Call of Duty: Warzone gets its biggest balance update ever

16.07.2021

Games

Call of Duty: Season 4 Reloaded patch notes

Weapons

New Weapons (BOCW)

OTs 9: Submachine Gun (Launch Week)

Full-auto SMG. Impressive firepower at close range with good visibility while firing. Reliable recoil control with a smaller magazine size.
Unlockable via Store bundle or the following in-game challenge:
Using SMGs, kill 2 or more Players rapidly in 15 different completed matches.

Mace: Melee (In-Season)

Brutal new melee Weapon arriving later in the season.
Unlockable via Store bundle or in-game challenge.

The following changes are our first major step towards increasing the average Time-to-Kill within Warzone. It is important to note that these Weapon adjustments were not made in a vacuum. When evaluating an individual change, some may seem quite drastic, but they were made holistically and in a way that supported a lock-step increase in average TTK across multiple Weapon categories. Torso Multipliers were a considerable focus of these changes with how often they would act as flat damage increases given how consistently that location could be hit. With reductions to these multipliers, we are placing a bigger emphasis on precision — a move which we feel is ultimately healthy for the game.

Statistically, there will always be a ‘best weapon’. That is the nature of a competitive game. Players will seek out and employ any advantage they can, regardless of how miniscule it may be. We will take great care to ensure that the ‘best weapon’ never overstays its welcome and has effectiveness that scales with the skill of the handler. Conversely, there are also a great deal of players who prefer a myriad of options to choose from. Our goal is to provide exactly that. We will continue to compress outliers, both over and underperforming, until each Weapon is viable at the very least. We do not want players to feel they are at a distinct disadvantage for not conforming to the generally accepted ‘best weapon’.

We will be closely monitoring Weapon performance to ensure the game is in a healthy state following the biggest balance update in the history of Warzone.

Assault Rifles

AK-47 (BOCW)

Headshot Multiplier decreased from 1.62 to 1.5
Upper Torso Multiplier decreased from 1.2 to 1

AK-47 (MW)

Upper Torso Multiplier decreased from 1.2 to 1.1

C58 (BOCW)

Headshot Multiplier decreased from 1.62 to 1.58
Upper Torso Multiplier decreased from 1.2 to 1
Lower Torso Multiplier decreased from 1.1 to 1
Maximum Damage Range increased by 8%
Recoil increased

CR-56 AMAX (MW)

Headshot Multiplier increased from 1.5 to 1.55
Upper Torso Multiplier decreased from 1.1 to 1

Assault Rifle Bravo (MW)

Headshot Multiplier decreased from 2.05 to 1.62
Upper Torso Multiplier decreased from 1.2 to 1.1

FARA 83 (BOCW)

Maximum Damage decreased from 31 to 29
Recoil increased

FFAR 1 (BOCW)

Headshot Multiplier decreased from 1.5 to 1.4
Maximum Damage decreased from 27 to 25
Minimum Damage decreased from 25 to 23
Maximum Damage Range decreased by 20%
Neck Multiplier increased from 1 to 1.2

Assault Rifle Golf (MW)

Upper Torso Multiplier decreased from 1.2 to 1.1

Grau 5.56 (MW)

Minimum Damage increased from 22 to 24

Groza (BOCW)

Maximum Damage decreased from 28 to 27
Maximum Damage Range increased by 4.5%
Headshot Multiplier decreased from 1.62 to 1.5
Upper Torso Multiplier decreased from 1.2 to 1.12
Lower Torso Multiplier decreased from 1.1 to 1
Recoil pattern smoothed

Krig 6 (BOCW)

Minimum Damage increased from 25 to 26

M13 (MW)

Minimum Damage increased from 19 to 20

Assault Rifle Charlie (MW)

Maximum Damage decreased from 28 to 27
Minimum Damage increased from 22 to 23

Oden (MW)

Upper Torso Multiplier decreased from 1.3 to 1.2

QBZ-83 (BOCW)

Minimum Damage increased from 22 to 24
Base Move Speed reduced by 3%
Base ADS Move Speed reduced by 5%
Upper Torso Multiplier increased from 1.1 to 1.2
Lower Torso Multiplier increased from 1 to 1.1

