Bringing out your primary weapons in Payday 3 typically means something has gone wrong. You’ll be dealing with swarms of enemies attacking your position, intent on preventing you from leaving the scene of the crime. One of the more common primary weapons you can pick is an Assault Rifle, and there are several to pick from.
There are several Assault Rifles to pick from, and many of them are better than others that you could be using. Here’s what you need to know about every Assault Rifle you can use in Payday 3, ranking them from best to work.
Every Assault Rifle in Payday 3 Ranked
There are four Assault Rifles for you to pick from in Payday 3. Every character begins with the starting one, the CAR-4, and they can later unlock the Northwest B-9, the KU-59, and finally, the VF-7S. These all unlock at different levels, giving you more variety as you steadily progress through Payday 3, and complete more heists alongside your crewmates.
1. VF-7S
The VF-7S is hands down the best standard Assault Rifle you can pick up in Payday 3. It unlocks when you reach level 77 on your profile, making it the final weapon you can purchase using cold, hard cash. The downside to the VF-7S is that it holds the least amount of ammunition among the four Assault Rifles, but it packs a heavy punch and has the lowest recoil of your choices. The versatility is extremely strong with this weapon, and if you’re not too worried about reloading slightly more than the others, you should be fine, so long as you prepare for that slight difference.
To get the most out of the VF-7S, increasing the magazine would be ideal, along with enhancing the accuracy, and the fire rate. It already has the highest damage of any Assault Rifle in Payday 3 and remains the best last resort in any good heist.
2. KU-59
Next, we have the KU-59, another powerful Assault Rifle that can keep your enemies back after you’ve been backed into a corner during a Payday 3 match. Although it has lower recoil than the Car-4 or Northwest B-9, it does have lower accuracy. You’ll want to find a way to increase this when using this weapon and optimize the weapon’s much higher damage. The damage substantially helps; a lower accuracy means you’ll have to time your shots and not get too far away from your enemies during a heist. You’ll unlock this weapon when you reach level 35.
3. Car-4
For the third-best Assault Rifle in Payday 3, we have the Car-4, the starting weapon. This is the first primary weapon every player receives in Payday 3, and it’s reliable. Although it might not have the best recoil or damage, it’s a reliable weapon with great accuracy, allowing you to quickly remove your enemies as they swarm onto your heist. You might need to be careful when you fire it as the handling is lower than the other Assault Rifles. Still, it’s an excellent weapon to experiment with and reliable when you add some modifications to it.
The Car-4 is also a great Assault Rifle to test out builds. Although there are better choices that you’ll unlock as you play Payday 3, there’s a lot of experimentation you can do with this weapon, especially if you’re trying to avoid detection on any of the heist missions.
4. Northwest B-9
The final Assault Rifle we have on our list is the Northwest B-9. Although this is a weapon that you unlock when you reach level 21 in Payday 3, I don’t find it as helpful as the Car-4. The Northwest B-9 has lower damage than the Car-4, slightly higher stability, handling, and accuracy, but roughly the same amount of recoil. These two are on par with each other, but the lower damage is a massive hit for this Assault Rifle. You’re better off sticking with the Car-4 when you get to this gun and waiting to unlock the KU-59 rather than swapping between them.
Unfortunately, the Northwest B-9 doesn’t quite live up to the standards of the Car-4 in Payday 3. You typically want to fire a few shots with this weapon, wait, and then fire again. Although you can modify it to live up to the Car-4, you’ll be sinking a lot of costs into the weapon for them to be on par with each other.
