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Modern Warfare 3 Season 1 update patch notes

Modern Warfare 3 player aiming down sights of rifle with explosion in foreground and another player in background
Credit: Activision
By Jon NicholsonFPS Editor

Modern Warfare 3 player aiming down sights of rifle with explosion in foreground and another player in background
Credit: Activision

The Modern Warfare 3 Season 1 patch notes are bound to contain a wealth of changes to multiplayer and zombies.

Just like previous Call of Duty seasons, Season 1 of Modern Warfare 3 is packed with plenty of brand-new content ranging from Dark Aether rifts to the XRK Stalker sniper rifle which could well find itself among the best guns and weapons. In addition to the new weaponry and features, the update will contain numerous bug fixes, adjustments, and more to guarantee a smooth gameplay experience.

But, before we share more about the Modern Warfare 3 Season 1 patch notes, check out everything there is to know about Ranked play and when the next double XP event is expected to take place.

Modern Warfare 3 Season 1 patch notes

Multiplayer

UIX

New Features & Quality of Life

  • Player health and stamina are now represented by dynamic bars on the HUD.
  • Note: This feature is only available in Multiplayer and Zombies.
  • Faction assignment will now appear as a splash at the start of each match.
  • Added Upper Legs Damage and Empty Reload Quickness statistics to the Details widget in the Gunsmith.
  • Increased decimal precision of the Flinch Resistance stat in the Details widget in the Gunsmith.
  • Added icons in the Gunsmith to represent which title an Attachment originates from.
  • Reduced volume of the Multi-Kill and Medal splash sound effects.

Bug Fixes

  • In Search and Destroy, hovering a bombsite on the Tac-Map will no longer reveal when a player is actively defusing.
  • Addressed multiple issues in Private Matches that caused players to be kicked back to the Main Menu.
  • Hovering an equipped Killstreak will no longer kick the player back to the Multiplayer menu.
  • Resolved a font rendering issue that caused text to be improperly displayed.
  • Improved performance of Social features for players with large Friend counts.
  • Resolved an issue in which the incorrect Weapon would be featured in the overlay of Killcams.
  • Kill Counter will now properly function with streaks beyond 120 Kills.
  • Reduced hitching that infrequently occurred while transitioning between menus.
  • Addressed an issue that caused the application to freeze while editing a Loadout.
  • Resolved a crash that could occur prior to viewing an After Action Report.
  • Addressed an issue that caused a crash while reporting a player.
  • Lockpick (Operator) can now be equipped, where available, without using the Quick Equip option.
  • Scrolling menus while in splitscreen will no long result in the cursor appearing off-screen.
  • Improved readability of the timer below the Event tab.

Gameplay

Movement

  • Added a delay following multiple rapid stance transitions to prevent exploitable repetition.
    • Crouch to Stand: 150ms
    • Prone to Stand: 600ms

Spawns

  • Improved spawn protection against enemy Equipment and Killstreaks.
  • In Hardpoint, several adjustments have been made to improve the flow of combat and increase control of team-owned areas.
Modern Warfare 3 player wearing gold mask and aiming down sights
expand image
Credit: Activision

Weapons and attachments

  • Decreased hipfire spread penalty incurred while firing/moving for all Submachine Guns

Assault rifles

MTZ-556

  • Increased maximum hipfire spread while standing by 10%.
  • Increased maximum hipfire spread while crouched by 6%.
  • Increased hipfire spread penalty incurred while firing by 10%
  • Increased hipfire spread penalty incurred while moving by 4%.

MTZ Natter Heavy Short (Barrel)

  • Decreased hipfire spread benefit by 5%.

Bruen Thunder V9 (Stock)

  • Decreased hipfire spread benefit by 6%.

Battle rifles

BAS-B

  • Increased damage multipliers in semi-auto fire type to intended values.
  • Lower-Torso: 1x to 1.2x
  • Arm & Hand: 1x to 1.35x

Sidewinder

  • Decreased aim down sights time from 280ms to 265ms (-5%).

Tempus Predator Precision (Barrel)

  • Increased gun kick control benefit by 5%.

Huntsman Series-R Integrated Suppressor (Barrel)

  • Increased gun kick control benefit by 7%.

RB Borealis Grip (Rear Grip)

  • Increased gun kick control benefit by 5%.

