Call of Duty Warzone patch notes: Vanguard Royale gets some tweaks and the XM4 gets a nerf

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Season 2 brings health tweaks for Vanguard Royale and a nerf to… neck damage

Warzone Season 2 release time date
(Image credit: Activision)

The latest Call of Duty Warzone patch notes cover a mid-season update bringing some immediate bug fixes and balance changes ahead of Vanguard Royale adjustments planned for March 3.

The headlining balance update targets Black Ops Cold War's XM4: the "neck damage multiplier" for the gun has been reduced from 1.5 to 1.33, reducing the lethality of not-quite-headshots. If you're surprised to learn that Warzone has separate headshot and neck hitzones with their own distinct damage multipliers, which are apparently so impactful that they warrant granular balancing, you're in good company. 

Vanguard Royale is due for some tweaks of its own. As of March 3, the base health of players is getting a boost from 100 to 150, bringing the total max health to 300 with max armor included. "We agree with the feedback that the Time-to-Kill (TTK) has crept beyond the sweet spot and hope that this adjustment will improve player experience and sentiment," developer Raven Software explained. In a similar vein, the cost of UAVs in Vanguard Royale is being increased from $6,000 to $9,000 to help balance the pacing of matches. 

The short list of bug fixes includes another pass at collision issues allowing players to shoot through, look through, or otherwise exploit hitches in the environment of Caldera. There's also a fix which should prevent you from getting stuck when you go prone under "certain environmental elements such as stairs." The new Nebula V rounds got some bug fixes, too, so they shouldn't pierce riot shields or buff melee weapons anymore. 

You can check the full patch notes on Raven's blog. 

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Austin Wood
Austin Wood
Senior writer

Austin has been a game journalist for 12 years, having freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree. He's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize his position is a cover for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a lot of news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.