Modern Warfare 4 class tier list: every preset class ranked

The preset classes only matter for your first few levels. After that you build your own, so this is really a ranking of how well each one carries you through the part of the game where you have almost nothing unlocked. Some of them are good enough that I’d keep playing them past level 4 anyway.

How MW4 preset classes work

Five default loadouts, each with a primary, a secondary, a Lethal, a Tactical and a Field Upgrade. They unlock by player level, and they are all you have until Create-a-Class opens at level 4. After that you can build up to 12 of your own.

The presets also hand you guns long before you could use them otherwise. The Kastov 762 normally needs level 34, the .50 GS pistol level 41, the Signal 50 level 50 and the Axion level 52, and the right preset lets you run them from your first few levels.

The Assault preset also comes with the Quick Fix perk. That matters because the 28 October update changed it, and taking a hit now pauses the healing.

MW4 class tier list

I ranked these on how good the primary is, how useful the backup and gear are, and how well the class copes while you have nothing else unlocked. S is the one I would start on. A is solid and only loses out to a better pick. B works when the map suits it, and C is the one I would skip.

Stalker

The ISO Nightshade is a full-auto SMG with a fast rhythm and plenty of recoil, and it is S tier on the weapon tier list. The launch notes made SMGs better at close and mid range, and the 28 October update added a bump to the ISO’s limb damage. It took a couple of nerfs in the beta and is still the gun I would rather hold than anything else in the presets.

The rest of the class agrees with it. A Krait P68 for backup, a Sticky and a Smoke so you can push or retreat, and DDoS as the Field Upgrade. Nothing in the kit works against the SMG, which is more than I can say for most of the others. The only real problem is that unmodified recoil is heavy, and the sooner you reach level 4 and fit attachments the better it gets.

Assault

The Kastov 762 hits hard and kicks hard, and the 28 October update raised its maximum range from 950 to 1050. It is the one preset that does everything at medium range without asking you to change how you play. The Portable Radar and Quick Fix give you a safety net while you learn the maps.

What drags it down is the Sang 9mm, which is quick and easy to handle but gives up damage for speed. Treat it as a gun you switch to when the magazine runs dry. I’d rank it just under Stalker because it gets less out of close range, and close range is where most early fights happen.

Breacher

The REZI 12 is a fast-cycling semi-auto shotgun, and none of the launch-week updates touched it. In a tight building or on a small map it will win fights the others can’t, and the .50 GS makes a decent backup. Drill Charge, Snapshot and Smoke Wall are all gear for clearing and holding a room.

Give it a bigger map and the class shows its limits. There is nothing to do at range, and long sightlines will beat you every time. I’d play it on small maps and swap out of it everywhere else.

Sniper

The Signal 50 is an anti-material rifle with a barrel that keeps the recoil down, and it normally takes until level 50 to unlock. The surprise in this class is the Axion in the secondary slot. It’s a .300 Blackout rifle with moderate recoil and a fast cyclic rate, normally a level 52 unlock, and it saves you when someone runs up on you. Thermite, Smoke and a Razor Wire Trap cover the rest.

It unlocks at level 3, a level before Create-a-Class. That means you will probably use it for one level and then build your own sniper class with an actual plan, which is why it sits in B and not higher.

Demolition

The FiNN LMG is meant to keep firing while you move, and it took the biggest cuts of the five. The beta trimmed its damage, and then the 28 October update shortened its mid damage range from 1720 to 1620 and trimmed its arm hits.

The PILA launcher is the real issue. It is a portable air-defence launcher with guided and unguided missiles, which is great against a helicopter and does nothing to the player running at you. Trip Wire, Stim and Riot Shield are good tools in the right hands, but I wouldn’t hand any of them to someone on their first few levels. It’s playable, and it asks the most of you of the five.

Best preset class to start with

Stalker. It is a top-tier gun from level 1, and every piece of gear in it helps you get into position or back out. If the recoil gives you trouble, Assault is the calmer option. It holds up better at range, and the Kastov is a gun you won’t otherwise touch until level 34.

What to do when Create-a-Class opens

At level 4 the first thing I’d do is rebuild the class you liked, with a perk from each slot. Only a few perks are open that early, so Quick Fix in the first slot and Blood Rush in the second are the best you can run, and Combat Grid beats Lethal Reach in the third. The full ranking is on the perk tier list.

A fully levelled gun also unlocks an Apex Attachment that doesn’t use an attachment slot, so it pays to stick with a gun you like. Ghost needs level 24, so levelling up faster gets you the best perk in the game sooner. Until then, the Stalker build with the ISO Nightshade is the one I would copy.

That’s the lot. Start on Stalker, drop Demolition for a while and build your own class the moment level 4 turns up.