Blog/games news/Modern Warfare 3 Season 2 Patch Notes: All Multiplayer Changes, New Maps, Weapons and More

Turtle BeachFebruary 2, 2024

Modern Warfare 3 Season 2 Patch Notes: All Multiplayer Changes, New Maps, Weapons and More

Modern Warfare 3 is now the main focal point for Call of Duty fans for the next while, and with the game being released now, players are amped to dive into this year’s content.

All eyes are on the game at the moment, as Season 2 is right around the corner, and we know what kind of content is coming.

Here’s all the patch notes for players.

Modern Warfare 3 Season 2 Patch Notes: All Multiplayer Changes, New Maps, Weapons and More

With Modern Warfare 3 fully released, players are getting situated with all the weapons, maps and more, and this is all about to change with the arrival of Season 1 content.

Now, the arrival of the new Season brings a ton of content, and today we’re more or less concerned with the multiplayer aspect of the game.

Here’s all the patch notes.

NEW MAPS

Three all-new 6v6 Maps join a star-studded roster of locales with an iconic playspace to follow in-season. Start Season 2 off right by jumping into the Stash House 24/7 Playlist on day one.

Stash House
- Follow the Federal authorities into a recently raided Bay Area stash house ripe for close-quarters engagements.
Vista
- Welcome to a Brazilian mountaintop resort with gift shops and restaurants, a perfect environment for all playstyles.
Departures
- Explore the Departures area of the Zakhaev International Airport, a clean and competitive 6v6 map with areas for all ranges of combat.
Das Haus (In-Season)
- Navigate an under-construction skyscraper in the vicinity of Highrise as the seminal, small-sized Call of Duty: Vanguard map returns with an all-new look.

NEW WAR MAP

Skydive into Operation Tin Man for a new, linear objective-driven experience in War Mode.

Expect an airdrop as your team skydives down to the roof of a skyscraper, navigating the multi-level construction site. One team protects the structure while the other plants explosives to clear a path downward.

NEW MODES

As each week of Season 2 progresses, be on the lookout for Playlist Updates containing each of the five new Modes.

Hordepoint
- Capture the Hardpoint and hold it against attack. Fight back against the horde of zombies. The first team to reach the score limit wins.
Team Gun Game
- Progress through a series of weapons with your team. First team to reach the score limit wins.
Snipers Only (In-Seaason)
- Battle in objective-based modes with only hard-hitting Sniper Rifles.
Juggermosh (In-Season)
- All Juggernaut combat, all the time, within matches of Kill Confirmed, Domination, and Hardpoint.
Bounty (In-Season)
- The player with the most kills from each team will be marked as an HVT. The HVT alternates on a time interval and rewards extra points when killed.

NEW WEAPONS

Two new Weapons debut at the helm of Season 2 with two specialized additions arriving later in-season.

BP50 (Assault Rifle)
- A modular bullpup chambered in 5.56. Tear down the competition with a high rate of fire and exceptional accuracy for dominating at mid to long ranges.
RAM-9 (Submachine Gun)
- More maneuverable and agile than its assault rifle counterpart, this bullpup SMG chambered in 9mm is lethal at close range.
SOA Subverter (Battle Rifle, In-Season)
- Chambered in 7.62, this hard-hitting rifle dominates at mid to longer ranges thanks to a low rate of fire and predictable recoil.
Soulrender (Melee, In-Season)
- A ceremonial blade capable of razor-sharp cuts and deadly melee action in close-quarters combat.

NEW AFTERMARKET PARTS

In tandem with new weaponry is an arsenal of new Aftermarket Parts to transform your favorite Weapons.

JAK Burnout (Holger 26, Battle Pass)
- Gives the Holger 26 an adverse fire mode that provides a dramatically increased fire rate but will overheat and expand the barrel, introducing increased recoil over time.
JAK Tyrant 762 Kit (Longbow, Weekly Challenge)
- This caliber Conversion Kit swaps out the receiver and magazine to accommodate 7.62 BLK ammunition for a harder-hitting, subsonic weapon.
JAK Backsaw Kit (Holger 556, Weekly Challenge)
- Gives the Holger 556 a high capacity drum magazine and a side-by-side double barrel, allowing for the weapon to fire two bullets at once.
JAK Limb Ripper (Attachment, Weekly Challenge)
- Unrivaled at creating close-quarters carnage, this underbarrel chainsaw makes quick and messy work of anyone foolish enough to stand in your way.
JAK Maglift Kit (Haymaker, Weekly Challenge)
- With a new binary trigger and reinforced magwell to accommodate the extra large .410 drum mag, this kit is a room-clearing machine.
JAK Outlaw-277 Kit (BAS-B, Weekly Challenge)
- This Conversion Kit transforms the BAS-B into a lever-action rifle, slowing fire rate but vastly improving accuracy for deadlier precision.
JAK Glassless Optic (Attachment, Weekly Challenge)
- This glassless reflex optic offers a projected dot and state of the art stabilization technology that reduces visual recoil while firing.

