Warzone 2 devs remove one-shot Sniper Rifles with secret nerf

Nathan Warby
Warzone 2 player using Sniper Rifle

Warzone 2 Season 2 saw Sniper Rifles return to the meta after players discovered they could one-shot kill with Incendiary Rounds. Now, it appears the devs have removed one-shot Snipers in a secret nerf.

Warzone 2 features plenty of different weapons to choose from, but there are always certain guns that dominate the meta more than others. While the likes of the RPK and Fennec have remained top options, Sniper Rifles have been notoriously underpowered since the sequel launched.

This is mostly due to Infinity Ward’s decision to prevent Snipers from downing players with one shot, even if you land a headshot. This all changed when fans discovered that equipping Incendiary Rounds provided the extra damage needed to kill a player with just a single hit.

However, despite no word from Infinity Ward or Raven, it now appears that one-shot Snipers have been removed as part of a secret nerf.

On February 24, popular CoD streamer ModernWarzone tweeted claiming there has been a “stealth nerf” to the key attachment.

He said: “Incendiary rounds seem to have been nerfed in Warzone as snipers can no longer down a fully armored enemy in 1 hit, even with the fire rounds equipped.”

Prior to this secret change, the burning damage inflicted by Incendiary Rounds raised the maximum damage that a single Sniper shot could deliver, which is normally capped at 249. This allowed them to down a fully-plated player with 300 health.

Following this secret nerf, though, it seems that Snipers are back to a two-shot kill once again, and players have actually called for the devs to undo the change.

In a follow-up tweet, ModernWarzone said: “Snipers were actually pretty well balanced with the loss in bullet velocity and increased bullet drop required to land a headshot at distance with incendiary rounds!”

Other players voiced their concerns in the comments, with one replying: “I do hope that streamers and the community speak up to this and ask for RavenSoftware for better changes. Snipers have ALWAYS been on COD, and with this change they are literally useless.”

The devs are still yet to comment on the issue of one-shot Sniper Rifles in Warzone 2, but the community certainly seems keen to keep them in the game.

Perhaps the one-shot Sniper LTM, which is confirmed for later on in Warzone 2 Season 2, will give them the opportunity to try out the feature in a self-contained mode before bringing it back to the normal battle royale.

Image credit: Activision

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About The Author

Nathan is a Senior Writer for CharlieIntel and Dexerto, primarily covering FIFA and Call of Duty, as well as general gaming news and guides. After leaving university with a degree in Sports Studies and a master's degree in Magazine Journalism, he took on a role as a local news reporter before moving into games media. You can contact Nathan by email at [email protected].