Tier 31 of the Season Five Battle Pass system will grant all players another free weapon for their arsenal to go alongside the new ISO SMG: the AN-94 assault rifle.

A weapon deemed “prototypical” due to its complex design, its potential is put on true display in Modern Warfare, especially because of its unique hyperburst feature:

“Cutting edge 5.45x39mm Russian assault rifle with a unique hyperburst feature. The initial shot from each trigger pull fires a rapid 2-round burst before perceived recoil is felt, creating a tightly grouped cluster with increased damage potential. This mechanism is fed by a canted magazine, and a reciprocating receiver helps keep control of the recoil.”

AN-94 Overview

The AN-94 is a fast-firing, low damage assault rifle effective at short-to-medium range. It has a starting magazine capacity of 30 rounds and the exact same ammunition that the AK-47 has for its 5.45x39mm 30-Round Magazine attachment. 

Our comparative study for the AN-94 stops here though, as its unique two-round burst – hyperburst –makes it unusual within the incredibly deep assault rifle pool.

Landing the hyperburst shots, plus a couple follow-ups in non-Hardcore modes, allows for a deft dispatch of hostile forces. In other words, like vulture on a hunt, this weapon is built for dispatching foes with no or little armor in Warzone™ – or the standard 100-health operator in Multiplayer – quickly.

Speaking of Hyperburst, the AN-94’s “select-fire” is actually the two-round hyperburst, which also remedies the need for a “burst” weapon perk that you might put on the other assault titles to make them have burst-fire.

The recoil pattern is at first incredibly tight, but as the magazine is expended over time, it will continue its mostly-vertical recoil while violently pushing its shots to the right. Due to the two-round burst mode’s small delay, weapon’s recoil pattern would kick more upwards than up and to the right if one were to continuously spam the trigger.

Blueprint Review and Loadout

The Company’s Might

Available at Tier 100 in the Season Five Battle Pass, the Company’s Might is a well-balanced blueprint weapon that extends the weapon’s effective range through its longest barrel as a pre-configured attachment.

The VLK 3.0x Optic gives a better sight picture with solid magnification. This blueprint is then given a well-rounded configuration treatment through the rest of its attachments: a Compensator for recoil control, Commando Foregrip for recoil and aiming stability, and a Tac Laser for a three-in-one aiming stability, aim walking steadiness, and aim down sight speed buff combo.

Here’s a loadout you could use with this blueprint for Warzone and Multiplayer:

Primary: The Company’s Might

Secondary: Black Tie Affair (Free at Tier 55)

Perks: Quick Fix, Overkill, Amped

Equipment: C4, Heartbeat Sensor

This loadout blends experimental weaponry with tried-and-true relics from the days of yore, as the secondary, through Overkill, is a precision WWII marksman rifle. Great for challenging at long-distance, or cracking armor at most ranges before switching to your primary, the Black Tie Affair will allow you to be well-suited for the next operation in Verdansk or elsewhere.

Amped lets you go for that quick weapon-swap kill, while Quick Fix speeds up health regeneration times after successfully dispatching enemies or playing objectives.

For a loadout for both modes, its equipment must be versatile; therefore, there is C4 for dealing with both vehicles and infantry, and a Heartbeat Sensor which, in any game, helps spot nearby enemies… If they aren’t using Ghost, that is.

Two Warzone Loadout Suggestions

1. From (and for) Downtown

Primary: AN-94

Monolithic Suppressor, AN-94 Factory X-438mm Barrel, Commando Foregrip, POS-M3 Thermal Scope, AN-94 Factory Heavy

Secondary: JOKR

Perks: Kill Chain, Pointman, Shrapnel

Equipment: Proximity Mine, Decoy Grenade

Kitted for maximum range, this AN-94 allows an Operator to provide overwatch in high verticality zones, such as Downtown. The rest of the loadout providing backup against vehicles and flanking enemies, along with benefits for the whole squad to enjoy.

You’ll be shooting from way downtown – longshots, we mean – with the suppressor/barrel combo, and stay steady with the underbarrel and stock attachments. Add this weapon’s unique Thermal Scope to help you pick out enemies even through smoke, and you have a weapon that may be better for burst-fire rather than keep at fully-auto.

The secondary is the JOKR, a launcher notorious for giving those that have the high-ground some justice from above, or that tracks down locked-on vehicles like a hawk.

Kill Chain increases the chance at finding Killstreaks, great for checking boxes as you ascend up buildings, and Pointman bumps up Contract payouts, which is great for the rest of your squad to go complete them while you watch from above.

