MW3 Season 1 patch notes: New maps, modes, killstreaks, weapon changes

The MW3 devs have released a new update kickstarting Season 1, delivering a huge range of new content and gameplay changes.

Season 1‘s arrival follows an impressive run of positivity for Modern Warfare 3 with the latest Call of Duty game being praised for how it has addressed community feedback quickly.

That hot streak continues in this update with Sledgehammer Games nerfing the Riot Shield, introducing an impressive range of new Aftermarket Parts, and delivering a ton of multiplayer content for you to get stuck into.

Modern Warfare 3’s first new maps

MW3 launched with all 16 of the original Modern Warfare 2’s (2009) maps but moving forward Sledgehammer’s focus is on delivering new experiences. That starts with Season 1 which introduces four new maps with three being available right now, Meat, Greece, & Training Facility.

Greece is described as a “once-idyllic coastal town, where waters at the shore lap at the hull of a burning yacht, signal disaster,” that takes place in a city center.

As for Meat, players can expect a “fast-paced butchery, in a compact map centered around the East Bay Meats slaughterhouse,” providing chaotic action akin to the likes of Rust.

Finally, Training Facility is a Gunfight-exclusive map that takes place in an old warehouse that has been repurposed as a Konni training facility. It will be small and fast-paced but also feature a lot of key power positions.

Activision

This latest MW3 update introduces the highly anticipated Season 1 content, including the new Rio map.

Returning game modes and more

Season 1 sees multiple new game modes introduced into Modern Warfare 3. Most notably, Gunfight makes its return with the fan-favorite 2v2 mode featuring five maps at launch with four returning from Modern Warfare 2: Alley, Blacksite, Exhibit, and Shipment.

This update also sees the classic party mode All or Nothing make a comeback. In this mode, you spawn in with a Throwing Knife and no ammo, but getting eliminations triggers Scavenger giving you a big edge over the opposition.

Later on in the season, two more modes will return with Infected and Headquarters alongside three brand new modes in Team Gunfight, Santa’s Slayground, and Vortex.

New killstreaks to call in

The Season 1 update introduces two new streaks for players to call in for support. These are the Swarm and EMP, both returning streaks from older Call of Duty titles.

• Swarm (15 Kills, 1,875 Points): Deploys a large number of mosquito drones to provide blanket coverage over the entire area.
• EMP (13 Kills, 1,625 Points): Electromagnetic pulse to disrupt enemy Killstreaks and equipment.

Full MW3 Season 1 patch notes

Here are the full MW3 December 6 update patch notes:

Global

New Weapons

The following Weapons are new to the entirety of the Modern Warfare III offering as of Season 1.

• RAM-7 (Assault Rifle)
  • Exceptionally compact, this bullpup assault rifle sports a lightweight, polymer frame and is chambered in versatile 5.56.
  • Unlockable via Sector A7 of the Season 1 Battle Pass
• XRK Stalker (Sniper Rifle)
  • Stalk your prey and lay them out with this tactical sniper rifle chambered in .50 Cal.
  • Unlockable via Sector A4 of the Season 1 Battle Pass
• Stormender (Launcher)
  • This state-of-the-art weapon system fires a localized EMP on a slight delay. Destroys tactical and lethal equipment and temporarily disables other electronic devices.
  • Unlockable via Sector A12 of the Season 1 Battle Pass

New Aftermarket Parts

In addition to new weaponry, players will see brand new Aftermarket Parts earned via the Battle Pass, Armory Unlocks, and Weekly Challenges.

