Cold War Season 4 weapon buffs & nerfs: AK-47, XM4, Krig 6

Matt Porter
Season 4 battle pass

Black Ops Cold War’s Season 4 update is here, and as always, Treyarch have been tinkering with the game’s weapon balance, with buffs and nerfs for a number of guns.

Weapon balancing is a huge part of keeping any game fresh, giving developers the opportunity to tweak the meta to make overpowered weapons more manageable, or to give guns that aren’t being used often a much-needed boost.

The launch of the Season 4 patch gives Treyarch the perfect opportunity to buff and nerf a number of weapons in an attempt to shake things up, and the developers have focused on a single class of guns this time around.

Season 3: Reloaded saw Treyarch work on SMGs, Sniper Rifles, and a number of attachments, but with Season 4, the focus is clearly on Assault Rifles. Here’s a breakdown of the big changes coming with the new patch.

Rambo using AR in Cold War

Assault Rifle changes in Cold War Season 4

Assault Rifles are going to feel very different in Season 4. All seven guns in the class have been adjusted in some manner, mostly focusing on the attachments that players use with them.

Suppressors will definitely become more widespread thanks to Treyarch‘s decision to reduce the range penalties on most ARs, although it has been slightly increased by 2% on the ultra-powerful AK-47. The QBZ-83 and Groza have also had their penalties increased slightly to bring them in line with the class average.

The biggest change comes for the XM4 though, which sees a huge 11% drop in range penalty, making the already strong gun even more useful.

Black Ops Cold War AK-47 loadout

While other weapon classes haven’t been changed in this patch, there is a good chance they will be addressed in future patches, with Treyarch always working on balancing. You can view the full list of changes below.

  • Assault Rifles
    • XM4
      • Reduced range penalty on Suppressor muzzle attachment from 15% to 11%.
      • Reduced range penalty on Agency Suppressor muzzle attachment from 33% to 22%.
    • AK-47
      • Reduced range penalty on Suppressor muzzle attachment from 15% to 13%.
      • Increased range penalty on GRU Suppressor muzzle attachment from 25% to 27%.
    • QBZ-83
      • Increased range penalty on Suppressor muzzle attachment from 15% to 17%.
    • FFAR 1
      • Reduced range penalty on Suppressor muzzle attachment from 15% to 10%.
      • Reduced range penalty on Agency Suppressor muzzle attachment from 33% to 20%.
    • Krig 6
      • Reduced range penalty on Agency Suppressor muzzle attachment from 30% to 25%.
    • Groza
      • Increased range penalty on Suppressor muzzle attachment from 15% to 17%.
    • FARA 83
      • Reduced range penalty on GRU Suppressor muzzle attachment from 33% to 32%.
      • Increased range penalty on Suppressor muzzle attachment from 15% to 20%.

Image Credit: Treyarch

About The Author

Matt is CharlieINTEL's UK Editor, specializing in all things Call of Duty, including Warzone and Modern Warfare 2. Matt previously worked as a freelance esports writer for Gfinity, before joining Dexerto in 2018 as a Junior & Senior Writer. You can contact Matt via email at: [email protected]