Which SMG is best in Chapter 4 Season 3?

With the introduction of the new Chapter 4 Season 3: WILDS comes the introduction of a few un-vaulted options to compete with the formidable existing Chapter 4 options.  

In this season, the Combat SMG comes back to join the Submachine Gun and Run N’ Gun SMG as high fire rate short range options. As always, this segment of weapons harbors the most difficult choices as the options are plentiful and range significantly in capabilities. 

Let’s take a closer look at the performance figures for each weapon to find out which ones should make it into your load out!

In order to determine the best SMG we need to consider performance over a few important primary areas: 

1. Damage per Round (DpR) and Rounds per Second (RpS)
2. Reload Time (RT)
3. Time to Kill (our composite metric that takes DpR, RpS, and RT into account)

There are other harder to quantify questions like weapon/sight accuracy and bloom but after consistent game play using both options the Combat SMG, Submachine Gun, and Heisted SMG seem to behave in very similar ways. For the purposes of this blog let's consider their performance in these other areas equal.

1. How do the SMGs perform on DpR and RpS?

As soon as we pull the performance figures for the comparable SMG's the top performer becomes clear.

The Combat SMG hits harder and fires faster than it's closest peers, making it the early front runner for top performer. 

2. How do the SMGs perform on reload time?

In many cases, the highest powered guns (think Heavy Sniper) often suffer from reload times that can materially impact the guns overall lethality. Let's see if this is the case with the Combat SMG:

The Combat SMG is roughly 10% better on Damage per Round (DpR) and Rounds per Second (RpS) relative to the Submachine Gun and only gives up ~5% on reload time. Although it isn't the fastest reloader it isn't a poor enough performer for this to materially change our initial findings. Let's review the Time to Kill metric to ensure that our intuition here is right. 

3. How do the SMGs perform on Time to Kill (TtK)?

With the underlying performance figures either even or leaning towards the Combat SMG, it's unlikely that we see any surprises when we consider our Time to Kill metrics. (Time to Kill = The total time it takes to deplete 250hp of enemy health using a single weapon with 100% accuracy and no critical hits.)

At similar tiers, always consider the Combat SMG. Even with the unlimited sprint capability of the Run N' Gun the performance delta is stark enough (the worst Combat SMG is better than the Run N' Gun) that you should second guess including it in your load out. Yes even in a map constrained by mobility this feels like a costly addition to your 5 slot load out.

Lastly, I would add that even if you stumble across a legendary Submachine Gun the only variant that outperforms the uncommon tier, pass it up or expect to swap it out as its likely that you come across a Rare Combat SMG somewhere in your travels.

Given these performance figures it quite clear that the Combat SMG is the top tier option amongst this competitive set and if you are going to carry this weapon class only carry the Combat SMG. 

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