Call of Duty: Modern Warfare launched two weeks ago on consoles and PC, and we were quite pleased with how Infinity Ward’s latest shooter turned out. However, there have been some balancing problems plaguing it, including the very overpowered 725 shotgun. After today’s update, players should see its effectiveness fall more in line with the game’s other weapons.
As part of the game’s enormous patch on November 8, Infinity Ward reduced the damage range of the 725 shotgun and increased its shot spread. The changes might seem minor to an outsider, but players were able to fire the shotgun from very far ranges without losing accuracy or deadliness, making the shotgun too effective against long-range targets. Now, the double-barreled weapon will just be useful for close encounters.
The M4A1 has also been criticized for being too powerful and it was tweaked in the update as well. It now has more recoil and less damage at long ranges, which should also make sniper rifles more effective.
Other changes include quieter footsteps, as well as the addition of a new map each for traditional multiplayer and the large Ground War mode. If you want to jump back into the game, this weekend is the perfect time.
It remains to be seen, however, if Infinity Ward has fully addressed issues the Xbox One X system has been having since the game launched. We only encountered one crash during our time with it, but players have been experiencing full system restarts over the last few weeks, particularly when they attempt to use the console’s party chat feature. Infinity Ward has acknowledged that it is looking into the issue and a general “crashes” and “stability” message is included in the game’s update notes.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is taking a different approach to post-launch content this year, with all maps and modes available for free to players. There also won’t be any loot boxes — at least that is what we have been told — with the game instead planning a battle pass system that can reward buyers with additional cosmetic items if they complete missions. The game is available now on Xbox One, PS4, and PC.
