Modern Warfare 2 Season Three patch notes

The Modern Warfare 2 Season Three patch notes are bound to become a hot topic of conversation among players looking forward to the next dose of seasonal content. The third major update for Modern Warfare 2 isn't far away and fans are expecting plenty of changes to improve multiplayer.

Although little is known about what Season Three has in store, Infinity Ward is starting to tease some of the content arriving as part of the update. Season Two saw plenty of new weaponry in addition to a brand-new map and it appears the developer is following a similar trajectory.

Before we take a closer look at the Modern Warfare 2 Season Three patch notes, check out our other guides showcasing the best ranked play loadouts and all there is to know about the best SMG for close-range action.

When does Modern Warfare 2 Season Three start?

Season Three for Modern Warfare 2 will commence on April 12 assuming there are no delays. This is when the current Battle Pass is set to expire, suggesting the new season will start on the same date.

If a delay does take place, we'll update the guide with the latest information.

Credit: Activision

Modern Warfare 2 Season 3 patch notes

Weapon balancing

Assault rifles

ISO Hemlock

• All Damage Ranges reduced
• Lower Torso Damage reduced

M13B

• Headshot Damage slightly reduced
• Lower Torso Damage increased
• Mid-range Damage distance increased
• Upper Torso Damage slightly reduced

STB 556

• Headshot Damage increased
• Leg Damage increased
• Lower Torso Damage increased
• Mid-range Damage distance increased
• Mid-range Damage reduced

TAQ-56

• Headshot Damage Increased

Credit: Activision

Battle rifles

FTAC Recon

• Movement Speed increased
• Semi-Auto Leg Damage increased
• Semi-Auto Minimum Armor Damage increased | Warzone 2.0 Only
• Semi-Auto Upper Torso Damage increased

Lachmann 762

• Movement Speed increased

SO-14

• Movement Speed increased
• Semi-Auto Minimum Armor Damage increased | Warzone 2.0 Only

TAQ-V

• Minimum Armor Damage increased | Warzone 2.0 Only
• Movement Speed increased
• Semi-Auto Lower Leg Damage increased

LMGs

RAAL MG

• Headshot Damage reduced
• Minimum Armor Damage added to Semi-Auto Firing Mode | Warzone 2.0 Only
• Semi-Auto Headshot Damage increased
• Semi-Auto Upper Torso Damage increased
• Semi-Auto Lower Torso Damage increased

RPK

• Close-mid Damage slightly reduced

Marksman rifles

Tempus Torrent

• All Damage Ranges reduced slightly
• Close-mid Damage reduced slightly
• Headshot Damage reduced

SMGs

• Submachine Gun Hip Spread accuracy increased

BAS P

• ADS Move Speed increased
• All Damage Ranges increased
• Minimum Armor Damage added to Semi-Auto Firing Mode | Warzone 2.0 Only

Lachmann Sub

• Headshot Damage decreased
• Burst-Fire Leg Damage increased
• Burst-Fire time between shots decreased
• Burst-Fire Torso Damage increased

MX9

• Sprint to Fire Speed increased

Vaznev 9K

• Headshot Damage decreased

VEL 46

• Headshot Damage decreased

Attachments

Ammunition

Basilisk

.500 Snakeshot

• Maximum Armor Damage added | Warzone 2.0 Only

Explosive

• Bolt-Action Weapons equipped with Explosive Ammunition are now able to down fully armored Players in one shot | Warzone 2.0 Only
• Explosive Ammunition has been added to the MCPR-300 progression tree

ISO Hemlock

• .300 Blackout (All Types)
• Headshot Damage increased
• Hip Spread accuracy while prone increased
• Initial Recoil increased slightly
• Long-range Damage decreased
• Mid-range Damage increased
• Minimum Armor Damage added to Semi-Auto Firing Mode | Warzone 2.0 Only
• Recoil violence increased

Barrel

Heavy Barrels

• ADS Speed penalty slightly reduced

Light Barrels

• Muzzle Velocity penalty reduced

Short Barrels

• ADS Speed benefit increased
• Damage Range penalty reduced
• Hip Spread accuracy benefit increased while moving and firing
• Hip Spread accuracy penalty for Shotguns decreased while moving and firing

