Best Jackal PDW loadout and class build in Black Ops 6

As soon as you unlock the Jackal PDW in Black Ops 6, you should start leveling it up right away. This is because, though it may have been nerfed since the beta, it’s still the best SMG at launch — and can tear enemies to shreds when kitted out correctly.

While all of the SMGs in Black Ops 6 are fairly mobile, the Jackal PDW is the best of the bunch and as a result, also sits atop our list of the best Black Ops 6 guns.

With the right attachments, it can deal with any situation, however, you’re best served kitting it out to ensure close-range domination, as there are better alternatives such as the XM4 to deal with mid-long range fights.

Here’s the best Jackal PDW loadout in Black Ops 6, along with details on how to unlock it and the best class to use alongside it.

How to unlock the Jackal PDW in Black Ops 6

To unlock the Jackal PDW in Black Ops 6 multiplayer, you must reach level 43. This means that you’ll need to use some of the other guns in the game up until this point, but we’d recommend switching to the Jackal PDW as soon as you unlock it thanks to how strong it is.

However, there’s a catch: if you bought the Vault Edition of Black Ops 6, you’ll receive five mastercraft weapons, one of which is the Scourge variant of the Jackal PDW.

This comes with two mastercraft attachments — the CHF Barrel and Infiltrator Stock — and it means you won’t be able to use the build suggested in this guide until you’ve leveled it up to unlock more attachments. That said, you can still start using the gun itself immediately if you want to give it a spin.

Best Jackal PDW loadout in Black Ops 6

Here is the best Jackal PDW loadout in Black Ops 6:

• Barrel: Short Barrel
• Underbarrel: Ranger Foregrip
• Rear Grip: Ergonomic Grip
• Stock: Balanced Stock
• Laser: Strelok Laser

The Jackal PDW is all about getting up close and personal, and staying on the move. As a result, you want to mostly be engaging in hipfire combat, only aiming down the sights when absolutely necessary. The Short Barrel is essential for the mobility buffs, while the Ranger Foregrip improves your sprint speed and horizontal recoil control.

The Ergonomic Grip is perhaps the most important attachment in this build, because it buffs all manner of speeds: slide to fire, dive to fire, and aim down sight. The Balanced Stock is similar with its movement speed buffs, ensuring you can keep sprinting everywhere.

Finally, the Strelok Laser is a big help when you do need to aim down sights, but if you don’t mind the laser being visible to enemies when at the hip, go for the Steady Aim or Fast Motion Laser instead.

Best Jackal PDW class in Black Ops 6

Here is the best class to use alongside the Jackal PDW in Black Ops 6:

• Secondary: XM4
• Melee: Knife
• Tactical: Stim Shot
• Lethal: Semtex
• Field Upgrade: Neurogas
• Perk 1: Gung-Ho
• Perk 2: Bruiser
• Perk 3: Double Time
• Wildcard: Overkill

Thanks to the Overkill wildcard, you can equip another primary weapon as your secondary, so we’d recommend the XM4 for those times when you need to fight at mid-long range.

The Knife is your only melee option for now, and because you’re running around constantly, the Stim Shot will keep you alive for longer. Semtex is a preferable lethal to the frag grenade because it doesn’t require cooking, while Neurogas is great to chuck down if you’re running around a group of enemies and need to keep ducking and weaving.

To take advantage of the combat specialty system, we’ve opted for the red perks. Bruiser makes it so any melee kills replenish your health and earn you extra score (though, if you don’t find yourself using melee attacks much, Assassin is also a solid option), while Gung-Ho allows you to reload while using tactical sprint and you have reduced movement penalties when reloading or using equipment. Dexterity is equally as good though, as it means your weapon moves less when jumping, sliding, and diving, and you take less fall damage.

Finally, Double Time allows you to use tactical sprint for considerably longer. All of this combines to grant you the benefits of Enforcer, which means your movement speed and health regen rate is buffed whenever you kill enemies — a no-brainer when it comes to a class with this playstyle.

Elsewhere, we have multiplayer explainers on the best guns, maps, and Double XP, campaign guides for safehouse puzzles and safe code locations, and the Liberty Falls vault code in Zombies.