As we’ve come to expect, Warzone and Modern Warfare 2 Season 5 brought with it a series of weapon tweaks to shake up the meta and switch around the most dominant guns in the game. Here’s every weapon buff and nerf.
The games’ last major update – coming with Season 4 Reloaded – brought nerfs to the Vaznev-9K and buffs to the KV Broadside shotgun, among others. Alongside previous buffs to the class, shotguns have been experiencing something of a renaissance.
Every Warzone Season 5 Weapon Buff and Nerf
Headlining the changes brought with August 2’s update are buffs to the Chimera and M13B, both of which look set to make concerted pushes for best-in-class status.
Elsewhere, there was a nerf to the Cronen Squall and significant tweak to the Lachmann Sub. Only time will tell how they perform in game, with changes occasionally sounding worse on paper than they play in game. The ISO Hemlock, for example, has proved resilient in the face of multiple nerfs and is still among the stronger ARs.
Remember that weapon changes listed below apply universally unless specifically stated as only affecting one game or mode. Courtesy of Activision, the full list of weapon tweaks is below:
» Light Machine Guns «
- RAPP H
- Increased semi auto Damage
- Reduced semi auto rate of fire
The following weapon changes are applicable to Warzone only. While we are generally pleased with the state of Weapon balance in Warzone, our work is never done. Internal data has shown that the Cronen Squall is still performing better than we would like–enough so that it would restrict the pool of viable Weapons. Our main focus of these changes is and always will be to broaden gameplay options at every level of play. Not all Weapons have the potential to sit atop the charts–and that is okay. As long as those Weapons enable a playstyle or have a niche in which they can thrive, that is our goal. Below you will find changes that aim to level the playing field between some of the top and bottom performers.
» Assault Rifles «
- Chimera
- Close-mid Damage increased
- M13B
- Headshot Multiplier increased
» Battle Rifles «
- Cronen Squall
- Maximum Damage decreased
- Minimum Damage increased
- Neck Damage Multiplier decreased
- Upper Torso Damage Multiplier decreased
- Lower Torso Damage Multiplier decreased
- Limb Damage Multipliers decreased
» Light Machine Guns «
- HCR 56
- Limb Damage Multipliers decreased
- RAAL MG
- Headshot Multiplier increased
» Submachine Guns «
- MX9
- Close-mid Damage increased
- Neck Multiplier increased
- Upper Torso Multiplier increased
- Lower Torso Multiplier increased
- Minibak
- Damage step added at mid-far range
- Minimum Damage decreased
- Headshot Multiplier increased
- Lachmann Sub
- Maximum Damage Range decreased
- Close-mid Damage Range decreased
- VEL-46
- Neck Multiplier increased
- Upper Torso Multiplier increased
- Lower Torso Multiplier increased
- BAS-P
- Maximum Damage Range increased
- Neck Multiplier increased
- Upper Torso Multiplier increased
- Lower Torso Multiplier increased
Lastly, we are aware of concerns surrounding the Signal 50 in Warzone. While our data does not suggest the Signal 50 is out of the normal range in performance, its experiential impact for Players is equally important to us. At this time we do not feel it is necessary to make changes to the Signal 50, but we will continue to monitor the data and your feedback closely.
EQUIPMENT
Adjustments
- Drill Charge
- Reduced damage from drilling when a Player is stuck with a Drill Charge, providing a larger opportunity for death from explosion
- Recon Drone
- Recon Drone’s health bar now updates every time the drone is accessed
- Tactical Camera
- Removed audio distortion when failing to use a Tactical Camera
That’s all the weapon changes in Warzone and MW2 Season 5. We do anticipate more changes in the near future, with smaller patches often pushed out to balance and fix any unintended consequences. In the meantime, check out the related content below, or our Warzone weapon tier list, which details the strongest and most meta guns in the BR right now.