Warzone December 19 update patch notes: Cooper Carbine & BAR nerfed

Raven Software have dropped another weapon balancing patch for Warzone, with the BAR and Season 1’s Cooper Carbine both receiving nerfs.

Warzone Season 1 introduced new weapons to the game, with the Cooper Carbine and Gorenko Anti-Tank Sniper Rifle added as part of the major update.

The Cooper Carbine immediately became one of Warzone’s most popular weapons, with many players choosing the AR thanks to its power and accuracy.

Unfortunately for those who liked the weapon, developers Raven Software have decided that the Cooper Carbine was too good, and have dropped a weapon balancing update to bring it back in line with the rest of its class.

As Raven try to balance the weapons in Warzone’s Assault Rifle class, the damage output and ADS speed of the Cooper Carbine have both been reduced in an effort to open up the meta.

On top of that, the BAR has received attachment nerfs after many claimed the recoil on the gun was too low.

• Read More: How to complete Festive Fervor challenges in Warzone & Vanguard

Raven Software have also brought some bug fixes to the game, addressing collision issues, challenge progress not tracking, and more. You can read the full patch notes below.

Warzone Pacific December 19 patch notes

Bug Fixes & Gameplay

• The Firesale Public Event has been adjusted to last a fixed duration.
• Fixed collision issues with various elements across Caldera allowing Players to exploit/peek/shoot through them.
• Fixed an issue causing the Festive Fervor Event Challenges to not track progress.
• Fixed an issue causing additional placeholder images to appear in various Store Bundle previews and/or purchases.
• Fixed an issue causing placeholder text to appear on various Store Bundles.
• Fixed an issue causing placeholder text to appear underneath Unlock Criteria XP Bar for locked Vehicles.
• Fixed an issue causing some Store Bundles to appear with the incorrect Rarity label.
• Fixed an issue causing the Festive Deals discount to not apply when gifting a Store Bundle to another Player.
• Fixed an issue causing visually incorrect pricing on some Store Bundles.
• Fixed an issue where the “Space Issue” Submachine Gun Charlie (VG) Blueprint was incorrectly displaying Vital instead of the Brace Gun Perk.

When considering these changes in a vacuum, they may seem rather peculiar. Due to the nature of Vanguard Weapons, tuning is much less straightforward. Adjustments to base Weapons are not as impactful as they once were. Vanguard Attachments can completely alter the behavior of a Weapon—including its Damage profile, Fire Rate, and Recoil. When we make these adjustments, we are considering the Weapon holistically, in all its permutations. Our goal is for these Weapons to be just as viable with one of these Attachments as it can be with all of them. This allows the Weapons to support all sorts of playstyles and gameplay preferences rather than solely ‘Rapid Fire’.

» Assault Rifle «

• Cooper Carbine (VG)
  • Maximum Damage decreased to 24, down from 25
  • Minimum Damage decreased to 19, down from 20
  • ADS Speed decreased by 5.3%
• Note: This change took effect in the previous update.

We understand those who have taken a liking to the Cooper Carbine (VG) will be sad to see it receive some rather impactful adjustments (see additional changes in Attachment section below). The Cooper Carbine (VG) with all Fire Rate Attachments could reach near 1,200 RPM. Which, considering its innate accuracy and Assault Rifle Damage Range, was problematic. High Rate of Fire Weapons, of which many Vanguard Weapons can become, must be carefully tuned to offset the extreme level of forgiveness that trait provides. We believe in that regard, there is much work ahead of us. The Cooper Carbine (VG) is still going to be effective but is now more likely to lose fights to Submachine Guns in short-range engagements.

» Barrel «

• Assault Rifle Charlie (BAR VG)
  • CGC 27” 2B
    • Horizontal Recoil Control decreased by 5%
    • Vertical Recoil Control decreased by 5%
  • CGC 30” XL
    • Horizontal Recoil Control decreased by 5%
    • Vertical Recoil Control decreased by 5%

As stated above, changes to Weapons and Attachments are not quite what they used to be. While we are reducing the amount of Recoil Control provided by these Barrels, this can easily be compensated for with other Attachments like Fore and Rear Grips. It may require popular builds to shift around somewhat, and as a result, other downsides like poor Mobility may become more apparent. We feel balancing risk versus reward is important. If each Weapon build were ‘one size fits all’, regardless of individual skill, we diminish our journey of mastery. Ideally, over time we graduate from needing an excess of Recoil Control from our attachments to prioritizing more beneficial attributes like Damage, Range, and Mobility.

• Cooper Carbine (VG)
  • 14” Gracey Rapid
    • Now multiplies Damage by .9
    • Now multiplies Headshot Damage by 1.07
    • Now multiplies Upper Torso Damage by .99
    • Now increases Vertical Recoil by 5%

» Magazine «

• Assault Rifle Charlie (BAR VG)
  • 8mm Klauser 30 Round Mags
    • Horizontal Recoil Control decreased by 4%
    • Vertical Recoil Control decreased by 4%
  • .50 BMG 30 Round Mags
    • Horizontal Recoil Control decreased by 4%
    • Vertical Recoil Control decreased by 4%
• Cooper Carbine (VG)
  • 9mm 60 Round Drums
    • Damage Multiplier increased to .96, up from .89
    • Move Speed decreased by 2%

Image Credits: Raven Software