Call of Duty: Warzone

Warzone Season 4 weapon buffs & nerfs: AMAX, Streetsweeper, Milano, DMR, more

Keshav Bhat

Call of Duty: Warzone Season 4 is here, and the team at Raven Software have made big changes to the overall weapons and weapon balancing within Verdansk, with buffs and nerfs for a number of guns.

Raven Software’s goal is to keep the weapon meta and balancing fresh as part of new updates, allowing more weapons to shine. Balancing allows the developers to move underperforming weapons to the front and bring down over-performing weapons in the Verdansk world.

With the launch of the Season 4 patch in Warzone, Raven Software has made a number of adjusments to the weapons in the game, across both Cold War and Modern Warfare weapons, with more big changes to come in a future patch update.

At a high level, here’s all of the weapons that Raven Software has adjusted in Warzone with the Season 4 update.

Assault Rifle changes in Warzone Season 4

Raven Software continues to make changes to the Assault Rifle weapons in Warzone with Season 4.

The newest update includes more nerfs for Modern Warfare’s AMAX, which continues to be one of the most powerful weapons in Verdansk.

Other Assault Rife changes in Season 4 include updates to Cold War’s Groza, the AR Golf (MW), and the XM4 from Cold War.

Here’s the full list of Assault Rifle Changes:

Assault Rifles


  • CR-56 AMAX (MW)
    • Upper Torso Damage multiplier decreased from 1.2 to 1.1
      
    • The real strength of the CR-56 AMAX (MW) layed in its long-range viability and the consistency of its Time to Kill. While we have made several moves to reduce its power level, the third time is in fact, the charm. We love the CR-56 AMAX (MW) and we will likely see it return in the future when the massive balance overhaul takes place. Though for now, we would like to shake up the long-range space and see what rises to the top.
      
  • Groza (BOCW)
    • Minimum Damage increased from 18 to 23
    • Upper Torso Damage Multiplier increased from 1.1 to 1.2
    • Lower Torso Damage Multiplier increased from 1 to 1.1
    • Maximum Damage range decreased by 12%
      
    • As a relatively slow-firing, low damage Assault Rifle, it is no surprise that the Groza (BOCW) has underperformed since its preemptive balance adjustment at the beginning of Season Three. This tune up should put it in a solid position in short to mid-range mobility based AR builds.
      
  • Assault Rifle Golf (MW)
    • Neck Damage Multiplier increased from 1 to 1.5
    • Upper Torso damage multiplier increased from 1 to 1.2
      
    • We would like to avoid increasing the power level of a Qeapon to a point where we would need to reduce it shortly after in the following balance overhaul. With that being said, the Assault Rifle Golf (MW) may soon see another power increase in the near future, but we think an improvement to its average Time to Kill is a good place to start.
       
  • XM4 (BOCW)
    • Neck Damage Multiplier increased from 1 to 1.5
      
    • We consider increases to Neck Damage Multipliers a small buff realistically, as they make landing headshots only slightly more likely. We feel the XM4 (BOCW) is close to being in a great spot and we are aiming for this change to get it there.
Warzone Streetsweeper

Streetsweeper updates in Warzone Season 4

The most powerful shotgun in Warzone is getting a change. Raven Software has further nerfed the Streetsweeper shotgun in Season 4 update, bringing it more in line with other shotguns.

Here’s the exact changes & reasoning from Raven:

  • Streetsweeper (BOCW)
    • Maximum Damage range decreased by 24%
    • Second Damage range decreased by 18%
    • Third Damage range decreased by 7%
    • Move Speed decreased by 1%
    • The Streetsweeper (BOCW) has one of the best short-range kill death ratios of any Weapon in Warzone. The issue is with the right Attachments that lethal range could be stretched out further than we would like. The Streetsweeper (BOCW) will still be very deadly, but will now require you to be a few steps closer to your target to maximize its effectiveness.

Additional Season 4 changes – SMGs, Snipers, More

Season 4 weapon changes continued with some notable changes to the SMG class in Warzone.

The update includes changes to Modern Warfare’s SMG Alpha & Echo, with Alpha seeing a nerf to its torso damage and Echo getting a bump to better line up with the entire class.

Raven also made changes to the Sniper Rifles, Handguns, and the infamous DMR.