SMGs

Striker

  • Decreased sprint to fire time from 110ms to 100ms (-9%).
  • Decreased aim down sights time from 230ms to 215ms (-7%).

Striker Stubby (Barrel)

  • Added 9% aim down sights time benefit.

WSP Swarm

  • Decreased sprint to fire time from 110ms to 88ms (-20%).
  • Decreased aim down sights time from 190ms to 175ms (-8%).

Striker 9

  • Decreased sprint to fire time from 110ms to 100ms (-9%).
  • Decreased aim down sights time from 225ms to 205ms (-9%).

Striker Stubby (Barrel)

  • Added 9% aim down sights time benefit.

Shotguns

Lockwood 680

  • Tac-Stance will no longer reduce damage pellet count.

Marksman rifle

MCW 6.8

  • Equipping the Full-Auto Conversion Kit and 60rnd Drum Magazine will no longer result in a broken aim-down sights animation.

Melee

Riot Shield

  • Increased melee damage from 50 to 75 (+50%).
  • Added a 10% movement speed penalty while stowed.

Attachments

S-37C DL Breacher Device (Muzzle)

  • Decreased hipfire spread benefit by 14%.
  • Resolved an issue that prevented one-hit melee kills in round-based Modes.

Bruen Tactical Vertical Grip (Underbarrel)

  • Decreased hipfire spread benefit by 8%.

Hollowpoint (Ammunition)

  • Decreased inflicted sprint penalty time from 800ms to 200ms (-75%).

Modern Warfare 2 (carry forward)

  • Increased reserve ammunition for all Weapons to MWIII standards.
  • Decreased hipfire spread benefit of Underbarrel vertical grips by 5-12%.
  • Decreased hipfire spread benefit of applicable Lasers by 2-5%.

Assault rifles

M4

  • Increased maximum damage from 35 to 37 (+25%).
  • Decreased head and neck damage multipliers from 1.37x 1.1x (-20%).

Battle rifles

TAQ-V

  • Increased lower-torso, leg, and foot damage multipliers from 0.8x to 1.1x (+38%).

SMGs

Vaznev-9K

  • Increased near-medium damage from 29 to 30 (+3%).

ISO 45

  • Increased maximum damage from 30 to 33 (+10%)

Shotguns

KV Broadside

  • Increased far-medium damage range from 9m to 10m (+8%).
  • Decreased aim down sights spread slightly.

LMGs

RAAL MG

  • Decreased aim down sights time from 470ms to 390ms (-17%).
  • Decreased sprint to fire time from 375ms to 320ms (-15%).
  • Decreased tactical sprint to fire time from 496ms to 416ms (-16%).

556 Icarus

  • Increased maximum damage from 28 to 34 (+21%).
  • Decreased head damage multiplier from 1.4x to 1.1x (-21%).

Marksman rifles

SP-R 208

  • Increased maximum damage range from 15m to 20m (+28%).
  • Decreased aim down sights time from 370ms to 340ms (-8%).

Handguns

Basilisk

  • Increased maximum damage range from 5m to 7m (+35%).
  • Increased near-medium damage range from 6m to 15m (+140%).
  • Increased far-medium damage range from 17m to 23m (+32%).
Modern Warfare 3 players aiming down sights of weapons
expand image
Credit: Activision

Progression

  • Corrected unlock requirement descriptions for multiple Weapon Attachments.
  • Revised conditions for multiple unlocks that caused Attachments to be unavailable at the expected Weapon level.
  • Associated weaponry will now be properly included in the Camo unlock splashes.

Player Rank

  • Increased Level cap from 55 to 250, enabling players to reach Prestige 5.
  • At each Prestige, a new animated icon is unlocked.

Customisation

  • Increased animation rate of the Priceless and Interstellar Completionist Camos.

Maps

Derail

  • Swapped Attacker and Defender initial spawn positions in Control.

Estate

  • Improved bullet penetration through the staircase in the Lodge.
  • Adjusted collision to prevent players can accessing an unintended location near the Front Entrance of the Lodge.

Highrise

  • Improved ambient audio reverberation in the Mechanical Room.
  • Deprioritized spawn points distant from the objective in Hardpoint.

Karachi

  • Players will now spawn on the correct side of the map assigned to their team in Cutthroat.

Quarry

  • Added collision near the Offices to prevent players from reaching unintended locations.
  • Addressed an issue that caused players to spawn in unfavorable conditions in the Hardpoint game mode.

