Every Warzone Season 3 weapon buff & nerf: FFAR, AUG & more

Liam Mackay
Warzone M16 and FFAR nerfed

Warzone Season 3 is here, and it’s brought a ton of weapon balance changes with it, including nerfs to the dominant M16, AUG, and FFAR. Here’s every weapon buff and nerf in Warzone Season 3.

Warzone Season 3 is officially here. On top of new Operators and weapons, a ton of adjustments have been made to Black Ops Cold War’s weapons in the battle royale.

While certain Cold War weapons were underpowered compared to their Modern Warfare counterparts, others killed way faster than the norm. As of Season 3, the AUG, M16, and FFAR have finally been nerfed, and other weapons such as the Krig 6 and Cold War AK-47 have been buffed.

Here’s every change that has been made to weapons and attachments in Warzone Season 3.

PPSH and Swiss K31 added to Warzone

As with all new Call of Duty seasons, players have been given some new weapons to play with in Season 3. These are the classic PPSH SMG and a new bolt-action sniper, the Swiss K31.

Swiss K31 in Cold War and Warzone

Both of these weapons are available in the Season 3 Battle Pass and can be equipped in both Warzone and Black Ops Cold War. You’ll unlock the PPSH quickly at Tier 15, and the Swiss K31 can be unlocked later at Tier 31.

M16, AUG, FFAR 1 nerfed in Warzone Season 3

The highlight of this update is the nerfing of the M16, AUG, and FFAR 1. These weapons dominated the entirety of Season 2, with their incredibly low time-to-kill making them the only viable choices.

Raven Software finally tamed the beasts, lowering the Tactical Rifles’ damage and fire rate. With these changes, the devs said, “you will now need to aim deliberately if you intend to kill quickly.”

Although the FFAR has received nerfs in the past, this one appears to be final. They’ve reduced its damage across the board and reduced its ADS speed again. Raven said that “the FFAR 1 will remain a respectable option following this change, but it should now be a playstyle preference rather than a loadout necessity.”

Warzone FFAR 1

Raven Software also proactively nerfed the Groza in anticipation of it becoming the new meta after the FFAR’s nerf. As streamer NICKMERCS explained, the Groza was a rival to the FFAR, and Raven was aware of this. They increased its recoil and lowered its ADS speed and damage to “allow for some healthy competition in this weapon category.”

Developers also expect the CR-56 AMAX to be the dominant gun at the beginning of Season 3. They said, “

All Warzone Season 3 weapon changes

As well as nerfing Season 2’s most powerful weapons, they buffed some outliers and added a new attachment bonus – Position Concealment.

Here is the full list of buffs and nerfs to Warzone’s weapons and attachments in Season 3.

Assault Rifles


Cold War AK-47

  • Recoil pattern has been adjusted

FARA 83

  • Minimum damage increased from 25 to 26
  • Maximum damage decreased from 33 to 31
  • Maximum damage range increased by 17%
  • Recoil pattern has been adjusted

FFAR 1

  • Maximum damage decreased from 30 to 27
  • Maximum damage range decreased by 15%
  • Neck damage multiplier changed from 1.1 to 1
  • Upper torso damage multiplier changed from 1.1 to 1
  • ADS speed decreased slightly

Groza

  • Recoil increased slightly
  • ADS speed decreased slightly
  • Upper torso damage multiplier changed from 1.3 to 1.1

Krig 6

  • Head damage multiplier changed from 1.4 to 1.5
  • Neck damage multiplier changed from 1 to 1.3
  • Upper torso damage multiplier changed from 1 to 1.1
  • Lower torso damage multiplier changed from 1 to 1.1

QBZ-83

  • Move speed increased
  • ADS move speed increased
  • Neck damage multiplier changed from 1 to 1.2
  • Upper torso damage multiplier changed from 1 to 1.1

Submachine Guns


LC10

  • Bullet velocity increased slightly

MAC-10

  • Maximum damage decreased by 1

Sniper Rifles


Pelington 703

  • ADS speed increased
  • Raise time increased slightly

Tactical Rifles


AUG (Cold War Tactical Rifle Charlie)

  • Time between bursts increased by 33%
  • Neck damage multiplier changed from 1.8 to 1.3

M16

  • Time between bursts increased by 10%
  • Neck damage multiplier changed from 1.8 to 1.1

Attachments


Position Concealment 

  • Position Concealment will reduce the time your position is visible on the compass and minimap after firing. This effect has been added as a pro on both the Flashguard and SOCOM/KGB Eliminator.

 Barrels

  • 16.3” Rapid Fire (M16) 
    • Increase to rate of fire reduced by 58% 
  • 18” Rapid Fire (AUG) 
    • Increase to rate of fire reduced by 56% 
  • 15.9” Strike Team (M16) 
    • Increase to rate of fire reduced by 66% 
  • 18.2” Strike Team (AUG) 
    • Increase to rate of fire reduced by 64% 
  • 16.3” Titanium (M16) 
    • Increase to rate of fire reduced by 61% 
  • 17” Titanium (AUG) 
    • Increase to rate of fire reduced by 59% 
  • Sorokin 140mm Auto (Sykov) 
    • Minimum damage reduced from 23 to 19 
  • Sorokin 140mm Auto AND Akimbo (Sykov) 
    • Minimum damage reduced from 19 to 14 

Lasers 

  • Ember Sighting Point 
    • ADS speed penalty reduced by 20% 
  • SOF Target Designator 
    • Flashlight is now visible during hip-fire and ADS 

Magazines 

  • Salvo/VDV Fast Mag 
    • ADS speed penalty reduced by 20% 

Speed Mag 

  • Pistols 
    • ADS speed penalty reduced by 40% 
  • SMGs 
    • ADS speed penalty reduced by 30% 
  • Snipers 
    • ADS speed penalty reduced by 20%

Muzzles 

  • Flashguard 
    • Added Position Concealment pro 
  •  SOCOM/KGB Eliminator 
    • Added Position Concealment pro 

Optics 

  • SUSAT MultiZoom 
    • ADS speed penalty reduced by 10%
  • Ultrazoom Custom 
    • ADS speed penalty reduced by 20% 
  • Vulture Custom Zoom 
    • ADS speed penalty reduced by 20%

Rear Grips 

  • Increases to ADS speed reduced by roughly 10%

You can try out these new weapons on the new Warzone map, and take part in the “Hunt for Adler” event.

Image Credit: Activision

About The Author

Liam is CharlieIntel's Editor who focuses on Call of Duty but also plays lots of fantasy RPGs or anything else in his massive gaming backlog. After graduating in Journalism from Edinburgh Napier University, Liam freelanced in games journalism before joining CharlieIntel in November 2020. You can contact Liam at [email protected].