Warzone devs silently nerf non-Vanguard guns with controversial bloom feature

Call of Duty: Warzone fans were disappointed to discover a secret change to the game’s weapon balancing, as TrueGameData revealed that non-Vanguard guns, like Black Ops Cold War’s Stoner, have been nerfed by bullet bloom.

When Vanguard launched in early-December, Warzone players were as excited as can be to check out new guns on a new map in the Pacific. As they began dropping into Caldera, though, they learned that a troubling mechanic had been added to the game.

Essentially, Vanguard guns had “bloom,” which is a classic shooting mechanic, but one that was new to CoD. Different guns and attachments could affect it, but basically – bloom made it so that your gun had bullet spread and might not always hit where your crosshair aimed.

Warzone streamers were delighted about the decision to remove bloom from the battle royale in mid-December. Now, they’re finding out that it has instead secretly been added to some non-Vanguard guns.

Warzone silently adds bloom to Black Ops Cold War weapons

(For mobile users, segment begins at 5:11)

As TrueGameData explains, some of BOCW’s guns have somehow been given “ADS spread” (or “bloom”) in Warzone. This is surprising, as those guns don’t natively have the feature in their original game and have never had it in Warzone before.

• Read more: Console Warzone player reveals bug that might finally get devs’ attention

According to his tests, the two weapons most impacted by this change are the Stoner 63 and MG82. Looking at the Stoner in particular, bullets appear to now land well apart from the crosshair placement – a departure from the gun’s former accuracy.

YouTube, TrueGameData

As you can see, the Stoner’s bullets “bloom” away from the center target seemingly at random.

TGD eased concerns by confirming that only the aforementioned two BOCW weapons seem to be impacted by the new bloom. Still, the finding is troubling.

While he tested nearly all BOCW and Vanguard weapons, he was only able to test six Modern Warfare weapons. With most players playing Vanguard-only modes, this isn’t necessarily a problem right now, but the implications have worried a number of players.

• Read more: Call of Duty League confirms Warzone was “never” an option for 3rd mode

In a number of Twitter replies, people are confused by the decision to silently change older guns’ mechanics. While some believe it’s simply a “bug,” others have speculated that this is a “deliberate move” to make people buy Vanguard blueprints instead.