Secret changes discovered in latest Modern Warfare update

It turns out that the update released for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare on February 25 contained some changes that developers Infinity Ward did not disclose in the official patch notes.

Modern Warfare’s v1.15 update was one of the game’s biggest patches since the recent launch of Season 2, introducing new content as well as changes to weapon balancing, the CDL Playlist, and more.

However, upon closer analysis, players were able to discover tweaks that had not been announced in the update’s patch notes.

These “secret” changes, summarize by prominent Call of Duty YouTuber ‘TheXclusiveAce‘ in a recent video, include a buff to the Striker 45 SMG and Spotter perk, as well as some quality-of-life improvements to Missions in the main menu.

• Read More: All weapon buffs & nerfs in MW Feb 25 update

It’s not clear exactly why Infinity Ward didn’t include them in the patch notes since they’re plenty significant enough, and it’s not the first time they’ve done something like this either. Back in December, the devs were found to have omitted a long list of changes in two different updates, something which they got a lot of flack for.

A full breakdown of the unannounced changes from the February 28 update can be found below.

Secret buff to Striker 45 SMG

In this patch, the Striker 45’s range and ADS speed were improved to better match the description of the 300mm Poly Barrel. However, there was another, and perhaps even more significant buff implemented that Infinity Ward didn’t mention in the patch notes.

The .45 ACP Hollow Point rounds attachment, which turns the SMG into a two-round burst weapon, had its damage stats bumped up slightly, according to TheXclusiveAce’s calculations:

Pre-patch stats (damage at different ranges)

• Limb Damage: 42-30-21
• Torso Damage: 48-34-24
• Shots to Kill: 3-5
• Headshots: 77-55-39

Post-patch stats

• Limb Damage: 42-30-21
• Upper Torso Damage: 50-35-25
• Shots to Kill: 2-4
• Headshots: 77-55-38

While these increases may not seem like much, they are actually just enough to make easily-noticeable differences in the Striker 45’s viability with the Hollow Point rounds equipped.

Now, at short to intermediate ranges, the SMG is almost always a single-burst kill if you aim at an enemy’s upper torso; you don’t even need to get headshots.

• Read More: 5 best Striker 45 classes & attachments

Spotter perk buff

Another thing that was secretly buffed in this update was the Spotter perk, which allows you to “see enemy equipment, field upgrades, and killstreaks through walls, and mark them for your team by aiming down sights.”

Now, if you have Spotter equipped, you can actually hack and take control of enemy equipment through walls as long as you’re able to see them on your screen.

This change was something Infinity Ward said would be coming soon in the Season 2 launch update, and now they’ve implemented it without mentioning it in the patch notes.

A full summary of all these undisclosed adjustments can be found in TheXclusiveAce’s video below:

Needless to say, it’s obviously a bit concerning for players that Infinity Ward continue to make these kinds of changes without announcing them in each update’s patch notes.

The Call of Duty community will hope that this isn’t a trend the keeps going with future patches, because even the smallest in-game tweaks can end up making huge differences.