GamingCall of Duty

All weapon buffs & nerfs in MW3 and Warzone Season 5 Reloaded

Josh Taylor
Modern Warfare 3 Best GunsActivision

Modern Warfare 3 and Warzone Season 5 has reached the mid-way point, which has made way for this season’s Reloaded update to add some major weapon changes via buffs and nerfs.

The Call of Duty devs have shaken up the meta once more with Season 5 Reloaded, with plenty of different guns receiving balance adjustments across each mode.

Warzone has been hit with tons of buffs and nerfs, in particular giving damage range buffs for an array of Assault Rifles, Battle Rifles, and Submachine Guns. Meanwhile, the standout for MW3 has been the decreased recoil adjustments for the BAL-27, which were also changed for Warzone.

Aside from that, the previously dominant Superi 46 and FJX Horus Submachine Guns in MW3 have seen further nerfs to their damage range. Despite this, Horus’s sprint to fire time was increased.

BAL 27 assault rifle in Modern Warfare 3 and WarzoneActivision
The BAL-27 Assault Rifle has been buffed in both MW3 and Warzone.

As with any update, some of these changes will only apply to Modern Warfare 3’s Multiplayer modes, while others are exclusive to Warzone. Keep this in mind when adjusting your loadouts.

The complete list of buff and nerfs from the Season 5 Reloaded weapon changes can be found below.

Warzone weapon changes

Assault Rifles

BAL-27

  • Max Damage Range increased to 31.75 meters, up from 26.67.

DG-56

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

FR 5.56

  • Max Damage Range increased to 43.18 meters, up from 38.1.
  • Lower Arm and Hand Modifiers increased to 1.1x, up from 1x.

Holger 556

  • Max Damage Range increased to 41.91 meters, up from 36.83.

MCW

  • Max Damage Range increased to 36.83 meters, up from 30.48.
  • Near-Mid Damage Range increased to 44.45 meters, up from 38.1.
  • Mid Damage Range increased to 53.34 meters, up from 48.26.

STG44

  • Max Damage decreased to 32, down from 36.

M16 (MWII)

  • JAK Patriot Conversion Kit
    • Max Damage Range increased to 30.48 meters, up from 24.9.

Battle Rifles

BAS-B

  • Leg and Foot Modifiers increased to 1.1x, up from 1x.

MTZ-762

  • JAK Heretic Carbine Kit
    • Max Damage Range increased to 33.02 meters, up from 27.94.

SOA Subverter

  • Max Damage Range increased to 25.4 meters, up from 20.57.

Submachine Guns

Rival-9

  • Max Damage Range increased to 15.24 meters, up from 12.7.

Static-HV

  • Mid Damage decreased to 24, down from 25.
  • Max Damage Range decreased to 13.97 meters, down from 16.0.
  • Near-Mid Damage Range decreased to 25.4 meters, down from 30.48.
  • Mid Damage Range decreased to 35.56 meters, down from 40.64. 
  • Headshot Modifier decreased to 1.2x, down from 1.4x.
  • Leg and Foot Modifiers decreased to .95x, down from 1x.

Striker

  • Max Damage Range increased to 14.48 meters, up from 12.7.
  • Near-Mid Damage Range increased to 26.67 meters, up from 24.13.

Lachmann Shroud (MWII)

  • JAK Decimator Conversion Kit
    • Max Damage Range increased to 13.46 meters, up from 12.44.

Light Machine Guns

Pulemyot 762

  • Neck Modifier increased to 1.2x, up from 1.1x.
  • Lower Torso and Hand Modifiers increased to 1.1x, up from 1x.
  • Decreased sprint to fire time to 262ms, down from 285ms .
  • Decreased aim down sight time to 420ms, down from 450ms.
  • Increased rate of fire to 545rpm, up from 492rpm.

RPK (MWII)

  • JAK Cataclysm Conversion Kit
    • Increased incoming flinch to 0.68n, up from 0.17n.
    • Increased hipfire spread minimum to 10deg/s, up from 3.6deg/s.
    • Increased hipfire spread maximum to 14deg/s, up from 9deg/s.
    • Increased recoil gun kick to 38.60deg/s, up from 23.16deg/s.
    • Increased horizontal recoil to 23.29deg/s, up from 18.63deg/s.
    • Increased vertical recoil to 94.08deg/s, up from 56.45deg/s.

Marksman Rifles

DM56

  • Max Damage Range increased to 43.18 meters, up from 36.83.

MCW 6.8

  • Increased rate of fire to 353rpm, up from 316rpm.
  • Lower Torso Modifier increased to 1.2x, up from 1x.

Handguns

P890 (MWII)

  • Akimbo P890 Rear Grip
    • Decrease hipfire spread by 20%.
    • Decrease damage range penalty by 20%.

.50 GS (MWII)

  • Akimbo .50 GS Rear Grip
    • Decreased hipfire spread by 10%.
    • Decreased damage penalty by 10%.

X12 (MWII)

  • Akimbo X12 Rear Grip
    • Removed hipfire spread penalty.
    • Removed damage range penalty.

Basilisk (MWII)

  • Akimbo Basilisk Rear Grip
    • Decreased hipfire spread by 10%.
    • Decreased damage penalty by 10%.

FTAC Siege (MWII)

  • Akimbo FTAC Siege Rear Grip
    • Decreased hipfire spread by 20%.
    • Decreased damage range penalty by 20%.

GS Magna (MWII)

  • GS Magna Akimbo Rear Grip
    • Decreased hipfire spread by 10%.
    • Decreased damage penalty by 10%.

9mm Daemon (MWII)

  • Akimbo 9mm Daemon Rear Grip
    • Decreased hipfire spread by 10%.
    • Decreased damage penalty by 10%.

X13 Auto (MWII)

  • Akimbo X13 Rear Grip
    • Decreased hipfire spread by 40%.
    • Decreased damage range penalty by 20%.

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 tac-stance 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%).
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