Treyarch and Raven Software have published patch notes for their December 10 Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Warzone update, revealing a list of changes that will impact the current weapon meta.
The team behind the latest Season 1 update unveiled all of the changes in two blog posts published on the Call of Duty website. The first covers core Black Ops 6 features, mentioning tweaks to weapon motion, aiming idle sway delay, maps, and modes. It’s an update that also comes with general adjustments to stability across the experience, including a handful of Zombies changes, too. However, the real focus of the December 10 Black Ops 6 update revolves around weapon balancing and headhsot damage.
Treyarch explained its goals in detail in a message baked directly into today’s patch notes. It says players can expect new adjustments to “increase the effectiveness of headshots on full-auto primary weapons.” That means most weapons will take less time to kill when executing headshots in Multiplayer, with the one weapon class exception being SMGs. The team says it’s “wary” of allowing SMG time to kill being too fast, so to account for the more general changes, SMG ranges are being increased “to help them keep that consistent edge at short ranges.”
It’s a shakeup that will no doubt alter how your average Multiplayer game plays out, and the team was quick to acknowledge this.
“We expect this change to greatly impact the weapon meta, especially in conjunction with our weapon motion changes,” Treyarch said. “We will be monitoring closely as that new meta settles to make sure individual weapon and weapon class variety continues to be strong in Black Ops 6.”
Raven’s December 10 Warzone patch notes, meanwhile, detail its own changes to weapon motion and aiming idle sway. This includes reduced visual recoil on all weapons, with full-auto guns specifically mentioned as weapons impacted the most. Raven says its mission is to “improve the combat experience,” adding that players should notice more stability when moving, especially when aiming down sights. As for aiming idle sway, the team explains that individual values across every weapon class “are now improved and consistent.” Both the Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Warzone patch notes include fixes for bug fixes, too.
Major weapon changes like this are sure to leave the community divided, but tweaks such as this aren’t the only things that have fans talking. Activision was recently subjected to widespread criticism after players noticed that a Christmas-themed loading screen featured a Zombie Santa with a six-fingered hand, suggesting that it may have been created using generative AI. The company also moved to grant players access to their previously earned XP tokens after some took issue with the decision to remove them from Black Ops 6.
It’s not all doom and gloom for Black Ops 6, though, as players were recently treated to a brand-new Zombies map in the form of Citadelle des Morts. For more on Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, you can check out our 8/10 review of its Multiplayer mode. Finally, you can see the full list of the December 10 patch notes below. Individual Multiplayer weapon changes can be found here, and Warzone weapon changes can be found here.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 December 10 Update Patch Notes
GLOBAL
Weapons (MP/ZM/WZ)
We have taken a comprehensive pass on weapon motion and applied reductions across the board to improve the combat experience. Depending on the class and weapon, our targets for these reductions range from 30% to 75%. Players will notice far more stability while turning, moving, changing stances, and firing, especially while ADS. We are committed to continually improving Black Ops 6 gunplay with a focus on balanced and rewarding gameplay while maintaining the unique characteristics of each weapon.
- Weapon Motion
- Reduced visual recoil on all weapons, especially full-auto weapons.
- Reduced turn sway on all weapons, especially on higher magnification optics.
- Reduced gun kick on higher magnification optics on all weapons except for Sniper Rifles.
- Reduced default idle sway on all weapons except Sniper Rifles.
- Further reduced idle sway while firing on all weapons except Sniper Rifles.
- Reduced weapon motion (bob, translation, and additional idle sway penalties) as a result of walking or changing stances in ADS.
- Removed additional layers of hip fire deviation, which caused crosshair to bounce while firing.
Aiming Idle Sway Delay is a mechanic that scales a weapon’s idle sway when first entering ADS, so the initial point of aim matches the crosshair positioning. These values are now improved and consistent across all weapon classes. Sniper Rifles, which previously only scaled initial idle sway by 50%, now provide a complete reduction. As always we will be keeping a close eye on sniper balance after this change.
- Aiming Idle Sway Delay
- Aiming Idle Sway Delay on all weapons is now 2.2s
- Aiming Idle Sway Delay on Sniper Rifles now fully removes Idle Sway, rather than reducing by 50%
- Target Laser now improves Aiming Idle Sway Delay to 2.9s on all weapons
MULTIPLAYER
Maps Modes
- Face Off
- Face Off Domination score limit increased from 100 to 150
- Face Off Kill Order score limit increased from 150 to 200
- Face Off Kill Confirmed score limit increased from 75 to 100
- Face Off Team Deathmatch score limit increased from 125 to 150
- 10v10 Moshpit
- 10v10 Kill Confirmed score limit increased from 75 to 100
- 10v10 Team Deathmatch score limit increased from 100 to 150
- Prop Hunt
- Prop movement speed has been increased on all props except Extra Large props.
- Round Time Limit reduced to 3 minutes from 4 minutes
- Prop Hunt enabled in Private Match
LTM Updates
- Nuketown Holiday
- Addressed an issue where players could have green visual FX attached to them during the match..
