Call of Duty Reveals Patch Notes for Big Black Ops 7 and Warzone Season 1 Update

We are making general changes to bullet penetration in Season 01. The goal of these changes is to increase penetration overall, while keeping damage reasonable. Additionally, we would like to maintain a level of consistency and predictability when it comes to bullet penetration.

Up until now, a weapon’s penetration was driven entirely by the maximum distance it could pass through a given surface type. Penetration damage would decrease based on the thickness of the surface until the maximum distance. This limited our ability to tune distances without also affecting damage. It could also lead to some extreme edge cases, such as a weapon’s falling off to just a few points of damage.

Starting with Season 01, penetration damage and distance have been decoupled. Weapons will still have a maximum distance they can shoot through for each surface type, but now the damage falloff they experience will be a flat percentage regardless of how thick the surface was. This lets us push the penetration distance further while still ensuring that cover feels advantageous.

We’ll be carefully monitoring feedback and adjusting specific surface types as necessary to make sure that penetration feels fair on both sides of combat engagements.

• Slightly increased distances at which bullets can penetrate through many surface types.
• Bullets that successfully penetrate through a surface now experience a flat percentage of damage falloff regardless of the distance that was penetrated.
• FMJ will now increase distance penetrated as well as reduce the penetration damage falloff.
• Addressed an issue preventing FMJ from improving penetration damage as intended.

Weapon Tuning

We’re planning to release a larger weapon balance patch once we’re a couple of weeks into Season 01 and have collected plenty of feedback and data on the first batch of new weapons and attachments. This timing will help us ensure the S01 weapon meta is in the best state possible heading into the holidays.

The attachment adjustments below are very focused and not intended as a comprehensive balancing pass. We often revisit and tweak attachment tunings as we add new weapons to the game and the relative balance of weapons within a class evolves, which is the case here.

Miscellaneous Weapon Updates

• Addressed various issues with attachment names, descriptions, and pros/cons.
• Addressed several issues causing weapon reload prompts to not show up at the correct time for multiple weapons and magazines.

World Events

• Colossus of Avalon and Toxic Tyrant World Events added to Endgame.

Exotic Skills

• Exotic Skills are powerful additions acquired by completing World Events via a special Exotic Skill Case, which randomly awards you one of the following Exotic Skills. You can equip and upgrade one Exotic Skill from the following :
  • Mega Punch
  • Conjuration
  • Echo Shell
  • Celebration
  • Frost Cloud
  • Resurrection
  • Shattered Shield
  • Graviton Reaction

Exotic Weapons

• Two new Exotic Weapons added:
  • Killswitch: Full-auto assault rifle modified for raw power and aggression. Affinity for Shrapnel Rounds.
  • Swarmforge: Full-auto submachine gun adapted for ultra-dynamic and ruthless CQC. Affinity for Photon Rounds.
• Addressed an issue with Exotic Weapons missing certain attachments.
• Addressed an issue with some Exotic Weapon effects not triggering correctly.

Weapons

• Underbarrel Launchers damage will now scale with weapon rarity and character damage upgrades.
• Addressed an issue with players being able to enter Endgame with two of the same Weapon in their Loadout.
• Addressed an issue with Optics and other attachments added in Create a Class not appearing on weapons in-game.
• Addressed an issue with Dedicated Melee not receiving Damage Upgrades.

Endgame – General Updates

• Addressed an issue with Kinectic Jump failing to consume a charge and trigger fall damage protection when used while stepping off of a ledge.
• Addressed an issue with the Escape activity showing 0 time remaining if it was triggered with an Assignment active.
• Addressed some rare instances of the Escape VTOL not appearing when summoned.
• Addressed a rare issue where players would not get a 3rd Skill Track to choose from.
• Various stability and performance fixes.

CO-OP CAMPAIGN – General Updates

• Controls
  • Improved mouse navigation in Campaign puzzles.
• Exposure Mission
  • Added unlimited uses for Kinetic Jump.
  • Added in fail-safe pull forward for multiple deaths in Nicaragua.
• Escalation Mission
  • Improved logic for Key Card drop during boss encounter.
• UI
  • Campaign Missions now indicate percentage completion for players on the “Leave Mission” screen.
  • “Leave Mission” screen now has long press prompt for exiting missions.

