Call of Duty Update Makes Big Change to Weapons in Warzone and Black Ops 6

Key Takeaways

Treyarch’s December 10 update for Black Ops 6 and Warzone focuses on weapon balance, aiming stability, and headshot effectiveness.
Treyarch aims to maintain weapon variety and balance while improving gunplay dynamics.

As a seasoned Call of Duty player with over a decade of gaming under my belt, I must say that this update is quite impressive! The weapon balance changes are much-needed and will surely make for more engaging gunfights. I’m particularly pleased with the LMG adjustments, as they were due for an overhaul.

A fresh update for the game “Call of Duty: Black Ops 6,” developed by Treyarch, has been rolled out to tackle persistent problems with several weapons. This update impacts numerous weapons in both “Black Ops 6” and “Call of Duty: Warzone.

In the realm of top-tier multiplayer games, particularly battle royale titles like Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and its extension, Warzone, developers’ updates tend to serve a dual purpose. Alterations in the balance of the Call of Duty multiplayer scene frequently extend to the Warzone experience as well. Consequently, the gaming community is perpetually assessing these changes to determine the most effective weapons in real-time, as the meta evolves with each new decision, making the landscape of Black Ops 6 constantly dynamic.

On December 10, 2024, Treyarch shared an update for Black Ops 6 and Warzone, stating they’ll continue to tweak weapons in response to community feedback. The primary focus is adjusting several Assault Rifles in Black Ops 6, such as the XM4 and AMES 85. Additionally, Treyarch plans to enhance overall aiming accuracy and boost the impact of headshots within the game. These changes have been teased through official Call of Duty social media posts.

A tweet from Treyarch’s official account demonstrated a side-by-side video highlighting modifications in weapon movement, specifically during long bursts using different weapons such as SMGs and Assault Rifles in Black Ops 6. The post indicates that the reduction in weapon motion varies between 30% to 75%, with this adjustment dependent on the weapon class. Players can anticipate a more steady aiming experience when looking through sights in most situations.

A recent article outlined modifications to headshot damage in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. According to Treyarch, these changes will make it simpler to land headshots with automatic primary weapons across all distances, except for Submachine Guns when they are at their maximum damage range. Instead of needing two headshots for a kill, players will only need one.

Call of Duty Update Makes Big Change to Weapons in Warzone and Black Ops 6

In Black Ops 6’s multiplayer, Treyarch was cautious about making the Time-To-Kill (TTK) overly swift due to the game’s inherent speed and focus on rapid reflexes and “twitch” aiming skills. Rapid TTK could potentially make it difficult for players who prefer other play styles to enjoy the multiplayer experience.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Warzone December 10, 2024 Patch Notes

Global

Weapons (MP/ZM/WZ)

In our latest update for Black Ops 6, we’ve made significant adjustments to the way weapons move, enhancing the overall combat feel. These changes involve reducing movement across all aspects, such as turning, moving, changing stances, and firing, particularly when aiming down sights (ADS). The reductions in speed range from a 30% decrease to as much as 75%. This results in a noticeably smoother gameplay experience for players. We’re dedicated to refining the gunplay in Black Ops 6, aiming for a well-balanced and enjoyable gameplay while preserving the distinct qualities of each weapon.

Weapon Motion

Reduced visual recoil on all weapons, especially full-auto weapons.
Reduced turn sway on all weapons, especially on higher magnification optics.
Reduced gun kick on higher magnification optics on all weapons except for Sniper Rifles.
Reduced default idle sway on all weapons except Sniper Rifles.
Further reduced idle sway while firing on all weapons except Sniper Rifles.
Reduced weapon motion (bob, translation, and additional idle sway penalties) as a result of walking or changing stances in ADS.
Removed additional layers of hip fire deviation, which caused crosshair to bounce while firing.

The “Idle Sway Delay” feature adjusts the stability of weapons when you first aim down sights (ADS), making the starting point of aim align with the crosshair. This mechanism has been enhanced for better uniformity across all weapon categories. Notably, Sniper Rifles, which previously only reduced idle sway by half when ADS, now completely eliminate it. As usual, we will be monitoring the balance of sniper rifles post-adjustment.

Aiming Idle Sway Delay
Aiming Idle Sway Delay on all weapons is now 2.2s
Aiming Idle Sway Delay on Sniper Rifles now fully removes Idle Sway, rather than reducing by 50%
Target Laser now improves Aiming Idle Sway Delay to 2.9s on all weapons

MultiplayerMaps

Hacienda

Adjusted spawn logic

Modes

Face Off

Face Off Domination score limit increased from 100 to 150
Face Off Kill Order score limit increased from 150 to 200
Face Off Kill Confirmed score limit increased from 75 to 100
Face Off Team Deathmatch score limit increased from 125 to 150

10v10 Moshpit

10v10 Kill Confirmed score limit increased from 75 to 100
10v10 Team Deathmatch score limit increased from 100 to 150

Prop Hunt

Prop movement speed has been increased on all props except Extra Large props.
Round Time Limit reduced to 3 minutes from 4 minutes
Prop Hunt enabled in Private Match

LTM Updates

Nuketown Holiday

Addressed an issue where players could have green visual FX attached to them during the match.

