CoD Season 4 Patch Notes: BO6 And Warzone Update Makes A Drastic Change To Solo BR

Call of Duty Season 4 is now live in Black Ops 6 and Warzone, following the release of the full patch notes that you can find below. This update includes weapon balancing, changes to Ranked Play modes, Zombies updates, and a major change to Warzone's solo battle royale playlist.

Season 4's content includes a brand-new battle pass, which adds plenty of cosmetics and new weapons to unlock. The pass has several operator skins, including the return of Stitch from Black Ops Cold War.

For Black Ops 6, the update brings the return of Grief mode for Zombies, new multiplayer maps, and a new scorestreak. Warzone adds new limited-time modes and map changes to Verdansk. We've also gotten the unexpected return of the riot shield, albeit not as a standard weapon.

The Season 4 patch notes for both Black Ops 6 and Warzone can be found below, as shared by Activision.

Each season of Call of Duty usually includes some form of weapon tuning. Season 4's weapon balancing is aimed at making improvements to Black Ops 6's burst-fire marksman rifles and light machine guns. The developer explains the changes by saying, "Both the burst weapons and the LMGs can be quite strong but challenging to use effectively in fast-paced gameplay. Our changes are aimed at areas where these two classes struggle with that faster pacing."

The PU-21, XMG, GPMG-7, and Feng 82 light machine guns all receive movement-speed increases and a reduction to the weapon's view kick strength, which should make them faster and easier to handle.

As for the burst-fire marksman rifles, the developer has improved the burst-fire cooldown on the SWAT 5.56 and AEK-973. The Rapid Fire attachment will further reduce the burst-fire cooldown on these weapons, but the developer says it will come at the cost of great recoil penalty.

As previously announced by Activision, Season 4 adds even more details to the death widget to help players further understand how they were eliminated.

In addition to showing the attacker count and damage dealt, the widget now highlights key conditions that contributed to a player's death:

• Affected by Live Ping: Indicates if the enemy had you pinged
• Affected by UAV: Indicates if you were revealed on the minimap by a UAV or HARP
• Affected by Unsuppressed Weapon: Indicates if firing an unsuppressed weapon exposes your position to nearby enemies
• Affected by Body Shield on Teammate: Indicates your position was revealed by a teammate who was held as Body Shield by an enemy
• Affected by Sleeper Agent: Indicates you were eliminated by an enemy infiltrating your team with the Sleeper Agent Field upgrade
• Affected by Scout Pulse: Indicated you were eliminated by an enemy using the Scout Pulse Scorestreak
• Affected by Prox Alarm: Indicated your position was revealed by a Prox Alarm tactical equipment
• Affected by Signal Lure: Indicated your position was revealed because you use the Signal Lure Field Upgrade

Black Ops 6's Theater mode is temporarily disabled for Season 4. The developer says this was disabled to help with game stability due to an issue with loading match replays.

Another season of Black Ops 6 means a new season of Ranked Play and rewards. The mode also features two new restrictions in Season 4. The C9 submachine gun and the flashbang tactical equipment are both banned from competitive play.

A player's rank may be rolled back based on where they ended the previous season. These changes are as follows:

• Bronze or Silver rank players are not impacted by the seasonal setback and will be able to pick up where they ended Season 3 with no SR deduction
• Gold or Platinum rank players will start Season 4 in Tier I of Gold or Platinum, respectively
• Diamond Rank and above players will start the Season 4 at Diamond I

Demotion Protection will be active for everyone's first three Ranked Play losses in Season 4, and players can expect one free loss per day via the mode's Daily Loss Forgiveness.

For Zombies, players can expect a few guns to be more powerful when Pack-a-Punched. The Stryder .22 pistol is buffed with an increase to the gun's Pack-a-Punch damage by 100%. The 9mm PM pistol has increased the Pack-a-Punch damage by 50%, and the gun's Pack-a-Punch damage range has increased by 100%.

The Tsarkov 7.62 and DM-10 marksman rifles also receive a buff to double the critical damage when Pack-a-Punched.

Some of the lethal equipment is also buffed to be more powerful in Zombies mode. This includes the following changes:

• C4 - Minimum damage increased to 70 and maximum damage increased to 250
• Frag - Mid damage increased to 150
• Semtex - Inner damage increased to 250

The standard solo battle royale playlist is removed for Season 4, and instead players will have the option to choose to play solo Casual Battle royale. The developer says this change is due to the huge popularity of the Casual Battle Royale mode added in Season 3.

The developer says, "Given its popularity, combined with our ongoing effort to keep playlist options focused and manageable, we're going to experimentally replace core Battle Royale Solos with Battle Royale Casual Solos. While we understand the impact this will have for players who prefer core Battle Royale Solos, it is a compromise we're comfortable with given the larger engagement with other playlist options."

