Weapon tuning was also a big focus for Treyarch with this update, as the studio went through just about every weapon class in an attempt to tweak things to be more consistent within Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. Weapon tweaking is a common occurrence in a highly populated game multiplayer like Call of Duty, and already Black Ops Cold War fans have seen various nerfs already in the month or so since the game originally launched.

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However, this update introduces a large number of changes which will likely alter the current meta and perhaps even make some lesser used weapons viable once again. Thankfully, the studio didn’t make any massive changes to a single weapon, so the guns that were strong should still be good, while other guns which may have been largely ignored for one reason or another, could have a second shot during competitive Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War matches.

The biggest changes were made to assault rifles, specifically the AK-47 and Krig 6, which both received headshot multiplier reductions. The AK-47 also had its damage reduced when the 20" Spetsnaz RPK Barrel is attached. The formerly powerful FFAR1 got a small bump through a reduction in recoil and an increase to damage ranges. Shotguns and Tactical Rifles were also heavily nerfed in this update with a big focus on knocking back their damage ranges in particular.

Submachine guns were a big winner in this update as the Milano 821, KSP 45, and Bullfrog each received a buff to their damage ranges. The M60 got a boost to ADS and swap speed, while the Magnum had its fire rate and damage range increased. It’ll be interesting to see how the community reacts to these weapon changes through the course of Season 1.

One thing that remains a divisive topic among fans is the game’s use of Skill-based Matchmaking. While Activision doesn’t appear to be making changes to it anytime soon, there’s been a lot of talk in the community over the benefits and issues SBMM presents. Some have even taken things a step further by conducting an unofficial study on how the system potentially attempts to balance game modes with a player of higher skill. If the findings are accurate, skilled players could be hit with a 50% increase to ping or potentially being matchmade with a team of lower skilled players to balance the match.

The full weapon changes can be found below:

Assault Rifles AK-47 Reduced headshot multiplier. Reduced damage for 20″ Spetsnaz RPK Barrel. Krig 6 Reduced headshot multiplier. FFAR 1 Increased damage ranges. Reduced recoil. Submachine Guns Milano 821 Increased effective damage ranges. KSP 45 Increased effective damage ranges. Bullfrog Increased effective damage ranges. Tactical Rifles M16 Reduced maximum effective range. Reduced fire rate. Tactical Rifle Charlie Reduced headshot multiplier. Reduced maximum effective range. Reduced fire rate. Reduced damage for 19. 8” Task Force Barrel. Attachments Adjusted Barrel attachments that improve fire rates for tactical rifles. Light Machine Guns M60 Increased ADS speed. Increased weapon swap speeds. Sniper Rifles Sniper Rifle Charlie Increased damage multiplier for upper chest to allow for a one-hit kill without attachments. 22. 6″ Tiger Team Barrel will now increase one-hit kill zone to upper arms. Recoil adjusted for higher shot power. Pistols Magnum Increased effective damage ranges. Increased fire rate. Shotguns Hauer 77 Decreased damage ranges. Decreased damage range for 25. 2” Task Force Barrel. Shotgun Bravo Decreased damage ranges. Decreased fire rate. Decreased damage range for 24. 8” Task Force Barrel. Attachments Adjusted Barrel attachments that improve fire rates for shotguns.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

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Source: Treyarch