Warzone Season 3 sees a huge shift in the sniper meta: Swiss, Kar98K getting a nerf, HDR days are back, and more

Call of Duty Warzone Season 3 is live right now. While fans eagerly expected this season to arrive, the new season has just experienced a game-changing moment.

Warzone has a vast collection of arsenals. With multiple Call of Duty titles integrated with Warzone each year, the weapon list is getting bigger. With so many weapons, fans often wonder what the new Warzone meta is?

Warzone’s meta is constantly shifting, but something which hasn’t changed in years is the sniper meta in the game. From the days of Verdansk to Caldera or on the Rebirth Island, the sniper meta has always been constant.

In the latest patch notes, Raven Software reveals that they are changing a massive mechanism in the game's snipers, which will change the game forever.

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Kar98K, SwissK31, and other snipers are receiving massive nerf in Warzone

After experimentation and community reaction, Raven Software finally decided to increase the base player health to 150 in Battle Royale last season.

With increased health, all the weapons required more shots to kill enemies. However, the long-standing "one-shot kill" rule for snipers made some of the guns undisputed kings in the game.

Kar98k and SwissK31's quick ADS (aim down sight) time with their light and quick build made the weapon balance in the game unfair for ages.

For the longest time, the Modern Warfare Kar98K held the crown for the best sniper/marksman rifle in the game. In Black Ops Cold War, the Swiss K31 joins the Kar98k. The two guns were the two most overpowered guns in the game with the highest pick rates.

Raven Software decided to make the game fair and square for the other guns.

In their latest patch notes, they declared:

“Snipers may now use damage ranges as a defining characteristic of their one-shot potential. This not only brings more identity to each weapon but means Attachments that provide the lighter and quicker sniper rifles the Damage Range stat will increase their ability to one-shot at increased distances.”

This means light and quick snipers won’t be able to one-shot enemies if they are outside the maximum range. While some of the heavy snipers will still be able to kill enemies with one shot, operators will need to handle them carefully, and some of the snipers won’t be able to one-shot in any range.

This will open the door to possibilities for players with different gameplay styles and add variety to the game.

These weapons will one-shot to the head inside their Max Damage Range:

• Marksman Rifle Charlie (MW)
• SP-R 208 (MW)
• Pelington 703 (BOCW)
• Swiss K31 (BOCW)
• Type 99 (VG)
• Kar98k (VG)

These weapons will one-shot to the head at any Range:

• HDR (MW)
• Sniper Rifle Charlie (MW)
• ZRG 20mm (BOCW)
• 3-Line Rifle (VG)
• Gorenko Anti-Tank Rifle (VG)

These Weapons won’t be able to one-shot to the head:

• Rytec AMR (MW)
• Sniper Rifle Alpha (MW)
• Sniper Rifle Charlie (BOCW)

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Are the days of HDR meta back?

If fans remember correctly, there were times when every player was running around with an HDR sniper rifle in Verdansk. Fans are getting nostalgic after Raven introduced their new patch.

After the Kar98K got a big buff and the Swiss K31 took over, those good old days of Verdansk were buried deep beneath the Warzone meta. According to Warzone expert JGOD, the HDR, the AX-50, and the ZRG are returning as new meta in Season 3.

Fans have mixed reactions to this change, but undoubtedly this change has changed the sniper meta forever. With everything that comes with Season 3, time will tell if this change was worth it or not.