Raven Software has released the patch notes for season three’s update in Call of Duty: Warzone ahead of its release today at 11am CT.

Caldera has received numerous updates to prepare for the invasion of Godzilla and King Kong in the Operation Monarch limited-time mode, which will begin on May 11. This includes a new Gulag map, a new point of interest, updates to existing points of interest, and a darkened skybox featuring a dark storm approaching.

📢 #Warzone Season Three launches at 9AM PST 🔫🦎🐒

A new LTE – Operation Monarch – coming soon, new Modes, Gameplay updates, lootable Perks, a new POI, new Gulag, new Weapons & adjustments, a new Operator, and more!

The Patch Notes are available at: https://t.co/GPwYAES28Z pic.twitter.com/h9APInUQYQ

— Raven Software (@RavenSoftware) April 27, 2022

Perks have been added as loot across the map, offering a Blackout-style taste to Warzone. Only one of each perk can be equipped at any time and the perks will be unequipped on death, but won’t drop as loot, so they can’t be picked up again.

On top of the two new guns added in the battle pass, the M1916 and Nikita SVT, existing guns also received a hefty update, namely for sniper rifles. A number of snipers will one-shot to the head only while in their max damage range, while a few others will one-shot at any range.

“The adoption of 150 health in Battle Royale resulted in a huge boon to the Sniper category,” Raven said. “While all other weapons require an additional shot or two, snipers remained as they did previously. The long-standing ‘one shot rule’ unfortunately diluted the sniper class into one important metric, speed to click heads.”

The lengthy patch notes can be found and read in full below, and the update will go live today at 11am CT.

Modes

New mode: Caldera Iron Trials

The fan-favorite mode, Iron Trials, is back. This time on Caldera. Here’s a recap of the Iron Trials experience:

• General
  • No free Loadout Drops
  • ATVs, Tac Rovers, and Squad Transports only
  • Buy Station prices are increased
  • Cash retained on death increased
  • Melee Finisher Damage capped at 150
• Operators
  • Base Health increased
  • Health Regeneration
    • Regeneration amount decreased
    • Delay timer increased
  • Starting equipment adjusted
• Loot
  • Epic and Legendary Weapons are harder to find
  • Killstreak drop rates are reduced
  • Large Cash piles are harder to find
  • Removed Field Upgrades
    • Stopping Power
    • Dead Silence
• Equipment
  • Sniper Rifle single shots only down Players up to a maximum of 90 meters
    • “These ranges vary considerably between Sniper Rifles.”
  • Stun Grenade stun duration decreased
  • Medical Syringe regeneration rate decreased
• Gulag
  • Exclusive Gulag Loadouts
    • No Akimbo
    • No Semi-Auto or Fully-Auto Shotguns
  • Limited Tactical Equipment
  • Players redeploy with remaining equipment

Plunder Adjustments

• Increased Carrying Limit

“Players had a hard limit in Plunder of carrying a maximum of $1.6 million. Whilst this is an extremely unlikely scenario, we wanted to make the system more robust for the minority of Players that achieve such a feat.”

Rebirth Resurgence Adjustments

• Players no longer spawn with Handgun Charlie (BOCW) as a starting Weapon

Maps

New Gulag: Hold

A roughly symmetrical arena is based in the belly of a ship moored just off the coast of Caldera, with identical hallways on the perimeter of an otherwise open space.

New Location: Dig Site

Located between the Mine and the Ruins, Dig Site provides Operators the opportunity to rummage through abandoned excavation equipment, tents, and massive skeletons for Supply Boxes and other items.

New Skybox

A dark storm approaches…

Updated Locations

• Peak
  • New Constructs, Supply Boxes, Contracts, ascenders, and a fresh coat of paint.

• Runway
  • New barracks, hangars, and other structural additions.

• Lagoon
  • New sandbar, paths, and cover.

General

• Private Matches
  • Added Rebirth Resurgence Solos
  • Added Rebirth Iron Trials
  • Added support for new Rebirth Island features (Comms Towers and Weapon Trade Stations) in some Modes
• XP Token Accessibility
  • XP Tokens can now be activated from in-game through the menu.

Gameplay

New features

• “Sabotage” Contract
  • Players will be given a vehicle target somewhere on the map. Destruction of the target will be rewarded with an Armored Truck Deployment via plane. Be warned, this Armored Truck can just as easily become someone else’s…
• High Value Loot Zones (In-Season)
  • These zones are represented on the Tac Map by a very appropriate “$” sign and will provide the best looting opportunities. These zones will be complimented by Rebirth Supply Boxes that will provide recurring loot opportunities.