MULTIPLAYER

Playlists & Modes

Season 01 introduces several new and returning playlists and game modes to Multiplayer, including the return of Sticks & Stones for the first time since Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. Based on all the new content coming to Multiplayer in Season 01, we’re making some updates to our playlist structure and UI.

The first playlist tab will now be Featured playlists, where we’ll highlight various styles of experiences, such as the Season 01 Moshpit featuring our S01 maps Utopia, Fate, Odysseus, and Standoff. This is also where you can find Standard Moshpit, where skill is an important consideration.

We’ve continued to see increased engagement with Standard Moshpit, so we’ll be featuring it in the Featured tab for players who prefer an experience with more similarly skilled opponents. With the main tab changing to Featured, the other tab will now become Party Games, which will include Prop Hunt, Sharpshooter, One in the Chamber, and Gunfight at the launch of Season 01, as well as the debut of Sticks & Stones and Gun Game in Week 2.

In addition to Standard Moshpit, all Multiplayer playlists feature Open Matchmaking where skill is minimally considered, for a more varied experience.

• Season 01 Moshpit (NEW) & Hardcore Season 01 Moshpit (NEW)
  • Maps
    • Utopia
    • Fate
    • Standoff
    • Odysseus
  • Modes
    • Team Deathmatch
    • Kill Confirmed
    • Domination
    • Hardpoint
    • Overload
    • Face Off Team Deathmatch (Odysseus)
    • Face Off Kill Confirmed (Odysseus)
• Prop Hunt (NEW)
• Nuketown 2025 24/7
• Face Off Moshpit (+ Odysseus)
• Skirmish 20v20
• Standard Moshpit (+ Utopia, Fate, and Standoff)

Party Games (NEW)

• Prop Hunt (NEW)
• Sharpshooter (NEW)
• One in the Chamber (NEW)
• Gunfight (+ Odysseus)

MODE UPDATES

Overload

• Overtime has been added to Overload.
  • At the end of the first half of the match, a player carrying the EMP device will get an additional 30 seconds to overload or be killed. This can also happen at the end of the match, but only if the EMP carrier is on the losing team and losing by 1 point.
• Players are now forced to their Pistol when carrying the EMP device. If the player does not have a Pistol Secondary, a backup Pistol is provided.
• Addressed an issue where players would not be respawned during sudden death.
• Addressed an issue where the Killed Device Carrier and Station Overloaded score events were not properly displaying in the score feed.

Skirmish

• Added new High Value Objectives in Mission: Tide.
• Best Play feature added to Skirmish.
• Addressed an issue where there would sometimes be 1 or 0 objectives on Mission: Tide.
• High Value Objectives will now spawn roughly 25% faster than before.
• Removed the Helicopter from Mission: Tide.
• Raised the wingsuit redeploy spawns in Mission: Tide.
• Addressed a rare bug where the nearby Objective Widget would display wrong information.
• Addressed an issue where CUAVs were more difficult to destroy in Skirmish than intended.

MAPS

• New Maps
  • Utopia, Fate, and Standoff added to all 6v6 playlists.
  • Odysseus added to Face Off Moshpit.
• Exposure
  • A new path and interior has been added to help players navigate from the Loading spawn area which connects to the Solar Panels and Salt Storage container.
• Toshin
  • A new hanging monorail has been added that connects the middle Monorail section to the upper Station section.

Equipment

• Addressed an issue where being stuck with a Sticky Grenade could result in low performance.

Scorestreaks

• Significantly increased the rate of Overclock progression for the Scout Pulse Scorestreak.
• Addressed an issue where the Skewer would sometimes not kill its target upon impact.
• Addressed an issue where the D.A.W.G. could display erratic movement.

UI

• Addressed an issue that was causing the first Winner’s Circle Emote input to be ignored.
• The “Bait Taken” Medal (Killed an enemy with a hacked Care Package) now appears in the Medal Collection.
• Addressed an issue where players were unable to add bots to FFA private match games.
• Addressed multiple cases of text running outside of intended spaces.
• Addressed an issue where clan tags would reset between game sessions on PC platforms.

