On August 11, a balance update was released for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare & Warzone, which targeted the heavyweights among the weapons – Bruen Mk9 and FAL received a nerf. MeinMMO takes a look at whether the weapons are still usable.
Call of Duty is now keeping a close eye on its arsenal of weapons. The current title Modern Warfare managed to go nearly half a year without major weapon balancing, but the shooter has been receiving regular small adjustments since the necessary Grau nerf.
This time, it affected 2 top weapons that caused a stir particularly in Warzone, the CoD “Battle Royale”: the LMG Bruen Mk9 and the semi-automatic assault rifle FAL. Check here how the nerfs impact the meta guns and whether you should still pack them into your loadouts because they still belong to the best weapons in Warzone.
The details of the nerfs were measured by the English YouTuber and CoD expert “JGOD” and presented in one of his videos:
The Bruen Mk9 After the Nerf – Still a Reliable Hit Machine
Excerpt from the Patch Notes: Bruen Mk9
- Damage range reduced
What does that mean? The only thing that was adjusted for the Bruen was the ranges of its damage potential. Previously, the LMG dealt the following damage to the upper chest area of the enemy:
- 34 – up to 41 meters
- 30 – from 41 to 56 meters
- 24 – from 56 meters
After the patch, the new damage values are:
- 34 – up to 32 meters
- 30 – from 32 to 47 meters
- 24 – from 47 meters
A significant range reduction of around 20% is thus recorded.
Is the Bruen still viable in Warzone? The LMG receives a nerf that leads to more “hit markers” at greater distances. However, the weapon remains very stable, just like before the patch.
You will feel the difference if you have played the weapon a lot and your timing is perfectly aligned with the bullets the weapon needed for a kill at certain ranges. However, the strong handling characteristics are still present. Nevertheless, the time-to-kill increases in comparison to the also very forgiving Grau 5.56 at some distances.
In Warzone, stable weapons are extremely popular, as the average combat distance is substantially higher than that of regular multiplayer matches. The Bruen plays almost the same as before but has less damage potential against enemies who receive bullets from further away.
Overall, the Bruen Mk9 remains strong, but loses some of its appeal. If you played the weapon for its precision, you can safely keep it in your loadout. If you want to vary with the LMGs, try this PKM setup, which revives the former top weapon.
FAL Receives Nerf and Buff – Still on Course
Excerpt from the Patch Notes: FAL
- Increased headshot damage (2-shot kills at range with 1 headshot)
- Reduced damage at close range (limbs and lower torso always 3-shot kills)
What does that mean? The details in parentheses apply to regular multiplayer and mean that you can now always achieve 2-shot kills, regardless of how far away you are from the opponent. As long as one of the hits is a headshot, you will take down your opponent. At close range, a headshot is still sufficient in MP.
With limb hits and hits to the lower torso, you now require 3 shots, regardless of distance. Specifically, that means:
Damage up to 20 meters
- Headshot before patch 105 / after patch 100
- Chest before patch 78 / after patch 58
- Torso/limbs before patch 65 / after patch 48
Damage between 20 – 45 meters
- Headshot before patch 72 / after patch 92
- Chest before patch 54 / after patch 54
- Torso/limbs before patch 45 / after patch 45
Damage from 45 meters
- Headshot before patch 55 / after patch 69
- Chest before patch 40 / after patch 40
- Torso/limbs before patch 34 / after patch 34
Is the FAL still viable in Warzone? The Belgian semi-automatic rifle has become thanks to a buff an absolute killer at close range. The damage range of 0 – 20 meters was newly added, giving the FAL a reputation as a hammer “submachine gun,” even though it is an assault rifle.
This close combat range is now slightly weaker, and you now need 5 shots to the chest for a kill instead of 4, as before. This slightly weakens the weapon but can make a difference in certain situations. Here is a comparison of the TTK times of the assault rifles.
However, the FAL remains a top pick at short to medium range. If you are strong with headshots with the weapon, you even get a significant boost to your damage. FAL headshots have been considered incredibly strong since the release of Warzone in March and hit even harder now.
You can continue to play the FAL with confidence without having to worry about losing more firefights than before.
The two weapons remain strong alternatives, but the Bruen has lost a bit more compared to others. Whether the Bruen will completely exit the meta and whether the time of the stable Kilo 141 has come remains to be seen.
Here you will find 2 strong builds of the nerfed top weapons:
- Pro declares FAL the strongest weapon and explains why – With setup
- The Bruen Mk9 is now one of the strongest weapons in Warzone – Pro shows setup
The weakening of your favorite weapon can sometimes be really frustrating, but it also encourages players to try new things and perhaps even discover better weapons. I can personally look past the nerfs quite well. Because although my main Warzone weapon was nerfed (FAL), a real hammer mode remains in the rotation – “Mini Royale”.
