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Home»Game Guides»Best Rival-9 Loadout in MW3 and Warzone

Best Rival-9 Loadout in MW3 and Warzone

The ultimate Rival is buffed now.

Amir NaseriBy Amir NaseriJanuary 30, 20243 Mins Read
Best Rival-9 Loadout
Image Source: Activision via The Nerd Stash

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  • Best Rival-9 Warzone Loadout
  • Ranked Play Build

One of the first meta SMGs of MW3 was Rival-9 even before the start of Season 1. Apparently, anything with a “9” in its name is considered overpowered among MW3 weapons, and Rival-9 isn’t an exception. Rivalling the WSP-9, Striker-9, and the new HRM-9, this Rival-9 loadout stands its ground as one of the best SMGs in MW3 and Warzone Season 1 Reloaded.

Best Rival-9 Warzone Loadout

Best Rival-9 Loadout MW3 Ranked Play
Image Source: Activision via The Nerd Stash
  • Muzzle: Bruen Cubic Comp
  • Barrel: Rival-C Clearshot Barrel
  • Underbarrel: Chewk Angled Grip
  • Rear Grip: Rival Vice Assault Grip
  • Magazine: 40-Round Mag

Perks:

  • Fast Hands
  • Mountaineer
  • Cold-Blooded
  • Resolute

Lethal:

  • Frag Grenade

Tactical:

  • Smoke Grenade

After a recent update, Rival-9 has turned into a robust, heavy-damaging, killing machine in Warzone and MW3. However, this SMG has the worst recoil pattern possible! The horizontal recoil of this weapon is so hard to control, which leads to us having to choose some accuracy-based attachments like the Bruen Cubic Comp muzzle.

Perks and Gear
Image Source: Activision via The Nerd Stash

The Cubic muzzle helps you decrease the horizontal recoil, and the Chewk Angled Grip underbarrel shares the same goal. And even by having these two, you still get some horizontal recoil on Rival-9. The best we can do is to reduce gunkick by Rival Vice Assault Grip, and Rival-C Clearshot barrel.

Now if you’re playing Warzone Trios and Quads, make sure to slap a 50-Round Mag under your weapon. If you play Solos or MW3 Multiplayer, however, pick the 40-Round Mag for the best Rival-9 loadout.

Related:

MW3 Season 2: All Leaks and New Content

Besides, make sure you have the Fast Hands perk; Rival-9 isn’t the best SMG for reloading speed. The Mountaineer perk allows you to win the Vondel Resurgence Rooftop battles, where your opponent jumps down and opens a chute and you won’t need one. Next is the Cold-Blooded perk, allowing for cancelling the enemy’s High Alert effect in Warzone. Last but not least, is the Resolute perk, gifting you faster movement speed when shot.

Ranked Play Build

Best Rival-9 Loadout Warzone
Image Source: Activision via The Nerd Stash
  • Barrel: Rival-C Clearshot Barrel
  • Underbarrel: Bruen Heavy Support Grip
  • Rear Grip: Rival Vice Assault Grip
  • Magazine: 40-Round Mag
  • Optic: Nydar Model 2023

Gladfully, Rival-9 is also available in MW3 Ranked Play mode. Since this game mode runs by CLD rules, some of the attachments like the Cubic muzzle are not available. The Rival-C Clearshot barrel is still here alongside the Rival Vice Assault Grip for the gunkick control. The Bruen Heavy Support Grip gives you an advantage over managing the horizontal recoil.

Perks and Gear
Image Source: Activision via The Nerd Stash

Make sure you have the 40-Round Mag under your SMG for dealing with more than one/two threats without reloading. And mount the super-accurate Nydar Model 2023 on your weapon. This is one of the best Rival-9 loadouts to use in MW3 Ranked Play, although you could ignore the optic and go for a muzzle.

Related:

Best MW3 Ranked Play Meta Loadout You Need To Use

Call of Duty: Warzone and MW3 are currently available to play on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC.

Related Topics
Guide Modern Warfare 3 Warzone
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Amir Naseri
  • Website

Amir is an absolute Call of Duty nerd, preferring shooter games more than everything. However, he does like to do uppercuts in Mortal Kombat and feel the NOS going through the engines in Need For Speed games.

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