NICKMERCS explains why “broken” R9-0 Dragon’s Breath needs to be nerfed

FaZe Clan star Nick ‘NICKMERCS’ Kolcheff has delved into why Warzone’s R9-0 ‘Dragon’s Breath’ is “broken,” and why Infinity Ward needs to nerf the shotgun variant in Season 5.

Since Warzone’s introduction, Infinity Ward have done a great job at keeping the meta fresh by bringing in new weapons as part of the season-based content delivery.

The developers have received backlash from the community for ‘ruining’ Warzone with dominant weapons, such as the first iteration of the Grau 5.56 or the Mk9 Bruen LMG.

And while those weapons have since been fine-tuned to help them align more with the meta, it appears that history is repeating itself with the R9-0 ‘Dragon’s Breath’ shotgun — which is every bit as lethal as its namesake suggests.

Does Infinity Ward need to nerf the R9-0?

So what makes the “Dragon’s Breath” version of the R9-0 so special? As you can probably guess, the rounds are riddled with incendiary that quite literally burns your foes alive, meaning that alongside dishing out the initial damage, it will also do a significant amount of damage over time.

• Read more: How to unlock R9-0 Dragon’s Breath rounds: fire shotgun Warzone loadout

Being at the forefront of the Warzone meta, NICKMERCS discovered just how devastatingly powerful the weapon can be shortly after its release. But unlike his relationship with the Bruen, Kolcheff has a love-hate thing going on with Dragon’s Breath.

“If I post a video, saying that it’s broken and more and more people use it, it’s only going to get the damn thing fixed faster… Have fun with the shotgun and do it now, because I can guarantee you ain’t going to be able to have fun with this thing for too much longer.”

Nick showed just how devastating the weapon can be up close, after showcasing his loadout (detailed below). Of course, the weapon will only be super effective in CQB, so you might want to consider pairing it up with one of Warzone’s most popular weapons.

• Muzzle: Choke.
• Barrel: FORCE TAC Sentry.
• Laser: 5mW Laser.
• Underbarrel: Merc Foregrip.
• Ammunition: Dragon’s Breath Rounds.