Every Warzone update disrupts the meta in unpredictable ways, sometimes for good, and sometimes for bad. Well, if you’re a regular user of SMGs in the Call of Duty battle royale, you might need to brace yourself for Warzone Season 5. COD players will need to reconfigure their close-range strategy, as the latest batch of Warzone nerfs target multiple fan favorites.
The close-range Warzone meta is often dominated by weapons like the Lachmann Sub, FSS Hurricane, VEL 46, and ISO 45. The Lachmann Sub, derived from its Warzone Lachmann 556 loadout counterpart, has always risen up the COD ranks in other games. However, you’ll have seen it under different names and manufacturing brands, like the original Heckler & Koch MP5 that appeared in Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare.
Its classmates like the VEL 46, FSS Hurricane, and Minibak are newer additions to the franchise, while the ISO 45 SMG will undoubtedly be familiar to those who played 2009’s Modern Warfare 2. Irrespective of which one you tend to use, meta tracking sites like Warzone Loadout reflect their popularity too, but the newest Warzone patch notes dictate the following changes in the battle royale game:
- Minibak
- Damage step added at mid-far range
- Minimum damage decreased
- Headshot multiplier increased
- Lachmann Sub
- Maximum damage range decreased
- Close-mid damage range decreased
- VEL 46
- Neck multiplier increased
- Upper torso multiplier increased
- Lower torso multiplier increased
The Lachmann Sub comes out pretty worse for wear in this new update, but hope isn’t lost if you prefer the fast fire-rate of an SMG. The VEL 46 actually gets better this time around, thanks to some torso damage tweaks. If you weren’t ripping through enemy armor plates before, you’ll be doing it soon enough with this equipped.
While the Minibak (or Bullfrog in the OG Warzone) can be the recipient of some harsh feedback from COD fans, its headshot multiplayer increase should make for some interesting tuning changes in Warzone’s gunsmith.
Similar criticisms can be levied at the MX9, an SMG that felt like a peashooter when the latest iteration of Warzone hit the scene. However, Activision confirms the MX9 will be improved too. If you’ve given up on it, maybe it is time to dust the cobwebs off the MX9 by putting increased upper/lower torso damage, and close-mid range damage increases to good use.
Alongside these weapon nerfs comes the arrival of new guns in WZ Season 5. We’ve already got handy guides on how to unlock the FR- Advancer and the Carrack 300, which could prove to be key choices within the array of Warzone Season 5 guns list.