What is the best MW3 BAS-B loadout in Season 1? Despite being forgotten by most players, battle rifles can be ridiculously powerful if tuned right, and that’s no different for the first one that you unlock in MW3 – the BAS-B. But if you want to take it to the next level, you’ll need to build the best MW3 BAS-B loadout you can in Season 1.
From our extensive experience playing MW3 during our Call of Duty MW3 review and beyond, including Season 1, the BAS-B isn’t just the best battle rifle, it’s one of the MW3 best guns right now. Offering great damage and decent range, it’s at the top of the MW3 meta. After countless hours in multiplayer and the firing range, we’ve cooked up the best BAS-B build so that you have one of the best MW3 loadouts at the ready.
Best MW3 BAS-B loadout
The best MW3 BAS-B loadout is:
- Muzzle – VT-7 Spiritfire Suppressor L
- Barrel – Bruen Venom Long Barrel
- Stock – Ravage-20 Heavy Stock
- Grip – STT88 Grip
- Underbarrel – Bruen Heavy Support Grip
We spent a lot of time crafting the BAS-B to be the best it could be, and with this loadout, we got the battle rifle to Gilded within just two hours. Seriously, the best MW3 BAS-B build is not one to underestimate. From our experience, the BAS-B is better than most assault rifles in the game and can even beat SMGs at close range, including many of the MW3 Season 1 additions.
At the base level, it’s a great gun though, from our testing in the firing range, it clearly suffers from a lot of vertical, and perhaps more annoyingly, a lot of horizontal recoil which is harder to counteract. That’s why we’ve chosen the attachments we have, as they bring this recoil down so you can take advantage of its blazingly fast time-to-kill (TTK). With our efforts to control the horizontal recoil especially, our BAS-B loadout is the best you can get in MW3. While we expect nerfs in the future, there’s a good chance that the BAS-B will always be a popular weapon in the MW3 meta.
Starting us off strong is the VT-7 Spiritifire Suppressor L as our choice of muzzle. Not only does it make you undetectable by radar when firing, but it also offers increased bullet velocity, recoil control, and damage range. Unfortunately, this does drop your aim down sight speed, sprint to fire speed, and aim walking steadiness, but it’s a small price to pay for making the BAS-B more controllable. After all, if you can’t land hits, what good is high damage? If you’re finding it too sluggish, don’t worry, we’ve got some alternative attachments later on that can make up for this.
Next up is the Bruen Venom Long Barrel. Similar to our choice of muzzle attachment, the barrel we’ve chosen increases the bullet velocity and range further, while also increasing the recoil control, aiming idle sway control, and gun kick control. It also comes with the same negatives as the muzzle, but once again, it’s worth the sacrifice. Your speed being negated doesn’t matter too much as the BAS-B is best used at mid to long-range anyhow. With that said, you’ll be surprised at just how well this weapon fares in CQC despite these downsides simply due to its high damage and predictable recoil pattern in this loadout.
As for our stock, we’ve gone for the Ravage-20 Heavy Stock. This further improves gun kick control, recoil control, and firing aim stability – three stats which are ideal for this punchy battle rifle. This does, however, further reduce several mobility stats. If you’re finding it a bit too sluggish or the recoil more than manageable, then the Ravage CS is a strong alternative. With both of the previous attachments negating our overall speed while using the weapon, the Ravage CS buffs them back up slightly, balancing it out. That does mean the recoil control and gun kick control take a slight hit.
Next, we recommend the STT88 Grip to, you guessed it, rein in the incredible kick of the BAS-B when fired at full-auto at long range. With the only drawback being aiming idle sway, there’s not much to lose by equipping this attachment. However, the BAS-B’s standard 20 round mag isn’t much. Given the TTK, it’s still possible to get two or even three kills if you’re landing your hits, but it’s by no means forgiving. For that reason, the 30 Round Mag is a worthwhile upgrade instead if you’re struggling with ammo.
Finally, we’re running the Bruen Heavy Support Grip. Since the default iron sights of the BAS-B are surprisingly good, even with the intense kick, we’d rather make this battle rifle a beast at range with even more recoil control. What makes this attachment as useful as it is, however, is the fact that it significantly reduces horizontal recoil, a particular sore spot for the BAS-B. Though this does hurt vertical recoil (as well as aim down sight speed), it’s a worthwhile trade-off to improve ranged effectiveness.
So now you have the best MW3 BAS-B loadout, all you need is the class setup and you’ll be ready to go.
MW3 BAS-B class setup
- Vest – Gunner Vest
- Secondary – Striker
- Tactical – Stun Grenade
- Lethal – Breacher Drone
- Field Upgrade – Comm Scrambler
- Gloves – Quick-Grip Gloves
- Gear – EOD Padding
Arguably the best Vest in the game, rivaled only by the Overkill Vest, we’re rocking the Gunner Vest. This helps the BAS-B out massively, letting us spawn with max ammo and improving reload speed. As mentioned, the BAS-B has a very limited 20 round mag which we’ve chosen not to extend. As such, the Gunner Vest helps us alleviate this issue. That’s not all though, as this Vest also lets you equip two primary weapons. With the BAS-B handling mid to long-range fights, we like something a little more aggressive than a pistol for backup.
