CoD: Warzone Patch Notes Reveal A Fix For Major Footstep Audio Issues

A new update has arrived to Call of Duty: Warzone, and the December 12 patch notes confirm a fix for the battle royale’s major audio issues. The update also includes weapon balancing and a change to redeployment drones.

One of the biggest changes is the rebalanced footstep audio. Previously, footstep audio was almost nonexistent, but the sound should be more audible with this new update.

A note from the developer says, “We’ve been actively listening to player feedback regarding audio concerns in Warzone, especially related to footsteps. This initial update is aimed at addressing part of these concerns and enhancing the overall experience before we head into the holidays.”

For weapon tuning, many of Warzone’s popular guns are slightly nerfed. The powerful BAS-B battle rifle received a damage reduction from 39 to 35, and minimum damage was decreased from 27 down to 25. The DM56 marksman rifle’s maximum damage was reduced from 50 down to 41, and the minimum damage went from 39 down to 37.

Several overpowered akimbo pistols have been nerfed as well. The Renetti’s maximum damage while akimbo is reduced from 30 to 22, and the akimbo headshot multiplier is reduced from 1.4 to 1.2. The TYR akimbo pistols get a significant decrease to maximum damage with a reduction from 120 down to 70.

Other major adjustments to the battle royale include a change to redeployment drones and breacher drones. The redeployment drones in Resurgence modes will now be disabled at the end of the third circle, and breacher drones now have improved impact detection, which the developer says is meant to prevent inflicting more explosive damage to players than intended.

The full list of weapon balancing and changes in the patch notes can be found below, as shared by Call of Duty’s blog post.

STABILITY & PERFORMANCE

• Addressed an issue experienced by some players that caused items previously unlocked to become unavailable to equip.

WEAPONS & ATTACHEMNTS

» Assault Rifles «

• RAM-7 (MWIII)
  • Speedway v5 Short Barrel Attachment is now available to equip in the Gunsmith.

EQUIPMENT

• Breacher Drone
  • Improved impact detection to prevent inflicting more explosive damage to players than intended.

CUSTOMIZATION

• Crimson Fate and Carbon Fate Laser Attachment Skins will no longer appear as default Skins when equipped to Shotguns.

• Players who purchased the GG EZ Weapon Vault Bundle will now be able to use customizations on the Houndeye Integrated Optic Attachment.

• Animated Emblems are now properly rewarded upon reaching Prestige Levels 1-5.
  • Note: In the coming days, we’ll retroactively grant these items to players who met the requirements prior to today’s fix.

• The Stormender’s Priceless and Interstellar reward Emblems will now display the correct Emblem art.

WARZONE

GAMEPLAY

Battle Royale

• Strongholds
  • A Blacksite key will only be rewarded the first time a Stronghold is completed.
  • Subsequent captures by other Squads will not reward a key.

Resurgence

• Redeployment
  • The Resurgence redeployment mechanic will now be disabled at the end of Circle 3.

• Public Events
  • Public Events have been disabled in Circles 1 and 2.
  • The chances for a Public Event to occur in later Circles has been adjusted.

WEAPONS

Looking at the breadth of Weapons and Attachments on offer, some outliers were performing above expectation. We have taken immediate steps to mitigate them to support a healthy engagement experience through the holiday break.

» Assault Rifles «

• DG-56 (MWIII)
  • Max Damage reduced to 32, down from 40.

• FR 5.56 (MWIII)
  • Max Damage reduced to 35, down from 43.

» Battle Rifles «

• BAS-B (MWIII)
  • Max Damage reduced to 35, down from 39.
  • Min Damage reduced to 25, down from 27.

» Handguns «

• COR-45 (MWIII)
  • Akimbo
    • Max Damage reduced to 30, down from 45.

• Renetti (MWIII)
  • Akimbo
    • Max Damage reduced to 22, down from 33.
    • Headshot Multiplier reduced to 1.2, down from 1.4.

» Marksman Rifles «

• DM56 (MWIII)
  • Max Damage reduced to 41, down from 50.
  • Min Damage reduced to 37, down from 39.

• KVD Enforcer (MWIII)
  • Headshot Multiplier reduced to 1.8, down from 2.2.

• MTZ Interceptor (MWIII)
  • Headshot Multiplier reduced to 1.5, down from 2.

• TYR (MWIII)
  • Akimbo
    • Max Damage reduced to 70, down from 120.

» Shotguns «

• Haymaker (MWIII)
  • Max Damage reduced to 36, down from 52.

» Submachine Guns «

• Fennec 45 (MWII)
  • Max Damage reduced to 22, down from 25.
  • Headshot Multiplier reduced to 1.25, down from 1.35.
  • Lower Torso Multiplier reduced to 1, down from 1.1.

AUDIO

All Modes

• Rebalanced first person and enemy footstep audio.

Since the launch of Season 1 last week, we’ve been actively listening to player feedback regarding audio concerns in Warzone, especially related to footsteps. This initial update is aimed at addressing part of these concerns and enhancing the overall experience before we head into the holidays.

When making changes such as this, there’s a complex mix of variables we need to meticulously look at and consider. One of the primary factors to consider is the fidelity of the experience across our titles to avoid too large a gap between Warzone, Multiplayer, and Zombies. Beyond that, changes to things like occlusion, falloff distance, first-person vs third-party balance, or specific Perk mechanics, can have ripple effects due to the sheer number of interacting/overlapping sounds in a Battle Royale match.

Please know that we’re committed to ongoing improvements and to ensuring that players can fully immerse themselves in the game while maintaining a competitive edge. Your continued constructive feedback is appreciated, and we’ll continue to work towards making Warzone the best it can be on every front.

BUG FIXES

• Fixed collision issues with various elements across Urzikstan allowing Players to exploit/peek/shoot through them.

• Fixed an issue that allowed Players to get stuck inside locked buildings that should otherwise be inaccessible.

• Fixed additional issues with incorrect text appearing on Challenges.