A new update arrived to both Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Warzone on February 13. This small update includes quality-of-life changes, bug fixes, and some weapon balancing. Here's everything you need to know.

For Warzone, the update adds a new label that shows when selecting a mode on the main menu and indicates the estimated match duration. It also makes a change to stowing armor and ammo. Armor and ammunition will now show the "Stow" prompt when the backpack is not full, and the "Swap" prompt when the backpack is full.

Season 2 made plenty of weapon balancing changes at launch, but this week's update adds a buff to the Striker 9 submachine gun. The Striker 9 now has increased bullet velocity, less hip fire spread while firing, and decreased recoil gun kick.

The Longbow sniper rifle also has a change to its JAK Tyrant 762 conversion kit to offer better movement speed. It includes a decrease in aim-down-sight time from 470ms to 390ms, and increased aim-down-sight movement speed from to 2.5m/s to 2.8m/s. It also adds a 30% hip fire spread reduction benefit.

For MW3, the patch notes reveal a stability update that addresses a crash that occurred during offline play while selecting a weapon or operator. It also resolves several issues that caused players to be unexpectedly kicked back to the menu.

Multiplayer receives similar weapon balances changes, with buffs to the Striker 9 submachine gun. The weapon received several changes, including increased bullet velocity, maximum damage, and maximum damage range. Additionally, the developer says the tuning for this gun significantly adjusts the recoil pattern, resulting in increased control while firing.

While weapon stats are typically different across multiplayer and Warzone, the Longbow receives the exact same change as battle royale, with the adjustments to its JAK Tyrant 762 conversion kit to offer better movement speed. This includes the decrease in aim-down-sight time, increased aim-down-sight movement speed, and the hip fire spread reduction benefit.

The update brings a fix for the Assassin Vest perk, resolving an issue that prevented lethal equipment from being equipped.

For MW3's Ranked Play, Sub Base Hardpoint has been temporarily removed from the map pool. It also bans all sniper rifles for use in competitive play.

The full patch notes can be found below for Modern Warfare 3 and Warzone, as shared by Activision.

Season 2 currently features a Zombies-themed event with The Walking Dead, but players shouldn't expect any new enemy types or perks to arrive in MW3's Zombie mode.

WARZONE

GENERAL

• Estimated Match Time
  • A new label has been added when selecting a mode on the main menu which indicates the estimated match duration.

GAMEPLAY

• Armor and Ammunition Stowing Quality of Life
  • Armor and Ammunition will show the "Stow" prompt when the backpack is not full.
  • Armor and Ammunition will show the "Swap" prompt when the backpack is full.
  • Players can use the "Hold to Stow" function to swap items at any point, regardless if the stow prompt is visible.

• Gas Station on Tac-Map Quality of Life
  • Players will only see gas stations on the Tac-Map when in a vehicle.

WEAPONS

Weapon Adjustments

» SMGs «

• Striker 9
  
  • Decreased hipfire spread while firing by 6%.
  • Decreased recoil gun kick from to 35deg/s, down 54.93deg/s.
  • Increased horizontal recoil to 16.17deg/s, up from 9.70deg/s.
  • Increased vertical recoil to 50.93deg/s, up from 40.65deg/s.
  • Increased bullet velocity to 560m/s, up from 540m/s.

» LMGs «

• TAQ Evolvere
  • Increased movement speed to 5.1m/s, down from 4.4m/s.
  • Decreased rate of fire to 500rpm, down from 706rpm.
  • Increased target flinch to 0.8n, up from 0.5n.
  • 556 Belts (Magazines)
    • Increased movement speed benefit by 16%.
    • Added 40% hipfire spread reduction benefit.
    • Increased aim down sight time benefit by 15%.
    • Increased aim down sight movement speed benefit by 17%.
    • Added rate of fire benefit at 857rpm.

» Sniper Rifles «

• Longbow
  • JAK Tyrant 762 Kit
    • Decreased aim down sight time to 390ms, down from 470ms.
    • Increased aim down sight movement speed to 2.8m/s, down from 2.5m/s.
    • Added 30% hipfire spread reduction benefit.