Season 4 of Warzone adds new map changes to Verdansk. This includes a gigantic skyscraper Overlook point-of-interest in Downtown, two interactable cranes, and new horizontal ziplines to help traverse the new POI.

Each season has a new set of High-Value Loot zones for Verdansk. Season 4 will include Superstore, Quarry, and the new Overlook point-of-interest.

A new season of Warzone Ranked arrives with new rewards to earn. It also features a few new restrictions.

For Season 4, Ranked Play bans includes all launchers, the Tracker perk, the Body Shield feature, and lootable event items.

A small change is made to the experience in the Gulag. Players will now start with a single Armor Plate equipped in the Gulag. The developer says this change is made in order to "reduce extreme time-to-kill cases without overcorrecting."

Several weapons receive changes in Season 4 of Warzone. Most notably, this includes increases to bullet velocity for many of the assault rifles to help them compete at longer ranges. Players can expect better long-range fights with the AK-74, AMES 85, AS VAL, CR-56 AMAX, Cypher 091, GPR 91, and the Kilo 141.

The damage range is also improved for several submachine guns, including the C9, Jackal PDW, Kompakt 92, KSV, Saug, and the Ladra.

Call of Duty Season 4 Patch notes

WELCOME TO SEASON 04

Keep Your Enemies Close…

Though he once had the chance to end Vikhor “Stitch” Kuzmin’s reign of terror, Adler spared his nemesis after they met at the culmination of Black Ops Cold War. Kuzmin was later captured and locked up in an Icelandic CIA black site until he might prove useful. Following the events and evidence uncovered by the deceased CIA Agent Jason Hudson, that day has come, and in an unlikely team up, Adler and team have broken Stitch out from his confinement, seeking his help to crack the codenames needed to find the Pantheon moles.

To succeed, the two must put their past behind them in pursuit of a new goal. Get in on the action when this stacked offering launches tomorrow, May 29 at 9AM PT across all platforms.

Looking for Call of Duty: Warzone Patch Notes? Raven Software has you covered right here.

New Multiplayer Maps

Shutdown (6v6)

• Before breaking out Stitch, Adler and team first need to cut off the power to the black site prison, bringing them to a hydroelectric plant built on the rugged volcanic terrain of Iceland. Fight in and around the central building housing the now wrecked Turbine or dive down the Sluice into the Lake, its waters hugging the plant’s south end by the Transformers. Jump up by the red container to target enemies from far out or swim back onshore to reach the Atrium and Parking.

Fugitive (6v6)

• Deploy to a secret CIA black site in a remote part of Iceland, the very location where Stitch has been imprisoned until Adler brings him in as an unlikely ally for an urgent operation. With the power out, Adler and his crew seize their chance to infiltrate the prison, climbing, zipping, and battling their way through the frozen compound.

Blitz (6v6, 2v2)

• Traffic comes to a halt as Pantheon reinforcements race toward the prison but get ambushed by the Rogue team. Leave the road and seek out targets over the rugged terrain of the Cliffside or move inland, ambushing enemies at the Waterfall.

New Multiplayer Modes

Team Elimination

• In this twist on Kill Confirmed, two teams are given a limited number of lives each round as they fight to be the last surviving team. Players drop a dog tag on death that can be picked up by the enemy to confirm the kill or by a teammate to deny the opposing team. Survive longer than the other team or hold the most remaining lives when the timer ends to win the round.

New Weapons (Multiplayer & Zombies)

LC10 - SMG (Battle Pass)

• Full-auto submachine gun. Excellent accuracy and range, with a moderate rate of fire. Average mobility and very slow handling for its class.
• Returning after its debut in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, the LC10 SMG spits out rounds fast coupled with good accuracy and range, moderate damage, and a quick reload to get you back into the fight.

FFAR 1 - Assault Rifle (Battle Pass)

• Full-auto assault rifle. Very high rate of fire and excellent CQB power, but slower handling and mobility.
• Boasting a blazing fast fire rate that rivals the SMG weapon class, this bullpup Assault Rifle is designed for taking down targets fast. The somewhat unpredictable recoil favors burst fire when tackling distant targets, but once you’re locked on it’s all over for them.

Essex Model 07 - Marksman Rifle (In-Season, Event Reward)

• Lever-action marksman rifle. High damage potential. Balanced by slower rate of fire and handling.
• Inflict heavy critical point damage with this lever-action tactical rifle. An ideal tool for the new sheriff in town, this classic armament offers smooth handling with shots that quickly recenter after kicking up. Choose from a variety of Levers to further customize the weapon’s action, improving ADS speed, sprint to fire speed, and other movement abilities.

