All weapon buffs and nerfs in MW3 & Warzone Season 5

Modern Warfare 3 and Warzone Season 5 is finally here and there is another round of big weapon changes that will absolutely shake up the meta. 

Over the last few weeks, the Modern Warfare 3 devs have been making some big changes to the massive arsenal of weapons in the game. Warzone has especially been hit by these changes, with the dominant KAR98K being knocked off its perch in Season 4. 

Players have been calling for further changes since then, with many believing that the meta has gotten stale. 

The Superi 46, which had been paired with the KAR98K for a while, has been one of the biggest culprits of that. And, well, fans of the battle can celebrate as the SMG has finally been brought down a few notches. 

In the biggest change for Season 5, the devs have hit the SMG’s movement speed in a big way. It is joined by the FJX Horus, which has also been a key part of the meta, as the SMG has also had its damage ranges nerfed.

The Holger 26, another top meta option, has seen it’s torso damage modifier also tweaked.

On the flip side of things, the Bas-B and BAL-27 have seen some interesting buffs. There also a handful of MW2 weapons including the Minibak, M4, and Vaznev-9K that have also been shown some love and could become viable contenders.

As ever, some of these changes are only going to take hold in Modern Warfare 3’s Multiplayer modes, while others are specific to Warzone. So, make sure you take that into account when adjusting your loadouts.

The full list of buff and nerfs in the Season 5 weapon changes can be found below.

Warzone & MW3 weapon changes patch notes for Season 5

Warzone weapon changes

ASSAULT RIFLES

MCW

• Lower Torso Modifier increased to 1.1x, up from 1x

SVA 545

• Max Damage Range increased to 36.83 meters, up from 31.75.

BAL-27

• Max Damage Range increased to 26.67 meters, up from 21.59.
• Decreased horizontal recoil magnitude, allowing greater predictability during sustained fire.
• Decreased overall recoil magnitude to aid in long-range effectiveness.
• Decreased overall recoil deviation, ensuring a more predictable pattern that is easier to control at range.

MTZ-556

• Near-Mid Damage Range increased to 60.96 meters, up from 50.8.

M4 (MWII)

• Min Damage increased to 21, up from 17.
• Near-Mid Damage increased to 24, up from 21.
• Max Damage Range increased to 30.48 meters, up from 25.4.

BATTLE RIFLES

BAS-B

• Max Damage Range increased to 40.64 meters, up from 35.56.

TAQ-V (MWII)

• Leg Modifier increased to 0.9x, up from 0.85x.

SUBMACHINE GUNS

AMR9

• Max Damage Range increased to 12.7 meters, up from 10.67.
• Near-Mid Damage Range increased to 21.59 meters, up from 17.78.

FJX HORUS

• Max Damage Range decreased to 8.63 meters, down from 10.16.
• Near-Mid Damage Range decreased to 17.27 meters, down from 20.32.
• Mid Damage Range decreased to 25.91 meters, down from 30.48.
• Increased sprint to fire time to 110ms, up from 93ms.

SUPERI 46

• Decreased movement speed to 4.9m/s, down from 5m/s.
• Decreased crouched movement speed to 1.9m/s, down from 2m/s.
• Decreased sprint speed to 5.8m/s, down from 5.9m/s.
• Decreased ADS movement speed to 3.4m/s, down from 3.6m/s.

WSP-9

• Legs Modifiers decreased to .9x, down from 1x.

MINIBAK (MWII)

• Min Damage increased to 26, up from 21.
• Max Damage Range increased to 11.43 meters, up from 8.38.
• Near-Mid Damage Range increased to 21.59 meters, up from 19.05.
• Lower Torso Modifiers increased to 1.1x, up from 1x.
• Arm and Hand Modifiers increased to 1.1x, up from .95x.

PDSW 528 (MWII)

• Min Damage increased to 19, up from 16.
• Near-Mid Damage increased to 24, up from 22.

VEL-46 (MWII)

• Near-Mid Damage increased to 22, up from 20.
• Min damage increased to 16, up from 15.
• Arm and Hand Modifiers increased to 1.1x, up from 1x.

VAZNEV-9K (MWII)

• Mid Damage increased to 27, up from 25.
• Min Damage increased to 23, up from 20.
• Max Damage Range increased to 11.43 meters, up from 8.89.

LIGHT MACHINE GUNS

BRUEN MK9

• Max Damage Range increased to 36.83 meters, up from 31.75.

HOLGER 26

• Lower Torso Modifier decreased to 1x, down from 1.1x.

PULEMYOT 762

• Max Damage Range increased to 34.29 meters, up from 27.94.
• Upper and Lower Arm Modifiers increased to 1.1x, up from 1x.

