The best Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War FFAR 1 loadout

Returning for its fourth appearance, the FAMAS has become one of Call of Duty‘s most iconic guns. The FFAR 1 in Black Ops Cold War is the latest rendition of the FAMAS. Similar to the original Black Ops, this year’s FAMAS is a fast-firing automatic assault rifle that requires good aim to stay on target. It is not a burst rifle, unlike its infamous Modern Warfare version. Its theoretical time to kill of just 330 ms is not incredible by any means, but it is relatively competitive when compared to other assault rifles. And thanks to its incredible fire rate of 909 rounds per minute, the FFAR 1 is forgiving up close.

However, the FFAR 1 is unlike any other assault rifle in Black Ops Cold War. While most are accurate and easy to handle, the FAMAS is tricky to use. Since its nerf in patch 1.06, the FFAR 1 has become arguably the least accurate gun in the game. For this reason, the priority for any good FFAR 1 build is decreasing its recoil. Thankfully, there are a few attachments that help with that.

FFAR 1 Perk Greed build

• Muzzle: Infantry Compensator
• Barrel: 19.5″ Reinforced Heavy
• Underbarrel: Field Agent Grip
• Magazine: Salvo 44 Rnd Fast Mag
• Handle: Airborne Elastic Wrap

Despite its shortcomings, the FFAR 1 doesn’t require more than five attachments to be made viable. This enables the use of Perk Greed, which is the best wildcard in Black Ops Cold War. Given that the FAMAS is a mobile assault rifle I’d recommend using perks that help you move around the map. The likes of Ghost, Ninja, and Assassin are always good choices. Be sure to try out different perks though to see what suits your playstyle.

For this build, I didn’t find a custom optic necessary. The FFAR 1 has some of the best iron sights I’ve ever seen in Call of Duty. If you do happen to dislike them then typical close to mid-range sights like the Quickdot LED and Microflex LED are decent alternatives. But using up an attachment slot on your optic is unideal as the other five attachments on this build are difficult to switch out.

When it comes to muzzles the SOCOM Eliminator is your best friend. This attachment decreases your vertical recoil by 17% which is essential on the FFAR 1. To be frank, when stock this gun is just far too inaccurate to compete with the other meta primaries. And even though this attachment does add a lot of horizontal recoil it’s still the best option. Just be aware that this build does bounce around left to right whilst firing so inexperienced FPS players may struggle to use it.

Your choice of barrel attachment is flexible, but I found the 19.5″ Reinforced Heavy to be the best. Increasing your bullet velocity on any Black Ops Cold War gun is extremely useful and this barrel addresses the FFAR 1’s unfavorable damage fall off by doubling it. If you don’t think the bullet velocity is problematic, then opt for the 20.3″ Takedown barrel instead. Personally, I found on larger maps like Satellite and Miami the default velocity of 625 meters per second felt too slow. I could actually see my bullets traveling before any hit markers appeared.

The Field Agent Grip should be considered a must use attachment for any FFAR 1 build. It’s no secret that this attachment in the top tier on most of Black Ops Cold War‘s guns but it’s especially important here. This is the only way to mitigate the horizontal recoil penalty provided by the SOCOM Eliminator. Even with both the Eliminator and Field Agent Grip equipped this build is by no means a laser beam. But the most fun part of using the FFAR 1 is that it’s incredibly satisfying once you learn its recoil spray pattern.

For the first time on any of my recommended builds, we opt for the largest magazine available. The Salvo 44 Rnd Fast Mag may hurt your aim down sights time, but it’s another necessary sacrifice. This rifle shreds through ammunition, and you’ll find yourself reloading often. I’m never a huge fan of taking a hit to gun handling, but the pros of this attachment are too good to pass on. Finally, the Airborne Elastic Wrap is primarily used to counteract the Salvo Mag’s con. The 30% improvement to ADS speed provided by the Elastic Wrap will make playing aggressively with this build easier. Even so, be aware that most well-built SMGs and shotguns will still outgun you up close. The FFAR 1 is best utilized in medium-range gunfights.