Weapons

Headshot damage has been a big source of discussion in the community, and we are making adjustments that will increase the effectiveness of headshots on full-auto primary weapons. Our philosophy on hit location modifiers in Black Ops 6 has been to limit sources of inconsistency, especially when players are engaging in so many forms of movement. That said, we understand that players have muscle memory and expectations built around headshots, and we want our gunplay to support that.

Generally, it takes one less headshot to reduce the time it takes to eliminate an enemy with most types of weapons, except for Submachine Guns within their maximum damage range. We’re careful not to make those elimination times too quick. To balance this out, we’ve extended the effective ranges for SMGs, keeping them competitive in close-quarters combat. Additionally, the CHF Barrel attachments have been tweaked on all updated weapons to ensure they still offer an advantage over the new standard values.

In Black Ops 6, we anticipate that the proposed adjustment could significantly shift the balance of weapons, particularly when combined with our tweaks to weapon motion. We’ll keep a close eye on how the new gameplay dynamics develop to ensure that a diverse range of individual weapons and weapon classes remains robust after the meta has stabilized.

Assault Rifles

XM4

Maximum Damage reduced from 23 to 22
Maximum Damage Range increased from 16.5m to 40.6m
Medium Damage Range: This weapon will now only have Maximum and Minimum Damage Ranges.
Headshot multiplier increased from 1.15 to 1.25.
CHF Barrel Attachment
- Headshot multiplier increased from 1.25 to 1.3.

AMES 85

Maximum Damage reduced from 50.8m to 15.2m.
Medium Damage Range: This weapon will now only have Maximum and Minimum Damage Ranges.
Headshot multiplier increased from 1.12 to 1.2.
CHF Barrel Attachment
- Headshot Multiplier increased from 1.25 to 1.3.
- Vertical View Kick and Gun Kick penalty improved from 50% to 45%.

GPR 91

Maximum Damage Range reduced from 19.1m to 17.8m.
Headshot multiplier increased from 1.15 to 1.25.
CHF Barrel Attachment
- Headshot Multiplier increased from 1.2 to 1.35.
- Vertical View Kick and Gun Kick penalty increased from 50% to 55%.
- Horizontal View Kick and Gun Kick penalty increased from 20% to 25%.

Goblin Mk2

Maximum Damage increased from 39 to 40.
Maximum Damage Range reduced from 39.4m to 16.5m.
Headshot multiplier increased from 1.15 to 1.25.
CHF Barrel Attachment
- Headshot Multiplier increased from 1.4 to 1.5.
- Horizontal View Kick and Gun Kick penalty increased from 20% to 25%.

Model L

Maximum Damage increased from 27 to 28.
Headshot multiplier increased from 1.15 to 1.25.
CHF Barrel Attachment
- Vertical View Kick and Gun Kick penalty increased from 50% to 55%.
- Horizontal View Kick and Gun Kick penalty increased from 20% to 25%.

AK-74

Headshot multiplier increased from 1.15 to 1.27.

AS VAL

Maximum Damage increased from 20 to 22.
Maximum Damage Range reduced from 21.6m to 12.7m.
Medium Damage increased from 17 to 18.
Minimum Damage increased from 15 to 16.
Headshot multiplier decreased from 1.3 to 1.24.

Krig C

Headshot multiplier increased from 1.15 to 1.25.
Sprint to Fire Time increased from 0.2s to 0.21s.
Tactical Sprint to Fire Time increased from 0.3s to 0.31s.
View Kick Strength, Direction, and Deviation slightly increased.
View Kick now progresses through its pattern in a shorter number of bullets.

SMGs

Maximum Damage reduced from 29 to 26.
Maximum Damage Range increased from 13.3m to 15.2m.
Medium Damage 1 reduced from 23 to 22.
Medium Damage Range 1 increased from 13.3–16.5m to 15.3–20.3m.
Medium Damage reduced from 19 to 18.
Medium Damage Range 2 increased from 16.6–30.5m to 20.4m–33m.
Minimum Damage reduced from 16 to 15.
Headshot multiplier increased from 1.1 to 1.27.
CHF Barrel Attachment
- Headshot Multiplier increased from 1.2 to 1.35.

