The Automaton is the 2nd AR on the list of assault rifles that you’ll unlock as you progress through Call of Duty: Vanguard. It’s proven itself time and time again as one of the better ARs – even going as far as making it on our list of the most overpowered weapons in Call of Duty: Vanguard.
Whether you’re playing free for all on small maps like Das Haus, where close-range engagements are a lot likelier or are playing kill confirmed on larger maps like Red Star, the Automaton is an excellent choice for close to medium-range combats.
In this comprehensive article, I’ll show you the best Automaton class setup in Call of Duty: Vanguard. Don’t get me wrong, the weapon is incredible as it is by default, however, with the attachments I am about to show you, everything that it’s good at becomes a lot more refined and better.
This means higher accuracy, faster reloading speed, and reduced TTK (time-to-kill) amongst other boosts that I’ll talk about later.,
Best Automaton Attachments
By default, the Automaton is an insane weapon. However, once you start to level up the weapon, you’ll unlock some very performance-enhancing attachments that will make the AR even better.
This particular loadout is focused more on increasing the firepower of the weapon and the ammunition since the default mag isn’t particularly useful if you have to fight off more than one or two opponents at max.
Here’s what I would recommend as the best attachments for the Automaton:
- Muzzle: G28 Compensator
- Barrel: Anastasia Sniper
- Optic: Slate Reflector
- Stock: N/A
- Unberbarrel: Carver Foregrip
- Magazine: 6.5mm Sakura 45 Round Mags
- Magazine Type: Lengthened
- Rear Grip: Granular Grip
- Profficiency: Frenzy
- Kit: On-Hand
If you care to find out why I went for the attachments listed above, continue scrolling. I will also give you some alternative attachments that you can use in case you’re after increasing your speed and accuracy over firepower or ammo.
Muzzle – G28 Compensator
The G28 Compensator is easily the best muzzle for this Automaton loadout. It increases your control over the recoil, which comes in very handy if you’re spraying enemies from a longer range. In other words, you’ll be a lot more accurate and likely to eliminate your opponent quicker.
There are no drawbacks to this attachment and the great thing about it is that you’ll unlock it almost right away – at weapon level 3.
Potential Alternative: The “Chord Muzzle Break” is probably the best alternative to the G28 Compensator if you’re more after accuracy as opposed to recoil control. Besides that, a lot of the other options have their benefits but those will come at the cost of mobility, aiming down sight speed, and other crucial components.
Barrel – Anastasia Sniper
By default, the Automaton isn’t particularly as useful in longer-distance engagements. For that reason, I went for the “Anastasia Sniper” barrel as it increases bullet velocity and range as well as accuracy. On the downside, you’ll see a slight decrease in hip-fire accuracy but we will address that with some of the attachments below. If you’re yet to reach weapon level 50, check out the alternative option below.
Potential Alternative: If your Automaton isn’t level 50 yet, consider going for the Zac Fa Short, which will increase the weapon’s overall damage. On the downside, you’ll see a slight reduction in recoil & accuracy as well as not get any headshot damage bonus.
Optic – Slate Reflector
I’ve always found that the simpler the scope is, the better I perform. For that reason, I’ve gone with the “Slate Reflector”. This simple scope, which you unlock at weapon level 8, will get you a magnification of 1.35x, circular lens sight, and a very precise sight picture.
As we increase the aim down sight speed with some of our other attachments, you’ll find that aiming down the sight with the “Slate Reflector” won’t become an overly distracting maneuver, allowing you to precisely track your opponent as you’re aiming through the optic.
Potential Alternative: The Nydar Model 47 is similar to the slate reflector, nice, simple, and accessible at weapon level 2. Now, if you’re looking to make your weapon a little more useful at long-range, I’d suggest you go for the MK 3 Sunfilter.
Don’t bother with any of the larger scopes as their drawbacks have too much impact on your aim down sight speed, making the weapon particularly useless in close-range combat.
Stock – N/A
There are three stocks available for this AR. While they all bring their own twist to the table, they also come with a variety of cons that can really break your weapon for your intended use.
For example, the Empress Broadsword increases your initial accuracy and recoil, aim down sight speed, and recoil recovering but takes away hip-fire accuracy and accuracy and recoil during sustained fire.
