Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Season 5 Patch Notes Confirm Big Changes [IGN]

In a blog post, developer Sledgehammer Games revealed a long list of balance changes and improvements for Multiplayer, detailed as part of the patch notes below.

It’s worth highlighting an important change to the way Killstreaks work. From now on, score earned via Killstreaks does not contribute toward earning the next available Killstreak. “Although the Streaks Earn Streaks modifier is now disabled, the Looping Streaks modifier will remain active thanks to positive player feedback,” Sledgehammer explained.

The developer also listed the new 6v6 maps (Bait, Yard, Celship, Toonoxide, and Ink House), as well as new modes (Slam Deathmatch, Arcade, COD Warrior, Fishfection, Paintball, Defuse or Destroy, and Cyber Attack).

Fractal volatility and shifting hues define Mercury, the latest Weapon Prestige Camo in #MW3. Unlock it by earning 250,000 Weapon XP 💎 pic.twitter.com/Wq07CxIgfS

— Sledgehammer Games (@SHGames) July 24, 2024

New weapons include the STG44 (Assault Rifle, Battle Pass), the Static-HV (Submachine Gun, Battle Pass), the Torque 35 (Launcher, Week 5 Challenges, In-Season), and the Spear (Melee, Battle Pass, In-Season).

There are new Aftermarket parts, new equipment, and new operators: Cody Rhodes (SpecGru); Rey Mysterio (SpecGru); Ivan (KorTac); Reconker BlackCell (KorTac); and Rhea Ripley (KorTac).

New events include the WWE SummerSlam (July 31 – August 7) as part of Call of Duty’s WWE crossover, Conquest (August 7 – August 14), Echo Endo Live! (August 14 – August 21), Battle Beasts (August 21 – August 28), and Emotional Overdrive (September 12 – September 18).

New Prestige runs up to Prestige 21 Level 1,050, and there’s a new Mercury animated Weapon Prestige Camo at 250,000 Weapon XP.

The release of Season 5 comes amid accusations that Activision sold an AI-generated cosmetic for Modern Warfare 3 late in 2023.

Season 5 launches ahead of this year’s mainline Call of Duty game, Black Ops 6, and alongside the release of Modern Warfare 3 into Xbox Game Pass following Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. It’s the first Call of Duty game to appear in Microsoft’s subscription service, with Black Ops 6 set to follow.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Season 5 patch notes in full:

STABILITY & PERFORMANCE

• Addressed an issue causing poor performance on Xbox One consoles.

CUSTOMIZATION

• Improved quality of first-person arm textures on the Jeans Ghost Operator Skin.
• Removed incompatible Underbarrel from the Matambre Blueprint for the FJX Horus.

MULTIPLAYER

UIX

• Increased limit of Tracked Challenges from 5 to 10.
• Improved flow of interacting with an empty slot in the player list in Private Matches.
• Trigger Action Attachment slot is now displayed while previewing Blueprints in the Store.
• Bug Fixes
  • Added various measures to prevent Custom Mods with unintended Attachment setups from being used.
  • Fixed an issue causing unexpected Attachments to be equipped after removing a Conversion Kit in the Gunsmith.
  • Fixed an issue causing a low-quality background asset to be displayed while hovering the Ranked Play tile in the COD HQ.
  • Fixed various issues encountered while filtering Calling Cards.
  • Pros and Cons are now displayed in the Gunsmith for Akimbo Attachments.
  • Corrected count of unlockable Camos displayed in the Weapon Challenges menu.
  • Lengthy Activision IDs will no longer cause linebreaks in the Killcam.
  • Improved sizing of columns on the Scoreboard to prevent overlap.
  • Tac-Stance indication is now properly displayed on the HUD while using a Juggernaut.
  • Adjusted Pros and Cons displayed for several Attachments to ensure accuracy.

GAMEPLAY

• Adding missing Operator voicelines when pinging a Med Box, Tac Cam, Comm Scrambler, A.C.S., or Remote Turret.
• Fixed an issue causing Magazine Attachments for the MTZ-556 to not be properly equipped once in a match.

MAPS

• Invasion
  • Located missing SUV near the South Street and returned it to its intended position.
• Terminal
  • Fixed an issue causing some aerial Killstreaks to become stuck near the Lounge.
• Vista
  • Fixed an issue causing some Killstreaks to become stuck.
  • Defenders team now spawns at Furnicular to begin the match.
  • Attackers team now spawns at Plaza to begin the match.
  • Repositioned capture zone A to the bridge within Jungle.
  • Slightly adjusted capture zone B in the Marketplace and added additional spawn points to improve balance between teams.
  • Adjusted spawn directions to ensure flow toward capture zones.

Changes to Control are in response to player feedback, intending to improve the competitive experience of the mode on Vista. Capture zone A is now in a position less favorable for defense while capture zone B is increasingly balanced, and initial spawn points are now aligned with Search and Destroy mode.

WEAPONS & ATTACHMENTS

Assault Rifles

• BAL-27
  • Decreased horizontal recoil magnitude, allowing greater predictability during sustained fire.
  • Decreased overall recoil magnitude to aid in long-range effectiveness.
  • Decreased overall recoil deviation, ensuring a more predictable pattern that is easier to control at range.

Submachine Guns

• Superi 46
  • Decreased movement speed from 5m/s to 4.9m/s (-2%).
  • Decreased crouched movement speed from 2m/s to 1.9m/s (-5%).
  • Decreased sprint speed from 5.9m/s to 5.8m/s (-2%).
  • Decreased ADS movement speed from 3.6m/s to 3.4m/s (-6%).
• FJX Horus
  • Increased sprint to fire time from 93ms to 110ms (+18%).
  • Decreased maximum damage range from 13.7m to 11.4m (-17%).
  • Decreased near-medium damage range from 22.9m to 19m (-17%).
  • Decreased medium damage range from 29.7m to 25.4m (-15%).
  • Decreased far-medium damage range from 36.6m to 30.5m (-17%).