Bipod

• ADS Speed penalty reduced

Laser

• Laser brightness increased

Magazine

Large Magazines

• Light Machine Guns (Global)
  • Handling and Movement penalties reduced
• Kastov 545
  • 60 Round Magazine
  • Handling penalty reduced
• Kastov 762
  • 40 Round Magazine
  • Handling penalty reduced
• Lachmann Sub
  • 50 Round Drum
  • Handling penalty reduced
• M13B
  • 60 Round Magazine
  • Handling penalty reduced
• M16
  • 60 Round Magazine
  • Handling penalty reduced
• Vaznev-9K
  • 45 Round Magazine
  • Handling penalty reduced
• VEL 46
  • 50 Round Magazine - Handling penalty reduced
  • 60 Round Magazine - Handling penalty reduced

Small Magazines

• Movement Speed increased
• Sprint to Fire Speed increased
• Fennec 45
  • Fennec Double Tap Mod (Benefits from Small Magazine buffs)
  • Damage increased
  • Damage Ranges reduced
  • Minimum Armor Damage added | Warzone 2.0 Only
  • Time between bursts reduced
• STB 556
  • Single Tap Mod (Benefits from Small Magazine buffs)
  • Damage increased
  • Mid-range Damage distances increased
  • Minimum Armor Damage added | Warzone 2.0 Only
  • Time between shots increased

Rear Grip

Basilisk

• Akimbo Basilisk

Maximum Armor Damage added | Warzone 2.0 Only

Stock

Heavy Stocks

• ADS Move Speed penalty reduced
• Aiming Stability benefit increased
• Aim Walking Steadiness benefit increased

General

• Blueprints
  • Pro-Tuning is no longer removed from all Attachments when altering a Pro-Tuned Blueprint
• Bomb Squad
  • Explosive Damage mitigation now also applies to Armor | Warzone 2.0 Only
• Damage Feedback
  • Visual feedback adjusted to increase visibility when taking damage
• Death Effects
  • Death Effects are now visible when killing AI
• Dive
  • Diving fire delay reduced
• Slide
  • Sliding speed slightly increased

Field Upgrades

• Added Thermal Vision to the Tactical Camera for Night Map Modes

Equipment

• Gas Grenades should no longer detonate enemy explosives

Flash Grenade

• Flash effect duration reduced

Semtex

• Now kills downed Players when stuck

Killstreaks

• Players watching a Killcam after getting killed by a Cruise Missile will no longer be looking downwards when they respawn
• Reduced the range of screen shakes for Precision Airstrike explosions
• Juggernaut should now be able to see the tablet screen when planting or defusing a bomb

Vehicles

• Vehicle windows can now be destroyed by melee attacks
• Vehicle tires can now be popped with knives

Audio

• Added a new cinematic music slider to the front end, which will allow Players to control UI music, game intros/outros, and cinematic sequences separately from music that happens during gameplay
• Various refinements to footstep and occlusion mixes

Social

Groups Request Manager

• Quality of life improvements for requests to join groups in the Social menu.

Recruit a Friend

• Know someone who has yet to experience Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0? You and your friends can get rewarded through the new Recruit a Friend program.
• Recruits and recruiters can then earn rewards for completing challenges together
  
  NOTE: This Program is not available in Austria, Argentina, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Poland, and the Philippines.

UI/UX

• Player names now appear in the squad lists of a Private Battle Royale Match
• Added the ability to preview tracers and death effects that come with weapon Blueprints
• New front end/pre-game lobby scene

Global bug fixes

Weapons Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue that disallowed Tuning on the Assault-60 Stock Factory for the FSS Hurricane, FTAC Recon, and Tempus Torrent
• Fixed incorrect ammo names on the SPW 40mm HE and KL40-M2 Underbarrel Grenade Launchers
• Fixed numerous Blueprints that were unable to be brought into DMZ
• Fixed Underbarrel Launcher and Underbarrel Shotgun Attachment compatibility issues
• Fixed .50 GS Barrels that were not equipping properly
• Fixed P890 Triggers that were not equipping properly
• Fixed Attachment descriptions for unlocks on the KV Broadside progression tree
• Fixed an incorrect unlock level description on the SP-X 80 progression tree
• Fixed an issue with the progression of .50 GS and KV Broadside camo challenges
• Fixed an issue where the UI would sometimes incorrectly display 6 out of 5 attachments