Skidrow

  • Enemy player nameplates are no longer visible through certain surfaces in the Apartments.

Terminal

  • Added additional spawn points in Free-for-All mode to improve player experience.
  • Improved ability to gauge spawn selection quality in all Modes.
  • Relocated a spawn point that placed players outside of the playable area.

Scrapyard

  • Reviewed objective capture points to prevent players from capturing from unintended locations in Hardpoint and Control modes.
  • Added additional spawn points in Free-for-All mode to improve player experience.

Orlov Military Base

  • Improved AI Bot ability to navigate the environment in Invasion mode.

Operation Spearhead

  • Added collision near the Hotel to prevent players from exiting the playable area.
  • Added collision near the Corner Shop to protect players in their spawn area.
  • Addressed an exploit involving environmental turrets that allowed players to reach unintended locations.

Game modes

Ground War

  • Pre-game lobby countdown timer will no longer reset when a player leaves.

Search and Destroy

  • Increased Player XP earned for several score events.
    • Kill: 500 XP
    • Assist: 200 XP
    • Shield Assist: 400 XP
    • Headshot: 1,000 XP
    • Plant: 1,000 XP
    • Defuse: 1,000 XP (+ 250 XP for Last Alive)
    • Ninja Defuse: 1,250 XP (+ 250 XP for Last Alive)

War

  • Players who join an in-progress match can no longer be placed on a full team.
  • Decreased tank escort phase time limit from 6m to 5m.
  • Joining an in-progress match during the ending cinematic sequence is no longer possible.

Equipment

Throwing Star (Lethal)

  • Addressed an issue that allowed one-hit kills without a Headshot.

EMD Grenade (Tactical)

  • Prompt to remove tracker will no longer persist after death.

Field upgrades

Deployable Cover

  • Previous deployments will now be destroyed upon new deployment as the maximum has been limited to 1.

Trophy System

  • Mosquito Drone (Killstreak) will no longer be targeted.

Killstreaks

Juggernaut Recon

  • Addressed an exploit that allowed players to fire Loadout Weapons with unlimited ammo.

Precision Airstrike

  • Players will now properly look through the binoculars in third-person view.

Remote Turret

  • Implemented safeguard measures to prevent players from becoming stuck with the tablet in hand.

Vehicles

NSTV

  • Increased traction control to improve handling on muddy surfaces.

Razor Tank

  • Decreased maximum forward speed by 14%.
  • Increased maximum reverse speed by 20% to match forward speed.
  • Increased turn speed by 40% to allow for tighter turns.
  • Increased ability to accelerate on sloped surfaces.

Modern Warfare 3 Zombies Season 1 patch notes

Maps

Urzikstan

  • Various visual map fixes.

Weapons

» Wonder Weapons «

  • The Scorcher
    • The Scorcher’s launch ability will automatically fire when a player reaches their maximum charge under low ammo conditions.

» Assault «

  • DG-58
    • Addressed an issue that prevented camos from applying in the customization tab in loadout menus.

» Weapon Cases «

  • All Weapon Cases
    • Closed a duplication exploit.

Missions

Hostile Takeover

  • Addressed an issue that prevented some safes from progressing this Mission.
  • Adjusted the description of this Mission in the Mission Select menu to state that Greene wants Players to hit “Terminus” instead of “Deadbolt.”

Merc Cleanup

  • Mercenaries killed from long distances inside Merc Camps will now progress this mission.

Shocked

  • This Mission now requires players to shock five separate Special zombies instead of shocking the same Special zombie multiple times.

Storm the Castle

  • The required mission item will always drop when the Warlord is killed.

Gameplay

Contracts

  • Defend Ground Station
    • Addressed an issue that prevented the timer for the Defend Ground Station contract from appearing if players previously completed the same contract in a single session.
    • Mercenaries will now continue to fight Players after completing the Defend Ground Station contract.
  • Eliminate Bounty Target
    • HVTs lured far away from their original spawn location in an attempt to exploit their behavior will now return faster to their spawn and heal more.
  • Outlast
    • Enemies no longer spawn if players are not progressing the contract.
  • Raid Weapon Stash
    • Enemies no longer spawn if players are not progressing the contract.
  • Spore Control
    • Adjusted Spores to prevent them from spawning on a player, resulting in an instant death.

