Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Update Nerfs Controversial Loot Box Weapon

Treyarch recently added some new weapons to Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, but that was done by stuffing the guns and a Ballistic Knife into Reserves which serve as the game's form of loot boxes. Complaints about pay-to-have guns quickly arose when players realized they'd have to hope on being fortunate enough to pull the guns from the loot boxes to add them to their armory. Those complaints soon shifted gears to pay-to-win concerns when players realized one of the weapons called the Stingray was pretty overpowered. Treyarch has responded in agreement regarding the weapon's power and has decided to nerf it.

The weapons found in the loot boxes – four of them in total – were released as part of the Days of Summer update for Black Ops 4. Them being in loot boxes means that you had to hope you'd crack open a Reserve and find one of them in there, and some who did that were fortunate enough to find the Stingray. The Operator Mod used with that weapon presented itself to be quite the force to go up against, so Treyarch has now hit the weapon with a second round of nerfs to bring it in line with other guns.

"On Tuesday, we tuned the Ballistic Knife and S6 Stingray to better match their performance with the rest of the game's arsenal," Treyarch said. "In today's update, we've reduced the damage ranges on the Peacekeeper to ensure better balance against other assault rifles, and we agreed with many of you that the Operator Mod on the S6 Stingray proved too strong with its original rate of fire. As a result, we've increased the burst delay between shots, giving players more time to evade the Stingray's projectiles and reducing potential damage per burst with the Operator Mod."

Treyarch please explain why you thought the S6 Stingray was a good addition to the game. How tf am I supposed to counter this? from r/Blackops4

Videos like the one shown above depicted what it was like to go up against a Stingray user who had the Operator Mod attached. The mod makes bullets explode on impact, so someone who hasn't even hit the ground yet after jumping and firing can already have killed an opponent from the explosive force of the weapon.

Though the weapons are still tucked away in loot boxes, players will at least have extra ways to earn them later this month when Contracts are added to give players challenges that'll award them loot boxes and other rewards.