What is the best Saug loadout in Black Ops 6 and Warzone? SMGs in Black Ops 6 come in many flavors. Some offer controllable recoil, some are slow-firing but hard-hitting, and many operate in a jack-of-all-trades space. What we’ve been missing, however, is an SMG that is pure chaos. That is, until now. The Saug SMG is a compact maelstrom, capable of clearing rooms of hostiles without a hint of effort.
There’s plenty to dig into with Black Ops 6 Season 1, but perhaps the most exciting addition to our BO6 weapons armory is the Saug. An SMG with this much raw power is an intriguing prospect; do you refine the gun to suit a bigger variety of combat situations, or do you lean into the chaos? First things first, how do you unlock the Black Ops 6 Saug?
How to unlock the Saug
The Saug SMG is the HVT on page three of the BO6 battle pass. To unlock the Saug, you must use your battle pass tokens to unlock all six items on page three, where you will then be awarded the HVT item.
If you own the Blackcell version of the battle pass, you can begin unlocking the Saug straight away and have access to the weapon from the start.
Best Black Ops 6 Saug loadout
- Muzzle: Ported Compensator
- Barrel: Reinforced Barrel
- Underbarrel: Vertical Foregrip
- Rear Grip: Ergonomic Grip
- Stock: Balanced Stock
To answer our earlier question – refined chaos is the way forward. We’ve not gone entirely to town with a Gunfighter build, leaving some of the Saug’s unique characteristics untouched. However, we have tweaked it enough that you’re not going to be taken for a bucking bronco-esque ride every time you use it.
Starting with the nose, the Ported Compensator is our favorite muzzle choice by far, and the recoil control it offers up is perfect for SMGs like the Saug. Moving along to the barrel, we’ve tested both the Long Barrel and the Reinforced Barrel, and both achieve a five-shot kill to the body at ten meters and seven at 25 meters. As such, you can pick your poison knowing both perform identically well.
Next up we have the Vertical Foregrip, which goes a long way to keeping the Saug’s horizontal recoil in check. But why stop with one grip when we can slap on a second? The Ergonomic Grip is fantastic for movement junkies that have taken Omnimovement and sprinted with it, boosting slide and dive to fire speed, as well as ADS speed. Finally, to juice your movement to the gods, bang a Balanced Stock on the back.
Best Black Ops 6 Saug class setup
- Secondary weapon: Grekhova
- Melee: Knife
- Tactical: Stim Shot
- Lethal: Semtex
- Field Upgrade: Tactical Insertion
- Perk 1: Gung-ho
- Perk 2: Assassin
- Perk 3: Double Time
- Specialty: Enforcer
- Wildcard: Tactical Expert
As you’re going to be going hard on streaks with this incredibly mobile build, and you don’t need the extra three attachments from Gunfighter, we’ve opted for the two extra Stim Shot injectors provided by Tactical Expert. The stims themselves will keep you topped up on health while bolstering your movement speed as you maraud across the Black Ops 6 maps.
Speaking of zoom zoom, our perk party of Gung-ho, Double Time, and Enforcer will further accentuate your vitality and pace. Assassin, meanwhile, paints targets on enemy players who have dared to go on a tear. Taking them down yields bounty packs that boost your score.
Polishing off the class setup we have our secondary weapon, the fully automatic Grekhova, as well as the ol’ faithful Lethal of choice, the Semtex. As you’re going to need to stay close to the enemy team as much as possible, getting a Tactical Insertion down around their spawns will ensure you don’t have to take too many mid-range gunfights. If you’re accurate, though, the Saug can still blitz someone at 50 meters in nine rounds. It’s not ideal, but it works.
Best Warzone Saug loadout
- Muzzle: Suppressor
- Underbarrel: Vertical Foregrip
- Magazine: Extended Mag II
- Rear Grip: Ergonomic Grip
- Stock: Balanced Stock
The best Warzone Saug loadout isn’t too dissimilar from the BO6 multiplayer one, with only two notable changes coming in the form of the Suppressor and the Extended Mag II. As we’ll be using the Saug as a sniper support SMG, whether on Urzikstan or Area 99, silence is golden. As such, the Suppressor comes in clutch for keeping you off the minimap. The Extended Mag II, meanwhile, ensures you have enough rounds in the chamber to cleave down whole squads at a time without breaking a sweat (or needing to reload).
As with the BO6 build, the Vertical Foregrip helps tame the Saug’s bullish horizontal recoil pattern, while the Ergonomic Grip and Balanced Stock amp up your mobility as you scarper across the maps.
Best Warzone Saug class setup
- Secondary weapon: LR 7.62
- Melee: Knife
- Tactical: Smoke Grenade
- Lethal: Semtex
- Perk 1: Dexterity
- Perk 2: Tracker
- Perk 3: Ghost
- Wildcard: Overkill
As the Saug is best utilized as a sniper support option in Warzone, we’re pairing it up with the best LR 7.62 loadout in an Overkill configuration. The LR 7.62 is capable of one-shotting targets if you hit them in the head, chest, or arms, so it should do most of the heavy lifting from afar.
In the Tactical slot, we’re taking the Smoke Grenade. Not only does it help secure your escape route if you need to quickly rotate, but you can also use it to gain a minimap advantage in shorter-range fights against enemies that don’t use silenced weaponry.
For perks, we’ve opted for Dexterity, Tracker, and Ghost. Dexterity will keep your Saug on target while you’re flying about like the Omnimovement ninja you are. If you only manage to tag someone in the leg with your sniper, Tracker will mark them so you can swiftly push and finish the job. Finally, Ghost is every sniper’s best friend, as you won’t be pushed off of your vantage point by UAVs and the like. It’s also great if you’ve chosen to suppress your Saug, as you’ll pretty much be completely invisible to recon while moving.
When you finally get access to Veteran from the upcoming Hit List event (more on that in our BO6 events guide), swap it in for Dexterity if you’re prioritizing sniping. The perk not only reduces flinch when you’re hit while ADS’ing, but it also extends the duration you can hold your breath – win-win.
Best Saug alternatives
The best Saug alternative is the Jackal PDW. Having found itself nerfed into oblivion during the beta, few could’ve expected the Jackal to bounce back to prominence as quickly as it has. A hard-hitting, fast-firing demon SMG in both BO6 multiplayer and Warzone, the best Jackal PDW loadout is a must-try if you’re having teething issues with the Saug.
Now that you know how to unlock the BO6 Saug, you can get to it as soon as the update drops. It remains to be seen whether the Saug will make it into our list of best BO6 loadouts, but the signs are positive. For more top-tier BO6 guides from us, check out our exhaustive guides hub.
Original guide by Paul Kelly.