Weapon changes in Cold War Season 2 Reloaded: All buffs and nerfs

Black Ops Cold War Season 2 Reloaded update couldn't have come at a better time.

The mid-season patch brings a plethora of new content to the game, including new Multiplayer and Zombies content, new features, new Prop Hunt maps, League Play updates, bug fixes and stability improvements.

But if you are amongst those players focused on the competitive aspects of the game, then you are probably more interested in balance changes slated to be released with this update.

Developers explain that they make their balancing decisions based on time-to-kill (TTK) data, which they draw from "billions of gameplay interactions".

(Picture: Activision)

Treyarch states that they are generally pleased with the meta because it has been a long time since they needed to implement a large scale weapon tuning to the game, which means that all weapons were performing relatively well, which they see as "a good sign that the meta is generally well-balanced".

Still, they think that now is the perfect time to introduce some changes in order to make some weapons more competitive and "to ensure each weapon plays to its strengths without emerging as a clear frontrunner in its class."

With that in mind, let's take a look at all the weapon changes in Season 2 Reloaded.

Assault Rifle changes in Season 2 Reloaded

(Picture: Activision)

In the Assault Rifle class, the focus is on improving Krig 6, FFAR 1, and Groza, with a goal of making them more competitive.

Treyarch says that these weapons are a bit underperforming and they want to add some changes which will help them feel more competitive.

Krig 6 received all kinds of improvements, including better accuracy, movement, visibility while aiming-down sights, and better visual clarity when using Optics.

FFAR 1 got increased ballistic speed, while Groza has an increased maximum damage range by a whopping 40%.

Finally, Muzzle and Underbarrel attachments that affect Recoil received a "complete tuning pass ", but Treyarch hasn't shared exact details on that.

• Krig 6
  • Improved visibility while firing in ADS.
  • Complete tuning pass on weapon accuracy, weapon movement, and visual clarity while firing with any Optic attachment.
  • Addressed instances of the weapon feeling “floaty” when firing for a prolonged amount of time.
• FFAR 1
  • Increased ballistic speed by 12.8%.
• Groza
  • Increased maximum damage range by 40%.
• Attachments
  • Complete tuning pass on Muzzle and Underbarrel attachments that affect Recoil on assault rifles.

SMG balance changes in Season 2 Reloaded

(Picture: Activision)

The SMG weapon class got the biggest number of changes, with buffs to Milano 821 and KSP 45, while AK-74u, LC10, and MAC-10 have received nerfs.

Milano 821 was definitely underperforming in Season 2, so these speed and damage buffs were much-needed.

• Read more: R1 Shadowhunter Crossbow: How to unlock in Warzone and Cold War

It will be interesting to see how will KSP 45 perform following these buffs, and while AK-74u nerfs don't seem that bad, the damage reduction for LC10 is quite severe, and the weapon will surely become less popular.

As with Assault Rifles, the SMG will receive Muzzle and Underbarrel tuning in regards to Recoil.

• Milano 821
  • Increased mid-range damage by 10%.
  • Increased mid-range damage range by 33%.
  • Increased sprint out speed by 14.2%.
  • Increased raise speed by 11%.
  • Slightly increased ADS-in speed.
• KSP 45
  • Increased ballistic speed by 32.5%.
  • Reduced burst delay by 20%.
• AK-74u
  • Reduced accuracy with prolonged firing.
  • Reduced muzzle velocity by 23.4%.
• LC10
  • Reduced max damage range by 41%.
  • Slightly reduced mid-range damage.
• MAC-10
  • Modified bullet pattern to add slightly more horizontal trajectories.
• Attachments
  • Complete tuning pass on Muzzle and Underbarrel attachments that affect Recoil on SMGs.

Season 2 Reloaded buffs & nerfs: LMG, Snipers, Pistols, and Launchers 

(Picture: Activision)

While the biggest focus of this balance update is on Assault Rifles and SMGs, the update brings a set of changes across other weapon classes as well.

Probably the all-around biggest change is that snipers with an Iron Sight attached will no longer have a reflection (glint) when aiming-down sights, which will make you significantly less detectable.

That's something the community has been asking for since the release of Black Ops Cold War, so it is good to see it implemented.

Here are all the other changes for weapons in Cold War Season 2 Reloaded:

• Light Machine Guns
  • Light Machine Gun Alpha
    • Reduced maximum damage range by 25%.
• Sniper Rifles
  • Disabled glint effect on sniper rifles with Iron Sights equipped.
• Pistols
  • 1911
    • Increased ADS speed by 11%.
  • Magnum
    • Slightly decreased hip-fire accuracy.
    • Dual Wield: Bullet trajectories are now more varied when firing both guns simultaneously.
    • Redesigned the 4.7” Takedown Barrel attachment into a “Tight Snub” Barrel. This attachment now adds damage to both enemies and vehicles.
• Launchers
  • RPG-7
    • Slightly increased blast radius.
    • Greatly increased length of straight rocket flight path.
  • General
    • Rockets now inflict more damage to enemies with Flak Jacket in Hardcore. Still requires a direct hit for a 1-hit kill.
• Attachments
  • Infantry V-Choke
    • Updated attachment description to clarify pros and cons.
• Weapon Progression
  • Players can now earn Weapon XP and Challenge progress by using any weapon, even if they do not currently own it (for example, using another player’s weapon picked up from the ground that the player does not currently own).

Keep in mind that these changes are currently slated only for Black Ops Cold War, and all these weapons will remain the same in Warzone (for now). If Raven Software issues an update in regards to changes in Warzone, we will have you informed on time.

For more details on Black Ops Cold War Season 2 Reloaded, check out our article here.