NEW PERK

A new Vest makes its way to Multiplayer for those of you with a silent-but-deadly playstyle.

Ninja Vest
- Eliminate footstep sounds.
- Immune to movement reduction effects.
- Bonus Shuriken and Throwing Knife ammo.
- Resupply Shuriken and Throwing Knives every 25 seconds.

NEW OPERATORS

Legendary characters from AMC’s The Walking Dead fight alongside an old friend and not-so-familiar face.

Rick Grimes (Battle Pass)
- A former Sheriff’s Deputy with a strong moral code, Rick is a battle – hardened survivor who will stop at nothing to protect his people.
Laswell (Battle Pass)
- [Redacted]
John Doe (BlackCell)
- Bound to an eternal cycle of war, some souls can never find peace.
Michonne (In-Season)
- Michonne has endured much since the world changed, but those experiences have helped shape her into an apocalyptic warrior.

NEW EVENTS

Season 2 is stacked with Events allowing players to earn limited-time cosmetic loot.

Horde Hunt
- The Hunt is on. Every week, hunt down new featured zombie types.
Year of the Dragon (In-Season)
- Start the new lunar year off with a bang with this Field Rep event!
Cryptid Bootcamp (In-Season)
- Fact or fiction? Prove your monstrous might. (Tinfoil hat not included)
The Walking Dead: Fear the Living (In-Season)
- Fight the dead, fear the living.
Vortex: Decay’s Realm (In-Season)
- The Vortex is back and seeping with Decay’s blighted touch.
Dune: Rule of Fate (In-Season)
- Take control of the throne of fate.

GLOBAL

GAMEPLAY

ADS Idle Sway

While a player is aimed down sight, idle sway is active. This mechanic discourages players from holding their sights for an extended period of time with a constant, subtle motion that introduces slight inaccuracy.

ADS idle sway now initiates shortly after aiming down sight, rather than immediately, introducing a delay to the sway curve that is generally 5ms long but varies by weapon.
- Note: Sniper Rifles are not included in this change.
After the initial delay, ADS idle sway now gradually increases over a 3s period before reaching peak speed, rather than beginning at full speed upon aiming down sights.
- Note: Sniper Rifles are not included in this change.
ADS idle sway now consistently begins from the position of the player’s hipfire crosshair, rather than along the sway curve.

Hipfire Crosshair Sway

The trajectory of weapon bullets is represented by the hipfire crosshair position on the player’s screen. Previously, the crosshair was influenced by the direction of the weapon, causing the firing direction to deviate from the center of the screen. Today’s changes eliminate the resulting compromise to accuracy without sacrificing the weight and reactivity this motion added.

Hipfire crosshair will no longer sway from the center of the screen while the player moves or rotates the camera.
- Note: We’re aware that certain Stock Attachments may re-introduce this behavior. This is unintentional, and we’ll correct these artifacts in future game updates.
Weapon bullet trajectory is now truly aligned with the hipfire crosshair, and thus, the center of the player’s screen.

CUSTOMIZATION

Fixed several instances of Charms and Stickers not displaying correctly.

MULTIPLAYER

UIX

New Features & Adjustments
- Added Weekly category to the Challenges widget in the Lobby view.
- Detailed stat comparisons are now available for base Weapons in the Gunsmith.
- Decreased kill feed line duration from 10s to 5s (-50%).
- Decreased kill feed line fade duration from 1s to 0.5s (-50%).
- Event category is now displayed first in the list of Weapon Camos.
Bug Fixes
- New item breadcrumbs will now be cleared upon hover when using a Controller.
- Platform-exclusive Calling Cards will no longer be displayed when unavailable.
- Addressed an exploit that allowed invalid Attachment combinations using the in-game Loadout editor.
- Pressing button combinations while in the Firing Range will no longer kick the player back to the menu.
- Fixed an issue in which navigation through Weapon Select became unresponsive after opening and closing filters on a locked weapon.
- Resolved a visual bug in which progression for Weapon Mastery camo challenges was not displayed accurately.
- Fixed an issue where an incoming invitation to join a group would become corrupted if another invitation was accepted before it.
- Fixed an issue in which players could not mark favorites in Gunsmith.
- Round transition UI will now display correct scores in Search and Destroy.
- Weapon progression viewing prompt will no longer open the incorrect menu.

