The latest Warzone update is here, days after Vanguard’s Season 1 changes shook up the Call of Duty battle royale, and the December 9 patch notes boast another huge list of changes — Raven Software has nerfed the OTS 9 again, targeted “unfun” melee weapons, and more.
- OTS 9 cops second round of Warzone nerfs
- Raven looking to tone down “unfun” melee weapons
- Vanguard guns get name changes, stat tweaks
Warzone has entered its “new era” via a huge CoD Vanguard-fuelled tropical update on December 8, with the battle royale finally adding a new map.
Alongside these massive in-game changes, ranging from the pacific Caldera battlefield to new vehicles, perks, events, and weapons, Raven Software has been looking to change up the Warzone meta, which has been dominated by a number of standouts over the past few months.
The devs have moved to do just that with these new Warzone changes.
In total, the December 9 patch has hit nearly two dozen Warzone guns and attachments. Read on for all the changes in Season 1’s first major balance update.
OTS 9, Sniper Rifles headline 19 gun changes
Raven Software has made a number of changes to Warzone weapons and attachments as they look to wrangle the meta back under control amid Season 1’s game-changing launch.
First and foremost, the Warzone devs have hit the OTS 9 submachine gun again, after originally bumping down its numbers back in mid-September. The little pocket rocket dominated the battle royale post-Black Ops Cold War release, and the September 15 nerfs did little to change its power.
They wrote: “The OTs 9 has ruled over the short-range space for some time and [nerfs] will come as no surprise. While it is sad to see our favorites take a hit, we feel the pool of viable short-range guns will benefit from this change.”
Other meta weapons like the Kar98k and Swiss K31 snipers, Black Ops Cold War’s EM2 rifle, and the Gallo SA12 shotgun have all been nerfed too.
Melee weapons too “unfun” to avoid nerfs
“Unfun” melee weapons, including the Baseball Bat, Battle Axe, Cane, and Mace have all been hit in the patch too.
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“Dying to melee weapons can often feel unfair (and unfun),” the Warzone devs wrote. “Lunge distances could push some Melee Weapons over the edge when combined with the ability to achieve Melee Finisher damage in only two hits – giving Players only a few hundred milliseconds to react.
“As a result, even fully kitted Players could feel out-muscled in close quarters, which simply should not happen. Players wielding Melee Weapons will now be much less threatening granted there is not an overabundance of missed shots.”
These nerfs to lunge distances range from 38% to 47% for all but the Ballistic Knife, which copped major damage buffs via arm, leg, and torso hits.
Below are the full Warzone patch notes, courtesy of Raven Software.
It’s worth noting too, the battle royale devs have already flagged that they are already planning another “imminent update” that will take a closer look at Warzone’s gun bloom, and will likely include several sweeping nerfs for the gun feature. It will also include PPSh-41 nerfs.
These weapon changes are now live in the Call of Duty battle royale, and may require players to install a small update over the next 24 hours.
Warzone Dec. 9 patch notes
Gun Changes
Numerous changes have been made to Vanguard (VG) weapons and attachments. Names, descriptions, pros, cons, and stat bars have been updated in-game to reflect these changes.
In addition to the above mentioned Vanguard changes, the following Modern Warfare (MW) and Black Ops Cold War (BOCW) weapon adjustments have been made:
Assault Rifle
- AK-47 (BOCW)
- Initial Recoil Deviation increased
- EM2 (BOCW)
- Neck Damage Multiplier decreased to 1.1, up from 1.2
- Recoil Magnitude increased
- Recoil Deviation increased
Marksman Rifle
- Crossbow (MW)
- Neck Damage increased to 250, up from 200
- Upper Torso Damage increased to 240, up from 200
- Lower Torso Damage increased to 220, up from 200
- Marksman Rifle Charlie (MW)
- Flinch Resistance decreased by 62%
- R1 Shadowhunter (BOCW)
- Neck Damage increased to 250, up from 200
- Upper Torso Damage increased to 240, up from 200
- Lower Torso Damage increased to 220, up from 200
Melee
- Ballistic Knife (BOCW)
- Upper Torso Damage increased to 248, up from 246
- Lower Torso Damage increased to 225, up from 195
- Upper Arm Damage increased to 200, up from 180
- Lower Arm Damage increased to 190, up from 180
- Upper Leg Damage increased to 200, up from 160
- Lower Leg Damage increased to 190, up from 160
- Baseball Bat (BOCW)
- Lunge Distance decreased by 47%
- Battle Axe (BOCW)
- Lunge Distance decreased by 38%
- Cane (BOCW)
- Lunge Distance decreased by 46%
- Mace (BOCW)
- Lunge Distance decreased by 42%
Shotgun
- Shotgun Bravo (BOCW)
- Movement Speed decreased by 1.2%
- ADS Movement Speed decreased by 8.6%
Sniper Rifle
- Swiss K31 (BOCW)
- Flinch Resistance decreased by 62%
Submachine Gun
- OTs 9 (BOCW)
- Maximum Damage decreased to 30, down from 31
- Headshot Damage Multiplier decreased to 1.33, down from 1.52
- Submachine Gun Alpha (BOCW)
- Maximum Damage decreased to 20, down from 31
- Headshot Damage Multiplier decreased to 1.41, down from 1.45
- Submachine Gun Charlie (MW)
- Fire Rate decreased to .08, down from .075
- Sprint to Fire Speed decreased by 2.6%
- Note: These changes only affect Warzone.
Attachments
Optic
- G16 2.5x (VG)
- Assault Rifles
- Eye position shifted forward
- Assault Rifles
Stock
- Raider Stock (BOCW)
- Movement Speed modifiers decreased by 25%
- SAS Combat Stock (BOCW)
- Movement Speed modifiers decreased by 25%
Bug Fixes
- Fixed collision issues with various elements across Caldera allowing Players to exploit/peek/shoot through them.
- Fixed an issue allowing access to items that Players weren’t supposed to see yet!
- For more information on live issues, visit the Warzone Trello Board.
NOTE: An imminent update will further address Warzone’s Bloom and include adjustments to Weapons including the PPSh-41 (VG).