ZOMBIES

Call of Duty: Warzone Season 1 Update Patch Notes

MAPS

» Haven’s Hollow «

» Verdansk «

This POI brings much-needed gameplay depth to what was previously a forest with only an average drop rate. Positioned near the center of Verdansk, it stays relevant deeper into matches while logically fitting as a high-altitude radar installation. Its unique multi-building layout provides clear visual and gameplay identities without adding excessive conflict to already busy surrounding areas, with most lines of sight intentionally oriented toward Military Base.

• Factory Remastered Point of Interest
  • Located near Superstore, the Factory returns as a remastered version of the fan-favorite Verdansk ’84 location.
  • The layout stays intentionally close to the original design while introducing new environmental dangers, including active missile production.

Reintroducing Factory helps support the naturally high-action ecosystem around Superstore, adding more options for players to engage or safely disengage from the area. The POI enhances rotational freedom while keeping combat intensity balanced across this hotspot region. The missiles inside Factory serve as a nostalgic nod to the classic Stadium update.

MODES

New

Playlist

GENERAL

• Aim Assist
  • Tuned strength at short and long ranges and refined full-activation requirements to better balance engagements between Controller and KBM players.

For the launch of Black Ops 7, Treyarch shared that in engagements between similarly skilled Controller and Keyboard & Mouse (KBM) players, data showed a slight controller advantage at close range and a KBM advantage at long range.

As such, Black Ops 7 launched with a new right-stick aiming requirement for achieving maximum Rotational Aim Assist strength. When the right-stick isn’t used, or isn’t tracking a target effectively, players now experience a minimum Rotational Aim Assist strength. The goal for this new mechanic and other Aim Assist range changes is to provide the most competitive experience for all players and inputs.

Warzone will be inheriting these same changes with the launch of Season 01.

MOVEMENT

For movement, our goal this chapter is to make traversal feel smoother, more responsive, and more natural as you flow through the map.

• Sprinting
  • Removed Tactical Sprint as a core ability.
  • Tactical Sprint is now available via the Sprinter Perk.
  • Increased base sprint speeds.

By shifting Tactical Sprint into a perk unlock and boosting base sprint speed, players still get a smooth, fast traversal experience but your movement choices now carry more intention and build identity. This lets Sprinter lean into high-mobility playstyles while keeping core movement fluid and fair for everyone.

• Combat Roll
  • Introduced Combat Roll as a new movement tool, available through the Mountaineer Perk.

This new, optional mechanic lets players absorb fall impacts and maintain momentum, opening up new ways to reposition, descend from height, and chain movement options together creatively.

• Experimental Mechanics
  • We’ve enabled both Wall Jump and the Grapple Hook in all Limited-Time Modes throughout Season 01.

Movement remains a core pillar of the Warzone experience, and we will be closely monitoring player feedback in our LTMs to identify opportunities for new mechanics, tuning, and future improvements.

LOADOUTS

To further streamline the create-a-class experience and reinforce weapon identity, we’ve made several foundational changes to loadouts and weapon customization.

• Wildcards
  • Wildcards have been removed entirely.
  • Overkill is now available to all players by default.

Since Overkill was already the dominant choice for most players, this change streamlines the loadout process and simplifies how players select the weapons and attachments that define their playstyle.

• Attachment Cap
  • Weapons are now limited to 5 attachment slots.

With this change, builds are more deliberate and each weapon’s identity is clearer. This helps ensure that Assault Rifles feel like Assault Rifles, SMGs feel like SMGs, and each weapon class maintains its intended role without excessive overlap.

• Equipment Options
  • A number of lethal and tactical equipment options have been moved out of the loadout selection and will only be available via in-match loot.

With this change, our goal is to simplify loadout selection while making loot-only items more desirable and impactful. Each loot-exclusive item has been buffed to support this shift. This approach also gives us greater flexibility to rotate and vault items throughout the chapter to keep the sandbox fresh.

EQUIPMENT

Lethal and Tactical equipment have received a meaningful refresh this season, featuring a mix of powerful new additions and targeted adjustments to fan-favorite tools.

Equipment Interactions

Starting in Season 01, we’re introducing the first wave of our equipment counterplay interactions – also referred to as our rock-paper-scissors system. This system expands the core utility of equipment, adding additional depth to combat and encouraging players to think more strategically about what they carry throughout a match.

