SMG’s have always been one of the most favoured weapon types in The Division, especially for PvP. With their insane RPM, 60% crit chance cap, and ease of use in close quarters, it came as no surprise that the early meta for The Division 2 was focused around crit SMG builds for both PvP and PvE.
These builds turned out to be so strong that a nerf to both crit chance and crit damage quickly followed, reducing the power level of these builds. Even with this nerf, however, SMG’s remain a strong choice, especially the exotic Chatterbox. It remains to be seen if the imminent changes to gear talents in the next patch prevents SMG’s from shining, or if a new power build is unearthed.
With all that being said, let’s take a look at my top five Sub Machine Guns in The Division 2:
The Chatterbox
Exotic weapons have been absent from my previous weapon guides for good reason – they simply aren’t good enough. The Chatterbox, however, is a fantastic weapon, just maybe not in the conventional way. You see, the power of The Chatterbox doesn’t come from its use—although it’s a very capable weapon in its own right—but from its holstered talent, Blabbermouth.
Blabbermouth: While holstered, reloading your weapon within 5 seconds after a kill grants 20 percent rate of fire for 10 seconds.
This talent is simply fantastic to use. It drastically increases the dps of your main weapon while active and, most importantly, it’s easy to activate. The Blabbermouth talent is best used with automatic weapons with high RPM’s, as slower weapons like Rifles often have to be aimed more precisely. A fast reload time can also be beneficial for maximising the 10-second increase in rate of fire; completely emptying two mags into a tough target while Blabbermouth is active is pretty awesome.
As I said earlier, The Chatterbox is also a decent SMG to use in its own right. It might not be the hardest-hitting and it may not have the fastest RPM, but its weapon talents really help carry it:
Incessant Chatter: Every shot landed grants 1 percent rate of fire to a max of 60 percent. This resets on reload.
Box Magazine: Kills with this weapon refill 20 percent of its magazine and grant a buff for 10 seconds. While the buff is active, every shot landed increases magazine capacity by 1 to a max of 60. Killing a target consumes the buff to fully refill the increased magazine.
Both of these talents are extremely useful, especially for sustained damage in PvE. If you’ve not yet taken the time to obtain The Chatterbox, I highly recommend you do, as it presents a completely different way to play.
Black Market T821/Black Market T821 Replica/Police T821
The T821 is an exceptional SMG, capable of some of the highest burst damage in the game, as well as having the most staying power with the best sustained damage in the SMG class. All versions of the T821 can be fully modded and have the highest single damage of all the SMG’s. This damage comes at the cost of RPM, however, with the T821 having the lowest rate of fire of all the weapons on this list. Because of this drawback, Allegro—which offers a 10% rate of fire bonus—becomes a very sought after weapon talent with this gun, and remember than you can run a T821 with a Chatterbox and benefit from the Blabbermouth talent mentioned earlier.
Best Talents – Strained/Close & Personal and Allegro
Vector SBR 9mm/Vector SBR .45 APC/Vector SBR .45 APC Replica/Tactical Vector SBR 9mm
Made famous by the content creator, Widdz, who used the 9mm version to absolutely destroy his opponents in The Division 2’s Twitch Rivals tournament, both the build used and the Vector went on to become the meta game in The Division 2 for the coming weeks. The reason why the Vector is powerful comes from its insane RPM; this thing literally has double the fire rate of some of the other SMG’s in the game, so if you stack crit chance and crit damage on top of that you’ll see the number fly! It’s worth noting that the build that made this weapon popular will take a nerf with the next patch, but because of the Vector’s ridiculous rate of fire and the potential for future builds, it gets a place on this list.
Best Talents – Strained/Close & Personal and Allegro/Extra
PP-19/Enhanced PP-19
The PP-19 performs really well in both burst and sustained damage. It’s not the most powerful in either bracket, but has a jack of all trades feel about it. The weapon’s damage is on the high side, with an RPM that’s around about the middle mark. On a side note, don’t be fooled by the large magazine, as the PP-19 does not support modding on the Magazine or Underbarrel, meaning an extended mag isn’t possible. Regardless of this, the PP-19 can push enough damage to make it a steady choice for anyone who has yet to get a god roll on one of the more powerful SMG’s.
Best Talents – Strained/Close & Personal and Extra/Allegro
Converted SMG-9/Converted SMG-9 Replica/Converted SMG-9 A2
The SMG-9 wins the prize for the highest burst damage weapon in its class. It manages to reach this by combining a high RPM with above average damage. Of the three versions available, the Converted SMG-9 A2 is likely your best bet, as it’s the only one to feature an underbarrel mod slot. If you’re thinking of running an SMG-9, you may want to take advantage of an extended magazine or the weapon talent ‘Extra’ in the second talent slot, as the SMG-9 only has a 30-round magazine.
Best Talents – Strained/Close & Personal and Extra/Allegro
So, those are my top 5 SMG’s that you should be looking out for in your adventures through D.C. I’ll be sure to update the list should any jurassic balance changes occur, or if one of the lesser weapons receives a buff.
Happy with the list? Did I include all of your favourites? Or have I overlooked a gun that you think deserves a mention? If that’s the case, let me know in the comment section below. Check out my top five lists for Assault Rifles, LMG’s, Rifles and MMR’s if you enjoyed this list, and my top weapon talents list can be found here. I hope all of this can be of use to you when building the perfect agent.
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