Modern Warfare 3 launched an update for the second time in Season 3, introducing another set of weapon balance adjustments.
Here are all the weapon buffs, nerfs, and adjustments in the MW3 patch notes released on April 16, 2024.
Weapon changes in the MW3 patch notes on April 16
Notably, the M16 and Holger 556 assault rifles received massive buffs to their recoil and gun kick control, further boosting their accuracy in mid to long range encounters.
Conversely, several submachine guns, as well as the Haymaker shotgun with the conversion kit, were nerfed.
The newest sniper rifle in the game, MORS, had an important fix for its shot alignment.
Assault rifles
MTZ-556
- Increased bullet velocity from 650m/s to 690m/s (+6%).
Holger 556
- Adjusted recoil and gun kick to decrease deviation, allowing a more predictable pattern.
M16
- Decreased horizontal and vertical recoil by 20%.
- Decreased gun kick by 20%.
- Decreased visual recoil by 18%.
Submachine guns
RAM-9
- Decreased minimum and maximum hipfire accuracy by 10%.
- Increased aim down sight time from 200ms to 220ms (+10%).
Striker-9
- Removed the ability to aim down sights while sliding without Tactical Pads equipped.
Striker
- Decreased aim down sight time from 215ms to 204ms (-5%).
- Increased bullet velocity from 540m/s to 570m/s (+6%).
WSP Swarm
- Decreased flinch resistance from 0.8N to 0.15N (-81%).
Shotguns
Haymaker (JAK Maglift Kit)
- Decreased damage pellet count from 5 to 4 (-20%).
- Decreased near-medium damage from 20 to 19 (-5%).
- Decreased near-medium damage range to 6.4m.
Sniper rifles
MORS
- Corrected an optic misalignment causing shots to travel slightly off-center.
Adjustments were also implemented to some attachments, equipment, and killstreaks.
Attachments
MORS Hexer Optic
- Removed aim down sight speed benefit.
ECS Requieter Suppressor Muzzle
- Added compatibility with all Modern Warfare 2 SMGs.
Equipment
EMD Grendate (Tactical)
- Tracking device will now ignore enemies who are downed.
- Downed players now must stand before removing the tracking device.
Frag Grenade (Lethal)
- Increased intermediate explosive damage from 130 to 150 (+15%).
- Decreased intermediate explosive damage radius from 4.9m to 3.8m (-22%).
Furthermore, as revealed in the latest MW3 patch notes, the game developers are doing a weapon evaluation for Ranked Play this week.
The following weapons are unrestricted in MW3 Ranked Play loadouts until April 23, 2024.
ARs
- BP50
- Holger 556
- MTZ-556
SMGs
- HRM-9
- RAM-9
For the full patch notes, head over to this page on the Call of Duty website.
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