Latest Call of Duty: Warzone update nerfs EM2 and OTs 9

A new update went live late last night in Call of Duty: Warzone and it brought some long-awaited changes to some dominant meta weapons.

The EM2 assault rifle and OTs 9 submachine gun have been mainstays in Warzone loadouts for quite a while now, so a nerf has been long overdue. The new update from Dec. 9 brought these changes along with some other new ones.

The EM2, added as a seasonal weapon from Black Ops Cold War, has had its neck damage multiplier reduced along with an increase to its recoil magnitude and recoil deviation.

“The EM2 (BOCW) has exerted an impressive level of dominance over the long-range engagement space since its debut,” Raven Software said. “Generally, this can happen when a Weapon’s Time to Kill potential is not met with adequate downsides. Slow-firing Weapons like the EM2 (BOCW) naturally lend themselves to higher-skilled players, as missed shots are far more detrimental. In the case of the EM2 (BOCW), we felt its mechanical input was not equivalent to its output.”

Meanwhile, the OTs 9 has been the go-to SMG in Warzone for a few months. Raven hopes to add some more SMGs to the meta by nerfing the OTs 9’s maximum headshot damage and headshot damage multiplier.

“The OTs 9 (BOCW) has ruled over the short-range space for some time and changes to it will surely come as no surprise,” Raven said. “As a preemptive measure, we will also be adjusting several Weapons that have been waiting in the wings to take its place once dethroned.  While it is sad to see our favorite Weapons take a hit to their effectiveness, we feel the pool of viable short-range Weapons will benefit from this anticipatory adjustment.”

The full list of changes in Warzone’s latest patch can be found below, including the rest of the minor changes brought about in the update.

Bug fixes

• Fixed collision issues with various elements across Caldera allowing players to exploit/peek/shoot through them.
• Fixed an issue allowing access to items that players weren’t supposed to see yet.

Weapon adjustments

Assault Rifle

• AK-47 (BOCW)
  • Initial Recoil Deviation increased
• EM2 (BOCW)
  • Neck Damage Multiplier decreased to 1.1, down from 1.2
  • Recoil Magnitude increased
  • Recoil Deviation increased

Marksman Rifle

• Crossbow (MW)
  • Neck Damage increased to 250, up from 200
  • Upper Torso Damage increased to 240, up from 200
  • Lower Torso Damage increased to 220, up from 200
• Marksman Rifle Charlie (MW)
  • Flinch Resistance decreased by 62 percent
• R1 Shadowhunter (BOCW)
  • Neck Damage increased to 250, up from 200
  • Upper Torso Damage increased to 240, up from 200
  • Lower Torso Damage increased to 220, up from 200

Melee

• Ballistic Knife (BOCW)
  • Upper Torso Damage increased to 248, up from 246
  • Lower Torso Damage increased to 225, up from 195
  • Upper Arm Damage increased to 200, up from 180
  • Lower Arm Damage increased to 190, up from 180
  • Upper Leg Damage increased to 200, up from 160
  • Lower Leg Damage increased to 190, up from 160
• Baseball Bat (BOCW)
  • Lunge Distance decreased by 47 percent
• Battle Axe (BOCW)
  • Lunge Distance decreased by 38 percent
• Cane (BOCW)
  • Lunge Distance decreased by 46 percent
• Mace (BOCW)
  • Lunge Distance decreased by 42 percent

Shotgun

• Shotgun Bravo (BOCW)
  • Movement Speed decreased by 1.2 percent
  • ADS Movement Speed decreased by 8.6 percent

Sniper Rifle

• Swiss K31 (BOCW)
  • Flinch Resistance decreased by 62 percent

Submachine Gun

• OTs 9 (BOCW)
  • Maximum Damage decreased to 30, down from 31
  • Headshot Damage Multiplier decreased to 1.33, down from 1.52
• Submachine Gun Alpha (BOCW)
  • Maximum Damage decreased to 20, down from 31
  • Headshot Damage Multiplier decreased to 1.41, down from 1.45
• Submachine Gun Charlie (MW)
  • Fire Rate decreased to 0.08, down from 0.075
  • Sprint to Fire Speed decreased by 2.6 percent
  • Note: These changes only affect Warzone.

NOTE: An imminent update will further address Bloom and include adjustments to weapons including the PPSh-41 (VG).

Attachment adjustments

• G16 2.5x (VG)
  • Eye position shifted forward

Stock

• Raider Stock (BOCW)
  • Movement Speed modifiers decreased by 25 percent
• SAS Combat Stock (BOCW)
  • Movement Speed modifiers decreased by 25 percent