• Stim Shot
  • The Stim Shot can now be activated immediately after being hit by a Flash or Concussion Grenade to fully clear their disorienting effects.

This change gives players a fast option to counter disorienting crowd-control effects, especially with the buff to Flash Grenades, enabling quicker recovery in high-pressure combat situations.

• Smoke Grenade
  • The Smoke Grenade can now extinguish lingering flames created by Molotov Cocktails or Napalm Killstreaks.

To support more aggressive pushes through area denial, opening new paths for advances and tactical repositioning.

These are only the first of several interactions we have planned for the Black Ops 7 year. We expect that these changes will lend to more dynamic and interesting outcomes during engagements, especially if squads properly coordinate their shared arsenal. As always, we’ll be keeping a close eye on how these systems perform and player feedback.

» Tacticals «

• Phantom Signal New
  • Tracking-virus device that affects up to three nearby opponents.
    • Not consumed if no opponents are nearby.
    • Tagged opponents emit sound for 10 seconds.
    • Tagged opponents appear on the compass.
  • Only available in loot.

The Phantom Signal is a new Tactical device used to track nearby opponents or sow chaos between squads. Ghosted players can be revealed by this device, while players using Cold-Blooded remain immune to its targeting. Most importantly, this equipment item is only consumed if there are opponents within range when you attempt to use it.

• Pinpoint Grenade New
  • Shoots tracking devices at opponents.
    • 8.5m targeting radius.
    • 15-second active duration.
    • Tracked opponents are visible through walls in real-time.
    • Tracker can be removed.
  • Only available in loot.

The new Pinpoint Grenade replaces the Snapshot Grenade, allowing you to mark targets with removable trackers. Over its duration the device will continue to search for targets to mark, re-marking targets that may have already removed the tracker.

• Psych Grenade New
  • Releases a cloud of hallucinogenic gas on impact that causes affected players to see short-lived phantom copies of themselves appear randomly around them.

The Psych Grenade replaces the Experimental Gas Grenade, introducing a new tactical interaction. It creates controlled chaos on the battlefield by disorienting opponents and disrupting their senses.

• Decoy Adjusted
  • Simulates footsteps and gunfire.
    • 16-second duration.
    • Surface-stick behavior.
    • Generates randomized radar pings around the decoy.

• Flash Adjusted
  • Blinds opponents
    • Up to 4 seconds when directly facing detonation.
    • Cookable for up to 3 additional flashes.
  • Only available in loot.

• Heartbeat Sensor Adjusted
  • Limited-use detection tablet used to locate nearby players.
    • 15m range.
    • 90-second battery life.

• Stim Shot Adjusted
  • Removes flash and concussion effects.
    • Refreshes tactical sprint.
    • Increases movement speed up to 8 percent.

As part of our rock-paper-scissors initiative, the Stim Shot now removes Flash and Concussion effects by default. Our goal is to give players more agency in how they respond to high-pressure situations and create additional layers of tactical decision-making in combat.

• Concussion Returning
  • Slows enemy movement and aim.
    • 1.5-second maximum stun duration.

• Shock Charge Returning
  • Electric trap that stuns opponents.
    • 3m radius.
    • 7-second shock duration.
    • Causes loss of aiming control and random weapon fire.
  • Only available in loot.

• Smoke Grenade Returning
  • Creates a vision-blocking smoke screen.
    • Can extinguish lingering flames from Molotov Cocktails.

FIELD UPGRADES

• Echo Unit New
  • Holographic-soldier decoy that tricks opponents.
  • Mimics a standing or crouching position when it is deployed.

The Echo Unit is a new deployable tool designed to distract opponents. Place it in a standing or crouched pose in high-visibility areas to mislead opponents and create openings for tactical plays.

• Portable Decontamination Station Adjusted
  • Deployable autonomous neutralizing-agent dispersal unit.
  • Lasts for a limited time.
  • Can now be picked back up if deployed but not activated by gas.

• Armor Box Returning
  • Deploys a box of armor plates for you and your teammates.

• Deployable Cover Returning
  • Portable, rapidly deployable ballistic cover.

• Munitions Box Returning
  • Deploys a box of ammo and equipment for you and your teammates.

• Recon Drone Returning
  • Remote-controlled drone with manual and auto-marking capabilities.