New Attachments

G-Grip (Battle Pass)

• Vertical foregrip with integrated laser for improved firing stability, horizontal recoil control, and tightened spread when transitioning between hipfire and aiming down sights. Beam: Blue. Blocks Laser attachments.
• Available for SMGs (except PP-19) and Assault Rifles

Stryder .22 3-Round Burst Mod (Launch, Event Reward)

• Convert the Stryder .22 into a 3-round burst. Drastically improves fire rate and maintains manageable gun kick but alters the weapon’s damage profile outside of the effective range.

SVD Full Auto Mod (In-Season, Event Reward)

• Convert the SVD from semi-auto to full-auto functionality, ramping up the speed of your damage output and drastically improving recoil and handling.

TR2 CQB Auto Conversion

• Alter the TR2 Marksman Rifle to fire handgun caliber rounds, resulting in a Marksman Rifle with a compact frame and fully automatic capabilities that rival fire rates of an SMG!

New Scorestreak (Multiplayer & Zombies)

Grim Reaper (In-Season)

• Powerful semi-automatic launcher that can fire up to four rockets in one load.
• Wield the Grim Reaper, a quad tube loaded Launcher capable of inflicting heavy damage on enemies. Whether targeting Operators or locking on to enemy Scorestreaks, the Grim Reaper’s payload delivers a huge explosion. The weapon is lost if you’re taken out, so save it for the right moment and bring backup to ensure you have the protection needed to unleash havoc.

Grief Returns to Zombies

Not seen since Black Ops 2, Grief returns to Zombies! This fan-favorite mode pits two teams of four against each other, with both sides vying to out-survive the other. As the battlelines are drawn between S.A.M. and Director Richtofen, each team pledges their support to one of these rivals at the start of a match, subsequently receiving handler comms support from one of them throughout the ensuing chaos.

• 4v4 competitive mode where two teams outwit and outlast each other. Capture zones to debuff enemies. No damage against other players. Respawns every third round.
• Available Maps: Liberty Falls, Terminus, Citadelle des Morts, The Tomb, Shattered Veil.
• Restricted: Wonder Weapons, GobbleGums: Exit Strategy, Idle Eyes, Wonderbar!, Time Out, and Flavor Hex (Season 04 GobbleGum).
• For more details about the return of Grief visit the COD Blog.

New Zombies Challenges

Dark Ops Challenges (Launch)

• A mysterious new set of hidden Calling Cards and bounteous amounts of XP are available at the start of Season 04, thanks to a fresh drop of Zombies Dark Ops Challenges. Who knows... maybe there’s even one for Grief.

New Ammo Mod

Shatter Blast (Launch)

• “Bullets deal explosive damage. Each bullet has a chance to create an explosion that destroys armor.”
• Modify your ammunition to explode the toughened armor of certain normal and Special undead enemies. This mod also has a second benefit, creating an area-of-effect blast radius at the same time, whether any armor is shattered or not.
• Augments
  • Major
    • Big Game
      • Shatter Blast can be used against Elite enemies. Expect an impressively sized explosion.
    • Blast Chain
      • On explosion, three additional explosions occur in rapid succession.
    • Blast Repair
      • For every enemy that has its armor destroyed by Shatter Blast, armor health will be restored for the player.
  • Minor
    • Blast Zone
      • Increase the size of the explosion.
    • Blast Boost
      • Increase the explosion damage.
  • Blast Wave
    • Normal enemies are knocked down by the explosion.

New GobbleGums

Available at Launch, crack your teeth on three new GobbleGums, available across all maps once you earn or unlock them and equip them in your GobbleGum Loadout Pack.

• Explosive Flourish (Epic): Reloading your weapon creates an explosion around you. GobbleGum lasts 2 minutes.
• Flavor Hex (Legendary): Activates a random Ultra GobbleGum.
• Rainburps (Whimsical): Zombies killed belch sparkly rainbow bubbles. Lasts 3 minutes.

MULTIPLAYER

Maps

• Firing Range
  • Adjusted start spawns for Search and Destroy.
  • Fixed water alignment with ground.
• Nomad
  • Fixed rendering distance on building.
  • Fixed missing geometry on a wall.
• Dealership
  • Fixed collision along the street to stop equipment from falling through.

Modes

• Free For All
  • Made improvements to Free For All spawn logic.
• Infected
  • Addressed an issue that could prevent the first Infected player from accessing their Loadout.

