / Brett Moss
I've been playing video games pretty much nonstop ever since I got my first 360. I love arena shooters, MMOs, and MOBAs, but I'll pretty much try any kind of game.
Reviewed by Benjamin Barr
Pistols aren’t usually the main weapons you’ll be using in BO6, but they’re still important. Whether you’re using them as backup for your main weapon or just grinding them for camos, you’ll quickly find that some are definitely better than others. BO6 only has four pistols so far, and all of them have strengths and weaknesses (some more than others). In this article I’ll rank all four pistols from worst to best, starting with the worst!
4. Stryder .22
Recommended Attachments:
- Optic: Whichever you prefer
- Muzzle: Compensator (+Vertical Recoil Control)
- Barrel: Reinforced Barrel (+Damage Range and Bullet Velocity)
- Grip: Commando Grip (+ADS Speed and Sprint to Fire Speed) or Quickdraw Grip (+ADS Speed)
- Fire Mods: Rapid Fire (+Fire Rate, -Horizontal/Vertical Recoil Control)
The Stryder .22 is a fun pistol to use, but it’s not very good. In core playlists, it requires 5 shots to kill, which is just too many. It does benefit from having good accuracy, very little recoil, and also great handling, but that’s not enough to counter the low damage. As much as I do like the Stryder since it’s so easy to use, I just can’t recommend it in standard playlists due to the damage problem.
In hardcore playlists, though, it’s hard to hate the Stryder. Since it has insanely low recoil and is a fast weapon, it’s perfect for hardcore. If you’re a hardcore player, I highly recommend the Stryder. But even then, every weapon is good in hardcore as long as it’s fast and accurate, so the bar isn’t that high. As of the time of this writing, it is the only sidearm available in ranked playlists as well. I’m guessing that’s because they want it to be a bad thing to use your sidearm, and I think that says everything you need to know about the Stryder in most situations.
3. GS45
Recommended Attachments:
- Optic: Whichever you prefer
- Muzzle: Compensator (+Vertical Recoil Control)
- Barrel: Long Barrel (+Damage Range)
- Grip: Commando Grip (+ADS Speed and Sprint to Fire Speed)
- Fire Mods: Rapid Fire (+Fire Rate, -Horizontal/Vertical Recoil Control)
The GS45 is a pretty average pistol, but struggles with recoil. It has the worst recoil control of all the pistols by far, making it extremely hard to use effectively at range. Up close, I’m a fan of the GS45. It has the most firepower so you’re sure to get a good amount of damage out of it. It does more damage than any of the other pistols which is obviously great, but I still just find it hard to use. You can get 2-shot kills with it at the closest range, but that falls off to 3 shots very quickly. Recoil is high, though, so recoil control is a must in terms of attachments, and even then, it’s still a lot to handle.
When compared to its closest counterpart, the 9mm, I still prefer the 9mm even though the GS45 has better damage up close. If you can successfully control its recoil, then it’s the better gun. But the 9mm is easier to use by far, so it’s the preferred option for me. Especially in hardcore, where all the pistols other than the Grekhova kill in a single shot. The GS45 is not bad at all, but it just feels like a weaker option most of the time.
2. Grekhova
Recommended Attachments:
- Optic: Whichever you prefer
- Muzzle: Compensator (+Vertical Recoil Control)
- Barrel: Gain-Twist Barrel (+Bullet Velocity), Long Barrel (+Damage Range), or Reinforced Barrel (+Damage Range and Bullet Velocity, but not as much)
- Grip: Commando Grip (+ADS Speed and Sprint to Fire Speed)
- Fire Mods: Recoil Springs (+Horizontal/Vertical Recoil Control)
The Grekhova is the only automatic pistol in Black Ops 6 so far, so it’s a bit hard to compare to the others. It takes 6 shots to the body or 5 to the head to kill with the Grekhova, which is fine since it’s automatic. The strengths here are the obvious ones–it’s fully automatic and kills quickly if you land all your shots. That being said, the full-auto nature of the gun does make it difficult to use at range.
If you’re in core playlists, you’re best off using the Grekhova as an ultra-close-range finisher. It goes well with snipers or other weapons where you might want to utilize the Gunfighter wildcard for extra attachments on your main weapon, thus forcing you to use a secondary. If you just think of it as a really light SMG, you’ll probably have a good time with it. By no means is it actually replacing any of the real SMGs, but if it’s all you have, it’s not a bad option.
The Grekhova stands out since it is the only full-auto pistol in the game, but I’d only recommend it for really close-range fights. At range, it’s just too hard to use properly due to all the recoil, even with attachments to help with that.
1. 9mm PM
Recommended Attachments:
- Optic: Whichever you prefer
- Muzzle: Compensator (+Vertical Recoil Control)
- Barrel: Long Barrel (+Damage Range) or Reinforced Barrel (+Damage Range and Bullet Velocity)
- Grip: Commando Grip (+ADS Speed and Sprint to Fire Speed)
- Fire Mods: Rapid Fire (+Fire Rate, -Horizontal/Vertical Recoil Control)
The 9mm is the best pistol for Black Ops 6 multiplayer. It’s a 3-shot kill to the body and head just like the GS45 outside of super close range, but it doesn’t have as many issues with recoil control. It does have slightly less firepower than the GS45, but it has a better firing rate to make up for that. It’s recoil is easy to control, it has respectable range, and it’s just a fun weapon to use. You can call it generic, but I’m completely okay with that. I don’t feel like any pistol in BO6 is as consistent as this one, as there’s really nothing it doesn’t do at least pretty well.
The 9mm beats the other pistols because it doesn’t struggle with recoil like the GS45 and it does more damage than the Stryder .22. The Grekhova could be considered better depending on what you’re using it for, but since it’s an auto-pistol, it does struggle in ways the 9mm does not. Any time I need a pistol for a standard use case like backing up a sniper rifle or because I already have the Gunfighter wildcard equipped, the 9mm is my go-to.
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