On Wednesday, Raven Software officially announced the weapon balance changes coming in Thursday's Warzone Season 3 patch. There are several notable gun adjustments, but the most notable changes are the significant rework coming to the AUG and M60, a global nerf to SMG sprint speed, and the baffling buff to the FFAR 1 that dominated the meta throughout Warzone Season 2. Here are all the most important weapon changes in this week's Warzone Season 3 patch!

Assault Rifle balance changes for Warzone Season 3

AUG reworked for  Warzone Season 3

Warzone developers are reworking the AUG tactical rifle heading into Season 3. They reduced the max range from 30.48m to 19.05m, which will go a long way to reining in the AUG's absolute dominance in medium-range gun duels. They also increased the burst fire delay by just under two-hundredths of a second, a change that probably won't be very noticeable to most players.

The max damage was increased from 51 to 52, which will help make up for a little bit of the lost max range distance. The headshot multiplier was also increased from 1.25 to 1.4, which will also bring back a lot of what was lost in the range nerf, especially for those who can consistently land headshots.

The Warzone developers also nerfed the popular Task Force barrel attachment on the AUG. In Warzone Season 3, the Task Force barrel for the AUG will have a range bonus of 40% instead of 50%, and the developers decreased the ranged damage bonus on the barrel from 15% to 12%. 

FFAR 1 nerfed heading into Warzone Season 3

The latest update saw the maximum damage of the FFAR 1 drop from 30 to 27, and its maximum damage range decreased by 15%, and its ADS speed decreased even more. It also had its neck and upper torso multipliers nerfed from 1.1x to 1.0. These changes are significant, and alter the ideal setup for the gun. To help offset some of the changes, they also buffed some of its attachments.

The developers buffed the FFAR 1 Task Force Barrel attachment by reducing its recoil penalties by 10%, making it a slightly more desirable attachment. The Task Force Barrel on the FFAR increases the bullet velocity and effective damage range, so this change should encourage players to use the FFAR at a longer range than before.

The 34 RND Magazine is the second attachment to receive some love from the developers in the Warzone Season 3 patch. They increased the additional bullets added in the 34 RND Magazine from 34 to 38 and reduced the reload speed penalty of the 34 round magazine from 10% to 5%. The developers also increased the number of bullets in the 38 RND Speed Magazine from 34 to 38 and reduced the ADS penalty on the Speed Mag from 20% to 10%.

Krig 6 damage adjusted

In Warzone Season 3, the Krig 6 will have a headshot multiplier of 1.4 instead of the previous 1.25, however, the weapon will also have a reduced max damage of 33, down from 35 in the previous season. This change should incentivize more players to go for precise headshots with the Krig 6 instead of body damage.

LMG balance changes for Warzone Season 3

Developers nerf the PKM  

The developers nerfed the max range damage for the LMG Alpha (better known as the PKM) from 42 to 38 and reduced its max range from 38.1m to 21.59m. They also made its aim-down-sights speed a little faster and increased its vertical recoil slightly. Attachment-wise, the developers reduced the ranged bonus on the Match Grade barrel attachment from +100% to +50% and reduced the range penalty of the Division barrel attachment from -25% to -12%.

RPD reworked for new Season 

The developers are introducing a pretty significant rework for the RPD in the new season. The Max Damage was increased from 38 to 42, while its max range was massively reduced from 50.8m all the way down to 20.4m. Its ammo capacity also took a big hit, dropping from 75 to 50. Additionally, just like with the LMG Alpha, the RPD's Match Grade barrel range damage bonus was reduced from +100% to +50%, while its Division Barrel had its range penalty reduced from -25% to -15%.

These are some significant adjustments to the RPD, that encourage players to use it in closer and medium-ranged encounters, rather than the longer-range encounters that it was best for in Season 2.

M60 also receives rework for Season 3

The developers also introduced a significant rework for the M60 in Warzone Season 3. Its max ranged damage went from 76.2m all the way down to 20.4m, alongside the RPD. This fundamentally alters what the M60 is good at, shifting its advantages from long-range fights to much closer-range encounters. To help the M60 thrive in its new shorter-range role, the developers also reduced the gun's ADS speed by 13.8%.

As with the previous two LMG's, the M60's Match Grade barrel attachment's range bonus went down from +100% to +50%, while the developers reduced the range penalty for the Division barrel attachment's from -25% to -25%.

Shotgun balance changes for Warzone Season 3

Streetsweeper loses its 1-shot kill potential

The fully automatic Streetsweeper will be less effective in Warzone Season 3, after the developers removed its ability to pick up 1-shot kills. In the new season, its max damage was decreased from 138 all the way down to only 88 damage, and its mid-range pellet damage fell from 6 to 5. On top of these adjustments, they also reduced the damage bonus on the Task Force barrel for the Streetsweeper.

Other shotgun adjustments

In addition to nerfing the Streetsweeper, the developers also elected to increase the effective damage range of the Huaer 77 and Shotgun Bravo slightly. They also increased the mid-range pellet damage on the Shotgun Bravo, but reduced its maximum overall damage from 118 to 108.

Developers nerf movement speed for submachine guns

The developers introduced a global nerf to SMG sprint speed in the Season 3 patch, making it so that pistols are always the fastest gun to run with. The developers noted in the patch notes that there still may be some SMG's that let you sprint as fast as a pistol if you equip the right attachments, but generally speaking, SMG run speed will be slower in Warzone Season 3.