Weapons

We are kicking off Season 04 with burst-fire marksman rifle and LMG improvements, as well as adjustments to several assault rifles. Both the burst weapons and the LMGs can be quite strong but challenging to use effectively in fast-paced gameplay. Our changes are aimed at areas where these two classes struggle with that faster pacing. The assault rifle adjustments are more targeted. Overall, assault rifle balance is in a good spot, as is the class’s balance in the greater meta. The changes here are meant as small corrections to the highest and lowest performers.

This update also includes adjustments to a handful of attachments across multiple classes. These attachment changes are intended as an early step to address some variances within the weapon classes, and we’ll have more comprehensive attachment balancing planned for an upcoming update.

LMGs

We are continuing to look at ways to increase the effectiveness of LMGs while maintaining class identity. This update will improve recoil and base movement speeds for all LMGs. In particular, the movement speed while firing in ADS is improved by about 10% in most cases. These changes are intended to help LMGs sit better within the pace of the game, but not negate the balance tradeoffs of higher recoil and lower mobility for the class.

Attachment Adjustments for all LMGs

• Marksman Foregrip
  • View Kick reduction while focused increased from 20% to 25%.
  • Gun Kick reduction while focused increased from 20% to 25%.

Marksman Rifles

Burst-fire marksman rifles with one-burst kill potential require a careful balance of risk and reward. Having these weapons in the marksman rifle category helps to keep mobility and handling in check. But our best tools for balance are the recoil, which controls the consistency of the one-burst, and the time between bursts, which directly ties into the “risk” of the gameplay style.

We think the burst rifles still have some room to be stronger without upending the risk/reward balance, so we’re improving the Burst Fire Cooldown on the SWAT 5.56 and AEK-973. We are also improving the Rapid Fire attachments, but want to make sure there’s an appropriate tradeoff to consistency with these when chasing one-burst kills at range.

Scorestreaks

• Addressed an issue that could prevent lingering fire from persisting after a Napalm Strike.

Audio

• Addressed several missing voice lines across multiple Operators.

UI

• Detailed Death Recap
  • We've rolled out an expanded version of the Death Recap Widget to provide more detailed information about how you were eliminated. In addition to showing attacker count and damage dealt, the widget now highlights key conditions that contributed to your death:
    • Affected by Live Ping: Indicates if the enemy had you pinged.
    • Affected by UAV: Indicates if you were revealed on the minimap by a UAV or HARP.
    • Affected by Unsuppressed Weapon: Indicates if firing an unsuppressed weapon exposes your position to nearby enemies.
    • Affected by Body Shield on Teammate: Indicates your position was revealed by a teammate who was held as Body Shield by an enemy.
    • Affected by Sleeper Agent: Indicates you were eliminated by an enemy infiltrating your team with the Sleeper Agent Field upgrade.
    • Affected by Scout Pulse: Indicated you were eliminated by an enemy using the Scout Pulse Scorestreak.
    • Affected by Prox Alarm: Indicated your position was revealed by a Prox Alarm tactical equipment.
    • Affected by Signal Lure: Indicated your position was revealed because you use the Signal Lure Field Upgrade.
• Fixed an issue where players were able to open the Fire Mod Attachment Skins section by using the contextual menu in the Weapons tab..
• Fixed an issue when highlighting a Non-Prestige Challenge, the Challenge complete state would display the incorrect progress and the metadata would be missing.
• Fixed an issue where Fire Mod Attachments would have UI for available skins, but could not be interacted with.
• Fixed an issue where the Scoreboard would display 8 rounds as the Win Limit, despite the game ending at 6 Rounds.
• Fixed an issue where the “YOU ARE ELIMINATED” splash would remain on screen.

Stability

• Theater Mode temporarily disabled due to an issue with loading replays.

Ranked Play

Keep your Enemies close in Ranked Play as the competition continues in Season 04 with new rewards to claim.

Restrictions Update

• SMGs
  • C9
• Tacticals
  • Flashbangs

Season 04 Rank Setback

• Competitors who are continuing their conquest in Ranked Play from Season 03 will notice that their accounts may have been set back as outlined in previous notes.
  • Every new Season, your Rank may be rolled back based on where you ended the previous season, as follows:
    • Bronze or Silver Rank players are not impacted by the Seasonal setback and will be able to pick up where they ended Season 03 with no SR deduction.
    • Gold or Platinum Rank players will start Season 04 in Tier I of Gold or Platinum respectively.
    • Diamond Rank and above players will start the Season 04 at Diamond I.

Demotion Protection

• Demotion Protection will be active for everyone’s first 3 Ranked Play losses in Season 04, and players can expect 1 free loss per day via Daily Loss Forgiveness like in Season 03.

Reminder: Ranked Play Unlock Requirements

• Competitors that are returning after an extended period of inactivity may need to Win 10 Matches to requalify for Ranked Play in Season 04.
• New Ranked Play competitors will need to win 50 match-made multiplayer matches like previous seasons.