RAM-7 (MW)

Maximum Damage decreased from 28 to 26

XM4 (BOCW)

Maximum Damage decreased from 32 to 30
Minimum Damage decreased from 28 to 27
ADS Speed decreased slightly
Recoil increased slightly

Light Machine Guns

M60 (BOCW)

Maximum Damage increased from 36 to 37
Headshot Multiplier increased from 1.5 to 1.6

MG 34 (MW)

Maximum Damage decreased from 31 to 29
Minimum Damage decreased from 28 to 27
Headshot Multiplier decreased from 1.5 to 1.4
Upper Torso Multiplier decreased from 1.1 to 1

MG 82 (BOCW)

ADS Speed decreased slightly

Light Machine Gun Alpha (MW)

Maximum Damage increased from 31 to 32
Maximum Damage Range decreased by 7%
Upper Torso Multiplier decreased from 1.1 to 1

SA87 (MW)

Upper Torso Multiplier decreased from 1.2 to 1.1

Light Machine Gun Alpha (BOCW)

Maximum Damage decreased from 34 to 33
Upper Torso Multiplier decreased from 1.1 to 1

Sniper Rifles

Swiss K31 (BOCW)

ADS animation updated
Now shares a base reticle with the ZRG 20mm

Submachine Guns

AK-74u (BOCW)

Maximum Damage decreased from 35 to 31
Minimum Damage increased from 25 to 26
Headshot Multiplier decreased from 1.62 to 1.6
Upper Torso Multiplier increased from 1 to 1.1
Bullet Velocity increased by 5%

Submachine Gun Alpha (MW)

Minimum Damage increased from 25 to 26
Headshot Multiplier decreased from 1.62 to 1.47

Bullfrog (BOCW)

Maximum Damage decreased from 32 to 31
Headshot Multiplier decreased from 1.62 to 1.5
Left Upper Arm Multiplier increased from .9 to 1
Right Upper Arm Multiplier increased from .9 to 1
Left Upper Leg Multiplier increased from .9 to 1
Right Upper Leg Multiplier increased from .9 to 1

KSP-45 (BOCW)

Headshot Multiplier decreased from 1.62 to 1.57

LC10 (BOCW)

Maximum Damage decreased from 30 to 27
Minimum Damage decreased from 25 to 24
Headshot Multiplier decreased from 1.62 to 1.55

Mac-10 (BOCW)

Maximum Damage decreased from 24 to 23
Minimum Damage decreased from 20 to 19

Milano 821 (BOCW)

Recoil increased slightly
Maximum Damage range decreased by 12%
Headshot Multiplier decreased from 1.62 to 1.38
Upper Torso Multiplier decreased from 1.2 to 1.1
Lower Torso Multiplier decreased from 1.1 to 1

Submachine Gun Alpha (BOCW)

Maximum Damage decreased from 33 to 31
Minimum Damage decreased from 25 to 24

Nail Gun (BOCW)

Maximum Damage decreased from 50 to 46
Headshot Multiplier decreased from 1.62 to 1.45
Upper Torso Multiplier decreased from 1.28 to 1

Submachine Gun Echo (MW)

Maximum Damage decreased from 35 to 34
Minimum Damage increased from 25 to 26

PPSh-41 (BOCW)

Maximum Damage decreased from 28 to 26

ISO (MW)

Minimum Damage increased from 20 to 21

Submachine Gun Delta (MW)

Minimum Damage increased from 25 to 26

Fennec (MW)

Maximum Damage decreased from 25 to 24
Minimum Damage decreased from 20 to 19

Tactical Rifles

Tactical Rifle Charlie (BOCW)

Headshot Multiplier decreased from 1.8 to 1.7

CARV.2 (BOCW)

Headshot Multiplier decreased from 1.7 to 1.6

M16 (BOCW)

Headshot Multiplier decreased from 1.8 to 1.6

Attachments

BOCW Sniper Optics with 4x or greater magnification will now state that they have optic glint.

