Following an April 20 update to Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, Treyarch has now released the accompanying patch notes. A swathe of weapons and attachments have received buffs and nerfs in preparation for Season 3 – some of which have already stirred up quite the conversation among pro Call of Duty players.
A total of nine individual weapons, one entire weapon class, and one group of attachments have received tweaks as part of this update according to the patch notes, including staples of competitive play like the Krig 6 assault rifle and public match stompers like the Stoner 63 LMG.
Arguably the most wide-reaching change is a blanket nerf to sprint speed when running an SMG. Treyarch now says that pistols are the top weapons in terms of sprint speed, but do say that with the right combination of attachments, SMGs can match the sprint speed of pistols. The nerf will be a big blow, however, for those who love sprinting around public lobbies or League Play with an LC10 or an AK74-u.
Elsewhere, all of Black Ops Cold War’s shotguns have been tweaked. While the Hauer 77 and Gallo SA12 have both received buffs and nerfs to certain stats, Treyarch has come down heavily on the Streetsweeper. The overpowered shotgun can now no longer kill enemies with a single shot, and its max damage has been slashed from 138 to 88.
Black Ops Cold War’s LMGs have also been tuned considerably, with the Stoner getting hit with some big nerfs to its damage, range, recoil, and ADS speed. Both the RPD and M60 have also been given a pass, receiving a mixture of buffs and nerfs to certain stats.
New Multiplayer maps. New weapons. Sticks and Stones.
New Battle Pass, new Zombies content, new Operators, new Seasonal Event, new Challenges, and much more.
Here’s what’s coming when Season Three arrives at 9PM PT April 21 / 12AM ET April 22: https://t.co/b57jNP4G1r pic.twitter.com/UGGRoPPZ1u
— Treyarch Studios (@Treyarch) April 21, 2021
The Krig 6 assault rifle – one of the main weapons used in competitive play – has once again been tweaked. While its max damage has been brought down from 35 to 33, its headshot multiplier has been increased from 1.25 to 1.4, rewarding a player’s pinpoint accuracy.
The FFAR has also got a slight buff to some of its attachments, most notably its 34 RND and 38 RND Speed Mag magazines.
The AUG tactical rifle has also received some more attention, with a small buff to damage and headshot multiplier but nerfs to fire rate and range. Its Task Force barrel attachment has also been nerfed.
The final weapon change involves barrel attachments for assault rifles. A movement speed bonus has been granted to the Ultralight, Contour, Contour M2, and CMV Mil-Spec barrels.
With so many changes, it may take a while to adjust and find your new favourite gun in Black Ops Cold War. The full weapon balancing section of the patch notes can be found below.
Weapon Tuning
Light Machine Guns
- Light Machine Gun Alpha (Stoner 63)
- Reduced max damage from 42 to 38.
- Reduced max range from 38.1m to 21.59m.
- Slight increase to vertical recoil.
- Slightly reduced ADS speed.
- Reduced range bonus on Match Grade Barrel attachment from +100 to +50%.
- Reduced range penalty of Division Barrel attachment from -25% to -12%.
- RPD
- Increased max damage from 38 to 42.
- Reduced max range from 50.8m to 20.4m.
- Reduced ammo capacity from 75 to 50.
- Reduced range bonus on Match Grade Barrel attachment from +100% to +50%.
- Reduced range penalty of Division Barrel attachment from -25% to -15%.
- M60
- Reduced max range from 76.2m to 20.4m.
- Reduced ADS speed by 13.8%.
- Increased probability of horizontal view kick when hip-firing.
- Reduced range bonus on Match Grade Barrel attachment from +100% to +50%.
- Reduced range penalty of Division Barrel attachment from -25% to -15%.
Shotguns
- Streetsweeper
- Removed 1-shot kill potential.
- Decreased max damage from 138 to 88.
- Reduced mid-range pellet damage from 6 to 5.
- Reduced damage bonus on Task Force Barrel attachment.
- Hauer 77
- Increased max range from 5.08m to 5.72m.
- Reduced range penalty on Task Force Barrel attachment from 12% to 7%.
- Reduced damage bonus on Task Force Barrel attachment.
- Shotgun Bravo (Gallo)
- Increased mid damage range from 9.14m to 10.16m.
- Increased mid-range pellet damage from 2 to 3.
- Reduced max damage from 118 to 108.
Assault Rifles
- FFAR 1
- Reduced recoil penalties on Task Force Barrel attachment by 10% total.
- Increased bullets added to 34 RND magazine attachment from 34 to 38.
- Reduced reload speed penalty on 34 RND magazine attachment from 10% to 5%.
- Increased bullets added to 38 RND Speed Mag magazine attachment from 34 to 38.
- Reduced ADS speed penalty on 38 RND Speed Mag magazine attachment from 20% to 10%.
- Krig 6
- Increased headshot multiplier from 1.25 to 1.4.
- Reduced max damage from 35 to 33.
Attachments
- Added an ADS move speed bonus to the following barrel attachments for assault rifles: Ultralight, Contour, Contour M2, CMV Mil-Spec.
Tactical Rifles
- Tactical Rifle Charlie (AUG)
- Reduced max range from 30.48m to 19.05m.
- Increased burst fire delay from 0.216 to 0.233.
- Increased max damage from 51 to 52.
- Increased headshot multiplier from 1.25 to 1.4.
- Reduced range bonus on Task Force barrel attachment from +50% to +40%.
- Reduced damage bonus on Task Force barrel from +15% to +12%.
Submachine Guns
- Sprint Speed
- Reduced sprinting speed of all SMGs. Pistols are now the fastest guns to sprint with.
- With specific attachments, an SMG may now allow sprinting as fast as a pistol.