Warzone’s “pay-to-win” Modern Warfare weapon Blueprints deal even more damage

Liam Mackay
Warzone Operator Mara using Modern Warfare MP5

Although the majority of Modern Warfare guns fall short of their Vanguard counterparts, it appears certain “pay-to-win” Blueprints offer a major damage buff.

Despite Call of Duty ditching loot boxes and claiming Warzone cosmetics offer no competitive advantage, pay-to-win Blueprints can slip through the cracks. The MAC-10 and XM4 have had issues in the past, but now it seems that Modern Warfare weapons can have their Time-To-Kill lowered through a Blueprint.

Website Sym.gg, which datamines weapon stats from Warzone’s files to get the most accurate results possible, reported that “The Modern Warfare MP5 might be a bit [pay-to-win].”

They said that MP5 Blueprints such as Banisher and Ultimatum allow the 10mm Auto 30-Round Mags to deal even more damage at close range, giving a faster TTK.

In the attached video, Sym compares a base MP5 with the 10mm mags and the Banisher Blueprint. While the base MP5 deals 45 headshot damage, the Banisher deals 49. While not a huge difference on paper, those using the Blueprint have a distinct advantage as it’s much easier to achieve a sub-700ms TTK at point-blank.

It appears the MP5 isn’t the only weapon with Blueprints causing problems either. The Grav’s Plot Twist Blueprint can actually be considered pay-to-lose as it still has the controversial bloom mechanic that briefly appeared after the Pacific update. While Sym says it’s “not nearly enough to be relevant,” this Grav Blueprint might be worth avoiding.

Don’t expect Modern Warfare’s MP5 to dominate matches in the same way the Armaguerra and PPSh-41 currently are, but if you have one of these Blueprints you’ll get a free damage buff until it’s patched out.

Also, be sure to check out what’s happening to Warzone once Warzone 2 releases, and how to watch the Call of Duty Next event for Modern Warfare 2’s multiplayer reveal, Warzone Mobile, and more.

Image Credit: Activision

About The Author

Liam is CharlieIntel's Editor. After graduating in Journalism from Edinburgh Napier University, Liam made use of his passion for FPS games, including Call of Duty, by writing for sites such as The Nerd Stash, Red Bull Gaming, and GAMINGbible before joining CharlieIntel in November 2020. You can contact Liam at [email protected].