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- P90 is an SMG with the highest ammo capacity in the game, excelling at run-and-spray playstyle.
- Our suggested attachments include: Muzzle Booster, Chrome-Lined Barrel, Leather-Wrapped Foregrip, Quick Magazine, Lightweight Grip, and Padded Stock.
- Choose Cleaners with Incendiary Drone as your Faction. Alternatively, most other factions and abilities are viable, but we also recommend Echelon and DedSec.
You will recognise the snubnosed P90 submachine gun from many other shooter games. In XDefiant, you will first have to unlock the gun before being able to use it in your loadout. After that, be prepared to grind to level it up, because it’ll take you many levels to get some of the best attachments. But ultimately, it’s a great weapon for run-and-shoot types of engagements.
Our best P90 build
The main part of your loadout will be made up of its attachments. They turn a somewhat lacklustre weapon into a fragging machine. Our picks focus on improving your firepower, speed, and stability. Here’s what the best P90 build would look like:
- Faction: Cleaners (with Incendiary Drone)
- Magazine attachment: Quick Magazine
- Rear grip attachment: Lightweight Grip
- Stock attachment: Padded Stock
- Muzzle attachment: Muzzle Booster
- Barrel attachment: Chrome-Lined Barrel
- Front rail attachment: Leather-Wrapped Foregrip
- Secondary weapon: D50
- Device: Flashbang grenade
With slight penalties to recoil control, Muzzle Booster will boost your TTK. Captured by VideoGamer
Chrome-Lined Barrel improves P90’s firepower at optimal ranges. Captured by VideoGamer
This attachment will take the longest to grind, demanding weapon level 31. Captured by VideoGamer
Optics are the least important attachment slot for an SMG. Captured by VideoGamer
This magazine option speeds up the pesky reload speed. Captured by VideoGamer
Lightweight Grip provides a large amount of Recoil Recovery, making spraying easier. Captured by VideoGamer
Padded Stock is an upgrade in every way. Captured by VideoGamer
Our attachment choices combine to improve ADS precision, stability, and firepower, sacrificing a little bit of overall stability to get the results. The Chrome-Lined Barrel will be especially useful in increasing the damage potential of P90. One of the key aspects of this build is to minimize the impact of recoil when you spray at your enemies, accentuated by our choices for stock and rear grip attachments.
| Attachment type | Chosen attachment | Effect | Weapon level to unlock |
|---|---|---|---|
| Muzzle | Muzzle Booster | +2.5% Rate of fire -10% Horizontal recoil control -10% Vertical recoil control | Level 13 |
| Barrel | Chrome-Lined Barrel | +20% Short range +20% Medium range -5% Movement speed -15% ADS speed | Level 19 |
| Front rail | Leather-Wrapped Foregrip | +15% ADS walking speed +10 % ADS stability -10% ADS speed -5% Sprint-shoot time | Level 31 |
| Optics | Holographic Sight (it’s an option, but keep at default for loadout constraints) | +1 Sight picture | Level 6 |
| Magazine | Quick Magazine | +15% Reload speed | Level 10 |
| Rear grip | Lightweight Grip | +25% Recoil recovery +2.5% ADS walking speed -5% ADS flinch control | Level 25 |
| Stock | Padded Stock | +15% Recoil recovery +10% ADS stability +5% ADS flinch control | Level 7 |
P90 is among the few guns that functions well when hip-firing, but only at close range. It’s rate of fire is great at mowing down several enemies at once.
P90 lends itself well to run-and-gun tactics. Whether you fire from ADS or hipfire, you can get good results if you manage to get close to the enemy. In contrast, the gun’s wide spray pattern makes it a bad long-range solution, so duck into cover and try to get closer whenever you can. Use your crouch sliding to dive into engagements and confuse your targets.
Best secondary weapon
We recommend that you pick the D50 for your secondary weapon. It will provide you with firepower at longer ranges, which is something that your main weapon lacks. Alternatively, you can opt for the 686 Magnum if you’re more comfortable with that gun.
Best device choice
Our device of choice is the ubiquitous flashbang. It perfectly synergizes with the playstyle you need to inhabit to get the most out of an SMG. Identify your opponents’ position, flash into it, and turn the corner to spray them all down.
Best faction for P90
Almost any Faction can work with the P90 build. However, we believe that the Cleaners are the best choice for offensively-minded players. Both of their abilities work well, with the Incendiary Drone presenting a slightly more damaging option.
Another viable option is to go with Echelon. Again, both abilities have merit, but you can get incredible results with the timely use of Digital Ghillie Suit. We should also mention DedSec, who are able to use flashbangs more often, thanks to their passive. If you opt for DedSec, pick up the Spiderbot as your faction ability.
How to unlock P90
Before you’re able to add P90 to your loadout, you will first need to unlock it. To do that, you have to score 10 hip-fire kills with an SMG. That means that you can’t kill enemies while ADS-ing. It can be tricky to do, so if you want to do that very quickly, choose Echelon with Digital Ghillie Suit and your SMG of choice – any that you have will do. With the temporary invisibility active, you can sneak up on enemies to kill them without having to aim down sights. Score 10 kills this way – making sure you’re hip-firing – and you will unlock your new SMG.
