Black Ops Cold War Season 1 weapon balance changes revealed
Black Ops Cold War received an update late on December 14, which finalized the prep for Season 1 launching December 15. The patch notes won’t be released until around 11PM PT, but YouTuber JGOD has revealed the new weapon changes.
Treyarch confirmed huge weapon changes would be coming in Black Ops Cold War Season 1, and that update last night. The patch notes won’t be released until the season officially begins at 11PM PT, so players don’t yet know exactly what was changed.
Before the update, certain weapons were clearly overperforming, while others were underperforming. The FFAR Assault Rifle dominated launch week and was then nerfed into the ground with a massive increase to recoil and a reduction to its effective damage range.
The Tactical Rifles, specifically the AUG and M16, are regarded as two of the most powerful weapons in the game. They are capable of one-bursting players at most ranges with minimal recoil, leading to many players calling for them to be nerfed.
Treyarch revealed they are tuning the Tactical Rifles, but we don’t know exactly what has changed.
This is where content creators such as JGOD come in. He has investigated all of the weapon changes and revealed what’s changed on his Twitter.
Cold War Season 1 weapon changes
JGOD has detailed what weapons have been nerfed and buffed following the final Black Ops Cold War season 1 preparation update. Check out his handy chart below, which gives exact values for what has changed, and reveals if an overall buff or nerf has been applied.
The FFAR has seen the most dramatic change. It’s range and horizontal recoil have both been improved, so it should be a more viable weapon after this update.
Surprisingly, the M16 didn’t get touched. In the last weapon tuning patch, the M16 wasn’t nerfed as hard as the AUG, so it was expected it would get a proper rebalance this time round.
The AUG’s damage has been reduced from 54 to 51. Testing will be required to see how this impacts gameplay, but it’s possible this slight nerf has reduced the AUG’s one-burst potential. Still, it appears the AUG will remain one of the strongest weapons in the game.
- Read more: How to unlock the Groza in Cold War Season 1
JGOD put a disclaimer, saying all SMGs now have the same sprint-to-fire time, but the in-game stats aren’t accurate so more testing will be required.
Stay tuned to CharlieINTEL, as we’ll break down the Season 1 patch notes once they drop.