What is the best Rival 9 loadout? Taking an SMG into battle as your primary weapon is a statement, it tells your opponents that you’re going to push the pace of the fights, that you’re going to get in their face, and that you’re going to be relentless. The Rival 9 is a compact SMG that will see you run rings around your enemies.
The Modern Warfare 3 release date is here, and with it comes a host of new MW3 guns and a bunch of classic MW3 maps. One of these new guns is the Rival 9, an all-rounder when it comes to the SMG category, the Rival 9 sits in the middle for nearly every attribute, which makes it an excellent choice if you plan on engaging the enemy in a multitude of scenarios.
Best Warzone Rival-9 loadout
- Muzzle: Purifier Muzzle Brake
- Laser: Point-G3P 04
- Rear Grip: Rival Vice Assault Grip
- Magazine: 50 Round Drum
- Ammunition: 9mm Overpressured
This Rival-9 loadout is for the duelists; those players who love pushing the enemy, taking people on 1v1 in every encounter on the Warzone map. The Rival-9 keeps its mobility with the Point-G3P 04 laser and decreases recoil with the Purifier Muzzle Brake and Rival Vice Assault Grip. The 50 Round Drum will keep you in fights for longer, while the 9mm Overpressured ammunition inflicts increased flinch on your opponent, keeping them off balance.
Best Modern Warfare 3 Rival 9 loadout
- Muzzle: Monolithic Suppressor S
- Underbarrel: XRK Edge BW-4 Handstop
- Stock: Bruen Flash V4 Stock
- Rear Grip: Rival Vice Assault Grip
- Magazine: 50-Round Drum
Nearly every attachment included here is for the benefit of recoil control, movement speed, and stealth. You don’t get a lot of range out of this gun, so speed and accuracy is essential, and you can use the Overkill vest to pair it with an AR or sniper for longer distance shots.
The Monolithic Suppressor is the first of these, improving recoil speed, and allowing you to hit more fast bullets in the right place. It also keeps you hidden from radar, so you can sneak up on your enemy.
The Rival Vice Assault Grip also aids stability and recoil control, as well as drastically helping with gun kick control. Again, this helps to ensure that more bullets actually hit their target, improving overall damage and TTK.
Being an SMG, the damage-per-round isn’t outstanding, which is why the 50-Round Drum magazine is essential here. It does slow us down, but the Bruen Flash V4 Stock and the XRK Edge BW-4 Handstop offset this somewhat.
Best MW3 Rival 9 perks and equipment
- Lethal: Semtex
- Tactical: Flash Grenade
- Vest: Overkill vest
- Gloves: Scavenger Gloves
- Boots: Stalker Boots
- Gear: Bone Conduction Headset
The Rival 9 is a mobility monster, so you’ll always want to be on the move, and the Scavenger Gloves will ensure that you are stocked up without having to stop to take a breather. Utilize the Bone Conduction Headset to pinpoint enemy movement, and the Stalker boots to outpace them.
The Bone Conduction Headset will help pinpoint enemies easier, which is especially helpful as you’re sprinting around the map and going for those close-combat kills. The Overkill vest allows you to equip another primary weapon, so you could take an assault rifle or sniper rifle for those enemies that are a little too far away. Use Flash Grenades whenever entering an enclosed space, while Semtex is especially useful with this close range build.
How to unlock the Rival 9 in MW3
The Rival-9 is one of the MW3 weapons that requires unlocking through Armory Unlocks. Once you reach level 25, select the Rival 9 challenge and complete three daily challenges to add the SMG to your unlocked weapons.
There you have the best MW3 Rival 9 loadout. Check out our list of all the Modern Warfare 3 game modes so you can pick which ones are best for this agile SMG. We also have the best MW3 MTZ 556 loadout here, if you’re looking for something that hits a little harder.