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As with most battle royales, Call of Duty: Warzone matches start with dropping down and scavenging the best ground loot you can find. Staying alive is the primary objective, but you’ll likely want to grab enough cash for the hefty $10k price tag of a loadout drop. Or maybe you don’t scrounge up enough money, so you wait for the free loadout drop to arrive. Regardless, you want to make sure that your custom tailored loadout is going to give you the best chance at survival.
Gun builds are generally the focus of custom loadouts, as the weapon meta is constantly shifting, but the perks you choose can definitely factor into whether or not you win or lose your gunfights in Warzone.
Maybe you’re new to Warzone, or maybe it’s been awhile since you’ve given your perks a second glance. It’s easy to set perks for each loadout and forget about them. Despite the shift to the Cold War and Season 3’s new Verdansk ’84 map, Warzone still uses Modern Warfare’s perks. The perk selection never changes, and it’s rare for a shift in the meta to require you to change them up.
The one real exception being something like the popularity of thermal scopes, which occurred shortly before or around the start of Season 1. During that time I switched the first perk on some of my classes to Cold Blooded, because Cold Blooded keeps you from being detected by thermal optics. Once the meta shifted away from thermal scopes, Cold Blooded was no longer the smart choice for the first perk slot. Not enough players use thermal scopes to make it more viable than something like E.O.D., which reduces the damage you take from non-killstreak explosives and fire. You’re much more likely to get semtex or grenades thrown at you than you are to get picked off by someone with a thermal scope.
Here are some recommended perks for Warzone:
PERK 1
E.O.D.
E.O.D. is the top choice for the first perk slot, because again, it reduces explosive damage taken from non-killstreak explosives and fire. If you’re pinned down in a building and don’t have a trophy system to intercept enemy equipment, you’ll want E.O.D. to help you avoid dying to a barrage of enemy grenades or some molotovs.
Double Time
Double Time is another solid choice for the first perk slot. Mobility is important in Warzone, whether you’re pushing an enemy squad or just trying to escape the circle of gas with your life. And Double Time allows you to Tactical Sprint for longer, as well as boosts your crouch movement speed by 30%.
The benefits of both E.O.D. and Double Time far outweigh the other options in the perk one category. If you’re still running Scavenger to resupply ammo from dead players, consider swapping to E.O.D. or Double Time for standard Warzone matches. You will likely find enough ammo without the perk. You’d only really need to consider Scavenger for something like Rebirth Island, where players won’t always have a lot of ammo to scavenge. But even then, I still don’t think it’s more crucial than the benefits that come from E.O.D. or Double Time.
PERK 2
Ghost
Ghost is the most commonly used perk in Warzone. This perk makes you undetectable by UAVs, radar drones, and heartbeat sensors. Your life matters so much in battle royale, especially in non-respawn modes, so it’s important to keep yourself off the radar. With the threat of enemy UAVs and the fact that heartbeat sensors are so commonly used, Ghost is a no-brainer for the second perk slot.
Overkill
However, you might want to dedicate a few loadouts to Overkill. The Overkill perk allows you to equip two primary weapons, making an Overkill loadout a great pick for your first loadout drop. This gives you the best chance at winning the early gunfights, as you’ll have two primary weapons that provide you with effectiveness at the various ranges. So, this is where you’d pair your preferred long-range weapon with your best close- to mid-range gun.
If you are able to score an early first loadout with Overkill, eventually, you’ll want to pick up a second loadout and switch to a Ghost class. The matches tend to slow down and get a bit more campy near the end, so you’ll want to make sure you get off enemy radars.
Restock
Restock is the only other second perk option worth suggesting here. Restock recharges your equipment over 50 seconds. This is mostly for those really aggressive playstyles. Players with Restock likely have stun grenades as their equipment with the intention of seeking out the fights.
Overall, Ghost is your overall most important and effective second perk. Depending on your playstyle, you might choose Overkill or Restock for some more aggressive options. But if you’re a quieter player or squad looking to drop somewhere lowkey and loot, maybe you just stick with Ghost loadouts.
PERK 3
Amped
Amped is undoubtedly the top choice for the third perk slot. It provides faster weapon swap and rocket launcher reload speed. There’s nothing worse than losing gunfights because you needed to reload, and you died while trying to switch weapons. Amped lets you swap weapons with barely any delay, and it’s a very noticeable difference in time if you’re not running this perk.
Tracker
The only other third perk that could be viable for Warzone is Tracker, which allows you to see enemy footprint trails, so it can be helpful for players who like to hunt down bounty contracts. I see a lot of players run Tracker in solo, and maybe that’s worth your risk of losing out on the faster weapon swap, but tracking players footsteps in something like trios or squads won’t be as useful. You’ll want Amped equipped to help you fight off multiple enemies.
Just like weapons, perks can come down to personal playstyle preferences, but Ghost and Amped are highly recommended for most of your loadouts. And unless there’s another thermal shift in the meta, you shouldn’t have to worry about adjusting your perks again.
For more Call of Duty tips, check out our guide on how to open the Nakatomi Plaza vault in Warzone.