» Handguns «

• WSP Stinger
  
  • Increased recoil gun kick to 57.96deg/s, up from 31.05deg/s.
  • Decreased horizontal recoil to 18.64deg/s, down from 28.39deg/s.
  • Increased vertical recoil to 35.2deg/s, up from 33.65deg/s.

» Attachments «

• No Stock
  
  • Removed hipfire crosshair sway.

WARZONE RANKED PLAY: RESURGENCE

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue that prevented assists earned when other players kill a target from appearing in the SR breakdown.

• Fixed an issue that showed an incorrect SR amount awarded for some SR Challenges.
  • Reminder: Players can complete the below challenges once per Season.
    • First Kill or Assist: +100 SR
    • 10 Kills or Assists: +100 SR
    • 25 Kills or Assists: +100 SR
    • 50 Kills or Assists: +100 SR
    • 100 Kills or Assists: +100 SR
    • Reach Top 8 Squad: +100 SR
    • Reach Top 5 Squad: +100 SR
    • Reach Top 3 Squad: +100 SR
    • Win a Match: +200 SR

• Fixed an issue that prevented SR Challenges from displaying an in-game notification when completed.

BUG FIXES

• Fixed an issue that caused geography and buildings to appear in areas of the world that they did not belong to.

• Fixed an issue with the Champion’s Quest victory sequence causing it to show more teams than intended.

• Fixed an issue causing players to unintendedly remain immune to gas damage during the Eradication Contract.

• Fixed issues related to the Zarkour Parkour flag.

• Fixed an issue preventing Stun Grenades from affecting zombies.

• Fixed an issue that allowed players to remain alive in the gas indefinitely by combining the effects of the Irradiated and Quick Fix perks.

• Fixed an issue that allowed players to duplicate items while interacting with the backpack.

MW3 GLOBAL

STABILITY & PERFORMANCE

• Addressed a crash that occurred during offline play while selecting a Weapon or Operator.

MULTIPLAYER

UIX

• Bug Fixes
  • Resolved various issues causing the player to be unexpectedly kicked back to the menu.
    • Viewing Prestige Calling Cards
    • Filtering Locked Operator Challenges
    • Removing options from Quick Settings
  • Previewing Weapon Completionist rewards will no longer cause the menu to become inoperable.
  • Addressed an issue preventing the Activate Armory Unlock prompt for Controller inputs from functioning.
  • Replaced placeholder name for the Imago RAM-9 Submachine Gun Camo.
  • Replaced placeholder reward images in the Horde Hunt Event menu.

GAMEPLAY

• Bug Fixes
  • Akimbo Weapons will now be displayed properly after infiltrating maps via an elevator.
  • Addressed an issue preventing Hybrid Optics from being toggled while a Comb Attachment is equipped on the BP50 (Assault Rifle).

PROGRESSION

• Increased XP earned for the first Challenge in Week 1 from 1,000 to 2,500.
• Increased Bonus XP per Match for using a Featured Operator Skin during an Event from 1,000 to 2,500.
• Removed aim down sight requirement from the RAM-7 (Assault Rifle) Forged Camo Challenge.
  • Get 10 Operator Kills while Sliding with the RAM-7.

MAPS

• Operation Tin Man (War)
  • Players can now respawn at Tactical Insertions placed in the South Lookout area.

MODES

• Hordepoint
  • Dying while an Insta-Kill Powerup is active will no longer cause it to deactivate.
  • Zombies will now prioritize Operators over Killstreaks and Field Upgrades.
  • Stun Grenades will now temporarily stun Zombies.
• Team Gun Game
  • Performing a Finishing Move will now deduct Score from the enemy team.
  • Melee Kills and Setbacks are now properly tracked on the After-Action Report Scoreboard.
• Private Match
  • Adjusted game rules to align with the Competitive Settings v1.1 ruleset while a CDL game mode is selected.
    • Dynamic Map Elements (Global)
    • Next Zone Reveal Time (Hardpoint)

WEAPONS & ATTACHMENTS

» Submachine Guns «

• Striker 9
  • Increased enemy nameplate reveal distance from 33m to 38.1m (+15%).
  • Decreased hipfire spread while firing by 6%.
  • Decreased recoil gun kick from 54.93deg/s to 35deg/s (-36%).
  • Increased horizontal recoil from 9.70deg/s to 16.17deg/s (+67%).
  • Increased vertical recoil from 40.65deg/s to 50.93deg/s (+25%).
  • Added the ability to aim down sight while sliding.
  • Increased bullet velocity from 540m/s to 560m/s (+4%).
  • Increased maximum damage from 29 to 32 (+10%).
  • Increased near-medium damage from 25 to 28 (+12%).
  • Decreased minimum damage from 20 to 18 (-10%).
  • Increased maximum damage range from 10.7m to 14m (+31%).
  • Decreased medium damage range from 22.9m to 20.3m (-11%).
  • Decreased near-medium damage range from 35.6m to 27.9m (-21%).