• Trophy System Returning
  • Deployable defense system that destroys enemy projectiles mid-air.

• War Cry Returning
  • Team rally that improves nearby ally movement speed and health regeneration.

» Resurgence Only «

• Redeploy Drone Beacon Returning
  • Beacon that calls in a Redeploy Drone, allowing for quick repositioning.

KILLSTREAKS

Perks & Categories

» Blue (Slot 1) « 🔵

• Mountaineer Adjusted
  • Reduces fall damage and improves climbing.
    • Increases the height before taking critical fall damage by 5 meters.
    • Combat Roll further reduces fall damage by 10% and removes the movement penalty from high falls.
    • Increases ladder climb speed by 15%.

We’ve heard the feedback that Mountaineer wasn’t delivering enough impact compared to previous versions, and we agree that maintaining its identity is critical. In this update, Mountaineer now allows players to Combat Roll to further increase fall damage reduction. This also negates the negative effects typically applied when falling from significant heights, giving the Perk a more consistent and meaningful defensive role.

• Cold-Blooded Returning
  • Grants immunity to tracking equipment, targeting systems, and electronic interference.
    • Immune to thermal optics, weapon targeting systems, heartbeat sensors, phantom signals, scrambling, EMP effects, Tracker, and Alertness.

• Grenadier Returning
  • Improves explosive equipment and equipment handling.
    • Explosive equipment adds a 5-second health regen delay.
    • Explosive equipment inflicts a 20% movement slow for 3 seconds.
    • Throw equipment 15% farther.
    • See equipment trajectories.

• Scavenger Returning
  • Improves ammo and resource acquisition.
    • Dead opponents drop a pack containing additional ammo, equipment, plates, and cash.

• Veteran Returning
  • Improves equipment resistance and long-range weapon handling.
    • Resistant to flash, concussion, gas, and shock equipment effects.
    • Immune to Grenadier.
    • Increases hold-breath duration by 5 seconds.
    • Increases flinch resistance by 30%.

» Red (Slot 2) « 🔴

• Bomb Squad Adjusted
  • Provides explosive resistance and equipment negation.
    • Reduces explosive and fire damage by 45%.
    • Spot and hack equipment through walls.
    • Highlight equipment for your squad while ADS.

Bomb Squad now reduces damage from explosive and fire-based Killstreaks. This update expands the perk’s defensive utility and opens up new opportunities for more aggressive, frontline play.

• Reactive Armor Adjusted
  • Improves armor recovery and defense.
    • Armor regenerates up to 100% of its maximum if you avoid damage for 2 seconds.
    • Total approximated time to regenerate to maximum is 20 seconds.
    • Breaking armor triggers an EMP effect (won’t re-trigger until armor is fully restored).

We were initially cautious about the overall effectiveness of this perk, as maintaining a healthy plate economy is a key balance consideration. However, it also needed to feel more impactful in moment-to-moment gameplay. In addition to its new EMP trigger effect, we’ve reduced the delay before regeneration begins and increased its regeneration speed to improve its combat value without disrupting balance.

• Sprinter Adjusted
  • Improves sprinting and movement.
    • Grants Tactical Sprint.
    • Reload while Tactical Sprinting.
    • Reduces movement penalties while reloading or using equipment.

With Tactical Sprint removed from base movement, it is now available through a perk-based choice instead. We’ve also merged Gung-Ho into Sprinter, allowing the perk to fully focus on improving sprinting performance across the board.

• Alertness Returning
  • Improves situational awareness.
    • Sense opponents within 30 meters.
    • Sense when you are being aimed at.

• Quick-Fix Returning
  • Improves armor handling and health regeneration.
    • Insert plates one-handed.
    • Immediately begin health regeneration when eliminating opponents or inserting armor plates.

» Yellow (Slot 3) « 🟡

• Adaptive New
  • Improves explosive defense, movement, and handling.
    • With plates not full: gain a 10% movement speed boost.
    • With plates full: gain improved ADS speed and sprint-to-fire speed.
    • Gain an audible warning when near trap equipment.
    • Traps triggered by the player are delayed.
    • Gain the ability to reset fuses when throwing back grenades.

