The marksman rifle strikes a delicate balance between the assault rifles and snipers of Call of Duty Vanguard. Accurate, but not quite as deadly. A weapon class for peppering enemies with bullets from far away. An accessible weapon of accuracy, and in the right hands can be absolutely lethal. Ideally, you want to post up on a lane. Without the instant kill potential of snipers, marksman rifles lean more towards the patient sniper style of play. You want to get shots on enemies as quickly and accurately as you can, preferably no more than two to kill. So, let’s talk about our choice for the Call of Duty Vanguard’s best marksman rifle, and how to set it up!
As Classic As It Gets
There is no more iconic weapon from the World War 2 era than the M1 Garand. The standard rifle of the US military, it has appeared in dozens of games and films. Everything down to the distinct ping when the magazine ejects is classic. All that said, it’s rare for the Garand to be anything more than a nostalgia act in multiplayer games. It’s quite an outdated design, hard to make it justifiably powerful. However, with Call of Duty Vanguard’s gunsmith, you can take this base rifle and make something deadly.
Classic Redefined
To take the M1 Garand and make it a killer, you need to make a few additions. Firstly, you need accuracy. The MX Silencer gives you that noise reduction with some added accuracy, a Heavy Grip on the underbarrel will help with stability. For the barrel and the stock, you want the Cooper 25 Custom and the Cooper Adjustable. These are really important, the 25 Custom barrel reduces sway while aiming, giving you much better accuracy and helping to guarantee your shots go where the gun is pointed. The Cooper Adjustable stock gives you extra accuracy on your initial shots, ideal for a gun that aims to kill in only a couple of bullets. For the optic, it’s player’s choice. Go with what you’re most comfortable with.
We would recommend the Spotter proficiency, giving you awareness of enemies from further away. A handy addition for any long-ranged loadout in Call of Duty Vanguard. As for ammo, the 12 or 16 round mags are both good, there’s a slight aim-down-sights penalty for the 16 round drum but it is pretty minimal. For ammo type, your best bet is Hollow Points. These increase limb damage, this may seem unnecessary but considering that there is no way to make this weapon a one-shot kill to the head, what we’re aiming for is a rapid two-shot kill to the body. Hollow Points just help to make sure your body/limb shots are doing maximum damage. Put all of this together and you have a marksman rifle that will tear the enemy team up in seconds.
This is our recommendation for how to maximise your efficiency with Marksman rifles in Call of Duty Vanguard! If you want tips on the best SMGs, LMGs, Shotguns, Snipers or Assault Rifles, check out our other guides! Be sure to also check out our review of Call of Duty Vanguard here.
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Featured Image Credit: Activision