All Weapon and killstreak balancing changes in MW3 Season 5

The Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Season 5 patch notes are now live, mentioning game-balancing changes like buffs, nerfs, bug fixes, and more that were not revealed during a prior content drop blog. These alterations are crucial in balancing the game and providing a more enjoyable gameplay experience.

Notably, the buffs and nerfs ensure that no weapon is too overpowered or underpowered. They prevent any gun from offering unfair advantages and will help make the gameplay feel balanced.

This article will provide all the weapon buffs and nerfs introduced in Modern Warfare 3 Season 5.

Also read: How to unlock the STG AR in Warzone and MW3

All weapon changes in Modern Warfare 3 Season 5

Here are all the Modern Warfare 3 Season 5 changes implemented to ensure gameplay balance.

Assault Rifles

BAL-27

Decreased horizontal recoil magnitude, allowing greater predictability during sustained fire.
Decreased overall recoil magnitude to aid in long-range effectiveness.
Decreased overall recoil deviation, ensuring a more predictable pattern that is easier to control at range.

Submachine Guns

Superi 46

Decreased movement speed from 5m/s to 4.9m/s (-2%).
Decreased crouched movement speed from 2m/s to 1.9m/s (-5%).
Decreased sprint speed from 5.9m/s to 5.8m/s (-2%).
Decreased ADS movement speed from 3.6m/s to 3.4m/s (-6%).

FJX Horus

Increased sprint to fire time from 93ms to 110ms (+18%).
Decreased maximum damage range from 13.7m to 11.4m (-17%).
Decreased near-medium damage range from 22.9m to 19m (-17%).
Decreased medium damage range from 29.7m to 25.4m (-15%).
Decreased far-medium damage range from 36.6m to 30.5m (-17%).

Shotguns

Reclaimer 18

Fixed an issue causing inconsistent damage dealt to enemies in both fire types.
Semi-Auto Fire Type
Increased fire rate from 182rpm to 200rpm (+10%).
Increased hipfire spread by 12%.
Pump Action Fire Type
Increased hipfire maximum damage from 80 to 220 (+175%).
Increased hipfire maximum damage range from 2m to 3m (+50%).
Increased hipfire near-medium damage from 20 to 25 (+25%).
Using the Pump Action Fire Type, the Reclaimer 18 is now capable of killing enemies with one shot within its maximum damage range, and 2-shot kills are now more consistent.

KV Broadside (MWII)

JAK Jawbreaker Conversion Kit
Decreased vertical recoil by 20%.

MX Guardian (MWII)

Removed the ability to equip the incompatible GRV-Z Short Grip Underbarrel Attachment.

Light Machine Guns

Pulemyot 762

Increased upper arm and lower arm damage multipliers from 1x to 1.1x.

Marksman Rifles

MTZ Interceptor

Decreased maximum damage range from 30.5m to 22.9m (-25%).
Decreased lower torso, upper arm, lower arm, and hand damage multipliers from 1x to 0.9x.

EBR-14 (MWII)

SO-90 Factory Stock
Fixed an issue causing players to become unable to move while aiming down sights.

Sniper Rifles

XRK Stalker

Increased upper leg, lower leg, and foot damage multipliers from 1x to 1.1x.
Within its maximum damage range, the XRK Stalker is now capable of a one-shot kill regardless of hit location.

Carrack .300 (MWII)

Increased maximum damage range from 12.7m to 17.8m (+40%).
Increased near-medium damage range from 30.7m to 66m (+115%).
Removed medium damage range.

Handguns

COR-45

Decreased rate of fire from 375rpm to 240rpm (-36%).
XRK v6 Match Trigger Action
Decreased rate of fire from 438rpm to 264rpm (-40%).
XRK v21 Heavy Match Trigger Action
Decreased rate of fire from 545rpm to 272rpm (-50%).
COR-45 Trigger Action Attachments were previously more beneficial than intended. Due to negligible downsides, fire rate increases are generally kept below 50%. We'll continue to monitor player feedback for potential improvements to base Handguns.

TYR

Increased maximum damage range from 5.6m to 8.9m (+14%).
Increased near-medium damage range from 11.4m to 15.2m (+33%).

GS Magna (MWII)

Removed the ability to equip the incompatible JAK NRG-IV Optic Attachment.

Melee

Sledgehammer

Decreased movement speed by 22%.
Decreased heavy swing melee range from 5.3m to 3.2m (-40%).

All Perk changes in Modern Warfare 3 Season 5

Engineer Vest

Added a Lethal Equipment slot.

Gunner Vest

Added a Boots Perk slot.

Demolition Vest

Added a second Gear Perk slot.

CCT Comms Vest

Added a Tactical Equipment slot.

Overkill Vest

Added a Field Upgrade slot.

Ninja Vest

Added a Gloves Perk slot.

Assassin Vest

Added a Field Upgrade slot.

Gunslinger Vest

Added an extra Lethal Equipment to the equipped slot.

Mission Control Vest

Added a Boots Perk slot.

Modular Assault Rig Vest

Added a second Gear Perk slot.

Compression Carrier Vest

Added a Tactical Equipment slot.

All Killstreak changes in Modern Warfare 3 Season 5

Score earned via Killstreaks will no longer contribute toward earning the next available Killstreak.
Although the Streaks Earn Streaks modifier is now disabled, the Looping Streaks modifier will remain active thanks to positive player feedback.

M.G.B.

With the looming threat of a DNA Bomb now contained, the M.G.B. returns.

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About the author

Animesh has been a Call of Duty writer at Sportskeeda for close to two years. A fervent enthusiast of the iconic Mario Bros. franchise and several first-person shooter games, his love for gaming pushed him to merge his passion and profession, and eventually land a writing job in the genre. When creating content, he prioritizes quality and accuracy over speed, verifying multiple official sources. This has helped his meticulous first-person shooter guides garner over two million reads.

Although Animesh holds a Master’s degree in Commerce, he would willingly go back to school; just as long as the school is Hogwarts, so he can jump into the world of spell-casting and fly on broomsticks. He admires gamers Shroud and Beaulo, and would recommend story-driven games like Red Dead Redemption, Skyrim, and Far Cry 3 for their captivating narratives and deep player engagement.

Animesh also enjoys multiplayer games such as Valorant, Apex Legends, and Warzone. When he keeps his controller aside, he plays football and badminton, reads books, and cooks.

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Edited by Soumyadyuti Ghosh