Black Ops 6 Nov 4 update patch notes: AR & Recon Combat Specialty nerfs & SMG buffs

Black Ops 6 finally balanced ARs and SMGs to perform more evenly and dished out a much-needed nerf for the Recon Combat Speciality.

Players begged for a nerf to the Recon Combat Speciality, as it essentially provides a few seconds of wallhacks after you spawn every time. Treyarch responded by reducing its duration and resolved an issue that allowed players to activate it with different loadouts.

Meanwhile, the devs already released a long list of weapon balancing. So far ARs have dominated multiplayer, so much so, that pro players already banned the Model L and XM4. This update nerfs both and also buffs SMGs across the board. Here is everything else that changed

Black Ops 6 Nov 4 update patch notes

Here are the full patch notes.

GLOBAL

Stability 

• Improved stability when interacting with the Message of the Day. 
• Improved stability when sending voice communications. 

Progression 

• Completion display will now properly appear when completing Prestige Challenges in both Multiplayer and Zombies. 

Operators 

• Addressed an issue where Bailey wasn’t holding an intended Pistol in the Operator selection menu. 

MULTIPLAYER

Maps 

• Nuketown
  • Nuketown is now available in Private Matches.  

Modes 

• Addressed an issue where players were spawned in when joining a session in progress instead of spectating before selecting a Loadout. Yes, we saw ourselves in a Killcam before selecting a Loadout too.  
• Improved stability in Infected game mode.  

Spawns

• General spawn logic tuning across several maps for improved spawning.

Spawn tuning will be an ongoing process of taking in data, reviewing gameplay and making measured adjustments in the live environment. Our number one goal is to always provide the safest spawn that we can across all maps and game modes. 

Loadouts 

• Addressed an issue where players would automatically equip their previously used Loadout when joining matches already in progress. 
• Addressed an issue where Players would die at initial spawn when selecting their Loadout. 

Weapons

It’s been awesome seeing players discover and share their favorite weapon builds during the first week of launch. Every day we monitor both player feedback and game data to keep tabs on how the weapon meta is evolving and prepare for a comprehensive tuning pass in Season 01.

We have seen the discussions about the relative balance of Assault Rifles and Submachine Guns, and we are making some early, general changes to adjust their effective ranges. For ARs, we are pulling in minimum damage ranges and lessening the impact of headshots at close range. SMGs are receiving damage range increases to improve their mid-range effectiveness. 

AR adjustments

XM4

AK-74

AMES 85

GPR 91

Model L

Goblin Mk2

AS VAL

SMG Adjustments

C9

KSV

Tanto .22

PP-919

Jackal PDW

Kompakt 92

Shotguns 

Last week, we fixed an issue with shotgun Slugs, but we are still working on an additional issue causing this attachment to perform better in hip fire than intended. Slugs are meant to offer an alternate playstyle for shotguns that trades close quarters effectiveness for improved range and precision. We are removing the ability for Slugs to one-hit kill to the body for now and will be revisiting the overall tuning of this attachment in an upcoming update.

• Marine SP
  • Slug attachment Max Damage reduced from 106 to 92. 
• ASG-89
  • Slug attachment Max Damage reduced from 106 to 92. 

Perks 

• Recon Combat Specialty 
  • Reduced duration that enemies are highlighted after respawning to 1.5 seconds from 2 seconds. An additional reduction will be coming before Season 01. 
  • Resolved an issue that allowed players to activate Recon Combat Specialty by changing Loadouts. 
• Dispatcher 
  • Increased Dispatcher Perk score cost for UAV from 500 to 550. 
  • Increased Dispatcher Perk score cost for Counter UAV from 550 to 600. 

As we head into Season 1, we are continuing to observe data and feedback for Perks and Combat Specialties in Multiplayer. Currently, Enforcer is the most popular Combat Specialty with Recon in second place. It’s not just about the data though, as your feedback is a critical part of how we approach tuning of the live game. With that said, we are making some spot adjustments today as we as we continue to take a holistic look at our Perks and Combat Specialties moving forward.

Equipment 

• Flashbang
  • Reduced Flashbang Tactical screen effect duration by 20%. 

Scorestreaks 

• Increased health of UAV and Counter UAV (rockets to destroy remain unchanged). 
• Increased initial explosion radius of Napalm Strike. 
• Reduced the initial entry delay of the LDBR. 
• Increased the fly-in speed of the Strategic Bomber. 
• Reduced score cost for Interceptors from 1250 to 1150. 

Movement Updates 

• Adjusted stance change cooldowns to reduce effectiveness of repeated prone to stand movement (enough snaking). 

XP Earn Rates

• Adjusted Player XP and Weapon XP earn rates for most modes to ensure that players are being rewarded for their match performance as expected wherever they play. These changes include:
  • Increased Weapon XP earn rates for most modes 
  • Increased Player XP earn rates for the following modes:
    • Team Deathmatch 
    • Control 
    • Search & Destroy 
    • Gunfight 
  • Slight decrease to Player XP and Weapon XP earned in Face Off modes 

Challenges 

• Addressed an issue where players were able to complete the Nuke Challenge while dying. 

UI

• Appropriate Perks will now display when viewing the featured player during Best Play.

Known Issues

• Gunsmith
  • We are investigating an issue where any equipped Optic attachment is removed when when entering the Gunsmith in Main Menus.
    • Players will not notice this issue if entering Gunsmith during a match.
    • Players can equip Optic attachments, but will need to re-equip them anytime they enter Gunsmith in a Main Menu to adjust attachments or customizations.
      • In cases where an Optic is locked and equipped via a Blueprint, players will need to reapply the Blueprint to obtain the Optic.

ZOMBIES

• UI
  • GobbleGum names will now properly update when switching between tier tabs.