Ranked Play Season 04 Rewards

• Ranked Play Season 04 Rewards
  • Rank Weapon Charms:
    • Each Rank Gold and above has a unique Rank-themed Weapon Charm that you can earn to show off your rank.
      • Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Crimson & Iridescent: Start in (or above) or reach the applicable Rank anytime in Season 04 to instantly earn the corresponding Weapon Charm.
      • Top 250: Finish Season 04 in the Top 250 to earn the “Top 250” Weapon Charm.
  • Rank Calling Cards
    • Each Rank Silver and above has a unique Calling Card reward:
      • Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Crimson, Iridescent: Start in (or above) or reach the applicable Rank anytime in Season 04 to instantly earn the corresponding Season 04 Rank Calling Card..
      • Top 250: Finish Season 04 in the Top 250.
      • Top 250 Champion: One-of-a-kind Calling Card awarded to the single player who finishes Season 04 in the #1 position on the Top 250.
  • “Pro Reissue AMES 85” AMES 85 Weapon Blueprint: Unlocked by winning 10 Ranked Play matches in Season 04.
  • 100 Season 04 Wins Large Decal: Unlocked by winning 100 Ranked Play matches in Season 04.

ZOMBIES

Maps

• Terminus
  • Addressed an issue that prevented the ramps from being properly illuminated in the Boat Race Side Quest in Terminus.
• Citadelle des Morts
  • Addressed an issue where players can repeat The Guardian fight in Citadelle des Morts when loading a save file.
  • Addressed an issue where the Amulet sometimes remains too high after defeating The Guardian.

Modes

• Addressed an issue where players are sent back to the lobby after pausing the game in splitscreen.

Attatchments

• Addressed an issue where Belt-Fed ammo pickups were not working after refilling ammo with an Ammo Cache or Max Ammo Power-Up.

Weapon Blueprints

• Addressed an issue where the Death FX for certain Weapon Blueprints were not playing correctly.
• Addressed an issue where the Game Over Blueprint with custom attachments would revert back to its default attachments after reloading a save.

Gunsmith

• Addressed an issue where Mags and Mag Size details displayed the incorrect information in the Gunsmith menu.

Perks

• Quick Revive
  • Addressed an issue where Quick Revive would not default to the first slot regardless of when it was obtained.
• Elemental Pop
  • Addressed an issue with Elemental Pop not working with a Pack-a-Punch GS45 and D1.3 Sector.
  • Addressed an issue where the Electric Cherry Augment will stun Brain Rot zombies.

Equipment

• C4
  • C4 Min Damage Increased to 70 and Max Damage Increased to 250.
• Frag Mid
  • Frag Mid Damage Increased to 150.
• Semtex
  • Semtex Inner Damage Increased to 250.

Field Upgrades

• Aether Shroud
  • Addressed an issue where zombies would sometimes target players while Aether Shroud is active.
  • Addressed an issue where the player will not have their melee weapon equipped after reviving a player while Void Sheath Augment is active.
• Dark Flare
  • Addressed an issue where the Helmeted Zombie is immune to Dark Flare Field Upgrade in Citadelle des Morts.

Support

• Death Machine
  • Increased Death Machine ammo to 350.
• Mutant Injection
  • Addressed an issue where the Third-Person animation for activating the Mutant Injection played incorrectly.
  • Addressed an issue where the Exfil Cinematic did not play correctly if failed while Mutant Injection was active.
• War Machine
  • Addressed an issue with the War Machine displaying incorrect unlock requirements.
  • Addressed an issue where the description text for the War Machine was incorrect in the Crafting Table.
• Mangler Cannon
  • Addressed an issue where the Mangler Cannon was not aligned correctly with the Operator's right arm in Third-Person.

GobbleGums

• Addressed an issue where the Death Machine or War Machine were left with an ammo count of 1 after using the Support Group GobbleGum.
• Disallowed players from using Ziplines right after activating Anywhere but Here GobbleGum.
• Power-Up GobbleGums now use the player’s position as a fallback if gameplay space is limited.
• Addressed an issue where Time Out GobbleGum would cause zombies to stop spawning if the player who activated the GobbleGum left the match.

Power-Ups

• Addressed an issue with the Wunderwaffe DG-2 turning zombies into crawlers while Insta-kill was active with the first shot.

Mystery Box

• Addressed an issue where the Mystery Box could only produce a small subset of weapons.
• Increased the weight for Seasonal Weapons in the Mystery Box.
• Addressed an issue where a Zombie Build weapon from the Mystery Box showed incorrect rarity when dropped.

