A new update on April 6 has weakened the best weapons in Call of Duty: Warzone again – FFAR and AUG receive a nerf. MeinMMO provides you with information about the weakening, alternatives, and what effects to expect on the Warzone meta.
What’s going on? On April 6, there was a small update for Call of Duty: Warzone, adjusting the strong weapons that have dominated the Battle Royale for some time:
- Battle Rifle AUG now returns to “centering” position slower after a shot
- Assault Rifle FFAR 1 now has less ADS speed
MeinMMO shows you the details about the nerfs and provides alternatives that can help you maintain performance from before the patch.
AUG now noticeably less stable – If you fire quickly
How was the AUG nerfed? Damage, shot behavior, and the spread of burst shots remained unchanged. However, something has changed between burst shots that can still increase the time-to-kill (TTK) of the weapon: the re-centering speed.
After firing a burst from the AUG, it now takes significantly longer for the weapon to return to its starting position. As a result, you have to correct much more, and it is noticeably more difficult to keep the weapons stable in succession when firing quickly. Another option is to wait longer between bursts until the weapon is re-centered – but that increases the TTK.
The Warzone expert “TheXclusiveAce” compared the recoil behavior before and after the patch:
Is the weapon still top-tier? The recoil behavior of the AUG remains very vertical, but the difference is clearly noticeable. At medium and long range, the battle rifle is now significantly worse. Currently, the weapon is falling a bit behind. This is less about it being completely unusable, but rather due to a competitor: M16.
What should I do now? Leave the AUG in the closet for now, but stick with the 3-shot battle rifles. It is very likely that the M16 will take over the AUG’s tasks 1 to 1 until the next nerf wave:
- M16 can also kill with 3 bursts
- It only takes 2 bursts if a headshot hits
- The TTK is hardly noticeably higher than with the AUG
- The M16 is still more stable than the AUG before the patch
However, a nerf is also expected for the M16. Currently, the battle rifle is by far the best alternative to the nerfed AUG. As a setup, you can follow the usual path via a range setup for the M16 or try something more mobile, with strong values at the time to aim (recommendation by TrueGameData via YouTube):
Warzone: Mobile M16 Setup
- Muzzle: Agency Suppressor
- Barrel: 15.9″ Task Force
- Optic: Sillix Holoscout
- Ammunition: 45 rounds
- Grip: Snake Wrap
FFAR now significantly slower – But still strong
How was the FFAR nerfed? The base ADS time was increased by nearly 20% – from about 250 ms to nearly 300 ms. You now need 50 milliseconds longer to aim with the weapon without attachments.
Together with the fix of the OP magazine in the last patch, the FFAR has taken a significant hit – but retains its very strong time-to-kill of nearly 470 milliseconds.
Is the weapon still top-tier? It’s hard to say with the FFAR so shortly after the patch. The assault rifle remains a strong competitor against all submachine guns due to its outstanding TTK and the range of its first damage tier of nearly 40 meters – no SMG can match its range and damage. However, the weapon is now slower, which is noticeable in gunfights with the fast SMGs.
What should I do now? Adjust your setup a bit so that you have fewer drawbacks with your ADS time. This way you can continue to benefit from the strong TTK and have good chances against SMGs.
However, it will be interesting to see if the assault rifle can continue to hold its ground against submachine guns. Alternatively, you might want to go for the Groza assault rifle or go back to the best submachine guns in Warzone.
If you want to keep trying with the FFAR, the Warzone YouTuber TrueGameData recommends the following SMG build for the FFAR (via YouTube):
Warzone: FFAR Setup with ADS speed
- Muzzle: Suppressor
- Stock: Looter’s Stock
- Under Barrel: Grip
- Ammunition: STANAG 50 rounds
- Grip: Snake Wrap
Burst weapons remain in the meta / FFAR uncertain
How do the latest changes affect the meta? According to experts on YouTube (TrueGameData / JGOD / XclusiveAce), only the weapon in the range meta will change – instead of the AUG, it is likely that the M16 will reign. The three are in agreement on this and foresee only a slight adjustment to the meta.
In the case of the FFAR and the SMG competition, the situation is different. While the weapon remains strong with the setup proposed here, as with the last nerf, the assault rifle loses important value advantages, and soon only the strong TTK will remain as an argument for the FFAR. However, if aiming takes a long time and the weapon is yet hard to control, the era of the FFAR will end. Whether this point has already been reached, the following days will show.
In addition to the weapon meta, changes to the game environments are also expected. If a leak is to be believed, the developers are working on a version for Verdansk 2.0. Let’s see which we are using until then.
