Modern Warfare 2 patch adds new shield counter and makes one gun less annoying

With the arrival of the first season, the launch of Warzone and DMZ, modern warfare 2 I got new content in the form of a Shoot House map, new weapons, operators, and a new battle pass.

Unsurprisingly, the patch that added all of that also brought some balance changes and tweaks to go along with it, making this the first balance pass since launch.

The good news starts with the game’s hated user interface. It hasn’t been completely overhauled, but you will notice several tweaks to readability and speed. The camouflage screen makes a slightly better job showing unlocked camos.

Combat Record, which tracks core multiplayer stats, has arrived, and the calling card menu has been redesigned to display the challenges needed to unlock each one. Blueprint stacks should now be snappier as well.

There aren’t many team changes in the update, but a big one is that Drill Charge will now attach itself to riot shields and will always kill the player, even if they have Bomb Squad as a buff. Previously, Drill Charges didn’t kill shield users and never made much sense.

However, weapon balance adjustments are plentiful. Infinity Ward has increased long-distance recoil across the board on Assault Rifles, LMGs, and SMGs. Pistols and Shotguns, on the other hand, have their close range recoil increased.

The Kastov-74u unsurprisingly got nerfed, got decreased ADS speed, and increased fire spread from the hip.

The M16 has received a large number of improvements. His fire speed is now higher, his hip extends further, and his recoil is faster again. It should also now be more accurate, thanks to better shot grouping and a reduction to semi-auto firing.

Even more, ADS movement speed and side scrolling speed have been increased. The only nerf he received is a semi-auto damage cut.

The FTAC Recon is another weapon that got some decent boosts. His ADS speed is faster, and the five-round magazine might be worth using now. Shooting enemies will make them flinch more, and you should also find the fire spread from the hip narrower.

The SP-R 208 didn’t get any of the major tweaks many were hoping for, but it did get a major boost to shudder when hit. The SA-B 50 had a little rise to shudder.

Other notable bug fixes include the removal of a dropshot exploit, a fix for that weird bipod mount launch exploit, and another fix to make the incendiary damage flinch more consistent.

The full set of patch notes can be found at Infinity Ward’s Blog. When you’re done with that, get a head start on the Warzone 2.0 meta with our best loadouts.