For anyone who has come to the Forums in search of a bit of help in deciding which weapons are worth spending your hard-earned Silver on, and which ones are better off being converted into said Silver, I will be making a Guide Topic for each weapon class, per Faction.
So, without further ado, BEHOLD! The gospel, according to Simp:
“Rifle” will be defined, for the purposes of this Guide, as any weapon classified by the game as either a Rifle or Semi-Automatic Rifle and generally used by the Rifleman, Engineer, AT Gunner, Rider, Flametrooper, Mortarman, and Radio Operator classes. BattlePass, Legacy Gold Order, Event Exclusive, and Premium Exclusive Rifles are not included in this Guide.
M1903 Springfield (Research Tier 1) [BR I]
- Sights make a difference. Doubling as the Default Rifle for the Allies, it looks good at first glance. Good rate of fire, full-sized rifle damage and range, etc. But the sights are atrocious. You’ll see what I’m talking about and sell this thing for the USMC version as soon as you can.
Springfield M1903A1 USMC (Research Tier 1) [BR I]
- Not only does the USMC version of the Springfield fire faster than the Default version, but the shroud on the front sight post also fixes the atrociousness of the sights. It might seem too early to be true, but this is the best BR I Rifle in this tech-tree. Put your Silver down on outfitting your soldiers with fully upgraded USMCs and stick with them until you get to either the SMLE Mk III or Lee-Enfield No.4 MkI.
Enfield P14 (Research Tier 1) [BR I]
- Sights are a bit better on the P14, but it’s not worth the Silver OR the loss in rate of fire to switch from the USMC. That being said, this should still be your starting priority to reach on the tech-tree, because it comes attached to the Engineer squad and class unlock. Use the squad, but not the weapon.
M1917 Enfield (Research Tier 2) [BR II]
- This is a P14 with slightly higher rate of fire and 1 extra round… At BR II. Do not buy or use this weapon. Sell for Silver immediately.
Ross Mk. III Rifle (Research Tier 2) [BR II]
- This is the first real temptation to dump your USMCs. Ross has great sights and a lightning-fast rate of fire. But is it worth jumping up to BR II? No. Save that Silver for the SMLE or Lee-Enfield.
M1903 with Grenade Launcher (Research Tier 2) [BR III]
- Absolutely not. Bringing a BAD BR I Rifle into BR III in exchange for a few launchable frag grenades is a horrible deal. Do not do it. Wait until you have Rifles like the M1 Garand to jump into BR III, where you’ll have to fight the German G41 and Japanese Type 4. Sell immediately for Silver. Bad players use GLs.
M1 Carbine (Research Tier 2) [BR II]
- Fun, but objectively not very good. At BR II, 15 rounds in a rifle feels like a lot. Especially when it comes in your first semi-automatic Rifle. You can spray a good bit with the Carbine, and it will pretty consistently get 3 shot kills. But that takes too much time in a lot of cases, when bolt action Rifles kill you in one shot. I would only recommend spending the Silver on the Carbine if you’re struggling to land shots consistently with your bolt actions. Otherwise, keep steady with your USMCs and save for Lee-Enfields.
M1 Carbine with Grenade Thrower
- Nope. M1 Carbine is a question mark at its own BR of BR II. Let alone does it belong in BR III where 10 round semi autos that one shot you live. As with the M1903 with a GL, the GL is not worth the BR jump. Sell it for Silver. Bad players use GLs.
SMLE Mk III (Research Tier 3) [BR II]
- Now you’re in business. 10 rounds, high rate of fire, and the ability to maintain your aim while cycling the bolt. This guy has an argument (along with the upcoming Lee-Enfield) for being the best manual fire Rifle in the entire game. This is definitely worth your Silver. But, if you can wait it out a bit more, the Lee-Enfield awaits.
SMLE Mk III with Grenade Thrower (Research Tier 3) [BR III]
- It works, but you’re still better off not doing it. The SMLE does just fine in BR III, and the launchable frags are an added bonus to that. But it’s still a step down from the Garand or Johnson, and a step down that costs Silver. Also, bad players use GLs.
Lee-Enfield No.4 MkI (Research Tier 3) [BR II]
- My pick as the best manual fire Rifle in the entire game. Lightning-fast rate of fire, 10 rounds, maintains aim while cycling, and an otherworldly smoothness to its operation all make the in-game Lee-Enfield worthy of its historic place as the widely loved primary issue Rifle of the British Army. Throw your Silver at it.
M1 Garand (Research Tier 4) [BR III]
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The Garand sits in a peculiar position, next to its BR III counterpart in the M1941 Johnson. The Garand holds 2 fewer rounds but reloads faster than the Johnson. Which is more valuable? 2 extra rounds per reload, or faster reloads? The debate is solved, for me, by the bayonet. May sound arbitrary, but bayonets actually have a hidden effect in Enlisted. Presumably due to the added weight to the end of the barrel, bayonets in Enlisted have the added effect of mitigating some of the recoil of a weapon. This is functionally noticeable in that weapons with bayonets generally feel more “smooth”, in ways that are difficult to explain unless you know this little secret. So, this is the BR III Rifle to use for me. Spend that Silver!
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Johnson M1941 (Research Tier 4) [BR III]
- As mentioned under the Garand, the two are very comparable. You really can’t go wrong, and nobody can fault you for choosing to spend your Silver on this for your BR III lineup.
M1 Garand with Grenade Launcher (Research Tier 4) [BR IV]
- The Garand is not completely out of its depth, fighting against G43s at BR IV, and this is actually the only BR IV option on this tech-tree. It comes with AT grenades for the GL, so you get an added bit of situational AT to boot. The US BR IV lineup is really bad overall, so I wouldn’t recommend doing it, but if MUST build a US BR IV lineup… Give this to your Riflemen and AT Gunners (the only classes that can use GLs).
M2 Carbine (Research Tier 5) [BR V]
- Yep. Enlisted classifies automatic rifles as “Semi-Automatic Rifle”. Don’t ask me why. The M2 doubles both the magazine size and rate of fire of the M1, in an automatic package. This thing is a ton of fun and is very powerful overall. But it has the unfortunate side effect of being in BR V, where it is surrounded by Assault and Automatic Rifles that all do more damage than it does. One of those is right next to this, so don’t waste your Silver unless you’re doing it for the memes.
T20 Rifle (Research Tier 5) [BR V]
- My pick for the best of all the Automatic Rifles in the game. The T20 is a fully automatic M1 Garand, and quite frankly feels like it belongs in Vietnam instead of WW2. This thing hits like a truck. Like 650 trucks per minute, to be exact. And holds 20 trucks at a time. If you want to play US BR V long-term, give this out to several 9-man Rifleman squads and weep over the loss of that much Silver. Then take a shower after using a Vietnam War era Rifle to abuse Germany and Japan mains.
Hope this helps. If you’re an Enlisted vet, and have some differing opinions or helpful insights, reply with them!