There are two factions in Battlefield Hardline, the now available heist-themed first-person shooter from Visceral Games. And, much like in real life, both are armed with plenty of military-grade hardware – from automatic rifles, to heavy weapons, to grenades and other gadgets and goodies. In fact, there are more than 50 different weapons and nearly 30 different gadgets in Battlefield Hardline, some of which are faction-specific, some of which are class-specific, and some of which can only be picked up in the course of playing through a level.
With all that variety to choose from, you’ll need to pick some favorites and master them. Here are ours, sectioned by class:
Operator Class
Favorite Assault Rifle: IMI Galil ARM – In real-life, this weapon – a lightweight modification of the standard-issue Israeli Galil – comes with a bipod, and a carrying handle on top. In Battlefield Hardline, it comes with a lot of bullets. It’s by far the highest capacity assault rifle in the game, and that means you can put a lot of steel on target without too much worry about reloading a lot. That minimizes downtime, and makes you an active participant for the majority of the match.
Favorite Carbine: Heckler and Koch G36C – One of Battlefield Hardline’s most stable and accurate weapons, especially in the carbine category, this all-rounder is good at just about any range and just about any task. It won’t blow you away in a single characteristic category, but across the board, it has the highest average performance of just about any gun. A great weapon for newbies and experts alike.
Favorite Pistol: SIG Sauer P226 – With this pistol, you sacrifice a little bit of maximum round capacity for a significant boost in damage over the default Beretta 92F. When you’re down to your pistol, you probably don’t need a lot of shots; what you need is the ability to put a guy down quickly, either because you’re in trouble or because he is. This is the gun to do that.
Mechanic Class
Favorite Submachine Gun: FN P90 – Anyone who’s played a lot of Counter-Strike will recognize this uniquely designed SMG, which reloads from the top. In Battlefield Hardline, the gun has great mobility, and a high firing rate compared to most SMGs. Plus, it comes by default with a flashlight – perfect for the Criminal faction to find that extra loot in the dark.
Favorite Revolver: .410 “Jury” – Based on Brazilian manufacturer Taurus’ Judge series of pistols, the .410 Jury is unique among the game’s revolvers, in that it fires .410 shotgun shells instead of regular pistol cartridges. This makes it absolutely devastating in close quarters, and a great weapon for finishing off targets that you’ve softened with your SMG.
Enforcer Class
Favorite Shotgun: Franchi SPAS-12 – One of the world’s most recognizable shotguns, the SPAS-12 in Battlefield Hardline sacrifices range for its ability to fire semi-automatically. This one should be a no-brainer, folks: It’s a shotgun, what the heck do you need range for? You want range? Get a rifle.
Favorite Battle Rifle: FN SCAR-H – Unlike the version used by many of the world’s Special Forces units, the SCAR-H in Battlefield Hardline is in a semi-fictional close-quarters-combat configuration in which the stock is removed. In-game, this makes the gun maneuverable in close quarters, but still gives it range and power over distance. This is one of the most versatile and useful weapons in the entire game, and it comes highly recommended.
Favorite Pistol: 45T – Based on the real-life Heckler and Koch HK45C, this is the default sidearm issued to Enforcers in Battlefield Hardline. No need to upgrade from this one; it has the best all-around performance of the choices available to the Enforcer, combining good capacity, firing rate, power, and mobility.
Professional Class
Favorite Bolt-Action Rifle: .300 Knockout – Renamed for use in Battlefield Hardline, this is actually the U.S. Army’s M2010 Enhanced Sniper Rifle, except with an integrated suppressor. It shoots the most powerful round in Battlefield Hardline, although the suppressor causes it to experience high levels of bullet drop at long ranges. This also makes the gun very quiet, however – making it suitable for close- and medium-range targets right out of the gate, and for long-range targets once you learn how to account for the bullet drop. You’re a professional, right? Learn how to use this gun, and you’ll start dominating matches in no time.
Favorite Semi-Automatic Sniper Rifle: Springfield Armory M1A SOCOM16 – This is actually the civilian version of the venerable M14 rifle used by the U.S. Army for many decades. In Battlefield Hardline, it’s on the lower end of the damage scale, but shoots quite quickly and has a relatively large magazine for a sniper rifle. This is what you want; since none of the semi-automatic sniper rifles will one-shot-one-kill anyone, your best bet is a gun that can shoot quickly and accurately.
Favorite Machine Pistol: MAC-10 – Perfect for the Criminal faction (since this gun was used by bad guys in just about every 1980s movie), the MAC-10 must be equipped with the Extended Mag upgrade to truly shine. Then, you have a weapon with the highest power, highest firing rate, and biggest capacity of any machine pistol. Sure, it has almost no range and the recoil is all over the place, but who cares – this is a bank robbery, not skeet shooting!
Check out all of these and more now in Battlefield Hardline on Xbox One and Xbox 360. Lock and load!