Modes

Payload

Warzone’s first-ever objective-based game mode – Payload – pits two teams of 20 Players against each other in a race against time. Players drop in to escort two caravans of vehicles through a series of Checkpoints or sabotage the mission. Build or destroy barriers and purchase buildings to aid in your squad’s mission, and be sure to collect any Contracts you find around Verdansk as they will help lead to success. If the attacking team escorts all vehicles across all Checkpoints within the time limit, they win the match. The defending team can not only pick attackers off the payload vehicles to slow them down, but also buy and build obstacles to stall these vehicles on the tracks. This all happens as Operators are dropping in constantly with their own custom loadouts, searching for items across Verdansk like Cash and Killstreaks to aid their team in escorting or stopping the Payloads.

Look for Payload in the upcoming Featured Playlist Rotation as part of Season Four Reloaded.

Events

Blueprint Blitz, a Limited-Time Event

Similar to Double XP weekends, we will start activating a new special global Event where Contraband Contracts automatically spawn after you complete two regular Contracts. Contraband Contracts award you with a permanent Weapon Blueprint reward if you’re able to extract it from the DZ, in addition to tons of Cash within your current match.

Blueprint Blitz should give you the opportunity to earn plenty of Weapon Blueprints from prior seasons. If you missed out or didn’t play Warzone during the time these were originally available, Contraband Contracts award you with previous Seasonal rewards after you complete the Contract.

Note: This Event will only apply to the core BR and Plunder modes.

Maps

Red Doors

Further intel suggests that these Red Doors will appear [[REDACTED]] and take you to [[REDACTED]].

General

New Prestige items added:
Calling Cards
Emblems
The Killchain Perk now increases the chance to obtain all Warzone Killstreaks from loot.

Gameplay

Loot that spawns across Verdansk has been adjusted as follows…

New Gulag loadouts
The Sentry Gun Killstreak can be found in Red Door Control Rooms
The Specialist Token is now slightly more common in core BR

Combat Bow Killstreak damage has been increased and it will now down enemies who are directly hit.

Players will now drop their current equipment directly behind them when looting a Loadout Drop.

Vertical camera movement will no longer be locked when sliding on a downward slope.

Dirt Bike Updates:

Wheelies!
Lean back to lift the Dirt Bike and initiate a wheelie.
Lean forward to increase steering sensitivity and allow the Dirt Bike to perform sharper turns.
The Dirt Bike now supports leaning forward and backward in the air as well, so make sure to position yourself for that perfect landing.
Ascenders now allow multiple Players to use them simultaneously – allowing for quicker verticle engagements as a squad.

We are excited to share that we are planning the debut of two new Warzone-specific Perks. Alongside them, High Alert will also be receiving an update that allows players to hear Dead Silent footsteps.

Until then, we may see a Weapon make its long-awaited debut in Verdansk. 😉

Bug Fixes

Fixed an issue where the PS5 120hz mode couldn’t be activated while HDR was enabled.
Fixed an issue with the Xbox One S that would prevent Players from joining matches in Verdansk Playlists.
Fixed several issues that resulted in Players crashing due to Dev Error 5573.
Fixed additional collision issues with various elements across Verdansk allowing Players to exploit/peek/shoot through them.
Fixed an issue causing melee attacks to one-shot other Players if simultaneously equipping Armor Plates.
Fixed an issue preventing Players from saving custom mods on the Shotgun Bravo (BOCW).
Fixed an issue preventing Players from saving custom mods on the Tactical Rifle Charlie (BOCW).
Fixed an issue with older Graphics Cards displaying shadows incorrectly.
Fixed an issue with Rebirth Crates appearing open when they should be closed.
Fixed an issue where the Ice Drake’s Barrel was obstructing the Player’s sight when ADSing with an Axial Arms 3x Optic.
Fixed an issue allowing Players to briefly use Weapons after being downed if the Gas Mask animation was still active.
Fixed an issue where a Bounty Target would still be tracked after death.
Fixed an issue allowing Players to access an out of play area in the Downtown Tower.
Fixed an issue where Players could fire their Weapons after being downed with a rocket launcher.
Fixed an issue with the Tactical Rifle Charlie (BOCW) where its Maximum Reserve Ammo was 150 instead of 210.
Fixed an issue where the hipfire reticle on the Light Machine Gun Alpha (BOCW) wouldn’t appear when the Visiontech 2x optic was equipped.
Fixed an issue preventing Players from interacting with the Buy Battle Pass button after pressing an arrow key.
Fixed an issue causing the “Celebratory Smoke” Gesture visual effects in Warzone to not match the Black Ops Cold War version.
Fixed an issue causing various Blueprints in Warzone to not match the Black Ops Cold War version.
Fixed an issue causing various Weapon Dynamic Icons to appear misaligned on the ingame UI.
Fixed an issue causing the Dirt Bike icon to appear larger on the Tac Map than other vehicles.
Fixed an issue causing Players to remain stuck on the Purchasing screen/animation when attempting to purchase the Battle Pass.
Fixed an issue causing the hat on Beck’s “Spray Paint” Skin to appear translucent.
Fixed an issue causing the Ballistic Knife to appear misaligned in third-person.
Fixed an issue causing the Precision Airstrike Killstreak A-10 Thunderbolt II jet to remain in the sky until the end of the match.
Fixed an issue causing Mastery Camos to apply inconsistently on various Blueprints.
Fixed an issue causing incorrect animations while performing a melee attack in a crouched position.
Fixed an issue where the Infil icon was the incorrect vehicle type.
Fixed an issue causing the Bullfrog (BOCW) model to appear misaligned while equipped in the Primary Weapon slot.

