Just four days after the big Season 5 update in Call of Duty: Warzone, Raven Software has dropped a weapon balancing patch that focuses on SMGs and pistols. Weapon tweaks were shown in in-game versions of the Season 5 patch notes, but the changes were never pushed live. That is until today.
The headline news is that the Modern Warfare MP5, which is one of the most popular SMGs in Warzone at the moment, has received a significant damage nerf. Its maximum damage output has decreased from 34 to 31 and its maximum damage range is down by 5.4%. This has been countered with a slight increase to its upper torso damage multiplier (now up to 1.1) but this still looks to be a net loss for the Modern Warfare MP5. It will be interesting to see how this shakes up the Warzone meta for the rest of Season 5.
Elsewhere, the AS VAL assault rifle has also received a damage nerf in this August 16 Warzone update, while the OTs 9 has had its troublesome iron sights fixed and the Fennec has received a buff to its bullet velocity.
There are also blanket nerfs for three of the games most used and overpowered pistols – the Sykov (using the Sorokin 140mm Auto attachment), the M19 (when Akimbo), and the AMP 63.
While these are the only guns affected today, Raven says that despite it being “generally pleased with the state of balance” in Warzone right now, there are some “outliers” in the assault rifle class that it will be tackling in a future update.
🛠️A #Warzone update is now live!
Includes Bug Fixes and a balance pass to various Weapons.
The Season Five patch notes have been amended (see August 16th): https://t.co/9vjUyoXnO9 pic.twitter.com/jnAj4d4yKw
— Raven Software (@RavenSoftware) August 16, 2021
With Krig Warzone loadouts and C58 Warzone loadouts seeing a lot of usage in Season 5, we’re predicting that at least these two guns will get brought into Raven’s workshop for some tinkering.
Aside from weapon balancing, there are also a handful of bug fixes, including one that stops multiple squads using the same Red Doors.
Check out all the changes in the August 16 Warzone update below and see if your best Warzone loadout has been affected.
Bug fixes
- Fixed an issue allowing multiple Squads to enter the same Red Door.
This addresses other related issues such as dying to Gas in the Red Door hallway. - Fixed an issue where Battle Pass Tiers were not unlocked correctly when the Battle Pass or the Battle Pass Bundle were received as a gift.
- Fixed an issue with the PPSh-41 (BOCW) where the KGB Eliminator and GRU Suppressor Attachment icons were appearing as white boxes.
Weapon Balancing
“We are generally pleased with the state of balance and we do not think anything needs to be immediately addressed. However, we do feel there are some outliers in the Assault Rifle category that have been top tier long enough that it is now appropriate to reduce their power level to give other Weapons some time in the spotlight. Those changes will be coming very soon.”
Assault Rifles
AS VAL (MW)
- Maximum Damage decreased from 30 to 27
“The AS VAL (MW), following our balance overhaul, retained one of the fastest, easily achieved TTKs in the game. While its magazine capacity does hold it back, its TTK potential has remained well outside of the range we have been targeting.”
Submachine Guns
Fennec (MW)
- Bullet Velocity increased by 13.4%
“The Fennec (MW) has struggled to gain footing due to some glaring weaknesses. This change will make the Fennec (MW) viable at slightly further distances.”
MP5 (MW)
- Maximum Damage decreased from 34 to 31
- Maximum Damage Range decreased by 5.4%
- Upper Torso Damage Multiplier increased from 1 to 1.1
“This change is intended to place some of the power of the Submachine Gun Charlie (MW) behind a mechanical requirement – making it a little less forgiving.”
OTs 9 (BOCW)
- ADS Weapon Sway decreased
“When making large, sweeping motions while aiming down sights with the OTs 9 (BOCW), players could find most of their front iron sights obstructed by the rear iron sights. This type of sightline obstruction can be frustrating when attempting to effectively track enemies.”
Handguns
AMP 63 (BOCW)
- Maximum Damage decreased from 33 to 31
- Mid Damage now 28
- Minimum Damage decreased from 28 to 23
Sykov (MW)
- This change only applies while using the Sorokin 140mm Auto
- Maximum Damage decreased from 27 to 24
- Mid Damage decreased from 23 to 20
- Minimum Damage decreased from 19 to 17
M19 (MW)
- This change only applies while using Akimbo
- Maximum Damage decreased from 33 to 29
- Mid Damage decreased from 28 to 25
- Minimum Damage decreased from 23 to 20
“Handguns were fortunate enough to evade the initial balance overhaul. These changes aim to place some of the most powerful Secondary Weapons at a power level that is more in line with other Weapons of their class.”