Shotguns

• Reclaimer 18
  • Fixed an issue causing inconsistent damage dealt to enemies in both fire types.
  • Semi-Auto Fire Type
    • Increased fire rate from 182rpm to 200rpm (+10%).
    • Increased hipfire spread by 12%.
  • Pump Action Fire Type
    • Increased hipfire maximum damage from 80 to 220 (+175%).
    • Increased hipfire maximum damage range from 2m to 3m (+50%).
    • Increased hipfire near-medium damage from 20 to 25 (+25%).

Using the Pump Action Fire Type, the Reclaimer 18 is now capable of killing enemies with one shot within its maximum damage range, and 2-shot kills are now more consistent.

• KV Broadside (MWII)
  • JAK Jawbreaker Conversion Kit
    • Decreased vertical recoil by 20%.
• MX Guardian (MWII)
  • Removed the ability to equip the incompatible GRV-Z Short Grip Underbarrel Attachment.

Light Machine Guns

• Pulemyot 762
  • Increased upper arm and lower arm damage multipliers from 1x to 1.1x.

Marksman Rifles

• MTZ Interceptor
  • Decreased maximum damage range from 30.5m to 22.9m (-25%).
  • Decreased lower torso, upper arm, lower arm, and hand damage multipliers from 1x to 0.9x.
• EBR-14 (MWII)
  • SO-90 Factory Stock
    • Fixed an issue causing players to become unable to move while aiming down sights.

Sniper Rifles

• XRK Stalker
  • Increased upper leg, lower leg, and foot damage multipliers from 1x to 1.1x.

Within its maximum damage range, the XRK Stalker is now capable of a one-shot kill regardless of hit location.

• Carrack .300 (MWII)
  • Increased maximum damage range from 12.7m to 17.8m (+40%).
  • Increased near-medium damage range from 30.7m to 66m (+115%).
  • Removed medium damage range.

Handguns

• COR-45
  • Decreased rate of fire from 375rpm to 240rpm (-36%).
  • XRK v6 Match Trigger Action
    • Decreased rate of fire from 438rpm to 264rpm (-40%).
  • XRK v21 Heavy Match Trigger Action
    • Decreased rate of fire from 545rpm to 272rpm (-50%).

COR-45 Trigger Action Attachments were previously more beneficial than intended. Due to negligible downsides, fire rate increases are generally kept below 50%. We’ll continue to monitor player feedback for potential improvements to base Handguns.

• TYR
  • Increased maximum damage range from 5.6m to 8.9m (+14%).
  • Increased near-medium damage range from 11.4m to 15.2m (+33%).
• GS Magna (MWII)
  • Removed the ability to equip the incompatible JAK NRG-IV Optic Attachment.

Melee

• Sledgehammer
  • Decreased movement speed by 22%.
  • Decreased heavy swing melee range from 5.3m to 3.2m (-40%).

PERKS

• Engineer Vest
  • Added a Lethal Equipment slot.
• Gunner Vest
  • Added a Boots Perk slot.
• Demolition Vest
  • Added a second Gear Perk slot.
• CCT Comms Vest
  • Added a Tactical Equipment slot.
• Overkill Vest
  • Added a Field Upgrade slot.
• Ninja Vest
  • Added a Gloves Perk slot.
• Assassin Vest
  • Added a Field Upgrade slot.
• Gunslinger Vest
  • Added an extra Lethal Equipment to the equipped slot.
• Mission Control Vest
  • Added a Boots Perk slot.
• Modular Assault Rig Vest
  • Added a second Gear Perk slot.
• Compression Carrier Vest
  • Added a Tactical Equipment slot.

KILLSTREAKS

• Score earned via Killstreaks will no longer contribute toward earning the next available Killstreak.

Although the Streaks Earn Streaks modifier is now disabled, the Looping Streaks modifier will remain active thanks to positive player feedback.

• M.G.B.
  • With the looming threat of a DNA Bomb now contained, the M.G.B. returns.

ZOMBIES

STABILITY

• Resolved a crash that occurred when multiple users placed a Sentry Turret at the same time.
• Solved several crash bugs that occurred while getting kills in Unstable Rifts.

PROGRESSION

• The Reclaimer 18 challenge, “Get 20 Consecutive Kills with the Reclaimer 18 10 Times Without Taking Damage” now progresses as intended.

UIX

• Weapon widget on the HUD now supports ammo counts greater than 999.
• Bug Fixes
  • Fixed an issue causing improper ammo counts to be displayed while using the Mags of Holding Schematic.
  • Fixed several instances in which Calling Card splashes did not match in-menu names.

ACCESSIBILITY

• Some visual effects, such as flash muzzles, have been reduced to improve player comfort.

GAMEPLAY

• Addressed an exploit allowing players to enter inaccessible areas while carrying a Sentry Turret.
• Fixed an issue causing players to receive invalid weapons via the Mystery Box.
• Resolved an issue where the KAS-10 584mm Mod Barrel attachment was removed and reverted to the default barrel upon loading into a match with the Flammable Fury Blueprint equipped.
• Resolved an issue where the Max Ammo Power-Up did not instantly fill the magazine of a left-handed Akimbo weapon.
• Resolved an issue where the tac sprint animation for the Sledgehammer melee weapon differed between third-person and first-person views.
• Resolved an issue in Operation Deadbolt where the helicopter would occasionally fail to move away from the exfil location after taking off.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.