Shrapnel plays into the JOKR launcher and the Proximity Mine lethal equipment. Thanks to this perk, you’ll get another mine, and the explosive damage from it will delay enemy health regeneration. Finally, Decoy Grenades could lead enemies towards a prime position for you to ambush them.

2. Opposite Day

Primary: AN-94

VLK AN-94 Sila Barrel, Tac Laser, 45 Round Mags, Stippled Grip Tape, VLK PK-9 Pero

Secondary: Death Roll (Available in the Season Five Wetland Protection Store Bundle)

Perks: Cold-Blooded, Overkill, Tune Up

Equipment: Molotov Cocktail, Gas Grenade

Why Opposite Day? Well, here is an assault rifle that behaves like an SMG, and an SMG that behaves like an assault rifle. And while it’s Opposite Day for you, it’ll be a rough day for your opposition who try to get into close to medium range around Verdansk.

This AN-94 configuration is built for balance, as seen via its stats. Outside of a visible Laser and the 45-Round Mag’s weight, this attachment combo kits this weapon “similar to” how some hardcore Operators like to configure their assault rifles, even if the ammunition it uses is more commonly found in SMGs.

The secondary is an SMG with a 5.56 NATO conversion magazine. That ammunition is usually chambered in Assault Rifles, so having this on an SMG platform makes this weapon more effective in the medium range while still being great up close.

For perks, Cold-Blooded will keep you off enemy heat signatures, Overkill is necessary for dual primaries, and Tune Up puts you in an active medic role due to its faster revive time buff.

Lethal and tactical equipment comprises of a Molotov Cocktail, more viable for infantry but still good for chipping away at a vehicle’s health, and the Gas Grenade, which could hinder an opponent’s ability to fire back during an engagement.

Two Multiplayer Loadout Suggestions

1. Ice Water

Primary: AN-94

AN-94 Sonic Brake, Bipod, 60 Round Casket Mags, Canted Hybrid, Rubberized Grip Tape

Secondary: Meltwater Blueprint (Available at Tier 65 in the Season Five Battle Pass)

Perks: E.O.D., High Alert, Battle Hardened

Equipment: Frag Grenade, Flash Grenade

This AN-94 configuration and loadout is built for those who like weapons with precise and accurate fire, want to remain steady on target, know who is sneaking up on them, and deal mostly in infantry based combat.

The Primary Weapon configuration includes the unique AN-94 Sonic Brake attachment that behaves similar to a Muzzle Brake on other weapons. The other attachments deal with recoil control (underbarrel and rear grip), maximizing magazine capacity, and offering a two-for-one sight for fights across the vast “medium range.”

The secondary is a sidearm with incredible magazine capacity and accuracy, which fits right in with the assault rifle it backs up.

E.O.D. and Battle Hardened mitigate lethal and tactical grenade effects respectively, alongside some secondary benefits that are also just as useful in common Multiplayer situations. High Alert helps with awareness of enemies that have you in their sights via visual aid.

Then there are the bread-and-butter Frag and Flash Grenades. Lob the latter to hurt your enemy’s senses before engaging, and the former to deal with multiple enemies at once or that are in odd or hard to fire at spaces.

2. Double Tap

Primary: AN-94

AN-94 Factory 330mm, Merc Foregrip, 5mW Laser, Stippled Grip Tape, Folded Stock (Not Pictured)

Secondary: Apodora (Available at Tier 27 in the Season Five Battle Pass)

Perks: Double Time, Overkill, Tracker

Equipment: Throwing Knife, Stim

Built for pure speed, this class configures the AN-94 close to its fastest movement speed and sprint-to-fire speeds, great for Operators who want to be constantly moving through smaller Multiplayer maps or CQB-minded spaces within others.

Playing off the AN-94’s “hyperburst” two-bullet system, the secondary is a shotgun that can only chamber two shells at a time. If the fight devolves to near-fisticuffs, it may be wise to switch from your primary to this extreme-close range powerhouse. And, if it comes down to fisticuffs, the included Throwing Knife can be used as a melee weapon.

To keep this fast-paced loadout’s theme, Double Time will double Tactical Sprint duration and improves crouch movement speed. Tracker is here to help you track down enemy movements via footsteps.

Rounding out the loadout is the Stim, which refreshes Tactical Sprint and gives a near-instant health boost for when the next engagement will arrive quicker than the standard health regeneration time.

These are only just a few ways to configure the AN-94 in the Gunsmith. Have fun with it once you unlock it and keep levelling it up to see the near-infinite possibilities it provides for your loadouts.

We’ll see you online. Stay frosty.

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