Dirt Bike:

Fixed an issue where Players would be unable to exit the Dirt Bike if it got stuck.
Fixed an issue where Players in the passenger seat would not be able to melee other Players.
Fixed an issue where picking up a fallen Dirt Bike would not play a pickup animation.
Fixed an issue where detonating C4 on a Dirt Bike could kill Players in your squad.
Fixed an issue where the Dirt Bike could be positioned to prevent doors from opening.
Fixed an issue where the Helicopter blades would not kill Players riding a Dirt Bike.
Fixed an issue where the Dirt Bike could get stuck if navigated to be resting on its underside.
Fixed an issue where the kill feed icon for the Dirt Bike was the ATV.
Fixed an issue where the Dirt Bike minimap icon was larger than other vehicle icons.
Fixed an issue in Plunder where Player vision was partially blocked with bags of money.

UI, UX, and More

New Social Menu Tabs: Recent Squad and Recent Lobby
Added two new tabs to the Social Menu to display recent squad mates and recent game lobby members so that Players can more easily find, friend, and play with their recent team members.
Other Players that the Player interacted with during a match will be automatically sorted to the top of the Recent Lobby list to make it easier to report instances of cheating and/or toxicity even after the match has ended.

Accessibility

The following new features focus on three primary areas of accessibility: Hard of Hearing, Blind/Low-Vision, and Cognitive Overload.

Text Chat Behavior (Time On Screen): Added a new accessibility option to change the visibility duration of incoming messages. Players can adjust the length of time that the text chat widget stays on screen when a new message is received. This feature is intended to support Hard of Hearing and Cognitive Overload Accessibility.
Players can choose their desired text chat behavior from the following options:
Off: The text chat will never show on the HUD for new messages
Default: When new messages are received, the text chat will stay on screen for 3 seconds. This is the legacy behavior that has been in use in Warzone.
Medium: When new messages are received, the text chat will stay on screen for 15 seconds.
Long: When new messages are received, the text chat will stay on screen for 30 seconds.
Extended: When new messages are received, the text chat will stay on screen for 60 seconds.
This setting can be found by opening the Accessibility Options Menu and selecting Text Chat Behavior (Time On Screen) under the Visuals tab.
Alternatively, this setting can be found by opening the Options Menu and selecting Text Chat Behavior (Time On Screen) under the General tab.

Non-verbal communication is a cornerstone of Warzone gameplay and we are leveraging accessibility-oriented playtesting and our Warzone Accessibility FAQ feedback form to explore improvements to our text chat features. By adding more customizability to the amount of time the text chat stays on-screen when new messages are received, we hope Players will be better supported in strategically communicating with their squad without needing to rely on external hardware, such as headphones. However, we want to avoid spamming Players with additional HUD messaging during moment-to-moment combat, so we have also added an advanced version of this feature that allows Players to choose which of their incoming messages have longer or shorter on-screen durations. In effect, Players will be able to choose to keep squad messages on-screen for longer, while quieting down things like system messages. Alternatively, for Players with disabilities related to cognitive overload, the Text Chat Behavior (Time On Screen) feature allows Players to turn off in-game text chat notifications on the HUD entirely, so that messages can be received without causing disruption or disturbance that hinders the gameplay experience.