Adaptive is a new perk designed to dynamically respond to combat situations. When your armor plates are full, it supports aggressive pushes; when plates are depleted, it grants a constant movement advantage to aid in repositioning. The perk also reintroduces elements of Reflexes through built-in equipment counterplay.

• Ghost Adjusted
  • Improves stealth.
    • Undetectable by enemy radar pings while moving.
    • Effects are disabled if stationary for 1.5 seconds or more.

Ghost remains a strong pick but has become less clear in recent iterations. Starting with BO7, several interactions have been refined to better define its role. It now protects you from standard radar pings and no longer appears on Advanced UAV. However, it will no longer protect you from Heartbeat Sensors. To balance these changes, the time you can remain stationary before the stealth benefits has been reduced.

• Survivor Adjusted
  • Improves health regeneration, revive speed, and survivability.
    • With full armor plates, gain one-hit protection against ballistic weapons.
    • Health begins regenerating after 4 seconds.
    • Allies revive you faster.

Survivor was a strong pick in Slot 1 but began to underperform in Slot 3. To reinforce its intended role, it now grants one-hit protection while at full armor. This behavior matches the version previously used in Warzone Ranked.

• Tracker Adjusted
  • Improves tracking and target acquisition.
    • Shooting an enemy briefly outlines them based on range.
    • Automatically ping the enemy who downs you.
    • Track enemy footprints; when you shoot an enemy, all others can see their footprints for 10 seconds.

Tracker remains a strong perk, but we wanted to introduce new opportunities for teamwork. Now, when you damage an enemy, their footprints are revealed to all players, including both allies and opponents, creating added layers of coordination and counterplay.

• Tempered Returning
  • Improves armor efficiency.
    • Refilling armor requires 2 plates instead of 3.

CONTRACTS

We found that late-game Contract availability was still lower than we wanted, so we’ve made a slight tuning pass to ensure more Contracts remain active during the final stages of a match.

• Search & Destroy Contract
  • This contract has been removed.

Low adoption rates toward the end of the previous chapter led to its removal for now, making room for more commonly completed contracts in the pool.

WEAPONS

One of our major goals for this season was to evolve weapon attachments to better support multiple viable build paths per weapon. This gives players more freedom in how they customize their loadouts, while providing stronger tuning levers for long-term balance.

• Assault Rifle Barrels
  • Mid-range Barrel: Expands Medium Damage Range 1, a new Warzone-specific stat that improves effectiveness deeper into mid-range fights.
  • Control Barrel: Improves recoil control and bullet velocity to enhance long-range accuracy and consistency.

• Expanded Attachment Functionality
  • Suppressors now provide visual recoil reduction in addition to keeping players off the radar.
  • Mobility-focused stocks now improve handling alongside movement benefits.
  • Heavier stocks further emphasize recoil stabilization for maximum control-focused builds.

• Shotgun Slugs
  • For Black Ops 7 pump-action shotguns, slugs can now secure a one-shot headshot within maximum damage range, offering a high-risk, high-reward option for skilled close-quarters play.

These are just a few examples of attachments redesigned specifically for Warzone. Across all weapon classes, select attachment slots now feature Warzone-tuned options. These will continue to be monitored, updated, and rebalanced as the meta evolves.

• Default Loadouts
  • Default loadouts will be regularly updated to reflect the current weapon meta, ensuring players can stay competitive and never feel left behind as the sandbox evolves.

• Weapon Build Sharing
  • Players can now easily share their custom Weapon builds using unique share codes, making it faster than ever to try out different builds.

• Legacy Weapons
  • Weapons from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, and Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 remain accessible and usable in Call of Duty: Warzone.
  • These can be found by navigating to Weapons > Loadouts > Custom Loadouts > Primary / Secondary / Melee, then scrolling to the far right to access the Legacy menu.
  • While Legacy Weapons are playable in Warzone, they do not support the following Black Ops 7 features:
    • Weapon Prestige and Weapon Prestige Camos
    • Black Ops 7 Weapon and Warzone Mastery Camos
    • New Black Ops 7 Reticle Challenges
    • Access to Black Ops 7 Weapon Customization items
    • Build Sharing and Build Codes

VEHICLES

CHALLENGES

UI/UX

Released

November 14, 2025

ESRB

Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Drugs