Raven nerfs two of Call of Duty: Warzone's most effective weapons in meta shake-up bid

Raven Software has nerfed two of Call of Duty: Warzone's most effective weapons in a bid to shake up the battle royale's meta.

In an update pushed live this afternoon, the developer nerfed the super popular AUG and FFAR 1.

First up, the AUG - or as it's known in the patch notes, Cold War Tactical Rifle Charlie (quite why Call of Duty insists on using this nomenclature for its guns is beyond me).

Recoil strength has been increased on the AUG, which will hopefully calm it down a bit.

"Burst weapons ride a fine line between inefficient and oppressive," Raven said. "The intent of this change is to maintain the weapon's identity of being a powerhouse while making it a bit more difficult to wield. Right now we feel it is too easy to stay on target given how lethal it is. We will continue to monitor the performance of the Tactical Rifle Charlie and make additional changes if necessary."

Now on to the FFAR 1, an assault rifle that was, like the AUG, brought into Warzone as part of the controversial integration of Treyarch's Black Ops Cold War. The FFAR has seen its ADS (aim down sights) speed decreased, which will hopefully help it feel more like an assault rifle and less like an SMG.

"The FFAR is a jack of all trades," Treyarch said. "It has the damage profile and range of an AR as well as the fire rate of an SMG. The FFAR's wholesale efficacy has it edging out SMGs at ranges we're not satisfied with. Ideally, the FFAR fulfills the role of a mid-range dominator while falling prey to weapons that excel in short-range engagements. We are bringing the FFAR a bit more in line with what you might expect from an AR - damage and range at the cost of handling."

Meanwhile, attachments have seen some bug fixes. Here's the list:

• Rear Grip attachments that showed ADS speed pros should now properly increase ADS speed.
• Fixed a bug with the Groza where the 16.5" CMV Mil-Spec barrel would bypass damage falloff.
• Fixed a bug with the Ember Sighting Point where the XM4 and AK-47 had their ADS speed increased rather than decreased.
• Fixed a bug with the Salvo Fast Mag where the FFAR 1 and M16 were not having their ADS speed decreased.
• The Pelington 703 Wrapped Suppressor effects should now be properly represented in the stat bar.

And finally, the camo challenges for the R1 Shadowhunter now appear correctly for the Geometric, Flora, and Science Camo Categories.

It's good to see Raven step in here to tackle two of Warzone's most popular guns, and I hope the nerfs go some way to adding variety to the meta. But these patch notes are, once again, imprecise. We don't have exact stats for these changes - although the regular suspects within the Call of Duty community will have their say soon enough, I imagine.