Warzone August 20 update patch notes: FAMAS Shotgun fix and Bruen nerf

Infinity Ward pushed a new update for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone that’s patched the FR 5.56 underbarrel shotgun exploit and the popular Bruen MK9, among other changes.

This weapons tuning patch is one that will be welcomed very positively by the Warzone player-base, as it addresses two of the biggest gun-related concerns in the battle royale. Not only has the exploit with the FR 5.56 assault rifle’s underbarrel shotgun been fixed, but the devs have also further tweaked the Bruen, on top of its last round of nerfs in the August 11 patch.

But with those nerfs also come buffs; the Season 5 update introduced the ISO, which has been a fun addition, but Infinity Ward have now made it so that the SMG will be a bit more forgiving for mobile-oriented playstyles.

Warzone & Modern Warfare August 20 update patch notes

• 12-Gauge Deputy underbarrel shotgun
  • Clamped close damage lethal range
  • Fixed damage falloff for the FR. 556 underbarrel shotgun
• Bruen MK9
  • Reduced upper torso damage
  • Base weapon – increased recoil
  • 60 Round Mag – Additional increased recoil
• ISO
  • Reduced movement speed penalty for drum mags
  • Increased bade ADS movement speed
• 725 Sawed-off Barrel
  • Small increase to ADS time
  • Small decrease to movement speed
  • Reduced close lethal damage range

• Bug fixes
  • Fixed for an exploit near the Prison in Warzone
  • Removing the VO from the High Alert perk

Season 5’s new ISO SMG has been buffed in Modern Warfare and Warzone.

FR 5.56 underbarrel shotgun fix

This balance comes fresh off the heels of community outcry against the FR 5.56 loadout that gives players the ability to insta-kill opponents with the 12 Gauge Deputy shotgun attachment. It didn’t take Infinity Ward long to identify the issue and promptly get to working on a fix.

• Read more: Warzone CoD 2020 easter egg teasers: All clues, new codes and locations

It was a quick turnaround for the devs, who have now pushed an update to try and hamper the strat by fixing the falloff damage to stymie those who intend to abuse it.

Meanwhile, the close lethal damage of the attachment sounds like it’ll be more forgiving, possibly to allow victims reasonable room to counter it.

Infinity Ward

The Famas and underbarrel shotgun combo in Warzone is getting nerfed.

Even more Bruen MK9 nerfs

The Bruen got addressed as well, seeing as the light machine gun excels at dishing out an accurate barrage of gunfire. By reducing the damage to body shots and increasing the recoil from the base states, IW hope the LMG won’t be as oppressive as it’s shown to be.

• Read more: Shroud: Black Ops Cold War is “way more meaningful” than other CoD games

To help that goal even further, the devs even added additional recoil when the 60-round magazine is attached to suppress the Bruen further. While this shouldn’t completely kill the gun’s viability, the update will definitely knock down its incredible potency at picking off people from range.

Infinity Ward

Warzone players have been getting a ton of use from the Bruen, but it’s getting dialed down.

Since this is technically a hotfix and not a fully-fledged update, there is no downtime needed to install and implement it, so all the changes listed in the patch notes above should have gone immediately in effect.