Battlefield 2042 has finally launched. Now it's time to get into the details: what are the best weapons and what attachment setups do you want? Here's the best loadout for the PBX-45.
One thing we've always loved about Battlefield 2042 has been the new attachment system. Basically, you build a loadout with three attachments in every slot and can swap between each attachment in-game. As cool as this is, though, it does mean loadouts are more complicated, and it also means you'll really fall behind the pack if you don't have well-built loadouts. Luckily, we're here to help, and today we're going through the best loadout for Battlefield 2042's PBX-45.
To see how well the PBX-45 places against other weapons, just check out our complete tier rating of every weapon in Battlefield.
Best Battlefield 2042 PBX-45 Loadout
Best Attachments for the PBX-45
In the table beneath, we've provided the best conventional loadout for each weapon, but we've also provided short and long-ranged focused setups. We advise you to put the "best setup" attachments in the first slot for each weapon so that when you're switching between attachments in-game it's only one flick and not two or three to select the best all-around build.
| Best Setup | Best Short-Range Setup | Best Long-Range Setup | |
| Sight | Fusion Holo | Fusion Holo | Ghost Hybrid 1.25-2.5X |
| Ammunition | Standard Issue / Extended Mag | Standard Issue / Extended Mag | High-Power |
| Underbarrel | Rattlesnake Light Grip | LS-1 Laser Sight | LWG Grip |
| Barrel | Extended Barrel | 6KU Suppressor | Extended Barrel |
The PBX is quite nicely balanced, it's still very much an SMG so don't expect even the long-range build to win in gunfights against most other weapons in the game if you're fighting at anything out past 30m. But that said, it isn't completely useless in the mid-range, and we've leaned into that; using the extended barrel on our primary setup. Watch out for the Rattlesnake grip though, to get the benefits out of it you need to stay on the move.
You can see the effects of these three attachment setups beneath.
Attachment Effects on the PBX-45
| Default | Best Setup | Best Short-Range Setup | Best Long-Range Setup | |
Firepower | 30 | 30 (0) | 25 (-5) | 35 (+5) |
| Accuracy | 40 | 50 (+10) | 50 (+10) | 55 (+15) |
| Range | 42 | 49 (+7) | 42 (0) | 57 (+15) |
Handling | 60 | 50 (-10) | 55 (-5) | 47 (-13) |
You can see that our best setup takes a slight penalty to handling but it still leaves the PBX above 50 so you'll be more mobile than anything else in the game besides SMGs. The PBX can't be altered as heavily as other guns, unfortunately, but clearly, it was intended to be the level-1, easy-to-use kind of SMG - so that's fair enough.
You can check out the recoil pattern on this weapon beneath:
Best Specialist, Secondary Weapon, Throwable & Gadget for the PBX-45
Specialist: Webster Mackay
Webster Mackay was the most popular Specialist in the beta by far, not only is his ability fun to use but his trait is basically a flat buff to all weapons. With Mackay, you can move more quickly while aimed-down-sight, an especially useful skill for close-range combatants. For an SMG user, you really shouldn't be using any other Specialist.
Secondary Weapon: MP28
You might actually need to pull for your secondary weapon more than in other shooters because you start with very little ammo in Battlefield 2042. With this in mind, we need to avoid the M44 (which is a meme rather than a serious choice) and turn our attention to the quicker, more accurate, and larger mag-capacity G57 & MP28. The MP28 is effectively the G57 in a drop-in brace frame, and in-game that translates to less recoil and therefore faster and more accurate follow-up shots. Perfect.
Throwable: Frag
Battlefield's huge map sizes and grand fights don't lend themselves well to any type of grenade. In smaller, tactical firefights - as seen in other games - they can be absolutely clutch, but you will rarely get good use out of them in Battlefield. Especially not the new prox sensor, which needs a serious range buff to be useful... So we've taken frags as a simple alternative; everyone knows how to use them, and on the objective at least they stand a chance of making you a kill.
Gadget: IBA Armor Plate
IBA Armor Plates are the go-to choice for people who primarily want to get into gunfights and make kills. They won't open up your playstyle to do more things, and they won't help your team with this or that, but they offer a very strong flat buff that will make you more likely to win gunfights. With 20 additional health on a starting 100 we're expecting a lot of community complaints about the IBA Armor, but if you want the best gadget for pure combat - this is it.
Well, there you have it, folks, the complete rundown of how to build the best attachment setup and loadout for the PBX-45.