KSV

Maximum Damage Range increased from 10.8m to 12.7m.
Medium Damage Range 1 increased from 10.9–15.9m to 12.8–19.7m.
Medium Damage Range 2 increased from 16–29.2m to 19.8–31.8m.
Headshot multiplier increased from 1.1 to 1.25.
CHF Barrel Attachment
- Headshot Multiplier increased from 1.3 to 1.38.

Tanto .22

Maximum Damage Range increased from 6.4m to 8.9m.
Medium Damage Range 1 increased from 6.4–16.5m to 9.0–20.3m.
Medium Damage increased from 28 to 29.
Medium Damage Range 2 increased from 16.6–27.9m to 20.4–30.5m.

PP-919

Maximum Damage Range increased from 16.5m to 18.4m.
Medium Damage 1 increased from 20 to 21.
Medium Damage Range 1 increased from 16.6–20.3m to 18.5–24.1m.
Medium Damage 2 increased from 17 to 18.
Medium Damage Range 2 increased from 20.4–31.8m to 24.2–34.3m.

Jackal PDW

Maximum Damage reduced from 27 to 26.
Maximum Damage Range increased from 15.2m to 17.1m.
Medium Damage Range 1 increased from 15.3–18.4m to 17.2–22.2m.
Medium Damage Range 2 increased from 18.5–29.8m to 22.3–32.4m.
Headshot multiplier increased from 1.2 to 1.27.
CHF Barrel Attachment
- Headshot Multiplier increased from 1.28 to 1.35.

Kompakt 92

Maximum Damage Range increased from 11.4m to 13.3m.
Medium Damage Range 1 increased from 11.4–15.2m to 13.4–19.1m.
Medium Damage Range 2 increased from 15.3–26.7m to 19.2–27.9m.
Minimum Damage increased from 10 to 11.
Headshot multiplier increased from 1.1 to 1.24.
CHF Barrel Attachment
- Headshot Multiplier increased from 1.3 to 1.4.

Saug

As a fan, I’m thrilled to have the Saug back in the game, and overall, I’m content with the current balance. Nevertheless, dual wielding in close quarters combat is causing too much havoc, so we’re making strategic adjustments to the Akimbo and Rapid Fire attachments to keep that particular build under control.

Maximum Damage Range increased from 11.4m to 13.3m.
Medium Damage Range 1 increased from 11.4–19.1m to 13.4–22.9m.
Medium Damage Range 2 increased from 19.2–27.3m to 23–29.8m.
Headshot multiplier increased from 1.16 to 1.25.
CHF Barrel Attachment
- Headshot Multiplier increased from 1.24 to 1.3.
Akimbo Stock
- Damage Range penalty increased from 17% to 25%.
- Hip Spread penalty increased from 12% to 70%.
- View Kick penalty increased from 15% to 20%.
Rapid Fire
- Damage Range penalty increased from 10% to 15%.
- Fire Rate improvement decreased from 10% to 7%.

LMGs

XMG

CHF Barrel Attachment
- Vertical View Kick and Gun Kick penalty increased from 45% to 50%.
- Horizontal View Kick and Gun Kick penalty increased from 20% to 25%.

PU-21

Maximum Damage increased from 26 to 27.
CHF Barrel Attachment
- Headshot Multiplier increased from 1.35 to 1.4.

GPMG-7

Maximum Damage increased from 22 to 23.
Minimum Damage increased from 18 to 19.
Headshot multiplier reduced from 1.2 to 1.15.
CHF Barrel Attachment
- Headshot Multiplier reduced from 1.3 to 1.25.
- Horizontal View Kick and Gun Kick penalty increased from 20% to 25%.

Melee

We are improving melee weapon attack speeds, especially on the two-hit kill weapons. Our goal is for all melee weapons to feel unique and satisfying to run, and we will continue to find ways to hit that target while ensuring that melee is not frustrating to play against.

Knife

Time between melee swings improved by 7.5%.

Baseball Bat

Time between melee swings improved by 14%.

Power Drill

Time between melee swings improved by 9.5%.

Equipment

Reduced Frag Grenade inner radius damage to allow survival with Flak Jacket equipped.

UI

Addressed an issue that prevented teammates outside of a maximum range from displaying on the perimeter of the minimap.
Addressed an issue where previewing the “Gentleman’s Handshake” Finishing Move in the Bad Manners store bundle would show the wrong animation.

Graphics

Addressed an issue where the player’s weapon is missing during a benchmark test.

Stability

Various stability improvements.

Zombies

Maps

Citadelle des Morts

Addressed an issue where players could get an AFK warning while actively running around the map.
Addressed an issue where loading a save after obtaining the four incantations would prevent players from entering the Final Encounter.
Addressed an issue where the light beams for obtaining the amulet would not be visible if a player disconnected and rejoined a match while in a squad.

Weapons

Addressed an issue where changing default attachments on a Blueprint Weapon would not apply in a match.