Best Sniper Rifle loadouts in Black Ops 6 Season 1

A Black Ops 6 player using a sniper rifle.Dexerto

Using the best sniper rifles in Black Ops 6 is a sure way of dominating lobbies, with these powerful marksman weapons being among the best in the game.

Call of Duty has always had its fair share of iconic snipers, with legacy guns like the M40A3 and Intervention remaining fan favorites to this day. Alongside assault rifles and SMGs, they are among the guns that define the meta every year.

Unsurprisingly, Black Ops 6 is no exception, so we’ve ranked all of the game’s snipers and created the best loadouts possible for each to help you dominate.

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Best Sniper Rifle loadouts in BO6

1. SVD

Best SVD loadout in Black Ops 6.Dexerto
  • Muzzle: Ported Compensator
  • Barrel: Reinforced Barrel
  • Comb: Quickdraw Riser
  • Laser: Target Laser
  • Fire Mods: Rapid Fire

The Dragunov has a legacy in Call of Duty, but it’s not exactly a good one. For the most part, this gun has sucked across the franchise, but this version in BO6 is the best we’ve ever seen. It has good handling, can one shot to the torso, and the fastest fire rate of any available sniper, making it more forgiving than the other two. That’s more than enough to lock in its spot at the top of our rankings.

As for the best loadout to use, the Ported Compensator is key on this weapon, as it recoils a lot between shots, especially on the opening shot. This muzzle attachment mitigates that and makes the SVD kick a lot less, so you can utilize its full rate of fire without having to worry about accounting for recoil as much.

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2. LW3A1 Frostline

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  • Barrel: Reinforced Barrel
  • Comb: Quickdraw Riser
  • Stock: Heavy Stock
  • Laser: Target Laser
  • Fire Mods: Rapid Fire

The LW3A1 Frostline is the traditional bolt-action sniper of Black Ops 6. It hits hard but has a fairly slow fire rate, making it a good option for players who are confident in their aim. While this is a great gun and you will have a fun time using it, the SVD offers similar performance with a faster rate of fire, making it the better overall option.

Regardless, the LW3A1 is still strong and able to dominate if you have the right build. We recommended boosting bullet velocity with the Reinforced Barrel and using the Target Laser to drastically reduce idle sway. These make it easier to hit shots more consistently and win your sniper duels when it matters most.

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3. LR 7.62

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  • Muzzle: Suppressor
  • Barrel: Gain-Twist Barrel
  • Rear Grip: Quickdraw Grip
  • Laser: Target Laser
  • Fire Mods: Rapid Fire

Despite this heavy-duty sniper being the weakest of three available at launch, the LR 7.62 is not a bad gun at all. Unlike the others, it can one shot to the lower torso and arms, making it more forgiving and easier to use. The trade-off is that it also has by far the worst handling stats, which limits its potential in a game as fast-paced as Black Ops 6.

If you still want to use this over the others, the Quickdraw Grip is a must to make it aim in as fast as possible. This at least makes this sniper handle reasonably fast, but it will still be outperformed by both the SVD and LW3A1 Frostline in most situations. To be fair, the LR 7.62 is much more competitive in Warzone, where its higher bullet velocity is much more impactful.

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All Black Ops 6 Sniper Rifles ranked

There are currently 3 sniper rifles in Black Ops 6 at launch, with each offering a different unique selling point. Be it high damage, fast handling, or a superior rate of fire, each available gun brings something different to the table.

Here’s how the game’s snipers rank from best to worst, as well as their ADS speed and the areas to the body that they can kill in one shot:

RANKGUNADS (MS)One-shot Kill Area
1SVD565Upper Torso, Neck, Head
2LW3A1 Frostline550Upper Torso, Neck, Head
3LR 7.62600Lower Torso, Upper Torso, Arms, Neck, Head

Meta analysis

SVD weapon inspect in Black Ops 6Dexerto

The SVD is the best sniper rifle in Black Ops 6, offering comparable handling to the other two but with a far faster fire rate. As long as you are confident in your aim and can consistently hit the enemy’s upper torso or higher, the semi-auto sniper is the best markman weapon.

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In a close second, the LW3A1 Frostline offers the best handling of any sniper, making it a great choice if you enjoy quickscoping or playing more aggressively. However, its slow rate of fire makes it harder to use and much less forgiving than the SVD. This is a particularly big problem in BO6, as a lot of its maps are small and don’t make sniping easy in the first place.

Finally, the LR 7.62 is a decent gun, but it is quite a bit worse than the others. It has sluggish handling stats, which is far from ideal in a game as fast-paced as Black Ops 6. A positive is that it can kill in just one shot to the Lower Torso and even arms, so you don’t have to be quite as precise, but this alone doesn’t outweigh the downsides.

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For more ideas on what to use, check out our gun tier list of all Black Ops 6’s weapons. You’ll also want to make sure you are using the best controller settings, best audio settings, and best PC settings to optimize your experience and get the most out of your time.