GAMEPLAY

Bug Fixes
- Addressed an issue causing field of view to be set higher than intended after infil.
- Players will no longer dive while using the Slide Only option on Controller.
Decreased delay before health regeneration begins from 4s to 3s (-25%).
Increased health regeneration rate from 40hp/s to 75hp/s (+88%).

We’ve adjusted health regeneration to better match the pace of gameplay. Now, for example, it’ll only take ~5s to heal from 1 to 150 health, down from the previous ~7.7s. These changes aim to enhance the intensity and satisfaction of gunfights.

We look forward to your feedback as we determine our next steps for health regeneration.

PROGRESSION

Resolved various issues preventing the following Attachments from being unlocked.
- RAM-7 (Assault Rifle): XTEN FRL-3 Heavy Barrel
- Longbow (Sniper Rifle): Iron Sights Optic
- XRK Stalker (Sniper Rifle): No Stock
- Global: JAK BFB Muzzle
Added missing Laser Attachments to Gilded Camo challenge tracking for Marksman Rifles.
Breacher Drone kills will no longer count towards Frag Grenade kills Challenges
Resolved an issue in which Juggernaut Recon (Killstreak) would not track kills for Challenges correctly.

MAPS

MWII carry-forward maps are now available in the Quick Play rotation.
Highrise
- Adjustments to prevent players from spawning in unfavorable conditions near the Actibase and Phonic Reception areas.
Sub Base
- Refined Hardpoint objective boundary in the Warehouse (P3) to prevent capture from an unintended location.
Terminal
- Adjustments to prevent players from spawning in unfavorable conditions near Security.
Underpass
- Players can no longer access an exploitable location near the Shelf.
Wasteland
- Addressed an issue that caused more fog than intended on certain platforms.

MODES

Private Match
- Corrected HUD elements after changing teams in War Mode.
- Disabling Perks via Game Rules will no longer prevent some Blueprints from being displayed.

WEAPONS & ATTACHMENTS

Decreased melee lunge distance of all MWIII Weapons to align with MWII standards.
Increased movement speeds of all MWII Weapons to align with MWIII standards.
Added gun kick control and recoil control benefits in Tactical Stance for all Weapons.

» Assault Rifles «

Holger 556
- Increased aim down sight time from 260ms to 270ms (+4%).
MCW
- Increased aim down sight time from 240ms to 265ms (+10%).
- Increased sprint to fire time from 241ms to 252ms (+5%).
- JAK Raven Kit
  - Increased maximum damage from 31 to 33 (+6%).
  - Decreased medium damage from 23 to 22 (-4%).
  - Decreased minimum damage from 22 to 20 (-9%).
  - Decreased maximum damage range from 20.3m to 19.8m (-3%).
  - Increased near-medium damage range from 29m to 35.6m (+23%).
  - Increased medium damage range from 40.6m to 45.7m (+13%).
  - Increased headshot damage multiplier from 1.4x to 1.5x (+7%).
  - Increased lower-torso damage multiplier from 1.01x to 1.1x (+9%).
  - Decreased hipfire spread while sliding.
  - Decreased recoil and gun kick significantly.

» Battle Rifles «

BAS-B
- Increased sprint to fire time from 231ms to 252ms (+9%).
- Increased aim down sight time from 260ms to 270ms (+4%).
- Increased hipfire spread minimum from 2.3deg/s to 2.9deg/s (+26%).
Sidewinder
- Increased bullet velocity from 540m/s to 600m/s (+11%).
- Decreased recoil and gun kick significantly.
- JAK Thunder LMG Kit
  - Increased delay before accelerated rate of fire begins to decay from 200ms to 500ms (+150%).
  - Decreased accelerated rate of fire decay rate from 300rpm/s to 240rpm/s (-20%).
  - Increased gun kick control and recoil control by 35%.
TAQ-V (MWII)
- Increased maximum damage range from 35.6m to 43.2m (+21%).
- Increased near-medium damage range from 48.3m to 55.9m (+16%).

» Submachine Guns «

Striker
- Increased near-medium damage range from 19.1m to 21.6m (+13%).
- Increased medium damage range from 25.4m to 27.9m (+10%).
AMR9
- JAK Ettin Double Barrel Kit
  - Added missing hipfire crosshair.
WSP-9
- Decreased aim down sight time from 240ms to 220ms (-8%).
- Increased maximum damage range from 16.5m to 18.5m (+12%).
- Increased near-medium damage range from 22.9m to 25.1m (+10%).
- Broodmother .45 Kit
  - Decreased aim down sight time from 270ms to 241ms (-11%).
  - Decreased movement speed penalties by 50%.

