Call of Duty: Modern Warfare patch nerfs claymores, 725 shotgun, M4, footsteps and adds new maps
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare's biggest patch yet has addressed many of the community's complaints, and brought new content to the game.
As promised, Infinity Ward released a new update for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare this morning with an impressive set of patch notes.
The patch adds the third Ground War map, Krovnik Farmland, available now as part of the playlist. There's also a new 6v6 map called Shoot House, and it's getting its own playlist with various modes later today. Hardpoint mode will be added to the list later today as well.
The more interesting changes, however, are all balance-related. First - the big one: claymores have been nerfed considerably. You can now shoot them and not take lethal damage when at full health, and they'll be a lot less deadly overall. The range at which claymores trigger, and the damage width have both been reduced.
A further nerf to claymores comes in the form of a boost to the EOD perk, which now reduces claymore damage taken even further.
Enemies will no longer hear your operator call out targets, and the callouts themselves will now be heard from teammates but never from your own operator. The triggers for these callouts have also been adjusted to be less frequent.
Footsteps got some love in this patch to make walls and other objects better at blocking sounds. The footstep volume at distances has been lowered, too. Infinity Ward says it's working on even more drastic footstep sound changes that should make it a lot quieter to move while aiming down sides, and crouch-walk.
Those already sick of riot shields will be happy to know that the shield will now properly go on the wearer's back when they need to throw a knife or thermite. Shield players should now also easier to take out with splash damage thanks to improved consistency.
Balance tweaks continue with the game's biggest weapon balance pass yet. The 725 shotgun has had its effective range cut, and its spread in both hip fire and ADS increased. The M4A1, too, has had its damage at range nerfed, and it should now kick a bit harder.
The pros and cons of assault rifles and SMGs should now be better communicated thanks to a hip fire spread increase for ARs - to make them less effective in close quarters, as well as an increase to ADS speeds and a boost to sprint out times for SMGs. Likewise, equipping an SMG will boost your speed compared to ARs.
In general, sprint speeds in both tactical and regular sprint modes have been boosted to their beta values. The patch also brings several bug and performance fixes, and you can see the full list on Reddit.