This stock makes this entire build more suited for close to medium-range combat.
On the flip side, many pro players have also opted in for the “Anastasia Padded”, which works exactly the opposite way, which makes the weapon more useful for bigger maps where the distance between you and the enemy is likely to be longer.
Some pro players such as FaZe Simp have simply not picked any of the three available attachments. This way, he didn’t gain any particular benefits to determine how useful the weapon was in any range combat but also left aside all the cons that came with each of the attachments.
I personally like that approach, and for that reason, this build doesn’t feature a stock.
Underbarrel – Carver Foregrip
The Carver Foregrip is easily the best pick for this Automaton build as it boosts your recoil control by two points and hip-fire accuracy by one point. On the downside, it does decrease your aim down sight speed by 1 point but that’s not of a huge significance.
This attachment will make your weapon a whole lot more accurate and easy to control whether you’re aiming and spraying at an enemy from a distance or are hip firing point-blank.
Potential Alternative: If you want to be much more lethal on foot, go for the “M3 Ready Grip”, which luckily doesn’t require you to play with the weapon for hours before you can unlock it. Just reach weapon level 24 and you’re ready to go.
If you’re looking to single-handedly improve your aim down sight speed even more without any drawbacks, then you can opt-in for the “Mark VI Skeletal”, which you’ll unlock at weapon level 65.
Magazine – 65mm Sakura 45 Round Mags
The best magazine for the Automaton is the 6.5mm Sakura 45 Round Mags and it doesn’t even come close. This magazine increases your weapons’ ammo capacity by 20 rounds (45 in total), and decreases your aim down sight speed, reload quickness, and movement speed by a single point.
As for the rest, they’re either not as useful as the 6.5mm mags or have way worse cons that could really hamper the performance we’re trying to achieve with this AR.
Magazine Type – Lengthened
As for magazine type, in my opinion, the best choice is the “Lengthened” ammunition as it increases your bullet velocity by a whole three points and doesn’t have any drawbacks.
Potential Alternative: If you’re playing on maps that have a lot of solid buildings and such where your enemies can easily take cover, then the FMJ would be a particularly useful choice of ammunition. Again, there are no drawbacks to picking FMJ rounds.
Rear Grip – Granular Grip
My rear grip of choice goes to the “Granular Grip”, which is unfortunately unlocked once your Automaton reaches level 61. The reason I picked this attachment is due to the increase in aiming stability, aim walking steadiness, and aim walking movement speed.
Potential Alternative: If I were to go for a different rear grip, I would go for the “Stippled Grip” as it increases my recoil recovery by 2 points and initial accuracy and recoil by 1 point.
This attachment helps the weapon recover from the previous fight and allows you to be just as competitive if you enter a new engagement right after your last fight.
Proficiency – Frenzy
If you play on smaller maps, you often don’t have enough time to sit down for a few seconds and wait for your health to regenerate before you can get into another fight. For that reason, my proficiency of choice goes to “Frenzy”. It allows your health to start regenerating right after you eliminate someone.
Unfortunately, it is the very last proficiency that you can unlock, meaning you’ll need to reach weapon level 55 before you can make use of it. Until then, refer to my alternative below.
Potential Alternative: If you’ve just started playing with this weapon, I’d just go with the first proficiency – “Spotter”. If your weapon is already at a decent level, go for either “Pressure” or “Sleight of Hand”.
Kit – On-Hand
As this Automaton build is designed for continuous combat, particularly in smaller-sized maps, recovering after each battle is of tremendous importance. For that reason, my kit of choice is the “On-Hand”. It essentially improves your equipment’s dexterity, which promotes faster recovery after using the weapon.
The only downside is that you’ll only unlock it once your weapon reaches level 64. Until then, you can refer to my alternative kit below.
Potential Alternative: If you’re yet to level up the Automaton, opt-in for “Surplus” as that will generate you more XP, and allow you to level up faster in Call of Duty: Vanguard.
Final Thoughts
And there you have it, the best Automaton loadout in Call of Duty: Vanguard. The combination of attachments recommended above are great for making this AR a great weapon in close to medium-range encounters.
Feel free to play around with the different attachments but if you’re looking to increase the mobility of the weapon, then it’s probably best for you to opt-in for an SMG as opposed to an AR. A good choice would be the MP-40.