TAQ ERADICATOR

• Min Damage increased to 28, up from 24.
• Max Damage Range increased to 39.37 meters, up from 33.02.

TAQ EVOLVERE

• Leg Modifier increased to 1.07x, up from 1x.

SHOTGUNS

RECLAIMER 18

• Fixed an issue causing inconsistent damage dealt to enemies in both fire types.
• Semi-auto
  • Increased rate of fire to 200rpm, up from 182rpm.

KV BROADSIDE (MWII)

• JAK Jawbreaker Conversion Kit
  • Decreased vertical recoil by 20%.

HANDGUNS

COR-45

• Decreased rate of fire to 240rpm, down from 375rpm.
• XRK v6 Match Trigger Action
  • Decreased rate of fire to 264rpm, down from 438rpm.
• XRK v21 Heavy Match Trigger Action
  • Decreased rate of fire to 272rpm, down from 545rpm.

MELEE

Sledgehammer

• Decreased movement speed by 22%.
• Decreased heavy swing melee range to 3.2 meters, down from 5.3.

Modern Warfare 3 weapon changes

Assault Rifles

• BAL-27
  • Decreased horizontal recoil magnitude, allowing greater predictability during sustained fire.
  • Decreased overall recoil magnitude to aid in long-range effectiveness.
  • Decreased overall recoil deviation, ensuring a more predictable pattern that is easier to control at range.

Submachine Guns

• Superi 46
  • Decreased movement speed from 5m/s to 4.9m/s (-2%).
  • Decreased crouched movement speed from 2m/s to 1.9m/s (-5%).
  • Decreased sprint speed from 5.9m/s to 5.8m/s (-2%).
  • Decreased ADS movement speed from 3.6m/s to 3.4m/s (-6%).
• FJX Horus
  • Increased sprint to fire time from 93ms to 110ms (+18%).
  • Decreased maximum damage range from 13.7m to 11.4m (-17%).
  • Decreased near-medium damage range from 22.9m to 19m (-17%).
  • Decreased medium damage range from 29.7m to 25.4m (-15%).
  • Decreased far-medium damage range from 36.6m to 30.5m (-17%).

Shotguns

• Reclaimer 18
  • Fixed an issue causing inconsistent damage dealt to enemies in both fire types.
  • Semi-Auto Fire Type
    • Increased fire rate from 182rpm to 200rpm (+10%).
    • Increased hipfire spread by 12%.
  • Pump Action Fire Type
    • Increased hipfire maximum damage from 80 to 220 (+175%).
    • Increased hipfire maximum damage range from 2m to 3m (+50%).
    • Increased hipfire near-medium damage from 20 to 25 (+25%).

• KV Broadside (MWII)
  • JAK Jawbreaker Conversion Kit
    • Decreased vertical recoil by 20%.
• MX Guardian (MWII)
  • Removed the ability to equip the incompatible GRV-Z Short Grip Underbarrel Attachment.

Light Machine Guns

• Pulemyot 762
  • Increased upper arm and lower arm damage multipliers from 1x to 1.1x.

Marksman Rifles

• MTZ Interceptor
  • Decreased maximum damage range from 30.5m to 22.9m (-25%).
  • Decreased lower torso, upper arm, lower arm, and hand damage multipliers from 1x to 0.9x.
• EBR-14 (MWII)
  • SO-90 Factory Stock
    • Fixed an issue causing players to become unable to move while aiming down sights.

Sniper Rifles

• XRK Stalker
  • Increased upper leg, lower leg, and foot damage multipliers from 1x to 1.1x.

• Carrack .300 (MWII)
  • Increased maximum damage range from 12.7m to 17.8m (+40%).
  • Increased near-medium damage range from 30.7m to 66m (+115%).
  • Removed medium damage range.

Handguns

• COR-45
  • Decreased rate of fire from 375rpm to 240rpm (-36%).
  • XRK v6 Match Trigger Action
    • Decreased rate of fire from 438rpm to 264rpm (-40%).
  • XRK v21 Heavy Match Trigger Action
    • Decreased rate of fire from 545rpm to 272rpm (-50%).

• TYR
  • Increased maximum damage range from 5.6m to 8.9m (+14%).
  • Increased near-medium damage range from 11.4m to 15.2m (+33%).
• GS Magna (MWII)
  • Removed the ability to equip the incompatible JAK NRG-IV Optic Attachment.

Melee

• Sledgehammer
  • Decreased movement speed by 22%.
  • Decreased heavy swing melee range from 5.3m to 3.2m (-40%).