In Call of Duty Modern Warfare & Warzone the Mid-Season Update went live. “Season 4 Reloaded” brings unusually many adjustments for the weapons. Included is also the expected nerf of the Grau 5.56. MeinMMO summarizes the most important buffs & nerfs.
What did the Mid-Season Update bring? On June 30 at 8 AM our time, the big “Season 4 Reloaded” patch came and brought many changes to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare & the Battle Royale Warzone:
- New Warzone modes (e.g. 200-player mode)
- New Multiplayer map
- New sniper weapon
- Massive weapon adjustments
Here you can find more about the modes and the fresh content. This article will now focus on the balance adjustments for the weapons. Because there is quite a bit to report on the weapon front. The strong meta weapons Grau 5.56 and MP5 have to deal with a nerf. Otherwise, there were nearly only buffs. MeinMMO summarizes the most important adjustments for you.
Update 1.23 on June 30 changes 15 weapons – Patch Notes
In total, the update specifically names 15 weapons that were adjusted. Thus, it is the largest adjustment of weapon balance since the launch of CoD MW in October last year. However, the changes also affect more weapons, as the attachment “no stock” has also been adjusted, which is available for many weapons.
Nerf of the Grau 5.56 and MP5
The most important adjustments are the changes to the meta weapons Grau and MP5. Both are likely to perform worse at longer distances now, and other weapons may soon come into focus:
Grau 5.56 – Assault Rifle
- Damage range reduced
- Slight increase in recoil with sustained fire
- Less recoil compensation from the “Archangel” and “Nexus” barrels
MP5 – Submachine Gun
- Reduced damage range
- Reduced 10mm damage range
- Reduced damage at long distances with 10mm ammunition
- Slight recoil reduction with 10mm ammunition
For the MP5, this is already the second nerf since the release. Whether the MP will withstand this adjustment as well as the first remains to be seen. However, with the nerfs of both weapons, the developers at Infinity Ward are responding to the wishes of many players who requested changes in this regard. Here are some current replacement setups for the Grau 5.56.
Sniper adjustments could have a big impact
These two prominent weapons are just a small part of the balance package. Also alongside, there are some innovations that could disrupt the weapon choice in the shooter. Above all with the sniper rifles:
AX-50 – Sniper Rifle
- Increased damage range
HDR – Sniper Rifle
- Guaranteed one-hit even with deep torso hits
- Still unclear whether this applies to Warzone & MW
Also with the DMR Kar 98k, which is often used as a sniper in Warzone, there were changes:
Kar 98k – DMR
- Increased ADS speed
- Better hip-fire
- Increased damage range
Together with the release of the new sniper rifle “Rytec AMR”, quite a bit could change with the strong sniper weapons with one-shot potential.
Comprehensive weapon adjustments, especially regarding ammunition capacity
The most important points would thus be covered, but there are still a number of smaller adjustments that should not be neglected:
Starting ammunition / maximum ammunition increased
- CR-56 AMAX with M67 clip
- SKS 10-round magazine
- Striker 45 hollow point ammunition
- Scar standard clip and 25-round magazines
- Oden standard clip and 25-round magazines
- M4A1 with .458 SOCOM ammunition
It will be exciting to see how the adjusted amount of ammunition affects the playability of the weapons. Especially in Warzone, large magazines and a lot of ammunition in reserve are important to maintain pressure or take down multiple enemies with armor plates at once. But that’s not all:
MK2 Carbine – DMR
- Higher movement speed
- Higher damage range
Dragunov – Sniper Rifle
- Increased ADS speed
- 2-hit kills
- Recoil returns the sights to the center more quickly
- Higher rate of fire
FAL – Assault Rifle
- Received a “Damage Shelf” at short range. Can now achieve one-shot kills with headshots at lower distances
- It’s still unclear whether this applies only to multiplayer or also to Warzone
AK-47 – Assault Rifle
- Increased ADS speed
CR-56 AMAX – Assault Rifle
- Reduced damage range
Shotgun Slugs
- Increased projectile speed
- Reduced spread when firing from sights
- Added dynamic hip spread
- Increased damage range
- Increased damage to deep torso
No Stock attachment
- Increased gun recoil
- Reduced ADS stability
Field Upgrade Special Ammunition
- The headshot multiplier now works correctly again
You can find the complete patch notes on a website from Infinity Ward.
It will take some time to see if the important weapons MP5 and Grau have now really been weakened enough to reduce their usage rates. The Season 4 weapon CR-56 AMAX was considered a possible contender for the Warzone throne before the patch but also received a nerf.
How the adjustments will affect gameplay remains to be seen. Likewise, whether we will see any of the crazy map changes in Warzone that leakers have already found in the data.
