Call of Duty developers Infinity Ward released a new update for Modern Warfare on November 8 that included adjustments made to several guns and weapon classes.
The Call of Duty community had a lot to complain about when Modern Warfare first launched on October 25, with weapon balance being one of those topics.
While most seemed to like how the gun-play feels in the game, a few of the weapons were quickly identified as being way too overpowered, with the 725 shotgun being atop that list.
Fortunately, Infinity Ward heard the feedback and decided to act upon it, including a series of weapon tuning adjustments in their v1.07 update.
You can find the full details about the gun balancing changes below, including the official weapon patch notes from the developers themselves.
725 Shotgun nerfed
Almost every player would agree that the 725 Shotgun was the most overpowered weapon in Modern Warfare before getting nerfed.
There is no question that the 725 shotgun has been the most complained-about weapon in the early weeks of Modern Warfare, as its devastating damage and versatility made it impossible to take down anyone wielding the gun at short range.
It’s safe to say that most players will have been thrilled to see the 725 nerfed, as the 1.07 update reduced its damage range while increasing the spread of the bullets when shooting from both the hip and aiming down sights.
While an increased spread does mean that players don’t have to be as accurate with the gun, it also means that the bullets won’t be fired in as much of a concentrated manner, making it more likely to not eliminate enemies in a single shot at distances farther than very close range.
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M4A1 and all other Assault Rifles nerfed
Only time will tell if the M4 will remain as the go-to assault rifle in Modern Warfare.
From the very first day that Modern Warfare was released, the M4A1 instantly became everyone’s go-to weapon, mainly due to its versatility and viability at close, medium, and long ranges.
With the assault rifle being used by such a large percentage of players, the developers decided to nerf it in the v1.07 patch, reducing its damage range and slightly increasing the recoil.
In fact, all of the guns in the class were nerfed, as the hip spread of all ARs was increased to reduce close-quarter effectiveness, while the rifles that use 5.56 ammo had their long range damage reduced.
All SMGs buffed, especially the UZI
More players could start using the UZI SMG after it got buffed in Modern Warfare.
In contrast to the assault rifles, Infinity Ward decided to implement across-the-board buffs to all SMGs, increasing the overall movement speed and move speed while ADS, and slightly reducing the sprint out time.
In addition to these buffs, the UZI SMG was given some extra special treatment as its damage range was increased.
You can read up on all of this update’s weapon balancing changes below. Make sure to also check out the full v1.07 patch notes for information about everything else the update changed and added.
- 725 Shotgun: Increase to ADS and Hip Spread, reduced damage range
- M4A1 Assault Rifle: Reduced damage range, small recoil increase
- Assault Rifles: Increased hip spread to reduce effectiveness up close, less damage at long range for full auto 5.56 rifles
- SMGs: Increased move speed, increased ADS move speed, small reduction in sprint out time
- UZI SMG: Increased damage range
- MG34 LMG: Increased hip spread, damage range reduction, small ADS slow down
- M91 LMG: Increased hip spread, small damage range reduction
- PKM: Increased hip spread, medium damage range reduction
- Pistols: Increased move speed, reduced sprint out time, increased damage range
- Crouch and Prone no longer adjust recoil