SMGs are like the close-quarters little brothers of assault rifles. You’re not getting high Damage by any means, but most have a Rate of Fire and magazine size that will allow you to take control of a close-quarters situation with ease. You’ll want to pay close attention to the Accuracy stat on each of these weapons, as they are prone to being lower than most other weapons in your arsenal. To get the most out of your SMGs, add parts to increase the Accuracy of each weapon and try to only use them when you have enemies near you. Watch out for the muzzle sway and keep a tight angle on any attackers and you’ll have no issue with these weapons in-hand.
MP5
HOW TO UNLOCK: UNLOCKED FROM THE START OF THE GAME
The second weapon in your starting kit, the MP5 has a decent Rate of Fire and solid Handling. It doesn’t have much in the way of range and damage, but it will serve you well as a secondary weapon, for those times when you’ve unloaded your primary weapon’s clip and are in a tight spot.
This is a top-tier SMG that will suit all of your needs, whether you want to stealth your way through a base or attack it directly. It’s Handling, Penetration, and magazine size are all excellent, and when you slap a suppressor on the muzzle it’s nearly dead silent. The Accuracy is a bit low, but it’s still manageable. A marvelous all-around SMG with excellent flexibility.
A quantity over quality sort of weapon that has middling stats, but a massive magazine. You’ll fire 64 bullets before you need a reload, which goes a long way in high-pressure situations. Stats-wise, the PP19 is either equal to, or eclipsed by the MP5 in almost every way. But for those of us that love a guns-blazing approach to base clearing, this gun doesn’t disappoint. You’ll find better SMGs down the road, but this is a good weapon for the earlier parts of your operation.
A powerful, but unstable SMG. You’ll want to put parts on it to help raise that Accuracy as much as possible. Muzzle climb isn’t an issue with the high Handling this gun touts, but sway is a pretty big problem. If you can nail that down, you’ll have a great SMG on your hands.
This pint-sized SMG has excellent Handling, but terrible Accuracy. The Damage is solid for an SMG, but the low Accuracy gives this gun a pretty mean sway. You’ll want to utilize parts to help eliminate that sway as much as possible. The Rate of Fire is rather high, so you won’t get a chance to stabilize the gun before you have to reload. Once you’ve got the sway under control this is a reliable SMG.
A good weapon for laying down suppressive fire, the 9mm C1 has a robust 35-round magazine and good handling. You’ll run into problems with Accuracy, so make a point to put parts on the gun to boost it as much as possible without completely running its Handling into the ground. Another thing to keep in mind: this gun is pretty light on the Damage and Penetration stats, so don’t expect to take on a battalion with it. But as a close-range weapon or as a means to suppress enemies while your friends get their flanks, this is reliable gun that will suit your needs.
Like most SMGs, the 9x19VSN has issues with gun sway and Range. The Rate of Fire is high enough that you won’t have time to stabilize the gun before you need to reload, so putting parts on to boost Accuracy is advisable. The Damage is solid, but Penetration is a bit lacking, so keep that in mind before trying to shoot an enemy behind cover. If you can stabilize the gun’s Accuracy, you’ll have a quality weapon on your hands for frontal assault or stealth purposes.
A pretty middling SMG with stats barely better than the starting MP5. You’ll get an increase in Rate of Fire and Handling compared to the MP5, but little else. Generally we try to find the good in each weapon, but really you’re just as well off using the MP5 as the MPX. If you have it on hand and want to try something new, then by all means. But if you’re looking for something to give you a tactical edge, we suggest looking elsewhere.
A very standard SMG that boasts higher-than-average Accuracy and Range. Even with the Accuracy boost, this gun will pull left and right like all SMGs tend to, but at a much more manageable rate. As an improvement over the standard MP5, this gun is a nice addition to your arsenal. If you don’t pick it up early in the operation you’ll miss out on using it when it will benefit you, so make a point to get it as early as possible.
Most of the stats on the Scorpion EVO 3 are nothing to write home about, but where this gun makes headlines is the insanely high Rate of Fire. The Accuracy is quite low, but it’s hardly an issue because of the rate at which bullets leave this gun’s muzzle. Point at an enemy and pull that trigger and it won’t matter what kind of Damage stat this gun has; enough bullets will fly out at in rapid succession that enemy troops will be dead and gone before they knew they were a target. A good gun for aggressive play.
In terms of stats, the Vector .45 ACP is above average across the board. Where this gun gets tricky is its small starting magazine; 15 bullets and a lightning-fast Rate of Fire make this gun more like a burst-fire weapon, than your standard SMG. You’ll want to make a point to grab the .45ACP Magazine (25) as soon as you can if you’re going to use this weapon. Once you’ve got the new magazine in hand, you’ll find a quality SMG with the Rate of Fire of the Scorpion EVO 3.
This Frankenstein’s Monster of a gun doesn’t carry impressive stats, but it does have a beefy magazine. Like the 9mm C1, the Experimento #42 is particularly excellent at laying down suppressive fire, at least where SMGs are concerned. The Damage this gun packs is solid, but the Accuracy is a bit low. You can expect to take out enemies well enough, but you’ll need to take into account sway.
A gun that’s tailor made for stealth. With high Noise Reduction and Handling, this gun is fairly easy to shoot and remain undetected. We say “fairly” because the Accuracy is about the same as most other SMGs, meaning you can expect a lot of swaying. This isn’t really much of a problem for the Mendeleyev, because it’s high Rate of Fire keeps you from firing long enough to feel the impact of that low Accuracy. That being said, you’ll want to make sure you get up close and personal before firing this gun. In other words, take cover, wait for an unsuspecting soldier to wander by, then dust ’em.
The granddaddy of suppressive SMGs. This weapon wields a whopping 64-bullet magazine, decent Handling and Accuracy, and just the right Rate of Fire to keep you firing steady and nonstop. Unlike other suppressive SMGs, you can use the Residuos to suppress or to take on the enemy directly and still yield results. No more waiting for friends to flank, no sir! This gun will give you the independence to take on enemies yourself, or to keep fire on an enemy long enough for your friends to swoop in and deftly disable him. If you love the smell of hot lead in the morning, this is your new best friend.
A quality damage-dealing gun for “shoot first, think later” types of operatives. The Damage is decent, the Accuracy and Handling are high, and the Rate of Fire is just right. Carrying this gun into battle will never leave you wanting, and while there are SMGs with better specific stats than this one, the ¡UY! has quality stats across the board and is as reliable as they come. Consider using single shots before holding down the trigger, however. Most other SMGs will go nuts regardless of whether or not you fire a single shot or hold down the trigger, but the ¡UY! is much more stable.
