Warzone Season 5 weapon buffs and nerfs: All balance changes

Warzone Season 5 started on Friday last week, but the game's developer Raven Software has decided to postpone balance changes for a few days.

The weekend has passed and a balance update is already here, with the 16th August update for Warzone, focused exclusively on weapon balance changes for the battle royale.

And it looks like the Season 5 balance changes aren't as big as some players might have wanted them to be, as Raven states that they are "generally pleased" with the meta.

"We are generally pleased with the state of balance and we do not think anything needs to be immediately addressed," Raven states. "However, we do feel there are some outliers in the Assault Rifle category that have been top tier long enough that it is now appropriate to reduce their power level to give other weapons some time in the spotlight. Those changes will be coming very soon."

Warzone 16th August update comes with only one change in the assault rifle category, which means that we may expect more balance changes for ARs to come later this summer.

The AS VAL comes with a small damage nerf, as Raven states that it has one of the fastest TTKs.

In the SMG category, the MP5 has received a few damage nerfs, but it also gets an Upper Torso Damage Multiplier increased, to reward players who are better at hitting the right places. The Fennec should now be better at distance, while the OTs 9 should be easier to control while ADS.

• Read more: Best weapons in Warzone Season 5: The strongest and most broken guns

Finally, several pistols have received nerfs, as Raven believees that they proved too strong for secondary weapons.

Check out the full Warzone Season 5 balance changes below.

Warzone August 16 patch notes

Assault Rifles

• AS VAL (MW)
  • Maximum Damage decreased from 30 to 27

The AS VAL (MW), following our balance overhaul, retained one of the fastest, easily achieved TTKs in the game. While its magazine capacity does hold it back, its TTK potential has remained well outside of the range we have been targeting.

Submachine Guns

• Fennec (MW)
  • Bullet Velocity increased by 13.4%

The Fennec (MW) has struggled to gain footing due to some glaring weaknesses. This change will make the Fennec (MW) viable at slightly further distances.

• MP5 (MW)
  • Maximum Damage decreased from 34 to 31
  • Maximum Damage Range decreased by 5.4%
  • Upper Torso Damage Multiplier increased from 1 to 1.1

This change is intended to place some of the power of the Submachine Gun Charlie (MW) behind a mechanical requirement - making it a little less forgiving. 

• OTs 9 (BOCW)
  • ADS Weapon Sway decreased

When making large, sweeping motions while aiming down sights with the OTs 9 (BOCW), players could find most of their front iron sights obstructed by the rear iron sights. This type of sightline obstruction can be frustrating when attempting to effectively track enemies.

Handguns

• AMP 63 (BOCW)
  • Maximum Damage decreased from 33 to 31
  • Mid Damage now 28
  • Minimum Damage decreased from 28 to 23
     
• M19 (MW)
  • This change only applies while using Akimbo
    • Maximum Damage decreased from 33 to 29
    • Mid Damage decreased from 28 to 25
    • Minimum Damage decreased from 23 to 20
      
      
• Sykov (MW)
  • This change only applies while using the Sorokin 140mm Auto
    • Maximum Damage decreased from 27 to 24
    • Mid Damage decreased from 23 to 20
    • Minimum Damage decreased from 19 to 17

• Read more: Warzone Vanguard in-game reveal set for August 19, according to dataminers

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