All weapon buffs & nerfs in Modern Warfare & Warzone May 19 update

The massive update that was released for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone on May 19 implemented some balancing changes to several of the game’s guns.

Gunplay is one of the most important yet delicate aspects of Modern Warfare and Warzone, as even the slightest change to a weapon can seriously alter its function and viability.

Early in the morning on May 19, Infinity Ward rolled out a major patch that made some tweaks to certain guns, buffing or nerfing them, depending on how well or poorly they’d been performing in-game.

All in all, seven weapons were addressed in this tuning update, including the highly-controversial RPG launcher and the Renetti pistol, which has become a lot more popular recently following the nerf to the highly-overpowered Akimbo .357 Snakeshot handgun.

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You can find the full details on all these changes below, including information provided by IW in the update’s official patch notes.

Weapon nerfs

RPGs have been a controversial aspect of Warzone since the battle royale released in March. Highly-viable against both vehicles and in regular gunfights, the launcher allows players to wield a deadly secondary weapon without having to use Overkill. In an effort to balance it out, the developers have “reduced the RPG kill radius for players with full armor,” which means the rocket will have to hit closer to a fully-armored target in order to knock them down.

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The other weapon that was nerfed was the Renetti, one of the newest additions to Modern Warfare at the start of Season 3 that had been starting to cause more and more havoc in Warzone over the past week.

• Reduced the max ammo reserve
• MK3 Burst Mod – Significant hip spread increase
• MK3 Burst Mod – Small decrease to damage
• Reduced damage when Akimbo and MK3 Burst Mod are both equipped

Weapon buffs

The biggest set of changes administered in this balancing update was for the Holger 26 – a versatile LMG added back in Season 1 that barely gets used in multiplayer or battle royale.

Not only were the base stats of the Holger improved, such as movement speed, ADS time, and recoil, but IW also made some major changes to several of its attachments, including the FTAC 8.98″ Spitfire Barrel, XRK Ultralight Barrel, 30 round mags, No Stock, and Stippled Grip.

• Increased move speed
• Improved ADS time
• Slight recoil reduction
• Attachments:
  • FTAC 8.98” Spitfire Barrel:
    • Improved ADS time
    • Faster movement
    • Reduced hip spread
  • XRK Ultralight Barrel:
    • Improved ads time
  • 30 Round Magazine:
    • Reduced sprint out time
    • Improved ADS time
    • Faster movement
    • Improved hip spread profile
  • No Stock:
    • Increased sprint out time
    • Faster movement
    • Reduced hip spread
    • Improved ADS time
  • Stippled Grip:
    • Improved ADS time

The other buffed weapons include the FAL, SCAR, and VLK Rogue shotgun, another gun that was added post-launch.

• FAL: Decrease to ADS time
• SCAR: Decrease to ADS time
• VLK Rogue
  • Increased rate of fire
  • Increased close damage range for 12 gauge
  • Increased damage range to 6” Revolt barrel

Other changes

There were a couple of additional weapon-related changes in this update, which aren’t really too significant in terms of performance, but are definitely worth keeping in mind next time you decide to use them.

• LMGS: Lowered ammo count for reload warning on belt fed LMGs
• Reduced penalty for holding breath too long with sniper scopes
• Fix for the level 34 unlock of the Renetti showing the Merc Foregrip

For full information about this patch, make sure to check out our Modern Warfare & Warzone May 19 update patch notes.