• JAK Purifier
  • An underbarrel flamethrower. What more needs to be said? Burn it all down.
  • Compatible with: MTZ-556, Holger 556, DG-56, SVA 545, RAM-7, MTZ-762, BAS-B, Sidewinder, Riveter 
• JAK Ettin Double Barrel Kit
  • This kit creates two stacked barrels that fire simultaneously. This offers twice as much down-range damage at the cost of some accuracy. 
  • Compatible with: AMR9 (Submachine Gun)
• JAK Thunder LMG Kit
  • Dominate lanes and hold objectives with this LMG conversion kit that brings a large capacity magazine and ramps in fire rate the longer you hold down the trigger.
  • Compatible with: Sidewinder (Battle Rifle)
• JAK BRB
  • This compensator borders on excessive, offering a phenomenal reduction to recoil while significantly increasing muzzle report, resulting in an extended red dot on enemy radars.
  • Compatible with: Many Assault Rifles, Submachine Guns, Battle Rifles, Marksman Rifles, and Sniper Rifles. 
• JAK Bullseye
  • Very low-profile dot Optic. Limited interference from framework offers an exceptionally clear sight picture. 
  • Compatible with: Most weapon categories
• JAK Glassless Optic
  • This small, glassless reflex Optic offers a crisp and clear sight picture for snappy target acquisition. 
  • Compatible with: Most weapon categories
• JAK Signal Burst
  • A conversion kit designed for accuracy and controllability with four-round bursts.
  • Compatible with: Holger 556 (AR)
• JAK Beholder Rifle Kit
  • A long and heavy barrel that offers the best increase to range. Improves recoil control and damage range, converting this Handgun into a single-shot Rifle. 
  • Compatible with: TYR (Handgun)
• JAK Headhunter Carbine Conversion
  • Rival Assault Rifles with this three-round burst conversion kit that excels at mid range combat. 
  • Compatible with: Rival-9 (Submachine Gun)

New Operators

Nolan and Dokkaebi, two KorTac Operators, lead the charge in the Season 1 offering… But a mysterious force, known only as Abolisher, looms in the background.

• Abolisher BlackCell (SpecGru)
  • [Redacted]
• Dokkaebi (KorTac)
  • Ari was born in South Korea to a family of gifted engineers. Tired of hiding from North Korean agents, she hacked into the South Korean Military’s private contacts and found the global Kortac Faction.
• Nolan (KorTac)
  • Recently anointed as Vladimir Makarov’s right hand man, Captain Andrei Nolan executes both plans and enemies with ferocious precision in the name of igniting a long-awaited war between East and West.

New Events

We’ll be talking about what Zombie Santa is bringing to town in patch notes that will release closer to when the event launches over the holidays. Stay tuned!

New Battle Pass

A brand new Battle Pass arrives with the Season 1 bringing a variety of Operator Skins, Weapon Blueprints, and more.

For more information about the full Battle Pass offering and Black Cell Bundle, check out the full breakdown on the official Call of Duty blog here.

New PC Features

GeForce RTX gamers can activate pre-game full ray tracing, also known as path tracing in pre-game lobbies, enabling you to see your characters, skins, vehicles, and weapons in an entirely new light.

All GeForce RTX gamers can activate Path Tracing via the Video options menu, and doing so will automatically enable NVIDIA DLSS 3.5 with DLSS Ray Reconstruction.

Multiplayer

UIX

• New Features & Quality of Life
  • Player health and stamina are now represented by dynamic bars on the HUD.
    • Note: This feature is only available in Multiplayer and Zombies.
  • Faction assignment will now appear as a splash at the start of each match.
  • Added Upper Legs Damage and Empty Reload Quickness statistics to the Details widget in the Gunsmith.
  • Increased decimal precision of the Flinch Resistance stat in the Details widget in the Gunsmith.
  • Added icons in the Gunsmith to represent which title an Attachment originates from.
  • Reduced volume of the Multi-Kill and Medal splash sound effects.
• Bug Fixes
  • In Search and Destroy, hovering a bombsite on the Tac-Map will no longer reveal when a player is actively defusing.
  • Addressed multiple issues in Private Matches that caused players to be kicked back to the Main Menu.
  • Hovering an equipped Killstreak will no longer kick the player back to the Multiplayer menu.
  • Resolved a font rendering issue that caused text to be improperly displayed.
  • Improved performance of Social features for players with large Friend counts.
  • Resolved an issue in which the incorrect Weapon would be featured in the overlay of Killcams.
  • Kill Counter will now properly function with streaks beyond 120 Kills.
  • Reduced hitching that infrequently occurred while transitioning between menus.
  • Addressed an issue that caused the application to freeze while editing a Loadout.
  • Resolved a crash that could occur prior to viewing an After Action Report.
  • Addressed an issue that caused a crash while reporting a player.
  • Lockpick (Operator) can now be equipped, where available, without using the Quick Equip option.
  • Scrolling menus while in splitscreen will no long result in the cursor appearing off-screen.
  • Improved readability of the timer below the Event tab.

Gameplay

• Movement
  • Added a delay following multiple rapid stance transitions to prevent exploitable repetition.
    • Crouch to Stand: 150ms
    • Prone to Stand: 600ms
• Spawns
  • Improved spawn protection against enemy Equipment and Killstreaks.
  • In Hardpoint, several adjustments have been made to improve the flow of combat and increase control of team-owned areas.

