MW3 players claim major issue makes all MW2 weapons worse

MW2’s weaponry isn’t holding up well compared to MW3’s smaller arsenal, as fans continue to lobby for changes to last year’s armory.

Heading into MW3, Activision’s big marketing push was the Carry Forward system. As the name implies, everything from cosmetics to guns from 2022’s MW2 would carry forward to Modern Warfare 3.

Cosmetically speaking, it’s a great system, as it massively benefited those who invested in MW2’s cosmetics. On the other hand, it’s been a nightmare to balance, as MW2’s weaponry has massively suffered due to differences in design choices.

Despite the previous sentiment, Sledgehammer Games has worked on balancing passes for MW2’s weaponry, although fans hope more significant changes are inbound.

MW3 players hope for more balancing to MW2’s weapons

Sledgehammer Games

The reboot of the Modern Warfare series saw Infinity Ward add extra layers of realism to the in-game weaponry. This carried over to the multiplayer component, as weapons suffered from immense recoil, both physically and visually, no matter how you assembled your weapon in the Gunsmith.

With MW3, Sledgehammer went back to the “roots” of CoD, ditching the added layers of realism such as that recoil and other design choices Infinity Ward introduced. That flip-flop in design choice created the problem players currently face — MW2’s weaponry feels “inferior” due to design choices compared to MW3’s arsenal.

Plenty of threads have shouted for change, such as this thread that describes the sheer disappointment of not being able to use MW2’s weapons due to how “weak they are.”

The top comment to the thread summarized the situation perfectly: “Please SHG, reduce the visual recoil on MWII guns. It would open up for more attachment possibilities on these weapons.”

Across two seasons, the balancing notes have been rife with improvements to MW2’s arsenal, and some of the comments reiterated that along with their suggestions on what’s worked for them.

“Try using some MW3 attachments where you can like the Slate reflector, Bruen Heavy Support Grip, and any muzzle that helps gun kick control and/or firing aim stability.” This player also stated the guns hold up well TTK-wise, despite the visual recoil issue.

With visual recoil a design choice, it may be a tough ask from Sledgehammer to completely rework guns from a title released almost two years ago. Season 2 introduced massive changes to how ADS and hipfire work, so the potential for change is there.