MK2 Weapons & Ammo: What’s the best weapon loadout?

Deciding on the best weapon loadout for you is understandably a difficult one since the introduction of MK2 weapons and ammo. There are many combinations you could use based on whether you like to play more against other players (e.g. Deathmatches) or NPCs.

In our earlier post, we shared a breakdown of all the MK2 Ammo types, so that’s a great resource if you intend on optimizing your weapon loadout.

List of weapons that can be upgraded to MK2

Standard Gun	Upgrade Cost	Upgraded Gun
Pistol	$73,750	Pistol Mk II
SNS Pistol	$79,575	SNS Pistol Mk II
Heavy Revolver	$99,000	Heavy Revolver Mk II
Pump Shotgun	$82,500	Pump Shotgun Mk II
SMG	$85,500	SMG Mk II
Assault Rifle	$98,750	Assault Rifle Mk II
Carbine Rifle	$107,500	Carbine Rifle Mk II
Bullpup Rifle	$105,750	Bullpup Rifle Mk II
Special Carbine	$135,000	Special Carbine Mk II
Combat MG	$119,000	Combat MG Mk II
Marksman Rifle	$149,000	Marksman Rifle Mk II
Heavy Sniper	$165,375	Heavy Sniper Mk II

The MK2 upgrade cost can vary from GTA$73,000 to GTA$165,000 depending on the gun.

The GTA Latest team has tried out all of the MK2 weapons, against both other players and NPCs. Taking into consideration damage, accuracy, range and fire rate. Because, too often do you see players focusing completely on the damage. We are after the best all-round weapon loadout.

If you are unfamiliar with the different Ammo Types, please read our MK2 Ammo Guide here.

If you haven’t gotten around to upgrading your standard weapons to MK2 versions yet, this guide can help you along the way.

Our recommended (best weapon loadout) is:

Loadout Position	Recommended Mk2 Weapons	MK2 Ammo & notable upgrades	Comments
Pistol	Pistol MK2	Hollow Point rounds + Suppressor	A solid stealth pistol.
	Heavy Revolver MK2	Hollow Point rounds	One shot kills most players. Alternatively, use Incendiary rounds if you want a 100% chance of setting the enemy on fire.
Shotgun	Pump Action Shotgun MK2	Explosive rounds	One shot to blow up most vehicles and players. They are called “Explosive Slugs” here.
Rifle	Carbine Rifle MK2	Armour Piercing rounds + Suppressor	Stealth rifle.
	Special Carbine Rifle MK2	Normal ammo and Extended Magazine	For large hordes of NPCs.
MG	SMG MK2	Hollow Point rounds	For drive-bys.
	Combat MG MK2	Full Metal Jacket Rounds	Perfect against armored vehicles and helicopters.
Sniper Rifle	Sniper Rifle (Regular)	Suppressor	The only non-MK2 gun on this list, and your stealth sniper. Those Explosive rounds are pricey, so it always helps to have a regular sniper rifle to take down those NPCs.
	Heavy Sniper MK2	Explosive rounds	The most powerful gun in the game. e.g. you can take down a Hydra jet with just 2 shots, or an MK2 Oppressor griefer with just 1 shot.

NOTE:

AUGUST 2022 UPDATE NOTE: even though the Military Rifle, Heavy Rifle & Service Carbine weapons have been released in recent updates, they do not make our cut for the best weapon load-outs. The latter two can potentially take the rifle spots in your loadout (Service Carbine for longer range due to better accuracy) if you have not yet unlocked MK2 weapons.
the above table assumes that you will upgrade other components of each gun (e.g. barrel, sight, etc) anyway. So only unique modifications are mentioned in the table.
Use the Suppressor on any of your stealth guns. While the in-game stat bars for weapons show that it has a negative impact on damage/range, that is actually not the case. Users who have dived into in-game files will know that the Suppressor actually does not have a negative impact on any of your weapon stats.
We find having a simple loadout is better and easier to work with. But if you don’t mind a loadout with more than 2 weapons per slot, consider getting a 3rd rifle. We suggest the Assault Rifle with Full Metal Jacket rounds, as a good backup for when your Combat MG MK2 runs out of ammo.