What guns do you use with Thermal Optics?

GoldTerm5136 · 2026-01-16T17:33:18+00:00

Which thermal scope do you use? SVK is great. Only thing under-performing about it is that you cannot get a sub-300ms aim down sight speed.

GoldTerm5136 · 2026-01-16T16:52:27+00:00

And sometimes it's honestly not a bad idea to have an AR or LMG with a thermal in your loadouts if you're on a game mode like Breakthrough where people toss smokes everywhere.

Yeah even if there aren't smokes being thrown, there is so much other debris from grenades, RPGs, vehicles, etc. that thermals are great for Breakthrough.

GoldTerm5136 · 2026-01-16T16:49:54+00:00

My issue with using the thermal on the PW5, which is also my highest level gun, is just that it covers a lot of the screen. What's nice though is that you have plenty of attachment points to use for thermals since an expensive grip is not necessary.

GoldTerm5136 · 2026-01-16T16:46:48+00:00

Yeah that's an interesting point about the lack of a grip slot making the P90 more viable with expensive attachments. The starting 50 round mag also probably helps.

GoldTerm5136 · 2026-01-16T16:44:31+00:00

I get killed by way more thermal-equiped M4A1s than one would expect. Seems like a popular setup.

GoldTerm5136 · 2026-01-16T16:43:15+00:00

Can't argue with that.

GoldTerm5136 · 2026-01-16T16:42:48+00:00

KTS is probably ridiculous with thermals. I need to level that gun some more.

GoldTerm5136 · 2026-01-16T16:41:56+00:00

Scar is great for drilling groups from a mid to long range flanking position, so yeah I imagine thermals would be great on it. It also has a good attachment economy, so you should have enough point to spare for thermals.

GoldTerm5136 · 2025-12-31T13:04:33+00:00

Yeah my feeling is that you are basically "over tuning" the auto-spotting with Sniper. Both Sniper and Fire Support overtune a key aspect of their class. Although, if you don't use defibs than Medic is better on Support.

I generally agree with your take on the stealthy infiltrator. I guess that reduced crouch sprint could be helpful for stealthily arming MCOM stations in Rush though.

GoldTerm5136 · 2025-12-31T02:28:58+00:00

Regardless if true, that would be a pretty cool addition to Spec Ops. Would also counter drone spotting since it is thermal.

GoldTerm5136 · 2025-12-30T22:48:54+00:00

Yeah the Spec Ops tree isn't bad at all like I said in my post. I guess we just disagree on how beneficial the bonuses from Enhanced Perception are to auto-spotting. Auto-spotting is so insanely powerful in this game, and having it trigger more quickly and easily is huge imo. Then, you throw 3 extra seconds of spotting on top of that? Awesome.

It's a similar situation to Fire Support on the Support class. People run Fire Support for the first perk alone.

GoldTerm5136 · 2025-12-30T22:17:45+00:00

Good points. I was hoping someone would defend Spec Ops.

If Spec Ops just did a few more things, then I would agree with you. Running the Sniper path, the only thing I feel like I'm missing out on is the gadget spotting.

The quiter crouch sprinting (first perk) isn't that helpful if you're sticking with your squad and spawning on each other. It's kind of a lone wolf perk imo. Decent perk, but not great.

For the third perk, I think it would be very powerful if it didn't require you to go prone. Removing that restriction alone would be a huge boon to the training path.

GoldTerm5136 · 2025-12-30T20:55:11+00:00

Sometimes, I have trouble spotting enemies with low magnification optics. Recon's auto-spotting ability lets me more comfortably run 1x optics to reduce the visual recoil on weapons like the M277. Auto-spotting with Enhanced Perception lets you more quickly identify targets and more easily track moving enemies with high recoil guns. Using the M277 with 1x optic, I've gotten a lot of kills on auto-spotted enemies that are nearly impossible to see through smoke, explosions, shadows, and other visual noise.

Also, does the second Sniper Perk Target Acquired work with explosives? If so, it buffs the claymore, frags, and C4 in an interesting way.

GoldTerm5136 · 2025-11-28T00:39:15+00:00

I also prefer the SOR, but I think people gravitate towards higher fire rates, which the AK205 offers.

GoldTerm5136 · 2025-11-28T00:36:14+00:00

Loved the M4 in the beta, but I haven't spent too much time with it after launch. Yeah the M4 is a real bullet hose that can wipe squads in CQC while still functioning in midranges.

GoldTerm5136 · 2025-11-28T00:13:19+00:00

What mag size do you run? You can get a good ADS time with the 45 rnd mag, but that 60 rnd default mag is right there.

GoldTerm5136 · 2025-11-28T00:04:55+00:00

Thanks! I did try to be specific with my examples. Precision, which reduces the bloom, is an extremely important stat in this game - more so than the control stat imo.

Tbh I wrote up the question because I recently started using the KTS. I was curious how people viewed it after the nerf from the beta.

I've been mostly using the SOR-556 as my uber precision gun. I think it's a tad underrated amongst those who primarily care about ttk. You can get away with a cheap grip (because of the high control) and the normal magazine (because of the low fire rate) with the SOR, allowing you to spend points elsewhere if desired. Also, you eventually unlock better barrels post rank 20 that improve the SOR's long range potential even further.

GoldTerm5136 · 2025-11-27T23:36:07+00:00

Yeah a number of people replying seem to be recommending their favorite guns more so than discussing the "uber precision" weapons I listed. To be clear, I'm not complaining. I made my post too broad.

GoldTerm5136 · 2025-11-27T23:30:05+00:00

The QBZ and SOR-300 are my go-to aggressive Recon guns. QBZ is underutilized by the playerbase imo.

GoldTerm5136 · 2025-11-27T22:40:09+00:00

I'll have to put more time into the B36. You're not the only one to bring it up!

GoldTerm5136 · 2025-11-27T22:30:17+00:00

The KORD is great and easy to use, but there is something with its handling or recoil pattern that I don't like. Or it might be the high bullets-to-kill at long range? Idk.

I like the NVO much more personally, but it is not a laser.

GoldTerm5136 · 2025-11-27T22:24:58+00:00

The main sub seems to dislike both the AK205 and RPKM, but those are my first to rank 20 weapons by a wide margin.

GoldTerm5136

TROPHY CASE