“With Season One, we introduced Public Events, like Cash Drops, during Infil to draw Players towards new loot locations. We have been happy with the results of these ‘honeypot’ opportunities but we want to take it a step further. Starting with Operation Monarch, we will be introducing ‘High Value Loot Zones’ to provide new, fruitful opportunities for Players willing to take the risk.”

General adjustments

• Gas Mask
  • Will no longer interrupt a falling Player, thus allowing them to still be able to pull their parachute when falling to preserve their life.
  • Won’t play animation when the Player is ADS and affected by the gas from Nebula V Rounds

“The Gas Mask remains a continued focus for our Quality of Life efforts. It plays an important role both in gameplay and the visceral Call of Duty feeling, but we felt that we had seen one too many videos of Players jumping from high heights into the Gas and the game incorrectly prioritizing the Gas Mask animation over the parachute… and we all know how that scenario ends.”

• “Most Wanted” Contract
  • Timer reduction via the following…
    • Eliminating opponents reduces the timer by 20 seconds
    • Opening Supply Boxes reduces the timer by 5 seconds
    • We want this to be a Contract that both promotes and rewards aggressive play.
  • Players can no longer use the Tac Map to ping an enemy Most Wanted target directly.
    • We felt this method was unfairly punishing and provided too great a degree of accuracy that was almost impossible to be countered by the target.
  • The refresh rate of the Most Wanted target on the Tac Map has been increased, to counterbalance the removal of the above ping.
    • This brings balance and still allows tracking of the approximate location of the target.

“We reviewed the data for the Most Wanted Contract and we felt that improvements needed to be made to increase its engagement and success rate, whilst still retaining the all important risk/reward that it offers.”

• “Bounty” Contract
  • Speed increase to Tac Map refresh rate
    • This is especially noticeable when a target is in a vehicle to better inform Players that a vehicle chase may be required.
• Deployable Buy Stations
  • When a Player pings a Deployable Buy Station, there will now be dedicated audio/narration to better inform squad mates of the Players’ intentions.
• Redeploy Positioning Improvements
  • Players who redeploy via Gulag victory or are bought back will now spawn in close proximity to their squad or Loadout.

Caldera adjustments

Loot that spawns across Caldera have been adjusted…

• Added Perks
  • Battle Hardened
  • Engineer
  • High Alert
  • Restock
  • Tempered
  • Quick Fix
  • Scavenger
  • Pointman (Plunder Exclusive)
• Notes:
  • Only one of each Perk can be equipped at any one time.
  • Lootable Perks can be pinged to communicate to your squad.
  • Lootable Perks are additive to Loadout Perks.
  • All Perks are unequipped on death but do not drop.

“We want to further increase the value and rewards of looting during the mid-game. It’s important for both pacing and movement in Battle Royale that there are always new rewards to be found for Players who rotate through locations for greater loot advantages, and our first step on this path is to bring single Perks into loot. From our internal testing, this change has brought a wealth of new Player stories and we will continue to roll out additional Perks in this manner as we review player feedback and data on how it improves the pacing and experience of Battle Royale. These lootable perks will launch first in Caldera, and then to Rebirth Island at a later date.”

Rebirth Island adjustments

• Spawn Protection improvements
  • Removed the damage reduction scaling system that was based on ground distance
  • System is disabled if a Player is near the ground or an opponent
  • Players who have the shield icon will only take a flat 25% of the damage received
  • Spawn protection will no longer reduce gas circle damage

“Whilst Spawn Protection plays an important role in any multi-life game mode, we felt it needed some extra refinement to make sure it cannot be exploited by Players. We will continue to monitor Player behavior in this area and make further changes throughout the season if required.”

• Weapon Trade Station adjustments
  • Reduced Specialist Token drop rate
    • We’ve enjoyed the engagement Players have been having with the Weapon Trade Station and the Specialist Token reward, but felt it was slightly on the high side so have made a reduction.
  • The station will now look for empty space to drop your rewards
    • We found it a bit annoying to pick up loot after you traded your weapon so we’ve polished this moment. The system will now always look for an empty space when dropping your rewards

Later this season…

• Footstep Audio Improvements
  • We are looking to bring in additional audio improvements to footsteps during the season as a priority.
• Slide Camera Lock Improvement
  • We have heard from our community that the camera lock that can occasionally happen while sliding down a vertical descent can be frustrating and lead to a negative outcome in a combat encounter. We are pleased to announce that this will be addressed soon.

UI/UX

• Buy Stations
  • No longer require confirmation when making a purchase

“The confirmation box when making a Buy Station purchase had good intentions, but we felt that the muscle memory had become so ingrained in Players to double-tap twice in succession. This was causing unnecessary friction in a potentially hostile combat situation, versus the unlikelihood of mistakes being made. We plan to make additional refinements to the Buy Station experience during the Season.”

