What are the best Assault Rifles in The Division 2?

The Division 2 makes it very difficult for the average gamer to work out just how good their weapon is. With so many weapons available, with so many variations of weapon talents, it’s difficult to know what the best weapon is for each type.

The Division 2 has six weapon classes: Assault Rifles, Rifles, Marksman Rifles, Submachine Guns, Light Machine Guns, and Shotguns. Over the course of 6 mini guides, I’ll list and breakdown the best weapons in each class and look at the talents that you’ll want to prioritize with each. I’ll also be updating the list with every major patch, meaning you can be sure that this list will always be up to date.

I’m going to start with the Assault Rifle. The most popular weapon class in the original The Division is back and just as strong as ever. All Assault Rifles in The Division 2 have the benefit of additional Health Damage, they excel at medium range combat, but can also be used at close and long range. It’s this versatility that makes the AR a powerful weapon for Division agents.

Here are my Top 6 Assault Rifles for The Division 2:

Custom P416 G3/Military P416

The P416 is the best Assault Rifle in The Division 2. This AR features both excellent burst and sustained damage, as well as decent stability. The difference between the two versions of the P16 is minimal, with both featuring the same range, RPM, magazine size and reload speed. The P416 has the shortest range of all the AR’s in The Division 2, but that doesn’t stop it excelling; stick some stability mods and an extended mag on here and with the right talents you have one of the best guns in the game. In over 100 hours of gameplay I’ve only ever seen one drop, so whether or not the better guns have lower drop rates or I’ve just been unlucky is anyone’s guess.

Best Talents – Optimist/Close & Personal and Allegro

Eagle Bearer

Eagle’s Strike: Accuracy increases as you continuously fire, up to 100%. Headshot kills grant +100% Reload Speed, +35% Damage, and the Tenacity buff for 10s. The strength of Tenacity is increased by 1% for body shots and 5% for headshots.

Tenacity: 20-80% of damage taken is delayed until the buff expires. All of the total delayed damage is reduced for each enemy killed while the buff is active, up to 100% with five kills.

Protected Fire: While holstered, gain +10% bonus armor while firing your current weapon.

The Eagle Bearer is the best weapon so far in The Division 2, and rightfully so. This exotic AR is only available inside the new Raid content; Operation Dark Hours. For those who keep up to date with The Division 2, you will no doubt know that the new Raid is extremely difficult for everyone except the most well geared and hardcore of gamers. In a way, it’s disappointing that this awesome weapon will be out of reach to most players, although I’m a firm believer that the best loot should drop from the hardest content in any loot collecting game.

I’ll elaborate on the Eagle Bearers usefulness in combat and it’s unique talents, when I get hold of one myself!

Police M4/Police M4 Replica

The Police M4 is a completely different weapon to the one in the original The Division. For anyone who remembers, the version of the gun that was in the original game was absolutely garbage, with terrible stability and accuracy. This time, however, the Police M4 is one of the best AR’s in the game. It features a very high fire rate (RPM) and fantastic range. The stability/handling issues have also been improved this time around, with the M4 feeling like a laser when modded for stability. If you like to build with some crit, or just generally like using an AR with a fast RPM, then the M4 is the gun for you.

Best Talents – Optimist/Close & Personal/Ranger and Allegro/Extra

AK-M/Black Market AK-M/Black Market AK-M Replica/Military AK-M

The AK-M hits like a truck with the highest damage of all the Assault Rifles in the game. What the AK’s gain in damage, however, they lose in both Stability and Handling. Playing on a console, it can be more difficult controlling such a powerful weapon than it is with a mouse and keyboard, so it’s a wise decision to mod into stability and handling if you decide to roll with an AK. All versions of the AK-M will give you some of the best sustained damage from any AR, but the RPM is also the lowest. I’d recommend giving the AK-M a go if you decide to spec into a raw damage build. It’s worth noting that the standard AK-M does not feature a mod slot on the muzzle and also has a short Underbarrel compared to the other versions.

Best Talents – Optimist/Close & Personal and Allegro/Extra/Optimized/Stable

G36-C/G36 Enhanced/G36 Enhanced Replica/Military G36

The G36 has always been a bit of a fan favourite in The Division. Whilst never excelling at any particular thing, it holds the title of the Jack of all Trades in the Assault Rifle weapon class; a G36 with a good talent/damage roll can find itself being the weapon of choice for many Division agents. The G36 features decent range and RPM—much like the M4—and with a little additional stability this gun can feel extremely easy to control.

Best Talents – Optimist/Close & Personal/Ranger and Allegro

Mk16/SOCOM Mk16/Tactical Mk16/Tactical Mk 16 Replica

The Mk16 has the longest optimal range of all the Assault Rifles, with the Mk16/SOCOM Mk16 having ever-so-slightly better range than the Tactical versions. If you prefer to fight at medium-to-long range, with maybe an SMG as a secondary weapon, then this could be a good choice for you. Much like the AK-M, the Mk16 hits hard, having the second highest single bullet damage of all AR’s. Again, like the AK-M, low RPM is the draw back to that high damage.

Best Talents – Optimist/Ranger/Close & Persona and Allegro/Extra/Optimized/Stable

So there it is, my personal favourite Assault Rifles in The Division 2 and the talents I’d recommend that you run with them. It’s worth noting that, just because you pick up one of these weapons, it won’t necessarily make it better than some of the other AR’s that I’ve excluded from the list (except maybe the FAMAS, which does not feature a Magazine mod slot). A weapon with a high damage roll and great talents will often be a better choice, as will one with a lower gear score that still rolls well. Carefully check out every weapon that you loot, and remember that you can reroll one talent from the three slots on High End weapons.

If you would like to know more about Weapon Talents in The Division 2, Click here for my favourite talents in each of the 3 slots. You can also check out my top weapon lists for Rifles, SMGs, LMG’s and MMR.

Do you have a favourite weapon that I haven’t included? Or maybe you just flat out disagree with my selections? If that’s the case then let me know in the comments section below. Until next time, happy grinding.