» Shotguns «

Lockwood 680
- Lockwood Defender Heavy Long Barrel
  - Increased sprint to fire time penalty from 8% to 30% (+22%).
KV Broadside (MWII)
- Decreased sprint to fire time from 210ms to 189ms (-10%).
- Decreased aim down sight time from 330ms to 240ms (-27%).

» Light Machine Guns «

TAQ Eradicator
- Increased sprint to fire time from 210ms to 252ms (+20%).
- Increased aim down sight time from 330ms to 340ms (+3%).
RAAL MG (MWII)
- Decreased sprint to fire time from 216ms to 199ms (-8%).
- Decreased aim down sight time from 390ms to 330ms (-15%).
556 Icarus (MWII)
- Decreased sprint to fire time from 250ms to 235ms (-6%).
RPK (MWII)
- Decreased aim down sight time from 410ms to 380ms (-7%).

» Marksman Rifles «

MCW 6.8
- Decreased aim down sight time from 271ms to 245ms (-10%).
- Decreased all damage ranges by 18%.
- Decreased bullet velocity from 1016m/s to 930m/s (-8%).
- Decreased hipfire spread minimum from 5deg/s to 4.1deg/s (-18%).
- Decreased hipfire spread maximum from 12.1deg/s to 10deg/s (-17%).
DM56
- Decreased near-medium damage from 42 to 41 (-2%).
- Decreased minimum damage from 39 to 38 (-3%).
MTZ Interceptor
- Increased sprint to fire time from 252ms to 262ms (+4%).
- Increased aim down sight time from 265ms to 280ms (+6%).
- Decreased neck damage multiplier from 1.62x to 1x (-38%).
SP-R 208 (MWII)
- Decreased maximum damage range from 19.6m to 13m (-34%).
- Increased upper-arm damage multiplier from 1.15x to 1.5x (+30%).

Lockwood Mk2 (MWII)
- Increased maximum damage from 110 to 125 (+14%).
- Decreased maximum damage range from 8.9m to 6.4m (-29%).

LM-S (MWII)
- Decreased intensity of aim down sight idle sway.
SA-B 50 (MWII)
- Increased maximum damage from 110 to 120 (+9%).
- Decreased maximum damage range from 14.2m to 10.4m (-27%).

Sniper Rifles «

Longbow
- Decreased aim down sight time from 550ms to 520ms (-5%).
Signal 50 (MWII)
- Decreased maximum damage range from 48.5m to 35.1m (-28%).
SP-X 80 (MWII)
- Increased aim down sight time from 521ms to 545ms (+5%).

» Handguns «

Renetti
- JAK Ferocity Carbine Kit
  - Decreased movement speed penalties by 50%.
Basilisk (MWII)
- Increased maximum damage range from 6.9m to 8.4m (+22%).
- Increased near-medium damage range from 15.2m to 22.9m (+50%).
- Increased medium damage range from 22.9m to 35.1m (+53%).
- Increased far-medium damage range from 35.1m to 41.9m (+20%).
- Increased lower-torso damage multiplier from 1x to 1.2x (+20%).

Launchers «

Stormender
- Addressed an issue preventing some Killstreaks from being destroyed and/or disabled.

» Melee «

Gutter Knife
- Decreased melee lunge distance by 30%.
Karambit
- Decreased melee lunge distance by 30%.
Combat Knife (MWII)
- Decreased melee lunge distance by 30%.
Dual Kodachis (MWII)
- Decreased melee lunge distance by 30%.
Dual Kamas (MWII)
- Decreased melee lunge distance by 30%.
Pickaxe (MWII)
- Decreased melee lunge distance by 30%.

» Attachments «

JAK BFB Muzzle
- Decreased gun kick control benefit from 60% to 55% (-5%).
- Decreased vertical recoil control benefit from 40% to 35% (-5%).
- Increased aim down sight time penalty from 12% to 15% (+3%).
- Increased sprint to fire time penalty from 11% to 14% (+3%).
- Increased aim walking speed penalty from 14% to 17% (+3%).
- Added 18% bullet velocity penalty.

FIELD UPGRADES

Med Box
- Decreased time to deploy from 1.9s to 1.3s (-32%).
Munitions Box
- Decreased time to deploy from 1.9s to 1.3s (-32%).
A.C.S.
- Objectives can no longer be captured from further vertical distances than intended.
Tactical Camera
- Resolved an exploit that allowed players to see through the environment when used with certain Equipment.
Deployable Cover
- Addressed an exploit that allowed players to become invisible.
Dead Silence
- Resolved an issue causing activation sounds to be more audible to other players than intended.

KILLSTREAKS

Juggernaut Recon
- Oxygen meter will now display as expected while underwater.
Gunship
- When destroyed by the Stormender (Launcher), visual effects will no longer persist on the player’s HUD.