UI

• Addressed an issue where some players would not see the on-screen timer during Exfil.
• Addressed an issue where certain UI elements were not being cleared properly after completing steps from the Wonder Weapon Quest prior to completing the Pack-a-Punch Quest in Shattered Veil Directed Mode.
• Addressed an issue where the cost of Perks in the Der Wunderfizz Machine would not update if bought in rapid succession.
• Addressed an issue where the Staff of Ice was misspelled in the Wonder Weapon and Store Blueprint menus.
• Addressed various subtitle typos.

Graphics

• Addressed an issue where the Special Round Fog did not roll in gradually if a user joins the match in that round.
• Addressed an issue where the spectating player would see a black screen while the player they are spectating used fast travel.

Stability

• Addressed various stability issues.

CALL OF DUTY: WARZONE

Play

MAPS

New

» Verdansk «

• The Overlook
  • Dominate foes with a gigantic new skyscraper point of interest, available to Operators within the vicinity of Downtown! The old tenement blocks, Burger Town, and SKN Comm tower have been demolished, and construction crews are finalizing a sprawling skyscraper that dominates the landscape! Look for a full recon tour below.

• Interactable Cranes
  • Two massive cranes on the north and south sides of the monolith offer vertical access to The Overlook via built-in Vertical Ascenders and multiple landing platforms. After a short ascent, players can reach a platform just below the jib for a jump to The Overlook roof. Both cranes are also functional - if nearby controls are activated, their cargo hooks can be used to transport players or items to key positions around the tower and Downtown.

• Horizontal Ziplines
  • Horizontal ziplines are found throughout the POI and provide a diagonal route to and from the surrounding Downtown building rooftops.
  • Only 4 of these horizontal ziplines are connected to The Overlook.

Adjustments

» Verdansk «

• High Value Loot Zones
  • The three HVLZ locations have been updated to the following:
    • Superstore
    • Quarry
    • The Overlook

MODES

New

• Clash Limited-Time Mode
  • Clash Mode returns to Call of Duty: Warzone, bringing back the chaotic 52 vs 52 Team Deathmatch experience first introduced in 2021. Set around a specific POI in Verdansk, two teams compete to reach 500 points within 15 minutes.
  • With no Circle Collapse and instant access to loadouts, players earn points by eliminating enemies, completing contracts, and capturing Domination Points or special crates - some actions boosted by exclusive power-ups unique to this mode.
  • Clash also includes an option to toggle Mixed View, allowing players to switch between 1st and 3rd person view.
  • Last Stand and Self-Revives are disabled in this mode.

Returning

• World Series of WZ Limited-Time Mode
  • For a 3 week period, players will be able to queue for a mode with the World Series of Warzone ruleset to mirror the experience that the top echelon of our playerbase seeks out - and, for the especially competitive bunch, to practice for the upcoming in-game open that starts on June 20th. Best of luck!
  • For more information about the Call of Duty World Series of Warzone, check out https://worldseriesofwarzone.com/.

PLAYLIST

Since launching Battle Royale Casual - a blend of players and clearly identifiable bots - we’ve seen it become a considerably popular option with positive reception overall. Given its popularity, combined with our ongoing effort to keep playlist options focused and manageable, we’re going to experimentally replace core Battle Royale Solos with Battle Royale Casual Solos. While we understand the impact this will have for players who prefer core Battle Royale Solos, it is a compromise we're comfortable with given the larger engagement with other playlist options.

We’ll be closely monitoring player feedback and daily active user performance over the coming weeks to help guide next steps.

For information about upcoming Playlists, please check out the dedicated Warzone Trello Board.

RANKED PLAY

Season 04 kicks off a brand-new season of Ranked Play, featuring fresh rewards, new weapons, updated restrictions, and more. Players can dive into Ranked Play: Battle Royale right away, with the exciting addition of Ranked Play: Resurgence arriving later this season. Once live, both Ranked modes will coexist, providing players even more competitive ways to play and progress.

Restrictions

Weapon Restrictions

Launchers

• All

Perks

• Tracker

Other

• Body Shield
• Lootable Event Items

Part of maintaining balance and player interest in Ranked Play involves periodically rotating potentially controversial or previously restricted elements. This helps us better understand shifts in the meta-game, especially following recent changes, and provides valuable data on whether future adjustments to these restrictions are needed.

Over the course of Season 03 Reloaded, we closely monitored feedback regarding Launchers as well as the Tracker perk in Ranked Play - which we openly acknowledge was negative. As such, we've decided to reapply restrictions in Season 04 to Launchers, which have made breaching excessively easy. Although they theoretically offer diverse gameplay options, even minimally coordinated teams using multiple launchers can achieve full squad wipes with limited counter-play options.