We’ve introduced a delay to stance transitions to combat a movement exploit commonly referred to by players as “snaking.” We’ll monitor the impact of these changes and continue to address feedback where appropriate.

Wweapons & Attachments

• Decreased hipfire spread penalty incurred while firing/moving for all Submachine Guns.

Assault Rifles

• MTZ-556
  • Increased maximum hipfire spread while standing by 10%.
  • Increased maximum hipfire spread while crouched by 6%.
  • Increased hipfire spread penalty incurred while firing by 10%.
  • Increased hipfire spread penalty incurred while moving by 4%.
  • MTZ Natter Heavy Short (Barrel)
    • Decreased hipfire spread benefit by 5%.
  • Bruen Thunder V9 (Stock)
    • Decreased hipfire spread benefit by 6%.

Battle Rifles

• BAS-B
  • Increased damage multipliers in semi-auto fire type to intended values.
    • Lower-Torso: 1x to 1.2x
    • Arm & Hand: 1x to 1.35x
• Sidewinder
  • Decreased aim down sights time from 280ms to 265ms (-5%).
  • Tempus Predator Precision (Barrel)
    • Increased gun kick control benefit by 5%.
  • Huntsman Series-R Integrated Suppressor (Barrel)
    • Increased gun kick control benefit by 7%.
  • RB Borealis Grip (Rear Grip)
    • Increased gun kick control benefit by 5%.

Submachine Guns

• Striker
  • Decreased sprint to fire time from 110ms to 100ms (-9%).
  • Decreased aim down sights time from 230ms to 215ms (-7%).
  • Striker Stubby (Barrel)
    • Added 9% aim down sights time benefit.
• WSP Swarm
  • Decreased sprint to fire time from 110ms to 88ms (-20%).
  • Decreased aim down sights time from 190ms to 175ms (-8%).
• Striker 9
  • Decreased sprint to fire time from 110ms to 100ms (-9%).
  • Decreased aim down sights time from 225ms to 205ms (-9%).
  • Striker Stubby (Barrel)
    • Added 9% aim down sights time benefit.

Shotguns

• Lockwood 680
  • Tac-Stance will no longer reduce damage pellet count.

Marksman Rifles

• MCW 6.8
  • Equipping the Full-Auto Conversion Kit and 60rnd Drum Magazine will no longer result in a broken aim down sights animation.

Melee

• Riot Shield
  • Increased melee damage from 50 to 75 (+50%).
  • Added a 10% movement speed penalty while stowed.

Attachments

• S-37C DL Breacher Device (Muzzle)
  • Decreased hipfire spread benefit by 14%.
  • Resolved an issue that prevented one-hit melee kills in round-based Modes.
• Bruen Tactical Vertical Grip (Underbarrel)
  • Decreased hipfire spread benefit by 8%.
• Hollowpoint (Ammunition)
  • Decreased inflicted sprint penalty time from 800ms to 200ms (-75%).

Modern Warfare II (Carry-Forward)

• Increased reserve ammunition for all Weapons to MWIII standards.
• Decreased hipfire spread benefit of Underbarrel vertical grips by 5-12%.
• Decreased hipfire spread benefit of applicable Lasers by 2-5%.

Assault Rifles

• M4
  • Increased maximum damage from 28 to 35 (+25%).
  • Decreased head and neck damage multipliers from 1.37x 1.1x (-20%).

Battle Rifles

• TAQ-V
  • Increased lower-torso, leg, and foot damage multipliers from 0.8x to 1.1x (+38%).

Submachine Guns

• Vaznev-9K
  • Increased near-medium damage from 29 to 30 (+3%).
• ISO 45
  • Increased maximum damage from 30 to 33 (+10%).

Shotguns

• KV Broadside
  • Increased far-medium damage range from 9m to 10m (+8%).
  • Decreased aim down sights spread slightly.

Light Machine Guns

• RAAL MG
  • Decreased aim down sights time from 470ms to 390ms (-17%).
  • Decreased sprint to fire time from 375ms to 320ms (-15%).
  • Decreased tactical sprint to fire time from 496ms to 416ms (-16%).
• 556 Icarus
  • Increased maximum damage from 28 to 34 (+21%).
  • Decreased head damage multiplier from 1.4x to 1.1x (-21%).

