While most players do not run around with a combat knife, there is still a portion of the player base that likes to play through matches using the close quarters weapon. Beyond that, completionists need to finish all the knife’s camo challenges to unlock the latest Dark Matter weapon skin, ensuring that the secondary weapon gets a bit more use. Players who enjoy knife-only gameplay or are looking to complete the latest camo grind have been given some bad news, however, as it appears the combat knife was secretly nerfed.

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Though the recent Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War patch notes focused heavily on scorestreak changes, no mention was made of a knife nerf. A change has seemingly happened, however, as popular YouTuber TheseKnivesOnly has posted a video depicting it in action. Like his name suggests, the content creator makes videos using only the melee weapons of the games he plays, making him a reliable source of information for any adjustments made to the melee weapon category.

TheseKnivesOnly’s video opens with details on the nerf, and the player is clearly frustrated with the change to the game’s melee system. Prior to the latest update, the knife instantly killed enemies upon the animation’s activation. Following the latest patch, though, the knife’s animation must fully complete for a kill to be registered in-game. Now working like the unpopular knife system of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, the change is something fans are speaking out against, as it could make the weapon much less useful in modes like VIP Escort.

While TheseKnivesOnly and those in the video’s comment section see the change as wholly unnecessary, the YouTuber does acknowledge that it could simply be a mistake on Treyarch’s end. With Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War currently being plagued by many bugs, it is possible that this nerf to the knife was unintentional. Regardless, it seems like most are not a fan of this melee system changeup.

With Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War getting a balancing pass with Season 1, it will be interesting to see if Treyarch listens to feedback on the melee problem. With knife users also feeling like movement speed is too slow when wielding the blade, it seems like the delayed animation is only part of the problem with the newest Call of Duty knife.

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

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Source: TheseKnivesOnly