Additionally, Body Shield is returning to the restricted list - not due to a significant competitive advantage - but because of specific edge cases. While these aren't typically problematic in unranked modes, they can create severely uncompetitive scenarios in Ranked Play when exploited, despite technically being within the game's intended rules.

GENERAL

Moving forward, we’ve made the decision to test new gameplay features in limited-time modes before bringing them into our core Battle Royale experience. This approach will allow us to continue exploring fresh ideas and mechanics in a controlled environment - giving players a taste of what’s possible - while ensuring that we preserve the core identity that we believe defines our Battle Royale. It’s all about finding the right balance between innovation and staying true to what makes the mode special.

With that said, we have a handful of new features that will deploy at Season 04’s launch and later into the season that we hope players enjoy. We’ll be keeping a close eye on feedback as we go to determine which will make the cut to be added as part of our core Battle Royale offering.

GAMEPLAY

• Gulag
  • Players will now start with a single Armor Plate equipped in the Gulag.

This change seeks to help players in scenarios where no armor would result in certain weapons killing faster than intended - faster even than in Multiplayer - due to Warzone’s higher damage-per-shot values. This change is intended to reduce extreme time-to-kill cases without overcorrecting.

LOOT & ECONOMY

Adjustments

» Verdansk «

• Updated Ground Loot Weapons
  • Reduced the drop rate of LMGs in Battle Royale ground loot.
  • Slightly increased the drop rate of SMGs in Battle Royale ground loot.
  • Updated underbarrel and stock attachments on legendary Assault Rifles to better match their intended playstyle.
  • Adjusted the possible optics available on Assault Rifles found in ground loot.

» Resurgence, Plunder «

• Lootable Perks
  • The lootable perks available in Resurgence and Plunder have been updated as follows:
    • Irradiated
    • Shrouded
    • Low Profile
    • Reactive Armor
    • Loot Master
    • Ghost

We've updated ground loot to better support close-quarters combat, providing players with more effective options in confined spaces. These adjustments align with this season's broader weapon-balancing theme, which emphasizes close-range viability and loadout diversity. Additionally, we've improved ground loot weapon builds, particularly enhancing optics and legendary sniper-support weapons for increased usability and reliability.

BUY STATIONS

Adjustments

» Battle Royale «

• Buy Stations on Verdansk
  • Buy Station locations have been shuffled to inspire fresh combat encounters and new rotation strategies.
  • The total count has been increased to 49, up from 47.

CONTRACTS

New

» Clash «

• Search & Destroy
  • A new contract where a squad is tasked with planting a bomb at an enemy-side Buy Station:
    • Upon pickup, a 3-minute timer begins and a Buy Station is marked on the opposing side of the map.
    • Any squad member can plant the bomb by interacting at the marked location.
    • Once planted, the bomb site is revealed and nearby enemy players are alerted.
    • The bomb explodes after 30 seconds, dealing area damage and disabling the Buy Station for 1 minute.
    • Enemies can prevent detonation by defusing the bomb with a 4-second interaction.
    • Rewards are based on successful detonation or defusal.
  • Only available in the new Clash Limited-Time Mode.

Adjustments

» Battle Royale «

• Supply Run
  • Adjusted the Fire Sale reward from the Supply Run contract so it is only consumed during a Fire Sale Public Event if a free item is purchased.

EQUIPMENT

Adjustments

• Flash Grenade
  • Flash Angles increased by 20% - meaning that you need to turn further away from the device to mitigate its effects.

• Concussion Grenade
  • Stun maximum duration increased from 1.61 seconds to 2.3 seconds.
  • Stun minimum duration decreased from 1.47 seconds to 1.15 seconds.

Flash and Concussion Grenade are seeing some moderate improvement in their base effectiveness. At the same time we’re enabling a harder counter to them in the form of the Veteran Perk.

FIELD UPGRADES

New

» Clash «

• Door Barricade
  • Allows players to secure single or double doors with a visible lock, preventing enemy access.
  • Can only be removed by the squad who placed it or destroyed using explosives, gunfire, or melee equipment.
  • Ideal for delaying enemy pushes and controlling entry points during close-quarters combat.
  • Individual players can only deploy 1 barricade at a time.
  • It will automatically self-destruct after 150 seconds.
  • Only available in the new Clash Limited-Time Mode.

KILLSTREAKS

New

» Clash «

• Hand Cannon
  • This high-powered pistol Killstreak, originally available in Multiplayer during Season 01, provides limited, but devastating potential.
  • Only available in the new Clash Limited-Time Mode.

PERKS

Adjustments

• Veteran
  • Significantly increased resistance to flash and stun.

