Every weapon nerf and buff in Modern Warfare 3 Season 1

The patch notes for Modern Warfare 3 Season 1 have been released, revealing comprehensive details about this season's changes, bug fixes, and weapon adjustments. Updates to guns are critical for achieving optimal gameplay balance. The changes for this season impact various weaponry, including MW3-exclusive weapons, and those carried over from MW2.

Season 1 in Modern Warfare 3 offers an array of fresh content, including new maps, modes, killstreaks, perks, and three new weapons accompanied by nine additional Aftermarket Parts. This article aims to provide all changes made to both MW3-exclusive and carry-forward weapons in Modern Warfare 3's first season.

Modern Warfare 3 Season 1: MW3-exclusive weapon buffs and nerfs

Modern Warfare 3 Season 1 aims to achieve balance across various weapon categories, with extensive changes intended to improve gameplay. The following section describes all the alterations made this season.

Assault rifle

MTZ-556

Increased maximum hipfire spread while standing by 10%.
Increased maximum hipfire spread while crouched by 6%.
Increased hipfire spread penalty incurred while firing by 10%.
Increased hipfire spread penalty incurred while moving by 4%.

Battle Rifles

BAS-B

Increased damage multipliers in semi-auto fire type to intended values.
Lower-Torso: 1x to 1.2x
Arm & Hand: 1x to 1.35x

Sidewinder

Decreased aim down sights time from 280ms to 265ms (-5%).

Submachine Guns

Striker

Decreased sprint to fire time from 110ms to 100ms (-9%).
Decreased aim down sights time from 230ms to 215ms (-7%).

WSP Swarm

Decreased sprint to fire time from 110ms to 88ms (-20%).
Decreased aim down sights time from 190ms to 175ms (-8%).

Striker 9

Decreased sprint to fire time from 110ms to 100ms (-9%).
Decreased aim down sights time from 225ms to 205ms (-9%).

Shotguns

Lockwood 680

Tac-Stance will no longer reduce damage pellet count.

Marksman Rifles

MCW 6.8

Equipping the Full-Auto Conversion Kit and 60rnd Drum Magazine will no longer result in a broken aim-down sights animation.

Melee

Riot Shield

Increased melee damage from 50 to 75 (+50%).
Added a 10% movement speed penalty while stowed.

Modern Warfare 3 Season 1: All the carry-forward weapon buffs and nerfs

Various carry-forward weapons in Modern Warfare 3 have undergone significant changes. Moreover, three key changes apply to all weapons:

Increased reserve ammunition for all Weapons to MWIII standards.
Decreased hipfire spread benefit of Underbarrel vertical grips by 5-12%.
Decreased hipfire spread benefit of applicable Lasers by 2-5%.

Assault Rifles

Increased maximum damage from 28 to 35 (+25%).
Decreased head and neck damage multipliers from 1.37x 1.1x (-20%).

Battle Rifles

TAQ-V

Increased lower-torso, leg, and foot damage multipliers from 0.8x to 1.1x (+38%).

Submachine Guns

Vaznev-9K

Increased near-medium damage from 29 to 30 (+3%).

ISO 45

Increased maximum damage from 30 to 33 (+10%).

Shotguns

KV Broadside

Increased far-medium damage range from 9m to 10m (+8%).
Decreased aim down sights spread slightly.

Light Machine Guns

RAAL MG

Decreased aim down sights time from 470ms to 390ms (-17%).
Decreased sprint to fire time from 375ms to 320ms (-15%).
Decreased tactical sprint to fire time from 496ms to 416ms (-16%).

556 Icarus

Increased maximum damage from 28 to 34 (+21%).
Decreased head damage multiplier from 1.4x to 1.1x (-21%).

Marksman Rifles

SP-R 208

Increased maximum damage range from 15m to 20m (+28%).
Decreased aim down sights time from 370ms to 340ms (-8%).

Handguns

Basilisk

Increased maximum damage range from 5m to 7m (+35%).
Increased near-medium damage range from 6m to 15m (+140%).
Increased far-medium damage range from 17m to 23m (+32%).

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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