Advanced Text Chat Behavior (Time On Screen): The advanced version of the Text Chat Behavior (Time On Screen) accessibility option allows Players to customize the visibility duration of incoming messages according to message type. In other words, Players can choose different visibility durations for Player Messages compared to System Messages. In addition, Players can select Always On Screen to prevent the text chat element from fading from the HUD.
This can be accessed by navigating to the Text Chat Behavior (Time On Screen) option and selecting the “Advanced” button underneath.
Players can choose their desired text chat visibility duration for incoming Player messages (only) with the Player Messages Behavior setting.
Players can choose their desired text chat visibility duration for incoming system messages (only) with the System Messages Behavior setting.
Both of these settings provide the following options to choose from:
Off: The text chat will never show on the HUD for new messages
Default: When new messages are received, the text chat will stay on screen for 3 seconds. This is the legacy behavior that has been in use in Warzone.
Medium: When new messages are received, the text chat will stay on screen for 15 seconds.
Long: When new messages are received, the text chat will stay on screen for 30 seconds.
Extended: When new messages are received, the text chat will stay on screen for 60 seconds.
Always On Screen: This setting is accessed from the Advanced Text Chat Behavior (Time On Screen) option. When enabled, the text chat widget will stay permanently on-screen while in-game. This setting is intended to support Cognitive Overload and Blind/Low-Vision Accessibility by eliminating the need for rapid peripheral visual localization and language processing of a temporary HUD element under time pressure.
New Message Sound Alert: Added a new accessibility option to enable sound alerts when receiving new messages. This feature is intended to support Blind/Low-Vision Accessibility by providing a second channel for information communication – adding the sound alert allows Players to have an audio cue for new messages rather than only a visual cue. This setting applies in-game as well as in the front-end.
Players can choose from the following options to customize which messages they’d like to receive d sound alerts for:
Disabled: (Default) No audio cue will be played when new messages are received.
Player Messages Only: An audio cue is played when new messages are received from other Players.
System Messages Only: An audio cue is played when new system messages are received.
Both: An audio cue is played when any new message is received, including party chat and system messages.
This can be found by navigating to the Visuals tab within the Accessibility Options Menu and selecting New Message Sound Alert. Alternatively, this setting can also be found by navigating to the Options Menu, going to the General tab, and selecting New Message Sound Alert.

This text chat feature improvement was also inspired by our internal accessibility-oriented playtesting and our online Warzone Accessibility FAQ feedback form. By using audio to provide a second channel of visual information communication, we hope that this option better supports Player-to-Player communication for blind and low-vision Players. Adding an audio cue helps alleviate the need for visual acuity at the periphery of the screen, where the text chat element lives. In addition, this feature will allow all Players, regardless of ability/disability, to have an indication of when new messages are received when they are away from their gaming setup, not looking at the screen, alt-tabbed out of the window, etc.!

Operators

New Operator:

Weaver: NATO (In-Season)
Obtainable in Warzone as part of the Tracer Pack: Weaver Operator Bundle, available in the Store later in Season Four Reloaded.
This Bundle includes the “Kremlin’s Eye” Operator Skin based on his original Black Ops incarnation, in addition to three Legendary Weapon Blueprints and a new Finishing Move.

Downloads

Warzone Update Sizes

PlayStation 5:

8.9 GB

PlayStation 4:

8.9 GB

Xbox One Series X / Xbox One Series S:

9.2 GB

Xbox One:

9.2 GB

PC:

9.2 GB (Warzone Only)
10.4 GB (Warzone and Modern Warfare®)

Notes & reminders:

PC users will also need 12.4 – 12.9 GB of additional space on their hard drive for the patch copying process; this is only temporary space that is reclaimed upon completion of the patch installation and is not an additional download.
The Black Ops Cold War download is not necessary if you are only playing Warzone, and vice versa.
Furthermore, for a smaller overall file size, Players can choose to uninstall/remove other data packs if they are no longer needed.

Source