TAQ-56

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2’s Open Beta proved to be a hit with the COD community, raking up more than 170,000 concurrent active players on just PC. The game offers players some interesting guns to experiment with and one such gun is the TAQ-56. The TAQ-56 is a rifle that features a remarkable rate of fire. It’s definitely up there in the assault rifle category, capable of dealing the most damage out of all of its counterparts. While there are a decent number of weapons that cater to the short, medium, and long race, the TAQ-56 does its best to outshine the competition with its incredible rate of fire and damage output.

TAQ-56 Overview

The TAQ-56 is one of the better guns featured in Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2’s Multiplayer Open Beta. It fits into the Assault Rifle Category. The rifle features a full auto mechanism capable of taking in 5.56mm caliber bullets. Like other Assault Rifles on the list, the TAQ-56 can hold up to 30 bullets in its magazine by default with a reserve of 60 rounds of ammunition.

The TAQ-56 takes inspiration from the FN SCAR L, a gas-operated automatic rifle developed by Belgian manufacturer FN Herstal. The FN SCAR L and its variants have been in use by the United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM) since April 2009 in wars the likes of the War in Afghanistan, the Iraq War, the Yemeni Civil War, and the Russo-Ukraine War.

TAQ-56 is by far the best assault rifle weapon in Modern Warfare 2. Whether it be its high damage output, its solid fire rate, or its minimal recoil, it outperforms every medium to a long-range weapon in its class which makes it a solid candidate for any assault operator’s loadout. But for the very same reasons, it takes a while to unlock in Modern Warfare 2’s weapon progression system. Due to its innate ability to easily outclass the competition, the TAQ-56 isn’t available from the get-go

Read: Best TAQ-56 Loadout in Modern Warfare 2 

How to Unlock the TAQ-56

So, you might be wondering, how on earth can one get their hands on the TAQ-56? Does it involve upgrading a specific weapons platform? Well, we wish it were that easy, but the TAQ-56 requires players to grind out the multiplayer till they achieve level 30. As simple as it sounds, it isn’t, as you’ll have to put in a considerable amount of hours before you can make your way to rank 30, but by the end of it all, you’ll unlock the TAQ-56 and unleash its wrath upon enemy operators.

Weapons Platforms

Weapons Platforms allow users to progress the level of a weapon to unlock further weapons in an armament tree. In addition, players get the chance to unlock attachments that can be used across a pool of weapons featured in a specific platform termed the Weapons Platform Specific Attachments. 

In addition, universal attachments are also unlocked that can be used across every weapon in Modern Warfare 2. The TAQ-56 is a standalone Assault Rifle and is currently not featured in any Weapons Platform. Hopefully, this beast of an assault rifle might get its own Weapons Platform allowing players to swap out receivers to create further weapons in the future.

Stats for the TAQ-56

The TAQ-56 Assault Rifle has a magazine capacity of 30 bullets with a 60-round ammunition reserve. The gun features 4 modification slots for users to exploit, not counting the receiver attachment. Overall, the TAQ-56 is a beast of a weapon reserved for experienced players at level 30.

Damage

The TAQ-56 features a high damage output and can definitely put players out of their misery in a single spray at a medium range of distance. At longer ranges, it takes a few more bullets to get the job done, but overall, the TAQ-56 performs a lot better than most assault rifles in Modern Warfare 2’s current roster. 

This is the reason why the TAQ-56 is the current Assault Rifle meta. But remember, engaging in longer-distance firefights might not be wise as the bullet velocity tends to drop, which decreases the overall damage output of the TAQ-56, that is if you manage to get a few shots in.

Fire Rate

The TAQ-56 outperforms its assault rifle competitors in the fire rate category. The high fire rate allows users to spill bullets into enemy operators within seconds, with ideal levels of accuracy, handling, and control across the board. You can expect to go toe to toe with SMG users around long corridors and tight spaces with the TAQ-56 due to its impressive fire rate and deny close-quarters combat operators the satisfaction they seek.

Range

The TAQ-56 works best at medium to long-range distances. As the bullet velocity drops at longer distances, the performance of the TAQ-56 starts to degrade so don’t expect to outperform snipers at longer distances and sight lines, especially on rooftops of Ground War Mode.