The recoil pattern of the Striker 9 has been significantly adjusted, resulting in increased control while firing.

» Light Machine Guns «

• TAQ Evolvere
  • Increased movement speed from 4.4m/s to 5.1m/s (+16%).
  • Decreased rate of fire from 706rpm to 500rpm (-29%).
  • Increased maximum damage from 34 to 40 (+18%).
  • Increased maximum damage range from 35.6m to 40.6m (+14%).
  • Increased medium damage range from 40.6m to 53.3m (+31%).
  • Increased head damage multiplier from 1.2x to 1.4 (+17%).
  • Increased neck, upper-torso, upper-arm, and lower-arm damage multipliers from 1x to 1.2x (+20%).
  • Increased target flinch from 0.5n to 0.8n (+60%).
  • 556 Belts (Magazines)
    • Increased movement speed benefit by 16%.
    • Added 40% hipfire spread reduction benefit.
    • Increased aim down sight time benefit by 15%.
    • Increased aim down sight movement speed benefit by 17%.
    • Added rate of fire benefit at 857rpm.
    • Decreased maximum damage from 34 to 30 (-12%).
    • Decreased medium damage from 30 to 24 (-20%).
    • Increased head, neck, and upper-torso damage multipliers from from 1.1x to 1.2x (+9%).

Our primary goal for these changes is to better differentiate the two ammunition types of the TAQ Evolvere. 7.62 is a slow, yet accurate, long-range competitor. Conversely, 5.56 favors aggression and is built for run-and-gun playstyles.

7.62 rewards accuracy and sees an increase to target flinch, allowing it to better compete with Sniper Rifles at range.

5.56 sports a significantly faster rate of fire that is both easier to handle and consistent with locational damage multipliers.

» Sniper Rifles «

• Longbow
  • JAK Tyrant 762 Kit
    • Decreased aim down sight time from 470ms to 390ms (-17%).
    • Increased aim down sight movement speed from 2.5m/s to 2.8m/s (+12%).
    • Added 30% hipfire spread reduction benefit.

» Handguns «

• WSP Stinger
  • Increased recoil gun kick from 31.05deg/s to 57.96deg/s (+87%).
  • Decreased horizontal recoil from 28.39deg/s to 18.64deg/s (-34%).
  • Increased vertical recoil from 33.65deg/s to 35.2deg/s (+5%).
  • Increased maximum damage from 24 to 29 (+21%).
  • Increased near-medium damage from 23 to 24 (+4%).
  • Increased medium damage from 18 to 20 (+11%).
  • Increased minimum damage from 15 to 18 (+20%).

With these changes, the WSP Stinger has reduced recoil which is also easier to control, pairing well with its increased damage.

» Attachments «

• No Stock
  • Removed hipfire crosshair sway.

PERKS

• Assassin Vest
  • Resolved an issue preventing Lethal Equipment from being equipped.

KILLSTREAKS

• Wheelson-HS
  • Zombies can now be run over and killed in Hordepoint Mode.

MWIII RANKED PLAY

GAMEPLAY

• Maps & Modes
  • CDL Hardpoint
    • Sub Base Hardpoint has been temporarily removed from the Ranked Play map pool.
• Content Restrictions
  • Weapon Restrictions
    • Sniper Rifles
      • All

ZOMBIES

GAMEPLAY

• Perk-A-Colas
  • PHD Flopper
    • Addressed an issue that prevented PHD Flopper from protecting players against various damage sources

KILLSTREAKS

• Sentry Turret
  • Adjusted the amount of active Sentry Turrets players can place at a single time to three to improve server stability.

STABILITY

• Added various crash and stability fixes.

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