Call of Duty: Black Ops 6has three LMGs available to use for launch. The PU-21 is the first one you’ll unlock and is arguably one of the best, featuring some unique attachment combinations that morph it into an AR/LMG hybrid. If you loved the Hades LMG from Black Ops 4 or MW3’s similar underbarrel attachment, the PU-21 is right up your alley.
In this guide, we’ll be covering two builds for the PU-21 that turn it into an excellent LMG for most situations. The first build is tailored for an anchor-heavy playstyle for core multiplayer, while the second build is tuned for aggressive gameplay.
Accuracy PU-21 Build
The PU-21 is incredibly strong if you can land all of your shots, but this weapon has some serious recoil and idle sway issues we need to address first. We highly recommend you use aTarget Laserwith this LMG. It’ll delay the ADS sway your gun experiences for three seconds, making it much easier to land kills past 20 meters.
As for accuracy, we use aCompensatorfor vertical recoil reduction and aVertical Foregripto reduce all horizontal deviation. This makes the PU-21 surprisingly accurate for an LMG, but you’ll want to throw onan optic of your choosingto clean up the gun’s bulky ADS profile. For our fifth slot, useQuickdraw Gripto greatly cut down on the weapon’s ADS speed. You won’t compete with SMGs or even certain ARs, but you’ll dominate in mid-range duels once you’re in position.
Loadout Recommendations
An anchored playstyle like this excels with theStrategist specialty, granting you bonus score for playing near the objective and destroying enemy equipment. To trigger this set bonus, we use Perk Greed to runFlak JacketandTac Masksimultaneously. Enemy equipment now has little effect on you. We then useDispatcherto make support Scorestreaks cheaper. Throw onBankrollfor some starting score, and you can chain UAVs and HARPs with ease.
As for equipment, our only hard recommendation is theTrophy Systemfor your Field Upgrade. This will intercept all incoming enemy equipment, making it much easier to lock down Hardpoints, Domination flags, and other important objectives in multiplayer.
Gunfighter PU-21 Build
This build also works well in Zombies.
If you miss the Hades from BO4, this build might be for you. We use the uniqueCrossbarunderbarrel attachment to replace the PU-21’s ADS mode with a focused hipfire mode, making this weaponmuch more nimble while aiming. Unlike the attachment it’s inspired by, Crossbar ADS doesnotcount as hipfiring, so it’s not affected by hipfire modifiers. We still recommend you use aSteady Aim Lasersince hipfiring can be useful in panic situations, but it doesn’t affect the Crossbar mode at all.
Accuracy is paramount here, so you’ll want to use aCompensatormuzzle to cut down on the weapon’s high vertical recoil. For better handling, we highly recommendFast Mags I.This turns the PU-21 into a magazine-fed LMG that can reload significantly faster than usual, and it even buffs your ADS speed. Throw on theQuickdraw Gripfor more ADS speed, and you are only slightly behind most assault rifles.
To finish the build, we use theInfiltrator Stockto greatly improve our ADS strafe speed. This stacks with the Crossbar attachment to significantly improve your strafe speed, making it roughly on par with SMGs. Throw onFMJand aShort Barrelto complete the build.
You’ll want to use anEnforcer specialtyfor this build. Kills will trigger HP regeneration after a short delay and greatly improve your movement speed for a few seconds. To trigger this bonus, we useDexterityto reduce weapon motion,Assassinfor free points against MVPs, andDouble Timefor more tactical sprint uptime. Your choice of equipment boils down to preference.