You can hope to dominate medium-range sightlines and open spaces in core 6v6 battle maps wielding the TAQ-56. But that’s not to say it doesn’t perform well at shorter distances too. The TAQ-56 can go up against run-and-gun SMG builds for close-quarters combats. Overall, the TAQ-56 is the shining star of this rodeo.

Accuracy

The TAQ-56 offers a decent level of accuracy, especially for an assault rifle. It performs accurately while on the move, either hip-firing or aiming down sights. Expect a smooth and comfortable experience with the TAQ-56, that is if you know how to aim in the first place.

Recoil Control

The category where the TAQ-56 outshines the competition once again is its impeccable recoil control. The TAQ-56 offers high levels of recoil control, minimizing spray and ensuring accuracy across the board through subsequent shots. Hip-firing and nailing enemies have never been easier in Modern Warfare 2. Aiming down sights and getting consecutive kills is entirely possible due to the incredible recoil control of the TAQ-56. Which is another reason the TAQ-56 is the current meta.

Mobility

The TAQ-56 offers above average level of mobility to players, allowing users to quickly navigate tight spaces and corners. Navigating and shifting through lanes and routes, flanking enemies from opposing lanes, taking control of medium sightlines all the while relocating from position to position, and taking control of whole lanes and sections of the map has never been easier in Modern Warfare 2. You can practically dominate every enemy on the ground if you master the TAQ-56, but beware of enemy snipers operating on rooftops or positioned in longer sight lines.

Handling

Handling isn’t the best attribute of the TAQ-56. It’s above average at best. But paired with all the other attributes, the camera and crosshair shake of the TAQ-56 don’t bother all that much when it comes to down to nailing accurate shots and putting enemies out of their misery in medium to long-range sight lines.

All in all, the TAQ-56 is considered the most broken yet overpowered weapon to date in the Modern Warfare 2 open beta. Future patches might nerf the gun somewhat or even buff it beyond its current capabilities with the addition of custom weapon attachments that are currently not available for the assault rifle. We’ll have to wait and see once the game finally releases.

Blueprints for the TAQ-56

Blueprints allow users to access weapons earlier in your level progression and weapons platform progression tree, enabling players to access powerful weaponry earlier on in the game. These come pre-built with custom attachments and weapon skins for players to enjoy unique weapon builds and experiences. Blueprints can be viewed in the armory section of the weapons tab. 

Frontal Impact Blueprint

The Frontal Impact Blueprint is currently one of the only available Blueprint in Modern Warfare 2 for the TAQ-56. It’s primarily a legendary blueprint for the TAQ-56 Assault rifle that adorns the gun with green accents across the muzzle, barrel, and body of the weapon. 

This fresh coat of paint also adds the words BETA, indicating that the blueprint is intended exclusively for the Open Beta members for Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2. In addition, the Blueprint adds a pre-selection of attachments such as a custom under barrel, stock, rear grip, and optic sight for the weapon that cannot be swapped out or altered. The blueprint was made available to players on the 2nd Weekend of the Open Beta. 

How to Unlock The TAQ-56 Frontal Impact Blueprint

To unlock the Frontal Impact Blueprint, players need to level up to Operator rank 30 in the Modern Warfare 2 Multiplayer Beta’s 2nd Weekend. This requires you to obtain a total of 290,000 XP, which honestly isn’t an easy task and requires a lot of blood, sweat, grinding, and tears followed by more grinding.

Attachments for the TAQ-56

So, let’s move on to the attachments for the TAQ-56. Normally, players would expect to obtain and equip attachments for the TAQ-56 once they unlock the weapon at level 30 but it appears no attachments whatsoever can be equipped to the base attachments whenever players try to open the weapons progression menu. 

We aren’t sure if this is intentional or a glitch, considering it’s the last unlockable assault rifle at level 30 in Modern Warfare 2’s Open Beta. Maybe, it’s an unintended or it’s been done intentionally to hold out on additional content till the game launches on October 28, 2022. We’ll have to wait and see.

However, if you pre-order the game or reach level 30 during the open beta, raking up 290,000 XP, you obtain the option to unlock the Frontal Impact Blueprint for the TAQ-56 that hands out a pre-built loadout for the Assault Rifle consisting of a custom stock, rear grip, underbarrel, muzzle, and reflex optic sight. Mind you, these weapons attachments are restricted to this specific blueprint and cannot be swapped out for any other weapon attachment.