Acquisitions

  • General
    • Addressed an issue where players could store more Acquisitions in the stash than intended.
  • Aether Tools
    • Addressed an issue that prevented Aether Tools from applying if a player was driving a vehicle.
  • Ammo Mods
    • Addressed an issue that prevented Ammo Mods from applying if a player was driving a vehicle.
  • Perk-A-Colas
    • Tombstone Soda
      • Addressed an issue where Tombstones could spawn under the map.
      • Addressed an issue where Tombstones could spawn in the center of the map instead of where a player previously died.
      • Addressed an issue where sometimes players would not obtain their essence when interacting with a Tombstone.
      • Closed various duplication exploits associated with Tombstone Soda.
  • Ammo Mods
    • Brain Rot
      • Players will now receive essence when a Brain Rotted Zombie kills other Zombies or dies.

Looting

  • Various fixes for locations on the map where players could not loot items.

Exfil

  • Launch
    • More formidable enemies have been added to the Exfil experience in all zones.
    • Addressed a rare issue that prevented the Hilltop Exfil helicopter from landing.
  • In-Season
    • All exfils will increase the number of enemies spawned, with the Final Exfil receiving a significant boost to enemy count and enemy types.

General

  • Ammo Caches will now always fully refill applicable player ammo reserves.
  • Addressed an issue that allowed players to die instantly if they ran and slid into a Dog House.
  • Players will no longer be able to hide inside a Dog House.
  • Closed an out-of-bounds location that allowed players to stay alive outside the playable space.
  • Addressed an issue where Player selected Operator skins would change upon entering a vehicle.

Enemies

Zombies

  • Disciples
    • General
      • Addressed multiple issues that allowed Disciples to behave erratically, such as becoming stuck high in the air or on objects.
    • The Stormcaller
      • Addressed an issue that allowed The Stormcaller to die instantly from the Blood Burner’s Aether Pulse.
  • Hell Hounds
    • Hell Hound flame particles will disappear if a Hell Hound does not spawn.
  • Zombies
    • General
      • Adjusted spawns to prevent Zombies from spawning on top of fences.
      • Adjusted pathing to address exploits or incorrect pathing.
    • Light Armored Zombies
      • Addressed an issue that allowed Light Armored Zombies to receive more headshot damage than intended.

Equipment

Lethal Equipment

  • Experimental Gas Grenade
    • Damage against Aether Worms has been reduced.

Tactical Equipment

  • Decoy Grenades
    • Reduced the number of Decoy Grenades that can be stacked or equipped from 3 to 2.
    • Reduced Decoy Grenade duration from 8 seconds to 6.

Killstreaks

Juggernaut

  • Addressed an issue where players could destroy an Exfil helicopter by calling in a Juggernaut suit crate on top of it.

Sentry Turret

  • Players can no longer kill themselves or others when placing down a Sentry Turret.

Customisation

Camos

  • Borealis (MWIII) and Bioluminescent (MWII) Update.
    • Increased the animation rate of the Borealis and Bioluminescent Completionist Camos

UIX

  • Player health and stamina are now represented by dynamic bars on the HUD.
  • Addressed an issue that prevented pings on looted items in caches from disappearing automatically.
  • Addressed an issue where players who attempted to equip a Mission Reward in the Gear tab would sometimes equip the wrong item.
  • Addressed an issue where objective titles would occasionally not display while loading into a match.
  • Addressed an issue where objective text would occasionally display outside its panel while loading into a match.
  • Addressed an issue where players would be returned to the lobby screen when selecting “Activate Armory Unlock” on a locked Tactical or Lethal equipment item.

Progression

Achievements

  • The First Step
    • Players can now unlock “The First Step” for reaching level 55 in Modern Warfare Zombies. Previously, players would need to enter the Multiplayer menu to obtain the achievement.

Camos

  • Completionist Camos
    • Golden Enigma (MWIII) & Golden Ivory (MWII) Update
      • We’ve released a fix that allows Players to complete the Golden Enigma and Golden Ivory Completionist Camos with Blueprint weapons and Custom Mods.

Audio

Battle Chatter

  • “Friendly Fire” Operator chatter will play less frequently.

Stability

  • Adjustments have been made to better ensure players keep their loadout and rucksack inventory if they do not successfully deploy into a match.
  • Added various crash and stability fixes.

That's all we have for you on the update patch notes for Modern Warfare 3 Season 1. We'll keep updating the list as more notes are released.