Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War has plenty of weapons that you can use to fight against the undead horde. Unlike previous entries, almost every gun in the game can be viable to take in for high rounds. Thanks to the rarity and upgrade systems, you can take your favorite gun for a spin in Zombies.
With the addition of Skill upgrades, you're able to significantly boost up the power of your weapons. However, not all weapon classes are the same. Some shine much brighter than others. Meanwhile. some weapon classes went through a fall from grace when compared to earlier entries of Zombies.
10 Sniper Rifles Weapon Class
Sniper Rifles have fallen off hard from its glory days in Black Ops 3. With the lack of Double Tap 2.0, Sniper Rifles have incredibly low bullet penetration that makes dealing with multiple zombies in a row difficult.
Sniper Rifles are the only weapon class that's completely unviable, somehow managing to be worse than a Knife. They have slow rates of fires, and unless you consistently get headshots they won't be doing any damage. With how quick zombies are, taking time to aim will just get you killed once sprinters start appearing.
9 Specials Weapon Class
Specials are a unique kind of weapon that currently only includes two weapons. These are the M79 Grenade Launcher and the recently added Crossbow. The Crossbow carries the weapon class, as the M79 is one of the worst guns in the game.
Despite the strength of the Crossbow, it only has one bullet in its chamber. It makes it hard to justify using Special weapons, even if they are fun to use. If more strong Special weapons get added in future seasons, it is possible for their strength to rise.
8 Melee Weapon Class
Melee is a viable weapon class in Cold War's rendition of Zombies, the first time that's ever happened since it began. The Knife is a monster when fully upgraded, even able to take care of boss zombies swiftly.
Outside of the Knife, Melee weapons aren't the greatest since they have lower damage output and melee hit rates. However, even though the Knife is powerful, it still puts you in danger since you have to throw yourself at the zombies to use it. When it comes to high rounds, Melee is one of the few weapon classes that can't be used for them easily.
7 Pistols Weapon Class
While you don't spawn in with a Pistol by default anymore, you're still more than welcome to. Unlike previous entries, Pistols can be taken to high rounds. They no longer upgrade into an explosive weapon when Pack-A-Punched, allowing for consistent high damage without putting yourself at risk.
The strength of Pistols comes with how quick your trigger finger is. Their rate of fire is determined by you, meaning that its power is dependent on how good you are with the trigger. The Magnum in particular is one of the few weapons that will always kill a zombie in one hit with a headshot.
6 Launchers Weapon Class
In the last entry, Launchers were the best weapon by a mile. While they aren't as powerful as they were in the Black Ops 4 days, Launchers are still a very viable choice of weapon. They are the best at taking out large hordes of zombies, usually only needing two hits to completely wipe it out.
The lack of Ph.D. Flopper does make them more dangerous if you're not careful, as they do quite a bit of damage to yourself. Stampin-Up is almost a necessity, otherwise, Launcher will slow you down too much.
5 Tactical Rifles Weapon Class
Tactical Rifles feel like what Sniper Rifles should have been. They have a quick rate of fire with a good bit of damage output. Like Pistols, Tactical Rifle's power comes from how quick your trigger finger is. This is mostly true for the semi-automatic, less so for the burst fire where this is less important.
While Tactical Rifles are some of the best in Multiplayer, their power doesn't fully transition over. Still, they're not to be under-estimated. When fully upgraded, Tactical Rifles can take care of almost any kind of zombie.
4 Submachine Guns Weapon Class
Submachine Guns used to be one of the weapons you'd never use. This is because their biggest flaw was how quickly they ran out of ammo. However, thanks to the addition of Ammo Crates to Cold War Zombies, this issue is nonexistent.
As such, you can take advantage of their high rate of fire and damage output. If you use Submachine Guns, you will have the fastest sprinting speed possible. When it comes to rounds with super sprinters, this becomes essential for survival. There are plenty of Submachine Guns to choose from, so you can use any of your favorites and get to high rounds.
3 Light Machine Guns Weapon Class
Light Machine Guns in the early days of Zombies were widely considered to be the best kind of weapons. They don't quite reclaim that throne in Black Ops Cold War but are still among some of the best.
Light Machine Guns do quite a bit of damage when it comes to headshots, and their large magazine size allows you to tear through zombie hordes. However, zombies are much faster in Cold War. As such, their slow reload speed, even with Speed Cola, is a notable hindrance that hurts their overall viability.
2 Assault Rifles Weapon Class
Assault Rifles have always been a fan favorite when it comes to Zombies, and they retain their position as one of the best. They are more damaging than Light Machine Guns and don't have the issue of slow reload speed that those suffer from.
Thanks to ammo crates, Assault Rifles are as viable as they've ever been. Their previous weakness of running out of ammo quickly is gone. They all have a high rate of fire, too, which gives them an even bigger boost of damage compared to other weapon classes.
1 Shotguns Weapon Class
Older fans of Zombies will be surprised, but Shotguns have gone from the worst kind of weapon to the best. It isn't even a close contest between best and second best, Shotguns are just that good.
They have the highest damage output per second out of any other weapon class, and when fully upgraded can kill just about any zombie within one round of bullets. They have fast reload speeds when Pack-A-Punched and can kill zombies for quite a while before even needing to upgrade it. Shotguns are the go-to weapon class for any high-round run for just how good they are.