The nimble-wristed Call of Duty players who can sprint around a corner and line up a snap-shot with a sniper rifle are facing a bit of a setback with the latest update to Call of Duty: WWII. The patch, which landed Friday, makes changes to aim-down-sights times for many of the game’s weapons, and sniper rifles are now a bit less mobile.
Check out our list of the best WWII-themed games you can play on PC.
According to the latest patch notes, the tweaks to ADS times are designed to differentiate the game’s weapon classes a bit more – SMGs, LMGs, and rifles are now quicker to aim, while the Kar98k and M1903 sniper rifles have both had their ADS transition times lengthened.
Now, SMGs are faster than rifles, and rifles are faster than light machine guns, which Sledgehammer say will help create more distinguished playstyles between the weapon types.
But the changes to the sniper rifles’ ADS and sprint-out times are arguably the most significant tweaks in this update. While Sledgehammer say it’s “a slight quick scoping nerf,” competitive Call of Duty is all about marginal advantages in aim times, and even slight changes can swing the metagame away from certain playstyles.
So far, the community seems pretty pleased with the changes. ADS has been a hot topic among Call of Duty’s player base for the last couple months, and January’s patch notes didn’t offer much hope that Sledgehammer was planning on addressing it.
The new patch is the first under new studio lead Aaron Halon. He’s taken over leadership of Sledgehammer following the departure of founders Michael Condrey and Glen Schofield, who have moved into executive positions with parent company Activision.
You can read the full patch notes on the Call of Duty subreddit.