We’re making Veteran a hard counter to the recently buffed Flash and Stun grenades. The effects are diminished enough to "shrug" them off almost immediately.

• Mountaineer
  • Fall damage reduction increased to 35% up from 33%.

This minor increase is enough to more consistently allow a safer jump from taller buildings.

WILDCARDS

Adjustments

• Bandolier Removal
  • The Bandolier Wildcard has been removed from all modes.

We've disabled and removed the Bandolier Wildcard from all game modes. Originally introduced to ease the transition from a backpack-based system to a streamlined experience, this wildcard unfortunately contributed to a muddied combat experience by encouraging reckless item usage over strategic gameplay.

WEAPONS

New Weapons

• LC10Submachine Gun
  • Full-auto submachine gun. Excellent accuracy and range, with a moderate rate of fire. Average mobility and very slow handling for its class.

• FFAR 1 Assault Rifle
  • Full-auto assault rifle. Very high rate of fire and excellent CQB power, but slower handling and mobility.

• Essex Model 07 Marksman Rifle
  • Lever-action marksman rifle. High damage potential. Balanced by slower rate of fire and handling.

New Attachments

• G-Grip Foregrip
  • Vertical foregrip with integrated laser for improved firing stability, horizontal recoil control, and tightened spread when transitioning between hipfire and aiming down sights.

• Stryder .22 3-Round Burst Mod
  • Convert the Stryder .22 into a 3-round burst. Drastically improves fire rate and maintains manageable gun kick but alters the weapon’s damage profile outside of the effective range.

• SVD Full Auto Mod
  • Convert the SVD from semi-auto to full-auto functionality, ramping up the speed of your damage output and drastically improving recoil and handling.

• TR2 CQB Auto Conversion
  • Alter the TR2 Marksman Rifle to fire handgun caliber rounds, resulting in a Marksman Rifle with a compact frame and fully automatic capabilities that rival fire rates of an SMG.

Weapon Adjustments

Our current weapon balance goals are focused on refining each class’s role. Our goal is to rework Light Machine Guns to become a reliable option for long-range engagements, while still being outperformed by Assault Rifles at mid-range. At the same time, we’re giving Submachine Guns improved range to boost their overall viability, and increasing bullet velocity for Assault Rifles to make it easier to land shots at mid to long distances.

UI/UX

Adjustments

• Death Recap WidgetQuality of Life
  • The Death Recap system has been expanded to provide clearer insights into the circumstances surrounding your elimination. New indicators now include:
    • Precision Airstrike Reveal: Indicates if your position was revealed on the minimap by using the Precision Airstrike killstreak.
    • Cluster Strike Reveal: Indicates if your position was revealed on the minimap by using the Cluster Strike killstreak.
    • Bunker Buster Reveal: Indicates if your position was revealed on the minimap by using the Bunker Buster killstreak.
    • Coughing: Indicates if your position was revealed on the minimap due to coughing in gas.
    • Tracker ADS Auto-Ping: Indicates if you were pinged by an opponent using the Tracker perk.
    • Alertness Detection: Indicates if your presence was revealed to an opponent using the Alertness perk.

CHALLENGES

Adjustments

• Specialist Perk Tracking
  • Challenges requiring perk activation will now also track progress when players acquire the Specialist perk (which grants all perks).

• UAV Killstreak Challenge
  • The Daily Challenge "Activate 2 UAV Killstreaks" will now also track Advanced UAV activations.

• Camo Challenge Clarification
  • Updated camo challenge description from "Get Kills shortly after sliding" to "Get Kills while sliding" for clarity.

• New Armory Challenge
  • Added an Armory challenge for the JAK Intimidator via the Armory menu.

BUG FIXES

• Fixed an issue where the Most Wanted target displayed in the mission UI could show a previous Bounty target in some scenarios.

• Fixed an issue where the JAK Backsaw Conversion Kit was using the incorrect ammunition type.

• Fixed an issue in Warzone where killstreaks could become unusable for the remainder of the match due to an "Airspace too crowded" error.

• Fixed an issue in Warzone where challenges requiring a kill on a player affected by specific equipment were not tracking correctly.

• Fixed several melee weapon descriptions that incorrectly stated they would “One-Hit kill,” which is only true in Multiplayer.

• Fixed an issue where the AUAV score event was incorrectly labeled as “HARP Assist.”

• Fixed an issue causing the AS VAL CHF barrel to be unrestricted in Warzone Ranked Play.

• Fixed an issue where Warzone Ranked Play restrictions were not applying to default loadouts.

• Fixed an issue causing sprays to be restricted in Warzone Ranked Play.

• Fixed an issue where Default Contrails were missing an icon.

• Fixed an issue where players might see a “your profile was signed out” error message when joining a match.