NICKMERCS reveals surprising pick for most underrated Warzone ‘SMG’
Warzone streamer NICKMERCS has been paving the way with his META loadouts, and now he has revealed his ‘better than the MP5’ AS-VAL setup.
Award-winning streamer Nick ‘NICKMERCS‘ Kolcheff has been testing different weapons and loadouts for his YouTube channel since Warzone’s release in March.
Some credit him, for better or worse, for bringing the over-powered Bruen and R9-0 shotgun to the limelight. Now, he has been trying out the AS VAL as his secondary and has declared it ‘better than the MP5.’
Interestingly, this “submachine gun” is actually an assault rifle. With Modern Warfare and Warzone’s detailed Gunsmith system, the AS VAL can be modified to be a CQB weapon performing as an SMG. It has an insanely high rate of fire, allowing it to tear plates off enemies in the blink of an eye.
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NICKMERCS admitted the VAL’s low magazine size and high fire rate makes it unsuitable for fighting trios and quads. However, “when you’re running duos or solos, I don’t know how you run an MP5 over this thing,” said Nick. “In every way possible it’s better.”
Here’s what NICKMERCS runs on his AS VAL.
Nickmercs’ Warzone AS VAL loadout
- VLK 200mm Osa
- Commando Foregrip
- 30 Round Mags
- Stippled Grip Tape
- Sleight of Hand
The VAL is automatically silenced, so you can afford to swap a suppressor for Sleight of Hand. The largest magazine size it holds is 30 rounds, so you need to minimize the reload penalty as much as possible.
Recoil is quite high on the AS VAL, so the Commando Foregrip allows greater control of the weapon. To increase your mobility, NICKMERCS added Stippled Grip Tape. This increases both ADS time and sprint to fire time, allowing this weapon to act more like an SMG.
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As this ‘SMG’ is actually an assault rifle, you might need to keep an eye on your ammo count. The VAL uses the same ammunition as ARs such as the Kilo and M4, so if you’re using the VAL as a secondary, you might find your ammo quickly depleting.
