In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, a shotgun is causing quite a bit of trouble for some players. But is this shotgun really to blame for its bad reputation or is it the Overkill perk?
What is currently happening in Modern Warfare? The new Call of Duty is just over two weeks old and had a pretty solid launch. While there is some criticism regarding map design and certain gameplay decisions, that is not surprising for such a big title.
Balancing issues are also not always immediately recognizable before the game’s release without extensive player use. In the case of Modern Warfare, the shotgun 725 has been under constant fire since release – too strong, too high range.
But is the shotgun really the problem, or is there a specific perk that makes extensive use truly possible?
725 only so strong thanks to Overkill?
Which perk are we talking about? It is the blue perk “Overkill” that is already unlocked at level 8.
Overkill
- Unlock: Level 8
- Category: Perk 1 / Blue Perks
- The player receives, instead of a secondary weapon, another primary weapon. The same weapon cannot be chosen twice, and the pistol disappears.
With Overkill, the CoD soldiers forgo a secondary weapon and receive another primary weapon in exchange. This can then also be modified and is a fully-fledged primary weapon without compromises.
Overkill gives two fully-fledged primary weapons
Why is the perk too strong? The perk allows experienced players to select two strong primary weapons, leading to entirely new gameplay styles. Besides the tried and tested assault rifle, a sniper or a shotgun also finds its way into the loadout.
This choice could have a significant impact on the current weapon selection. Because armed only with a shotgun and pistol, players usually approach things a bit differently.
With “Overkill”, the weaknesses of individual primary weapons are mitigated, in the case of the 725, the small magazine. After the two shots of the single-shot shotgun have left the barrel, a quick switch to the waiting secondary weapon, which can also deal decent damage, is sufficient.
Without the perk, probably significantly fewer players would run around with the shotgun-spitting pump on the maps, even on the new maps.
Perk has no competition
Are there no alternatives? Part of the problem is the rather weak perks in the blue category. Even though the other abilities of this type do have their place and can be very helpful in specific cases, “Overkill” usually surpasses the other perks.
Overkill as the next victim of nerfs?
How could the imbalance be addressed? There are several ways to do this. If the developers do not want “Overkill” to become the standard for blue perk category, they could adjust these parameters a bit.
- Nerfing the perk
- There are several approaches to weakening the perk. Limiting weapon selection or restricting the ammunition of the additional weapon. The developers could quickly and easily react here.
- Strengthening the competition
- It would also be possible to strengthen the other perks in the blue category or introduce a new blue perk that is as valuable as Overkill.
- Reordering perks
- The Overkill perk could also become part of another category, allowing it to compete with other strong perks. Although abilities are assigned to specific categories, the meaningfulness of the classification would likely not suffer.
In earlier CoDs, this perk appeared from time to time and offered a strong selection in its respective category. It is possible that the shotgun 725 is still too strong despite the current nerfs.
Do you use the Overkill perk? Do you think the problem lies more with the perk than with the shotgun?