Bug fixes

• Fixed an issue causing incorrect Ping positioning when used on the Tac Map near Redeploy Balloons.
• Fixed an issue that caused Players to get stuck in AA turrets if they interacted with it at the same time it was destroyed.
• Fixed an issue that prevented carriable gasoline from being picked up while Dead Silence is active.
• Fixed an issue that allowed Players to glitch-carry carriable gasoline up ladders.
• Fixed an issue that was preventing skyhook balloons from receiving damage from certain explosives and thermite-based sources.
• Fixed an issue that allowed Players to have unlimited gas immunity when entering the area of effect of a PDS as it ends.
• Fixed an issue that caused Vehicles to receive less damage than intended.
• Fixed an issue that caused Players to be kicked back to the Main Menu when attempting to preview Vanguard Charms.
• Fixed an issue that caused Buy Station UI selections to reset to the top when attempting to scroll up.
• Fixed an issue that caused the Armaguerra 43 (VG) to have the same codename as another Weapon.
• Fixed an issue that caused Helicopters flying near Capital to be pulled towards the ground.
• Fixed an issue that caused the “Fenrir Unchained” Finisher to not be available in the Finishing Moves menu.
• Fixed an issue that caused Blueprint-specific Attachments for the “Purgatory Lost” Blueprint to not be available in the Gunsmith Customs menu.
• Fixed an issue that caused the “Mod. 3 10.0x Telescopic” Optic on the M1 Garand (VG) to appear blacked out when a Player would ADS.
• Fixed an issue that caused the Player’s view to be obstructed when using Park’s “Petal Pusher” Operator Skin.
• Fixed an issue that allowed Players to clip into stairs in a certain area of the map.
• Fixed an issue that resulted in the Armaguerra’s Botti DA Stock not receiving a bonus to flinch like intended. 

New Unlock Challenge Missions 

• KG M40 (VG)
  • Earn 3 double kill medals with an AR in a single match 15 times.
• Whitley (VG)
  • Destroy 3 killstreaks with an LMG in a single match 15 times.

Weapon adjustments

Assault Rifles

• Assault Rifle Alpha (VG)
  • .30 Russian Short 45 Round Mags
    • Damage Range decreased to 10%, down from 20%
    • Horizontal Recoil Control penalty decreased to -23%, down from -25%
    • Vertical Recoil Control penalty decreased to -18%, down from 20%
    • Visual Recoil decreased
  • 7.62 Gorenko 50 Round Mags
    • Damage Range penalty removed
    • Bullet Velocity penalty removed
  • Krausnick 620mm Precision
    • Bullet Velocity increased to 40%, up from 30%
    • Now increases Damage Range by 20% 
  • VDD 320mm 02B
    • Bullet Velocity increased to 30%, up from -12%
    • Damage Range increased to 10%, up from -10%
    • Horizontal Recoil Control penalty decreased to -18%, down from -25%
    • Initial Firing Recoil penalty decreased to -10%, down from -20%
  • VDD 760mm 05B
    • Damage Range increased to 35%, up from 15%
    • Bullet Velocity increased to 50%, up from 40%

• Assault Rifle Bravo (VG)
  • .303 British Round Mags 
    • Capacity increased to 36, up from 32 
  • 6.5 SaJCra Round Mags
    • Capacity increased to 28, up from 24
  • 8mm Klauser Round Fast Mags
    • Capacity increased to 24, up from 20
  • 8mm Klauser 38 Round Drum Mags
    • Capacity increased to 42, up from 38
      • Attachment name will be corrected in a future update

“The Assault Rifle Bravo (VG) has considerable close to mid-range potential–however, as a fast-firing burst Weapon, it would often burn through its magazine capacity rather quickly, leaving the wielder outgunned in longer distance or larger-scale engagements. With this change we are aiming to minimize one of the Weapon’s more obvious disadvantages and inch it ever closer to viability.”

