One of the freshest ideas Call of Duty has this year is what are called Combat Rigs. These are suits that alter the capabilities of your character, allowing you to specialize in a certain aspect of combat, whether it be movement or toughness.
Due to the way that the system works, there is no "best Rig". Instead, they counter one another in a rock-paper-scissors style fashion. Choosing a Rig is more about fitting its toolkit to your playstyle, and enhancing the strengths of your team.
Nonetheless, below we will go over each Rig, and give you an idea of how well it is performing in the current meta.
FTL
Description: Made with speed and agility in mind, the FTL prefers mobility over passive defense. This mobility allows it to quickly get into the kill radius of an enemy and take them down. It is difficult to lock down an FTL and a nightmare to deal with one once they come around. Thus the nickname "Assassin".
Payloads:
- Eraser – A compact experimental energy-based handgun that evaporates enemies.
- FTL Jump – A localized FTL burst that moves you a short distance forward.
- Phase Shift – Displaces you into another dimension, avoiding damage. Other phased players can engage you.
Traits:
- Perception – receive HUD notifications when enemies off-screen are looking in your direction.
- Power Slide – enhanced sliding capability that increases speed, distance, and allows you to ADS while sliding. Also has a greatly diminishing boost cost.
- Supercharge – killing enemies will drop cooldown packs that help your team boost their super meters.
Best For: Players who enjoy agility and are above average in terms of skill. This is a difficult Rig to play well and requires good flick aim to excel with. But those who master it are a force to be reckoned with in every match.
Our Rating: 4/5. The FTL is currently one of the highest performing Rigs, with a strong set of abilities that give it a strong edge over most other Rigs in 1v1 situations provided the player is skilled.
Merc [GameRevolution's #1 Choice]
Description: This is the frontline Rig that is best suited for heading into contested territory before teammates. It can pressure a group of enemies quickly and decisively, enforcing its will with Shockwave and damage mitigation traits.
Traits:
- Infusion – Regenerates health faster after taking damage.
- Man-At-Arms – Rig augmentations allow for carrying heavier loads with minimal effort. Start with maximum ammo capacity and weapons don’t impact movement.
- Shockwave – Press a button in midair to activate a devastating slam.
Payloads:
- Steel Dragon – Heavy beam based weapon with multi-target tracking.
- Bull Charge – Equips you with an armored riot shield to penetrate enemy defenses, or quickly take out opponents that stand in your way.
- Reactive Armor – This high-voltage armor system vaporizes incoming small arms fire.
Best For: Players who enjoy being the first to go in. This Rig requires courage and quick decision making, but makes up for it by being a dangerous bludgeoning force in the frontline.
Also Read: Infinite Warfare Behind the Scenes Interview
Our Rating: 5/5. The Merc has the best sustainability in the game. Its health regeneration and high ammunition allow it to stay alive for long periods of time while it works toward devastating Scorestreaks, and can also carry a larger set of equipment into battle.
Phantom
Description: Welcome to the sniper's Rig. Using this, you will be hard to detect, capable of moving around the battlefield picking off enemies while they grow increasingly concerned with you.
Traits:
- Heightened Senses – While in ADS with sniper rifles, gain increased audio from nearby enemies. Warning blips will also tell you if enemies are nearby.
- Marked Target – Damaging enemies will mark them for death, preventing health regeneration for five seconds. Marked enemies that are killed by teammates will award you with a bonus score.
- Rearguard – Spawn in with a back shield that protects against attacks from behind. While the shield is active, melee attacks from anywhere but the front are negated.
Payloads:
- Active Camo – Renders you almost invisible.
- Ballista EM3 – Highly accurate electromagnetic projectile launcher with increased penetration capability, to take out the enemy and pin them to the wall.
- Pulsar – Advanced EM sensor allows you to visualize enemy positions.
Best For: Stealth oriented players. This Rig requires patience, but will instill fear in the opponent while potentially achieving the highest KDR average in the match, even if that doesn't necessarily mean it got a lot of kills.
Our Rating: 2/5. Infinite Warfare is a very fast paced game that doesn't lend itself well to sniping or stealth play. This Rig is very situational, and while fun, tends to put up low numbers.
Stryker
Description: The Stryker is the master of control. It manages projectiles and can hold down a location with great results. It is arguably the best Rig to use when defending a capture point, or a flag.
Payloads:
- Centurion – Destroys enemy projectiles and applies a powerful electromagnetic field.
- Gravity Vortex Gun – Prototype launcher that fires a slow-moving projectile which distorts gravity, pulling in and damaging enemies.
- Micro Turret – Compact multi-surface deployable turret.
Traits:
- Hardened – Placed equipment and drones have increased health and can also persist through the player’s death.
- Relay – Placed equipment will alert the player when enemy targets are in sight.
- Trophy Drone – Will destroy one incoming lethal grenade and then recharge.
Best For: Players who enjoy defensive positioning and providing utility for their team.
Our Rating: 1/5. Stryker is the most situational Rig in the game. In some circumstances it is a pain to deal with, but can largely be dealt with using ordnance. Its utility can be huge for organied teams, but in pick up games you're likely better off with a more functional Rig.
Synaptic
Description: This Rig is all about trickery and frustrating your opponents. Capable of Rewinding to a previous location, your opponents will learn to manage their confidence when engaging you, and stay away from close encounters with you if they know what's best for them.
Payloads:
- Equalizer – Dual integrated machine guns with built-in suppressors for close quarters combat.
- Reaper – Switches to rapid melee combat mode.
- Rewind – Rewinds your position and replenishes health and ammunition.
Traits:
- Combat Burst – After each kill, gain a brief boost to movement speed.
- Propulsion – Press a button to quickly dash in any horizontal direction.
- Rushdown – Faster recharging jump pack that also damages enemies directly within the jump pack blast.
Best For: Players who enjoy close range combat with high-speed moves.
Our Rating: 4/5. This Rig is most simillar to the FTL in that it is about swiftness and twitch aiming. It is the most difficult Rig to play in the game, which makes it non-recommendable to newcomers. But those who master it will be able to fly around the map with good sustainability.
Warfighter
Description: This is the middle range assault Rig that is a jack of all trades master of none. It most specializes in assault rifles with great offensive firepower. It is the workhorse of the team, responsible for making big plays with Scorestreaks to turn the tide of battle.
Traits:
- Persistence – Scorestreaks don’t reset after death, but they cost more to attain. However, you can only earn one of each scorestreak per match.
- Ping – Kills and assists will send out sonar from that enemy’s death location, highlighting any additional nearby hostiles.
- Resupply – Lethal and tactical equipment can be resupplied via scavenger bags.
Payloads:
- Claw – Rapid fire spread-shot weapon with ricochet ballistic rounds, designed to take out the enemy in front of you and around blind corners.
- Combat Focus – Gain double streak points for a limited time.
- Overdrive – Grants a temporary speed surge.
Best For: Players who enjoy not having any major exploitable weaknesses. This Rig has high moments of climax due to its Scorestreak potential, which is good for adrenaline junkies.
Our Rating: 3/5. The Persistence trait isn't as good as it appears. Because of this, perhaps the greatest potential of this Rig is squandered, making it reliant on reconnaissance and tactical equipment, neither of which is particularly effective in Infinite Warfare.
