The best PKM loadout for Warzone

Warzone operator Hudson looks at the screen ahead of Season 5 Reloaded.
(Image credit: Activision)

Fancy trying the best Warzone PKM loadout? Let's go back to when nobody knew Verdansk like a second home. When nobody had the fear in their hearts of getting beamed from across the map with the AMAX. We hadn't even experienced the collective horror of the DMR meta. Back then, it was range and power combined as we all learned the ropes in Verdansk. For me, that feeling is embodied by the humble PKM.

The PKM is a powerful LMG which does exactly what you want it to: shred enemies from a distance. Sure, you might've moved on to the Stoner 63 or prefer the game's fancy pants assault rifles, but here's one for the old heads: the best PKM loadouts for Warzone.

The best long-ranged PKM Warzone loadout

Attachments:

  • Muzzle: Monolithic Suppressor
  • Barrel: 26.9" Extended Barrel
  • Optic: VLK 3.0x Optic
  • Laser: Tac Laser
  • Underbarrel: Commando Foregrip

Secondary:

Perks:

  • EOD
  • Ghost
  • Amped

Throwables:

  • Claymore
  • Heartbeat Sensor
Win more with these Warzone loadouts

(Image credit: Infinity Ward)

Best Warzone loadout: The gear to choose
Best M4A1 Warzone loadout: Top all-purpose AR builds
Best Bullfrog Warzone loadout: Effective SMG setups
Best CR-56 AMAX Warzone loadout: Strong AR builds
Best Krig 6 Warzone loadout:  Attachments to choose
Best Kar98k Warzone loadout: Boost the speedy sniper

The PKM, being something of a long-ranged monster, is absolutely the sort of gun you want to deck out like this. Low recoil, max range. We love to see it.

So, the Monolithic Suppressor is a clear choice, and the longest barrel available will supercharge your bullet velocity to ensure your shots actually hit their moving targets. Without this, you'll need to lead your shots more, which can be a pain to make work when your window of opportunity is closing.

I've gone for the VLK 3.0x Optic because it's just so clean and easy to use. Along with the Tac Laser, it's just so easy to snap onto targets from a long way away and beam them down without having too much of your view obstructed. Speaking of the Tac Laser, it's surprisingly helpful when it comes to the gun's mobility. We're really slowing the PKM down with this loadout, so with the laser we have a much faster ADS speed than would otherwise be possible. It's a bit annoying to have it visible to enemies, but you'll be engaging from so far away that the visual cue won't even matter that much.

(Image credit: Activision)

Finally, the Commando Foregrip is ideal for further reducing recoil. By the time you've stacked up these attachments, you should have a gun that just refuses to miss a shot. It's powerful, too, and properly chunks the enemy's armour away even from a long way out. The only real issue you'll have is the mobility of the PKM. It'll take a while to raise it from sprinting, so you'll want to run around with your SMG secondary.

I've also put on Amped for this reason: When switching guns to the PKM it takes a while to raise the weapon and fire in a hurry. Amped means you don't have to take quite so long switching guns, so you can get firing much quicker, or switch to a secondary and spray the enemy far sooner before getting melted at close-range.

We're using Ghost here as well. With a loadout that prioritises staying at range and taking out foes from a long way away, being invisible from UAVs and Heartbeat Sensors is invaluable to your element of surprise. It also should mean your own Heartbeat Sensor will be able to catch out baddies who haven't Ghosted up in favour of something like High Alert (or people who are still on their first loadout so are running Overkill).

The best balanced PKM Warzone loadout

Attachments:

  • Muzzle: Monolithic Suppressor
  • Laser: Tac Laser
  • Optic: VLK 3.0x Optic
  • Stock: FSS Close Quarters Stock
  • Rear Grip: Stippled Grip Tape

Secondary:

Perks:

  • EOD
  • High Alert
  • Amped

Throwables:

  • Semtex
  • Heartbeat Sensor

I've tweaked a couple bits and pieces here. The Monolithic, VLK 3.0x Optic, and Tac Laser are still here, because they're just so damn handy and versatile. With the other attachments, though, I've gone for something to help mitigate the mobility of the PKM. The FSS Close Quarters Stock is a fantastic addition alongside the Stippled Grip Tape, as they're both here to boost ADS speed for the PKM. 

Of course, with these being added, your recoil control and bullet velocity will suffer slightly. Honestly though, that's not that big a deal in my opinion. You're using this gun as a mid-range assault rifle-type thing now, so you shouldn't be challenging snipers and other ridiculous-range LMGs like you would with the above loadout that includes the fancy barrel attachment.

(Image credit: Activision)

It also means we're free to stick something like High Alert, which is a lifesaver. It even makes Dead Silence-toting enemies audible, so there'll be no flanking you at all. Hopefully. 

I've also chucked a Semtex on there, as the previous loadout's Claymore was definitely geared to a more campy playstyle. Here, you can push buildings with your PKM at medium ranges and flush enemies out of their hidey-holes with grenades. It's a lot more versatile. Just don't expect to be quite so potent at range.

Image
Read more
Black Ops 6 best XM4 loadout - the first-person view of a blue XM4 assault rifle
Best Black Ops 6 XM4 loadout and class setup
Black Ops 6 best loadouts - a man in a white balaclava is holding an assault rifle with smoke and debris around him
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 meta guns and loadouts
The Finals
New to The Finals? These are the best weapons to unlock first
Helldivers 2 best weapons - A diver in the Freedom's Flame armour
The best Helldivers 2 weapons
helldivers 2 autocannon
Gun of the Year 2024: Helldivers 2's AC-8 Autocannon
Amid Evil art
10 essential boomer shooters that every FPS fan should play
Latest in Call of Duty
A soldier looks out over the Verdansk map, as a single tear rolls down his cheek.
The original Verdansk map is returning to Call of Duty: Warzone, to celebrate which we get a soldier crying to Nat King Cole
black ops 6 season 1
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Season 3 has been delayed, as the devs say they're 'taking the time to deliver a great experience' for what will be a 'big moment' for Call of Duty
A zombie santa with six fingers leaps at the screen.
Call of Duty admits it's using generative AI to 'help develop some in-game assets', and suddenly all those poorly made calling cards make sense
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in Black Ops 6.
Call of Duty's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crossover costs like $90 and even the die-hards are in shellshock: 'Cash cow-abunga!'
Ghost, from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022), looks bleakly at a fellow passenger in a transport.
For COD’s sake: One player’s 763-day legal quest to make Activision unban their account ends in total success: ‘Worth the effort’
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Season 2
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Season 2 will let players battle on boats and bullet-trains, with the Terminator entering the fray 'shortly after launch'
Latest in Features
OneXPlayer 2 pro on a table
I never thought a handheld PC bloated with Windows could replace my Steam Deck, but after gaming on an old OneXPlayer 2 Pro I can see now I judged it too harshly
Beyond the Ice Palace 2 screenshots
I’m not sure what’s weirder: that someone made a sequel to a completely forgettable 37-year-old game I played as a kid, or that it was actually worth the wait
Screenshot of Children of Clay showing a mysterious clay model
Five new Steam games you probably missed (March 10, 2025)
A goalkeeper in a plague mask wields an axe
Silent Hill gets a soccer league in FEAR FA 98, and you can play the demo now
The Sims 4 - stacks of laundry machines in a small laundromat small business next to chairs with laundry
The best part of The Sims 4 Businesses & Hobbies expansion is just coming up with fun small business ideas
Obenseuer
This brutalist life sim gave me a free tenement block to renovate, but my mushroom addiction kept getting in the way