Check the list of additional changes from the studio:

  • Submachine Guns
    • Submachine Gun Alpha (MW)
      • Upper Torso Damage Multiplier increased from 1 to 1.1
      • Maximum Damage range increased by 10%
      • The Submachine Gun Alpha (MW) has a ludicrously fast Time to Kill when landing all headshots within its Maximum Damage range. However, outside of those two conditions, it performed far less reliably than its peers. While we do not expect this change to jettison the Submachine Gun Alpha (MW) to the top of SMG viability, we are positioning it to excel in our upcoming balance overhaul.
    • Bullfrog (BOCW)
      • Ironsights ADS position adjusted
      • These changes should allow for better ADS visibility without optics.
    • KSP 45 (BOCW)
      • Maximum damage range increased by 16.6%
      • Extremities multipliers increased from .9 to 1
      • The KSP 45 (BOCW) has a fast Time to Kill potential. Insomuch that when considering how to increase its effectiveness, we were concerned not to push it too hard, for fear of making it dominant. It is understandable why one would steer clear of a short to mid-range burst-fire Weapon considering how low the margin for error is in that engagement range. However, two well placed bursts with the KSP 45 (BOCW) will put someone out of commission faster than you might expect.
    • Milano 821 (BOCW)
      • Maximum Damage increased from 34 to 36
      • Minimum Damage increased from 25 to 30
      • Maximum Damage range increased by 23%
      • Upper Torso Damage Multiplier increased from 1 to 1.2
      • Lower Torso Damage Multiplier increased from 1 to 1.1
      • Extremities Damage Multipliers increased from .9 to 1
      • The Milano 821 (BOCW) needed a lot of love for it to reach a semi-viable state. We will see how it shapes up over the first half of Season Four and make any necessary changes at that time.
    • Submachine Gun Echo (MW)
      • Maximum Damage increased from 34 to 35
      • Extremities Damage Multipliers increased from .9 to 1
      • Much like its BOCW counterpart, the Submachine Gun Echo (MW) relies heavily on well-placed shots. These changes should make it a tad more forgiving.
  • Handguns
    • AMP63 (BOCW)
      • Maximum Damage increased from 30 to 33
      • Second Damage range increased by 14.3%
      • Upper Torso Damage Multiplier increased from 1 to 1.1
      • Extremities Damage Multipliers increased from .9 to 1
      • Head Damage Multiplier decreased from 1.4 to 1.3
      • The AMP63 (BOCW) did not have its fastest Time to Kill improved by these changes. Rather, its TTK breakpoints were shifted around and its Second Damage range was pushed out. A move we felt was necessary to help offset its limited magazine capacity and rate of fire. These changes should provide another compelling Secondary Weapon option alongside the Sykov (MW) to complement non-Overkill loadouts.
  • Melee
    • Ballistic Knife (BOCW)
      • Projectile Velocity increased by 25%
      • Neck Damage Multiplier increased from 1 to 1.3
      • Upper Torso Damage Multiplier increased from 1 to 1.23
      • Move Speed increased by 1.3%
      • The Ballistic Knife will become a desirable selection for melee aficionados following these changes. With additional mobility, improved Projectile Velocity, and more generous locational multipliers—letting someone wielding the Ballistic Knife get too close is a mistake you will only make once… or twice per game. 
  • Sniper Rifles
    • Sniper Rifle Charlie (BOCW)
      • Bullet Velocity increased by 7.7%
      • Upper Torso Damage Multiplier increased from 1.1 to 1.25
      • Lower Torso Damage Multiplier increased from 1 to 1.15
      • In a previous patch, the Sniper Rifle Charlie (BOCW) underwent a change to its identity. Now, as a slower firing Sniper Rifle, we feel it is necessary to increase its Damage and Bullet Velocity to compensate more adequately. We will be keeping a close eye on it to ensure it occupies this role successfully.
    • Swiss K31 (BOCW) 
      • Base Optic functionality improved
      • Base Reticle updated
  • Tactical Rifles
    • DMR 14 (BOCW)
      • Recoil magnitude decreased
      • Even after its falling out, the DMR 14 (BOCW) is still a respectable choice with the right Attachments. A little bump to help stay on target at a distance should help the DMR 14 (BOCW) hold its own in the face of fierce mid to long-range competition.

Future Updates – Raven teases massive change

Raven Software indicated in the patch notes that they also plan to make significant changes to Warzone’s overall meta in an upcoming update to the game.

The biggest changes include how all weapon classes balance each other out, including the average TTK.

You can check their full note on this here:

“In a future patch, we will be making sweeping balance changes to Weapons. Let us take a moment to discuss the philosophy behind that decision. At a high level, Warzone is a game about engagements. The more time we allot to mechanical and strategic expression within engagements, the higher the ‘skill ceiling’ and the longer our personal journey of mastery. We believe the frequency of those engagements and how we navigate them heavily contributes to the overall level of fun.“

“We want to enable more escapes from impossible situations, moments of finesse, epic outplays, and opportunities to flex exquisite marksmanship. Due to some Weapons being far more lethal than others in their class, we feel a reduction in the efficacy of those outliers is necessary. We expect these changes will bring the average Time to Kill up by approximately 60 to 100 milliseconds. These changes will not only increase the overall capacity for skill expression, but should also introduce some Weapons into viability that have not yet had a chance to shine.“

For more information on the all of the changes, check the Warzone Season 4 patch notes and stay tuned for updates!

Image Credit: Activision / Raven Software

Sign up to Charlie INTEL for free and receive:
Fewer Ads|Dark Mode|Deals in Gaming, TV and Movies, and Tech