• Volkssturmgewehr (VG)
  • 7.62 Gorenko 30 Round Mags
    • Bullet Velocity penalty removed
    • Damage Range penalty removed
  • 7.62 Gorenko 40 Round Mags
    • Bullet Velocity penalty removed
    • Damage Range penalty removed
  • Krausnick 428mm 05V
    • Bullet Velocity increased to 50%, up from 40%
  • Reisdorf 407mm Custom
    • Now increases Bullet Velocity by 30%
    • Now increases Damage Range by 26% 
  • VDD 287mm
    • Bullet Velocity increased to -10%, up from -12%
    • Horizontal Recoil Control penalty decreased to -21%, down from -25%
    • Vertical Recoil Control penalty decreased to -12%, down from -50%
• Vargo 52 (BOCW)
  • 17.1” VDV Reinforced Barrel
    • Horizontal Recoil Control decreased to 2.5%, down from 4%
    • Vertical Recoil Control decreased to 2.5%, down from 4%
  • 17.9” Takedown Barrel
    • Horizontal Recoil Control decreased to 7%, down from 8%
  • 18.6” Task Force Barrel
    • Horizontal Recoil Control decreased to 5%, down from 8%
    • Vertical Recoil Control decreased to 5%, down from 8%
  • 19.8” Liberator Barrel
    • Vertical Recoil Control decreased to 7%, down from 8%
    • Vertical Recoil Control decreased to 7%, down from 8%
  • Foregrip
    • Horizontal Recoil Control decreased to 5%, down from 10%
  • Spetsnaz Grip
    • Horizontal Recoil Control decreased to 5%, down from 20%
    • Vertical Recoil Control decreased to 5%, down from 6%
• XM4 (BOCW)
  • Minimum Damage decreased to 26, down from 27
  • Maximum Damage Range increased to 880, up from 850

Handguns

• Top Break (VG)
  • Max Damage increased to 46, up from 45
  • Mid Damage increased to 38, up from 34
  • Min Damage increased to 28, up from 26
     
• Handgun Charlie (BOCW)
  • Head Damage Multiplier decreased to 1.49

“Handgun Charlie (BOCW) has been a truly dominant Secondary Weapon. Due to its substantial headshot multiplier, Handgun Charlie (VG) was able to achieve Primary Weapon TTKs with little downside. We will be closely monitoring the Weapon’s performance and make further adjustments if necessary.”

Light Machine Guns

• Light Machine Gun Charlie (VG)
  • Max Damage decreased to 32, down from 34
  • Min Damage decreased to 28, down from 30
  • 6.5 SaJCra 40 Round Mags
    • Horizontal Recoil Control decreased to 14%, down from 20%
    • Vertical Recoil Control decreased to 14%, down from 18%
  • Queen’s 775m Scepter
    • Horizontal Recoil Control decreased to 23%, down from 40%
    • Vertical Recoil Control decreased to 20%, down from 40%
  • Queen’s 705mm Royal
    • Horizontal Recoil Control decreased to 31%, down from 38%
  • Tight Grip
    • Recoil Control greatly decreased

“Light Machine Gun Charlie (VG) has overstayed its welcome as the go-to long range choice. Its high damage profile paired with the ability to load it out to remove most recoil made for a nasty combination. By addressing some of the major outliers of the weapon, we’re left with a strong choice for those that can control it effectively.”

• Whitley (VG)
  • Min Damage increased to 31, up from 30
  • ADS Speed decreased to 0.460, down from 0.475
  • .303 British 45 Round Mags
    • Fire Rate increased to 18%, up from 15%
  • 28″ Gracy MK. 9 Barrel
    • ADS Speed penalty decreased to -11%, down from -18%

Sniper Rifles

“The adoption of 150 health in Battle Royale resulted in a huge boon to the Sniper category – While all other weapons require an additional shot or two, Snipers remained as they did previously. The long-standing ‘one shot rule’ unfortunately diluted the Sniper class into one important metric, speed to click heads. 

As mentioned above Snipers may now use damage ranges as a defining characteristic of their one-shot potential. This not only brings more identity to each weapon but means Attachments that provide the lighter and quicker sniper rifles the Damage Range stat will increase their ability to one shot at increased distances. 

Our ultimate goal is to enable a wider range of viable playstyles and really push the potential of each weapon. Keep an eye out as we expect further adjustments to Sniper Rifles as we hone in on the best all-round experience.”

The following weapons will one-shot to the head only while inside of their max damage range: 

• Marksman Rifle Charlie (MW)
• SP-R 208 (MW)
• Pelington 703 (BOCW)
• Swiss K31 (BOCW)
• Type 99 (VG)
• Kar98k (VG)

The following weapons will one-shot to the head at any range: 

• HDR (MW)
• Sniper Rifle Charlie (MW)
• ZRG 20mm (BOCW) 
• 3-Line Rifle (VG)
• Gorenko Anti-Tank Rifle (VG)

The following weapons do not have one-shot potential to the head:

• Rytec AMR (MW)
• Sniper Rifle Alpha (MW)
• Sniper Rifle Charlie (BOCW)

Please see below for the full list of changes to snipers, and keep in mind that attachments that provide range bonuses can drastically change the base weapon’s max range:

• Sniper Rifle Charlie (MW)
  • