Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Patch Notes, It’s Game Time

Modern Warfare 3 is officially out today, and we’ve got the first patch notes of the year. There’s a lot of fixes here, so don’t be surprised if things feel a little different than they did in the beta.

Perks, Weapons, Equipment, Killstreaks you name it. Almost everything in multiplayer got some balancing tweaks in the time since we last saw the game. Thankfully, the Guardian and Juggernaut streaks were both nerfed, but that’s just the start.

I’ll hit all the huge changes that you need to know right away, and then you can read through the full version of the notes for yourself if you’re so inclined.

Related: Modern Warfare 3 – Every Map & Gameplay Mode

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Day One Patch Notes Explained

The Day One patch pulls the game together in a major way. Spawn logic improvements on pretty much every map, more distinct footstep noise for teammates and enemies, and a new visual update to nameplates to fix the much-discussed visibility issues all headline these notes.

Also, pressing the Sprint button will now impact Slide Canceling, making it even easier for any fellow speed demons to hit corners fast. Hand-in-hand with this decision, Tactical Pads will no longer allow you to slide further, and will only increase your slide speed instead. I’ve yet to get hands-on with the game, but this seems like a solid decision.

The Striker and MCW both got hit with nerfs, though the former will likely be in a worse place than the latter. Our favorite SMG lost damage potential at almost every range, so I’d suspect that another sub will usurp it in the meta.

Full Modern Warfare 3 Release Day Patch Notes

CAMPAIGN

STABILITY & PERFORMANCE

• Offline play will no longer be prevented after first setting up an Activision account.
• Save data integrity has been reviewed and checkpoint loading errors have been solved. 
• Fixed multiple UI-related crashes that occurred while navigating menus.
• Resolved several crash bugs when loading into some missions.
• Fixed an issue in which some players experienced an excessive load time after the opening title splash.
• Fixed several graphical bugs that resulted in hitching after a melee kill.
• Fixed a graphical bug that resulted in assets loading in low quality.

GAMEPLAY BUG FIXES

• Resolved a bug that resulted in low audio, audio skipping, and missing dialogue in some cutscenes.
• Addressed areas in multiple maps in which players could use vehicles and helicopters to access out-of-map locations.
• Enemies should no longer stay in cover more often or longer than intended.
• Fixed a bug in which certain command inputs unintentionally reset loadout selection.
• Players can now toggle the Optic for the silenced M4 and the Cronen Squall.
• Fixed a bug in which players became immune to damage from Gas and Equipment.
• Fixed a bug in which Supply Boxes would not open on first attempt.
• Fixed a bug in which weapons were missing from orange Supply Boxes.
• Fixed enemy clipping through objects in the environment on death or in combat.
• Fixed warning message for areas where the player could only crouch.

MULTIPLAYER

UIX

• Visual Changes
  • Added a stroke to player nameplates to improve visibility.
  • Adjusted font and contrast of the score event text on the HUD to be less obstructive.
• New Features
  • Added a HUD element that displays the player’s current streak after each kill.
  • Match event popups now feature the respective player’s equipped Calling Card.
  • Skillful player achievements, such as Kingslayer, Collateral, etc., will now display a Medal splash on the player’s HUD.
  • Tac-Stance toggle state is now indicated by a widget in the lower-right area of the HUD, replacing the previous prompt while aiming down sights.
  • Match Stats are now available during gameplay via a new tab in the Scoreboard, allowing the player to compare current performance to their career average.
  • Detailed Statistics are now viewable while choosing an Attachment in the Gunsmith.
• Bug Fixes
  • Players will no longer be unexpectedly prompted to choose a Loadout after earning multiple rewards.

MAPS

• Added spawn anchors to many maps in order to influence the flow of combat in the direction of each map’s intended design.
• In Team Deathmatch, team-owned areas are now more favored by spawn selection and resistant to enemy pressure.
• In Domination, spawn selection is now more resistant to enemy pressure on flags, improving consistency by favoring owned flags.
• Estate
  • Added frontline logic to prevent unintentionally frequent spawn flips.
• Favela
  • Decreased the priority of spawn points near the Shacks and Construction Site.
• Highrise
  • Decreased the priority of spawn points in the Actibase and Phonic Tunnels.

GAMEPLAY

• Adjusted footstep volume to further distinguish enemy and friendly players.
• Added an option to double-tap the aim down sights button to activate Tac-Stance.
• Refreshed Default Loadout options with a widened range of content.
• Movement
  • Sprint input while sliding will now cancel the slide animation.
  • Decreased aim down sights time penalty while jumping by 20%.
• Settings
  • Added an option to double-tap the aim down sights button to activate Tac-Stance.
  • Added new options to Slide/Dive Behavior.
    • Tap to slide, disables the dive.
    • Tap to dive, disables the slide.

WEAPONS & ATTACHMENTS

• SVA 545 (Assault Rifle)
  • Increased bullet velocity by 19%.
  • Increased rate of fire from 632 RPM to 682 RPM (+8%).
  • Increased lower-torso damage multiplier from 1x to 1.1x.
  • Decreased recoil to veer less to the right.
• MTZ-556 (Assault Rifle)
  • Increased bullet velocity by 18%.
  • Increased maximum damage range from 23m to 27m (+17%).
• MCW (Assault Rifle)
  • Increased bullet velocity by 18%.
  • Increased recoil during sustained fire.
  • Decreased minimum damage from 24 to 21 (-13%).
• Striker (Submachine Gun)
  • Decreased maximum damage from 42 to 36 (-14%).
  • Decreased near-medium damage from 33 to 27 (-18%).
  • Decreased fear-medium damage from 27 to 25 (-7%).
  • Decreased minimum damage from 21 to 20 (-5%).
  • Decreased aim down sights time from 250ms to 240ms (-4%).
• Holger 26 (Light Machine Gun)
  • Increased bullet velocity by 13%.
• Pulemyot 762 (Light Machine Gun)
  • Increased bullet velocity by 16%.
  • Decreased maximum damage from 47 to 45 (-4%).
  • JAK Annihilator Bullpup Kit (Conversion Kit)
    • Increased bullet velocity by 29%.
    • Decreased rate of fire from 666 RPM to 571 RPM (-14%).
• MTZ Interceptor (Marksman Rifle)
  • Increased bullet velocity by 15%.
  • Increased hipfire spread during sustained fire.
  • Decreased aim down sights time from 330ms to 265ms (-20%).
• MCW 6.8 (Marksman Rifle)
  • Increased bullet velocity by 12%.
  • Increased hipfire spread during sustained fire.
  • Decreased aim down sights time from 260ms to 245ms (-6%).
• Longbow (Sniper Rifle)
  • Increased bullet velocity by 13%.
  • Swapped full-auto crosshair for expected semi-auto crosshair.
  • Increased flinch when shot by an enemy player to align with other Sniper Rifles.
  • Increased hipfire spread while moving and during sustained fire.
• KV Inhibitor (Sniper Rifle)
  • Increased bullet velocity by 5%.
  • Increased hipfire spread while moving.
  • Increased flinch when shot by an enemy player by 18%.
• WSP Stinger (Handgun)
  • Swapped semi-auto crosshair for expected full-auto crosshair.
  • Decreased maximum damage from 25 to 24 (-4%).
  • Decreased maximum damage from 27 to 25 (-7%).
  • Decreased maximum damage range from 12m to 6m (-50%).
  • Decreased upper-torso damage multiplier from 1.1x to 1x.
  • Decreased hipfire spread during sustained fire.
• Renetti (Handgun)
  • Swapped semi-auto crosshair for expected burst-fire crosshair.
  • Slightly increased recoil during sustained fire.
  • Decreased minimum damage.
  • JAK Ferocity Carbine Kit (Conversion Kit)
    • Swapped semi-auto crosshair for expected full-auto crosshair.
    • Increased aim down sight time 200ms.
    • Increased sprint to fire time from 80ms to 100ms (+25%).
• COR-45 (Handgun)
  • Decreased maximum damage range from 9m to 6m (-33%).
  • Decreased near-medium damage range from 20m to 10m (-50%).
• High Velocity (Ammunition)
  • Decreased bullet velocity multiplier from 1.2x to 1.15x.
  • Decreased Sniper Rifle bullet velocity multiplier from 1.3x to 1.17x.
• Low Grain Rounds (Ammunition)
  • Decreased damage range penalty.
  • Decreased bullet velocity penalty.
  • Decreased recoil control advantage.
• High Grain Rounds (Ammunition)
  • Decreased recoil control penalty.
  • Decreased bullet velocity advantage.
  • Decreased damage range advantage.
• Optics (Attachment)
  • Decreased aim down sights time penalty across multiple Optic types.
    • Dots & Holographics: 30ms to 0ms (-100%).
    • 2.5x: 70ms to 15ms (-79%).
    • 4x & Hybrids: 40ms to 20ms (-50%).
    • Scopes: 100ms to 50ms (-50%).
• Muzzles (Attachment)
  • Slightly increased aim down sight penalty for Flash Hider, Compensator, and Muzzle Break types.

PERKS

• Demolition Vest
  • Battle Rage (Tactical) will now only restock up to 1 use.
• Tactical Pads (Boots)
  • Increased slide velocity, replacing the slide distance advantage.
    • Note: Perk description will reflect this change in a future update.
• Tac Mask (Gear)
  • Added immunity to Flash Grandes (Tactical) thrown by the player’s self.

FIELD UPGRADES

• Trophy System
  • Mosquito Drone (Killstreak) will no longer be targeted and destroyed.
• Med Box
  • Updated description to better reflect functionality.
    • Deploy a box of medical supplies for you and your teammates to reduce healing delay.

KILLSTREAKS

• Enemy Killstreak activations will now invoke announcer voicelines as expected.
• Guardian-SC
  • Decreased volume of Guardian-SC’s owned by teammates.
  • Increased environmental audio occlusion.
  • Addressed an issue that caused a player’s HUD to disappear until respawn after being stunned.
• Counter UAV
  • Players within interior areas will no longer receive a “Not enough space to call in” error upon activation.
• Juggernaut Recon
  • Decreased magazine capacity from 20 rounds to 8 rounds (-60%).

VEHICLES

• NSTV
  • Increased traction to improve handling on slippery surfaces.