Marksman Rifles

• SP-R 208
  • Increased maximum damage range from 15m to 20m (+28%).
  • Decreased aim down sights time from 370ms to 340ms (-8%).

Handguns

• Basilisk
  • Increased maximum damage range from 5m to 7m (+35%).
  • Increased near-medium damage range from 6m to 15m (+140%).
  • Increased far-medium damage range from 17m to 23m (+32%).

Progression

• Corrected unlock requirement descriptions for multiple Weapon Attachments.
• Revised conditions for multiple unlocks that caused Attachments to be unavailable at the expected Weapon level.
• Associated weaponry will now be properly included in the Camo unlock splashes.
• Player Rank
  • Increased Level cap from 55 to 250, enabling players to reach Prestige 5.
    • At each Prestige, a new animated icon is unlocked.

Customization

• Increased animation rate of the Priceless and Interstellar Completionist Camos.

Maps

• Derail
  • Swapped Attacker and Defender initial spawn positions in Control.
• Estate
  • Improved bullet penetration through the staircase in the Lodge.
  • Adjusted collision to prevent players can accessing an unintended location near the Front Entrance of the Lodge.
• Highrise
  • Improved ambient audio reverberation in the Mechanical Room.
  • Deprioritized spawn points distant from the objective in Hardpoint.
• Karachi
  • Players will now spawn on the correct side of the map assigned to their team in Cutthroat.
• Quarry
  • Added collision near the Offices to prevent players from reaching unintended locations.
  • Addressed an issue that caused players to spawn in unfavorable conditions in the Hardpoint game mode.
• Skidrow
  • Enemy player nameplates are no longer visible through certain surfaces in the Apartments.
• Terminal
  • Added additional spawn points in Free-for-All mode to improve player experience.
  • Improved ability to gauge spawn selection quality in all Modes.
  • Relocated a spawn point that placed players outside of the playable area.
• Scrapyard
  • Reviewed objective capture points to prevent players from capturing from unintended locations in Hardpoint and Control modes.
  • Added additional spawn points in Free-for-All mode to improve player experience.
• Sub Base
  • Improved ambient audio reverberation in the Power Station.
  • Swapped Attacker and Defender initial spawn positions in Control.
• Orlov Military Base (Ground War)
  • Improved AI Bot ability to navigate the environment in Invasion mode.
• Operation Spearhead (War)
  • Added collision near the Hotel to prevent players from exiting the playable area.
  • Added collision near the Corner Shop to protect players in their spawn area.
  • Addressed an exploit involving environmental turrets that allowed players to reach unintended locations.

Modes

• Ground War
  • Pre-game lobby countdown timer will no longer reset when a player leaves.
• Search and Destroy
  • Increased Player XP earned for several score events.
    • Kill: 500 XP
    • Assist: 200 XP
    • Shield Assist: 400 XP
    • Headshot: 1,000 XP
    • Plant: 1,000 XP
    • Defuse: 1,000 XP (+ 250 XP for Last Alive)
    • Ninja Defuse: 1,250 XP (+ 250 XP for Last Alive)
• War
  • Players who join an in-progress match can no longer be placed on a full team.
  • Decreased tank escort phase time limit from 6m to 5m.
  • Joining an in-progress match during the ending cinematic sequence is no longer possible.

Equipment

• Throwing Star (Lethal)
  • Addressed an issue that allowed one-hit kills without a Headshot.
• EMD Grenade (Tactical)
  • Prompt to remove tracker will no longer persist after death.

Field Upgrades

• Deployable Cover
  • Previous deployments will now be destroyed upon new deployment as the maximum has been limited to 1.
• Trophy System
  • Mosquito Drone (Killstreak) will no longer be targeted.

Killstreaks

• Juggernaut Recon
  • Addressed an exploit that allowed players to fire Loadout Weapons with unlimited ammo.
• Precision Airstrike
  • Players will now properly look through the binoculars in third-person view.
• Remote Turret
  • Implemented safeguard measures to prevent players from becoming stuck with the tablet in hand.

Vehicles

• NSTV
  • Increased traction control to improve handling on muddy surfaces.
• Razor Tank
  • Decreased maximum forward speed by 14%.
  • Increased maximum reverse speed by 20% to match forward speed.
  • Increased turn speed by 40% to allow for tighter turns.
  • Increased ability to accelerate on sloped surfaces.