If you’re looking for the best MW2 STB 556 loadout, you’ve come to the right place. This deceptively powerful assault rifle can dish out some severe damage at both mid to long-range. Its base stats trend high for damage and recoil control, and its accuracy, mobility, and handling are nothing to sniff at.
In fact, this MW2 STB 556 loadout is so good that you must be level 41 in the multiplayer game before you can unlock the weapon itself. If you’re a few levels off, our guide on how to level up fast in MW2 is guaranteed to get you over that threshold, while our best MW2 loadouts for the M4 and M16 will help tide you over in the meantime.
Once you’ve unlocked it, our best MW 2 STB 556 loadout delves into which components you should prioritise in the MW2 Gunsmith system. The STB 556 is an extraordinarily versatile weapon, and it’s hard to go wrong when crafting your loadout. However, the best loadout plays to the STB 556’s strengths, prioritising handling so that you can keep the enemy in your sights while taking full advantage of its firepower, and our MW 2 STB 556 loadout aims to do just that.
Best STB 556 loadout attachments
The best MW2 STB 556 loadout is:
- Barrel: 508mm Rear Guard
- Underbarrel: Operator Foregrip
- Muzzle: FTAC Castle Comp
- Rear Grip: STIP-40 Grip
- Optic: Cronen Mini Pro
The 508mm Rear Guard barrel applies damage range and bullet velocity, helping your bullets travel faster and farther. You might be tempted to swing for the 24.4” Bruen S-620 instead, but bear in mind that the additional recoil control comes at a cost to movement speed, and the STB 556 isn’t in desperate need of additional recoil control.
As for your underbarrel, the Operator Foregrip grants additional aim walking steadiness alongside some helpful bonuses to hip fire accuracy and recoil control – just be aware of the hit to your hip walking speed. No matter which muzzle you take, you’re likely going to have to contend with a knock to your aim down sight speed, so we’ve gone for the FTAC Castle Comp to help manage both horizontal and vertical recoil control.
There’s no contest regarding your rear grip: the STIP-40 Grip stands head and shoulders above its Bruen counterparts with an additional bonus to recoil control. Finally, we’ve opted to go with the Cronen Mini Pro for a clean scope, though we’d happily swap this for the MW2 Slimline Pro optic once it finally makes its appearance outside of private matches.
The resulting loadout is a Modern Warfare 2 STB 556 loadout with extraordinary recoil control and additional bonuses to range and velocity that ensure your bullets will meet their mark. Moreover, the accompanying nerfs to your ADS are mitigated by additional bonuses to your hip fire accuracy and recoil, so if you ever need to return fire in a pinch, you can rely on firing from the hip – at least until you can get yourself situated behind cover.
That’s all we have for our best STB 556 loadout in Modern Warfare 2. If you’re partial to assault rifles, look at our complete rundown of all the best MW2 assault rifles. If you’re eager to take the STB 556 out for a spin, we recommend turning your attention to the MW2 camo challenges and the various MW2 perks you can pair with this powerful assault rifle.