Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 makes headshots deadlier while cutting back on weapon sway and recoil: "We will be keeping a close eye on sniper balance after this change"

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Treyarch aims to "improve the combat experience"

Black Ops 6
(Image credit: Activision)

The latest Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 update is here, and Treyarch is simultaneously making headshots deal more damage while making it easier to precisely aim your weapons by reducing sway and recoil.

"We have taken a comprehensive pass on weapon motion and applied reductions across the board to improve the combat experience," the devs say in the patch notes. "Depending on the class and weapon, our targets for these reductions range from 30% to 75%. Players will notice far more stability while turning, moving, changing stances, and firing, especially while ADS. We are committed to continually improving Black Ops 6 gunplay with a focus on balanced and rewarding gameplay while maintaining the unique characteristics of each weapon."

One particular focus with these weapon movement reductions is idle sway, which is "now improved and consistent across all weapon classes," with idle sway delay on all weapons now set at 2.2s. "Sniper Rifles, which previously only scaled initial idle sway by 50%, now provide a complete reduction," Treyarch says. "As always we will be keeping a close eye on sniper balance after this change."

As all these weapons get more accurate, headshots are getting more powerful, and "in most cases" after this balance pass "weapons will require one fewer headshot at all ranges to improve time to kill." The one major exception is the max damage range for SMGs. "We expect this change to greatly impact the weapon meta, especially in conjunction with our weapon motion changes."

Black Ops 6 fan gets a head start learning the new Zombies map by visiting the real-life location that influenced it.

Dustin Bailey
Dustin Bailey
Staff Writer

Dustin Bailey joined the GamesRadar team as a Staff Writer in May 2022, and is currently based in Missouri. He's been covering games (with occasional dalliances in the worlds of anime and pro wrestling) since 2015, first as a freelancer, then as a news writer at PCGamesN for nearly five years. His love for games was sparked somewhere between Metal Gear Solid 2 and Knights of the Old Republic, and these days you can usually find him splitting his entertainment time between retro gaming, the latest big action-adventure title, or a long haul in American Truck Simulator.