For your secondary, we recommend the MW3 Striker loadout. This versatile SMG drops enemies at close range while also being quite competitive at medium range if you’re facing a group of enemies and the BAS-B’s 20 bullets aren’t quite enough. If you’re not a fan of the Striker, then the WSP Swarm or the MW3 Rival-9 loadout could be for you, being better suited to close-range engagements. On the other hand, the HRM-9, the Season 1 SMG, strikes a fine balance between the Rival-9 and the Striker which makes it a strong addition and accompaniment for the BAS-B.
Though we generally recommend the Gunner Vest and a second primary weapon for the best BAS-B loadout in MW3, the Assassin Vest added in Season 1 is a strong option. By removing the skull icon after killing an enemy and making you immune to UAV and enemy radar effects, the Assasin Vest is the ideal flanking Vest. Given the BAS-B is surprisingly versatile and aggressive for a battle rifle, it can work quite well, particularly on medium-sized maps where a backup SMG isn’t quite as necessary.
As for your equipment, we’ve been using the Stun or Flash Grenade for our tactical throwable and the Breacher Drone in our lethal slot. Stun and Flash Grenades are perfect for stopping enemies in their tracks and making them easy to kill. Got an enemy pushing you? Slow them down before swiftly taking them out. Is there an enemy bunkering down? Throw a Flash or Stun and charge on in. Likewise, the Breacher Drone is great for pushing foes. If it doesn’t kill them outright, then they will be severely injured. For those that don’t like the Breacher Drone, then the Frag Grenade or Semtex are also great options.
When it comes to your Field Upgrade slot, we’d choose the Comm Scrambler. It works wonders for hiding you from any enemy UAVs while enemies are within the Comm Scrambler’s range, while also stopping any enemies from calling in Killstreaks. It’s great for any of the MW3 modes or MW3 maps, especially ones that have difficult B flags or Hardpoints to hold, it can come in handy.
Finally, you’ll want to equip the right Gear options. With the Gunner Vest disabling the Boots slot, we’ve only got Gloves and Gear to play with. However, if you’re using a different Vest, such as Overkill or CCT Comms, then we recommend using the Stalker Boots to avoid enemy detection. Nevertheless, since we’ve got the BAS-B and the Striker, which we’ll be swapping between often, we’ve gone for the Quick-Grip Gloves. This makes those panicked moments when you desperately need to swap much quicker. However, the Marksman Gloves and Assault Gloves are also strong choices if you don’t find yourself switching weapons all too often.
Lastly, the tried and true EOD Padding. Grenades and other explosives are everywhere right now, and the EOD Padding is the only thing that can save you from a random explosion in your spawn. By reducing damage to explosions (excluding Killstreaks), you can stay in the fight longer. The last thing you want is your streak being curtailed by a random grenade.
If you’d really like to play into an aggressive but stealthy playstyle with the BAS-B loadout in MW3, then you could instead opt for the CCT Comms Vest, Assault Gloves, and Stalker Boots, with the Bone Conduction Headset and Mag Holster. Be warned though, you’ll lose access to handy equipment in the process, though the trade-off makes for a fun and surprisingly powerful setup when used correctly. We’ve had a blast using this MW3 BAS-B loadout on more tight-knit maps like Skidrow and Sub Base.
MW3 BAS-B alternatives
The BAS-B is easily the best battle rifle in the game right now, especially with the above loadout. Given how bad the rest of the battle rifles and marksman rifles are, that doesn’t sound like much, but you’ll see how powerful the BAS-B is the moment you pick it up. For the best alternatives, then, you’re best off looking elsewhere, particularly towards assault rifles.
Our first recommendation is the MW3 Holger 556 loadout, which maintains the high damage and range of the BAS-B but, being an assault rifle, is somewhat easier to use. Otherwise, there’s always the best MW3 SVA 545 loadout for something that is equally reliable and has good recoil control, or the best MW3 MCW loadout or RAM-7 (added in Season 1) for something with similar damage but a focus on close-range aggression.
However, since the BAS-B is one of the first weapons you unlock in the game, it’s easy to use and extremely powerful with the right build. Other than the above recommendations, we’d recommend leveling the BAS-B up and giving it a try yourself. Remember, it’s a whole different beast when kitted out with the best BAS-B loadout in MW3.
How to unlock the BAS-B in MW3
You will unlock the BAS-B in MW3 by reaching level 17. Given how early this level requirement is, it won’t take you long to unlock the BAS-B, which is great considering it’s a strong meta contender. However, If you really want to unlock it fast, then activate a double XP boost or two and watch your rank surge as the XP flows in. The good news is that, once you’ve unlocked the BAS-B, it’s the only battle rifle you’ll ever need. Well, at least for now. It’s possible that a new arrival will shake things up or even buffs and nerfs to the existing collection.
That’s the best MW3 BAS-B loadout, build, and full class setup that you need to be using in your next Season 1 matches, especially if you’re trying to unlock all of the MW3 camos in one of the best FPS game series. If you’re hoping to get a competitive advantage while you’re at it, why not pick up one of the best Xbox controllers and best PS5 controllers too?