Modern Warfare 3 Machine Pistols Guide

In this Modern Warfare 3 Machine Pistols guide, we are going to give you an exact comparison of all the machine pistols in game.

Not only will you get an overview of each machine pistol, but you will you are going to find out the strengths and weaknesses of each machine pistol, how many bullets they need to take out an enemy player, and overall which the best machine pistol is.


Modern Warfare 3 Machine Pistols Guide – Overview

  • FMG9: Unlocked at level 4. 36 round clip. Tied with the G18 for fastest firing rate.
  • MP9: Unlocked at level 16. 32 round clip.
  • Skorpion: Unlocked at level 36. 20 round clip, remarkably low kick.
  • G18: Unlocked at level 70. 20 round clip, remarkably high kick. Tied with the FMG9 for fastest firing rate.


CoD MW3 Machine Pistols Guide – Damage Comparisons:

FMG9: 3 normal shots for a kill. 2 headshots required for a kill. 1 headshot + 2 normal shots.

MP9: 4 normal shots for a kill, 1 headshot + 2 normal shots, or 2 headshots for a kill.

Skorpion: 4 normal shots for a kill, 1 headshot + 2 normal shots, or 2 headshots for a kill.

G18: 3 normal shots for a kill, 1 headshot + 1 normal shot, or 2 headshots for a kill.

As you can see, the G18 does the most damage, as it only needs 1 headshot and a normal shot to get a kill. However, it is not far ahead of the FMG9, as the FMG9 and the G18 both require 3 normal shots for a kill.

The Skorpion and MP9 are the two weakest guns, as both these require 4 normal shots, a headshot and two normal shots, or 2 headshots in order to take out an enemy.

This also seems odd as the Skorpion and MP9 actually have the highest damage rankings, yet in practice their bullets are actually weaker than the G18 and FMG9. I am not sure if this is a bug or is working as intended. I double checked my results though and the Skorpion and MP9 are actually weaker than the G18 and FMG9.


Modern Warfare 3 Machine Pistol Guide – Which One is Best?

So now that you at least know the basic mechanics of each weapon, you are likely wondering which one is the best machine pistol to use.

You might conclude that the G18 machine pistol is the best as it has the most damage and a very high firing rate. However, I would not consider the G18′s actual damage to be higher than the FMG9 as you will not be aiming for headshots with machine pistols in MW3 – the kick is too high and they fire way too fast for it to even matter.

Additionally, between the FMG9 and the G18, the FMG9 has a significantly bigger clip and slightly less kick (though both weapons have a lot of kick). For this reason, I prefer the FMG9 over the G18.

With that said, I actually think that the Skorpion is the best of them all. Why is that? The truth is that the Skorpion and FMG9 actually have similar firepower.

While the FMG9 takes a player out in three shots and the Skorpion requires 4, you have to consider that these weapons are most effective when used with Akimbo (i.e. dual-wielding). Whether you need three bullets or four bullets to kill an enemy, you will still be shooting each gun twice.

This helps put the Skorpion and FMG9 on a level playing field with each other in terms of damage. However, the FMG9 still does fire a lot faster than the Skorpion, so why the Skorpion?

The real reason the Skorpion is so good is because it is the only Machine Pistol with no kick. Even when you Akimbo them, there is literally no kick when using Skorpions. You can strafe and hold down the trigger with absolutely no vertical kick.

Compare that to any of the other Machine Pistols – they all jump incredibly quickly when fired, even with the Kick proficiency active. The Skorpion on the other hand stays perfectly level, making it far superior to the other Machine Pistols.

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Modern Warfare 3 Machine Pistols Guide – Conclusion

Machine Pistols have a lot of power and can put out a lot more firepower than even a Shotgun at close ranges. While the Skorpion is slightly weaker and has a smaller clip than the other Machine Pistols, it is the only one with no kick, making it far superior in the secondary slot, especially when dual-wielding (Akimbo).

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