Best Vanguard BAR Loadout: Attachments, Perks, Class Setup

The BAR, or ‘Browning Assault Rifle’, is a staple in World War II games. The BAR is actually considered an assault rifle in Call of Duty: Vanguard, rather than an LMG. Although it can take out enemies in just 2-3 shots, the BAR suffers from poor recoil. Luckily for you, we’ve put together a guide on the best BAR loadout in Call of Duty: Vanguard, including attachments, perks and overall class setup. This build amends the BAR’s recoil issues and provides you with a weapon that can cut your enemies down to size.

Best BAR Loadout in Call of Duty: Vanguard

• Optic – Slate Reflector
• Muzzle – G28 Compensator
• Barrel – CC 27″ 2B
• Underbarrel – M3 Ready Grip
• Magazine – 8mm Klauser 20 Round Mags
• Rear Grip – Fabric Grip
• Stock – None or CGC Wire (for speed)
• Ammo Type – FMJ Rounds or Subsonic
• Proficiency – Hardscope
• Kit – Fully Loaded
• Secondary – Machine Pistol
• Lethal – Throwing Knife
• Tactical – Stim
• Perks – Ghost, Piercing Vision, Lightweight

Optic

Like most weapons, the optic you prefer is down to personal preference and can also be mode-dependant. However, we found the Slate Reflector to be a solid choice for fast and precise shooting.

Muzzle

Using a G28 Compensator provides a bonus to recoil control and has absolutely no downsides, making it a perfect choice for the BAR.

Barrel

The CGC 27″ 2B is the barrel we chose, due to its bonuses in damage range and accuracy. The downsides are speed, which we can amend with other parts of this loadout and hip-fire accuracy, which doesn’t matter too much with the BAR.

Underbarrel

Equipping an M3 Ready Grip provides bonus speeds in ADS, sprint-to-fire and aim walking. The downside is a minus to recoil control, which is made up by using the GS8 Compensator as your muzzle.

Magazine

8mm Klauser 20 Round Mags provide a great number of bonuses to control and mobility, especially recoil control. The trade-offs are minor nerfs to damage, bullet velocity & range and damage, but are well worth it for the advantages these magazines will bring.

Rear Grip

A Fabric Grip provides a bonus in the BAR’s mobility by buffing ADS sight speed, sprint-to-fire speed and hip fire recoil recovery. This is at the cost of one accuracy point, but that’s unsubstantial with this loadout.

Stock

Running no stock is probably the most optimal choice for the BAR due to the quality of the tradeoffs. However, if you prefer more speed, you can use the CGC Wire.

Ammo Type

FMJ (full metal jacket) Rounds make up for the bullet penetration lost in this build, but you can also safely use Subsonic if you’d prefer a stealthier approach.

Proficiency

Hardscope is a straight buff to accuracy and recoil when aiming down sights, which is perfect for the BAR. Sleight of Hand can also be useful for faster reloads in fast-paced game modes.

Kit

Fully Loaded is a good kit to choose to ensure you don’t have to reload and can rack up multi-kills at the start of every respawn. You can safely choose Surplus instead if you just care about grinding XP.

Secondary

The Machine Pistol is a solid choice for a secondary weapon to use as a backup, or at close range, which is where the BAR can fall off. Its insanely fast fire speed can get you out of tough spots.

Lethal

Your lethal grenade will depend on the game mode, but the Throwing Knife is effective at quickly and silently killing enemies in all modes. MK2 Frag Grenade and Gammon Bomb can be good for clearing out rooms of enemies tightly packed together, while the other lethal items can also be great at controlling areas. There’s ultimately no wrong choice here.

Tactical

Stim may not be as powerful as in previous iterations of Call of Duty, but still a go-to for an assault rifle loadout. It allows you to get straight back into the action and wrack up kills without having to wait for recovery.

Best BAR Perks

Perk 1

All perks in the ‘Perk 1’ category are useful and completely situational, but we found Ghost to be a good all-rounder. It can protect you from early-game killstreaks, so you can safely build up your own. Ninja can also be a great perk for sneaky kills and map movement.

Perk 2

Piercing Vision is a good perk choice for the BAR, especially when using the full metal jacket rounds. You can easily get a one-up on the enemy by seeing them through walls, which can sometimes be broken down for a surprise attack, thanks to Call of Duty: Vanguard’s destructible scenery.

Perk 3

Lightweight makes up for the speed lost in this build and is the perk we recommend choosing when using this loadout. Double Time can also increase Tactical Sprint if you find yourself sprinting more than you walk.

Looking for a solid SMG? Check out ‘Call of Duty Vanguard: Best MP-40 Loadout‘. You can also find more useful guides on our Call of Duty: Vanguard tag page.

Call of Duty: Vanguard is out for PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series S/X, and PC via Battle.net.