Call of Duty: Warzone Nerfs Popular Gun Following Player "Concerns"

A new Call of Duty: Warzone update is out on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, and Xbox Series X alongside official patch notes that reveal and detail everything developer Raven Software has tweaked and improved with the update. At the moment of publishing, it's unclear what the file size of the update is platform to platform, but the download should be on the smaller side considering the update itself isn't brimming with changes, let alone new content. 

What we do know is that following "concerns" expressed by players, the Akimbo Double Barrel Shotgun has finally been nerfed, and nerfed pretty substantially according to early testing. Meanwhile, the developer also used the opportunity to preview upcoming weapon changes, such as the upcoming nerf for the MP40.

Below, you can check out the update's complete and official patch notes:

Bug Fixes: 

• Fixed collision issues with various elements across Caldera allowing Players to exploit/peek/shoot through them
  

Gameplay: 

• Cash threshold to enable Overtime in the Plunder mode has been increased to $2,000,000, up from $1,000,000.

Weapons: 

• We would like to take a moment to discuss some of our upcoming plans as well as how our Weapon balance philosophy will be changing in Caldera. We will be looking to take on a more incremental approach to Weapon nerfs. We understand it can be frustrating to commit a great deal of time to a Weapon to have its viability completely stripped in an unexpected balance patch. We would like to reiterate that our north star is Weapon diversity. With that being said, we feel it is appropriate to announce that in the near future we will be making some adjustments to the Light Machine Gun Charlie (VG) and the Submachine Gun Charlie (VG) – with the intent of closing the gap between these two Weapons and their competitors. In addition, we will be toning down what is often referred to as 'Visual Recoil' on Vanguard Assault Rifles. We feel this will help promote a healthier, more diverse pool of mid to long-range Weapons.

Attachments:

- Attachment Adjustments -

» Barrel «

• Double Barrel (VG) -- Sawed-Off -- Move Speed decreased to 1.03, down from 1.04

» Perk «

• Double Barrel (VG) -- Akimbo -- Damage Multiplier decreased to .55, down from 1 -- Damage Range Multiplier increased to 1, up from .6 -- Move Speed decreased to .985, down from 1 -- Hip Spread increased to 1.32, up from 1.28 -- The Akimbo Double Barrel (VG) was able to consistently achieve lethality at extreme ranges. While we agree that Shotguns should be the most lethal option within close quarters, once that range begins to encroach on Submachine Gun territory, we must intervene. It may seem peculiar that we are removing the Damage Range downside from the Attachment given previous statements, however a more significant reduction to its overall Damage will make the Akimbo Double Barrel (VG) feel less oppressive at extreme ranges while maintaining its effectiveness in close quarters.

Call of Duty: Warzone is available, for free, via the PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, and Xbox Series X. For more coverage on all things COD, click here.