Weapons
Headshot damage has been a big source of discussion in the community, and we are making adjustments that will increase the effectiveness of headshots on full-auto primary weapons. Our philosophy on hit location modifiers in Black Ops 6 has been to limit sources of inconsistency, especially when players are engaging in so many forms of movement. That said, we understand that players have muscle memory and expectations built around headshots, and we want our gunplay to support that.
In most cases, weapons will require one fewer headshot at all ranges to improve time to kill. The major exception is SMGs in the Max Damage Range, as we are wary of letting these TTKs get too fast. To compensate we are increasing SMG ranges to help them keep that consistent edge at short ranges. The CHF Barrel attachments have also been adjusted on all updated weapons to maintain a step up on the new default values.
We expect this change to greatly impact the weapon meta, especially in conjunction with our weapon motion changes. We will be monitoring closely as that new meta settles to make sure individual weapon and weapon class variety continues to be strong in Black Ops 6.
Melee
We are improving melee weapon attack speeds, especially on the two-hit kill weapons. Our goal is for all melee weapons to feel unique and satisfying to run, and we will continue to find ways to hit that target while ensuring that melee is not frustrating to play against.
- Knife
- Time between melee swings improved by 7.5%
- Baseball Bat
- Time between melee swings improved by 14%
- Power Drill
- Time between melee swings improved by 9.5%
Equipment
- Reduced Frag Grenade inner radius damage to allow survival with Flak Jacket equipped.
UI
- Addressed an issue that prevented teammates outside of a maximum range from displaying on the perimeter of the minimap.
- Addressed an issue where previewing the “Gentleman’s Handshake” Finishing Move in the Bad Manners store bundle would show the wrong animation.
Graphics
- Addressed an issue where the player’s weapon is missing during a benchmark test.
Stability
- Various stability improvements.
ZOMBIES
Maps
- Citadelle des Morts
- Addressed an issue where players could get an AFK warning while actively running around the map.
- Addressed an issue where loading a save after obtaining the four incantations would prevent players from entering the Final Encounter.
- Addressed an issue where the light beams for obtaining the amulet would not be visible if a player disconnected and rejoined a match while in a squad.
Weapons
- Addressed an issue where changing default attachments on a Blueprint Weapon would not apply in a match.
Stability
- Various stability improvements.
Call of Duty: Warzone December 10 Update Patch Notes
RANKED PLAY
Adjustments
- Buy Stations
- Buy Stations in Warzone Ranked Play will now spawn at the same, fixed locations each match – identical to those found in our unranked modes.
Ranked Play is designed to minimize randomness wherever possible. By making buy stations static, we promote predictable rotations and reward players for their map knowledge. In addition to today’s change, an upcoming update will improve the buy station layout to address potential dead zones, ensuring a more balanced experience.
FIELD UPGRADES
Adjustments
- Munitions & Utility Box
- Both boxes have been adjusted to provide the maximum possible amount of ammunition for the primary and secondary weapons a player is carrying.
- It will no longer provide ammunition for each other ammunition type.
WEAPONS
Adjustments
The following changes to Weapon Motion and Aiming Idle Sway only apply to Black Ops 6 weapons.
» Weapon Motion «
- Reduced visual recoil on all weapons, especially full-auto weapons.
- Reduced turn sway on all weapons, especially on higher magnification optics.
- Reduced gun kick on higher magnification optics on all weapons except for Sniper Rifles.
- Reduced default idle sway on all weapons except Sniper Rifles.
- Further reduced idle sway while firing on all weapons except Sniper Rifles.
- Reduced weapon motion (bob, translation, and additional idle sway penalties) as a result of walking or changing stances in ADS.
- Removed additional layers of hip fire deviation, which caused crosshair to bounce while firing.
We have taken a comprehensive pass on weapon motion and applied reductions across the board to improve the combat experience. Depending on the class and weapon, our targets for these reductions range from 30% to 75%. Players will notice far more stability while turning, moving, changing stances, and firing, especially while ADS. We are committed to continually improving Black Ops 6 gunplay with a focus on balanced and rewarding gameplay while maintaining the unique characteristics of each weapon.
» Aiming Idle Sway «
- Aiming Idle Sway Delay on all weapons is now 2.2s
- Aiming Idle Sway Delay on Sniper Rifles now fully removes Idle Sway, rather than reducing by 50%
- Target Laser now improves Aiming Idle Sway Delay to 2.9s on all weapons
Aiming Idle Sway Delay is a mechanic that scales a weapon’s idle sway when first entering ADS, so the initial point of aim matches the crosshair positioning. These values are now improved and consistent across all weapon classes. Sniper Rifles, which previously only scaled initial idle sway by 50%, now provide a complete reduction. As always we will be keeping a close eye on sniper balance after this change.
BUG FIXES
- Fixed an issue preventing the Battle Royale Top 250 leaderboard from populating correctly.
- Fixed an issue preventing the Grenadier Perk from slowing enemies hit by explosive damage.
- Fixed an issue causing players to get stuck in a “Loading player stats” loop when launching Warzone.
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He started writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.
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