Vehicles bug fixes

• Fixed an issue preventing tires on the Armored Truck from being popped
• Fixed the minimap icon of the neutral LTV with a turret not having a turret
• Fixed an issue that makes the Player getting stuck in vehicles much less likely
• Fixed an issue where roof-exiting on an ATV could push the Player through collision objects
• Fixed an issue that allowed Players to exit a vehicle and leave Maps in certain areas
• Fixed an issue causing vehicles to sometime become disabled when one of their tires was still on land
• Fixed an issue that allowed helicopters to fly through objects after deploying AI
• Fixed an issue causing flares on the Heavy Chopper to deploy too high
• Fixed an issue causing War Tracks to not clear from Players in the turrets of the Armored Patrol Boat if the driver dies

Killstreaks bug fixes

• Fixed an issue causing Crossbow bolts to not damage Recon Drones and Bomb Drones
• Fixed an issue causing Explosive Crossbow bolts to not damage the Wheelson
• Fixed a handful of issues that prevented Cluster Mines from being damaged correctly by different sources
• Fixed a small number of out of bounds issues that could impact piloting a Drone

Field Upgrades bug fixes

• Fixed an issue that prevented Armor from being used while DDoS was active

Equipment bug fixes

• Fixed a bug that would sometimes prevent Players using the Riot Shield from being killed by Drill Charges

UI/UX bug fixes

• Fixed an issue where Players could spam invites to other Players as a form of griefing
• Fixed an issue allowing Players to whisper, toggle mute, report or block Players, and add friends from the Leaderboard at the end of a match
• Fixed an issue causing misaligned stats in the Scoreboard in Multiplayer
• Fixed an issue affecting Double Kill Challenge tracking in the UI
• Fixed an issue where the Basilisk, .50 GS and LA-B 330 weapons had incorrectly set weapon camo challenges
• Fixed an issue allowing custom Perk Packages to be edited while in-game

Special Ops

Atomgrad Raid

• Added ping icons for platforms in Episode 02
• Increased the difficulty of the escape sequence in Episode 02
• If a Player is downed when the final airlock sequence starts in Episode 02, they will now be revived and placed in a safe spot

Atomgrad Raid bug fixes

• Fixed an issue where the red buttons to the first number puzzle would disappear after being interacted with in Episode 01
• Fixed an exploit where Players could leave the Map in Episode 01
• Fixed an issue preventing the spectator camera from working as intended during the final sequence in Episode 02
• Fixed an issue causing the Raid Rewards screen to display in an incorrect aspect ratio

Cooperative

• Loadouts can now be used in all non-modified Cooperative content
• Added a unique Loadout configuration option

Cooperative bug fixes

• Fixed a bug where the “kill enemies with throwing knives” Challenge was not tracking properly
• Fixed a bug where defusing a Claymore while wearing an Assault Suit would cause the Player to lose the Assault Suit
• Fixed a weapon exploit using Kit/Role Select crate

General

Gameplay Updates

• Round ending kills in single life Modes will now properly track on the scoreboard
• Free-for-All style games that result in a tie will now display as a tie for all Players who achieved the top score. Previously, only the first three Players would receive the tie, and any remaining Players would receive a loss
• Added a black fader when spectating teammates in Core Multiplayer to avoid gaining Map information in areas of the Map outside of alive teammate locations

Multiplayer bug fixes

• Fixed an issue where Players could get into stacked crates on El Asilo
• Fixed general issues with Player collision, Equipment collision, and bullet collision on Al Malik International, Dome, Taraq, Embassy, Zarqwa Hydroelectric, Al Bagra Fortress, Sarrif Bay, Sa’id, and Zaya Observator
• Fixed an issue where some UI elements were not appearing correctly on Ground War Maps
• Fixed an issue that could result in a game crash when using the Combat Knife or Riot Shield to melee a Wheelson
• Fixed a handful of out of bounds trigger issues

Ranked play bug fixes

• Addressed incorrect messaging when a player disconnects from the other team at the beginning of a match.
• Addressed incorrect penalty messaging when a player disconnects and receives their first suspension.

What's in the Modern Warfare 2 Season 3 update?

Alongside all of the content above, there are some things that are guaranteed to arrive with the launch of a new Call of Duty season. Check out our full list of what to expect:

• Season 3 Battle Pass
• FJX Imperium and new guns
• Gunfight mode
• Weapon balancing
• Bug fixes and quality-of-life updates
• New Operator

There you have it, that's all there is to know about the Modern Warfare 2 Season Three patch notes so far. Once the official list appears, we'll add all of the notable changes here. In the meantime, take a look at our guides showcasing the best assault rifle and intel on when the next double XP event will take place.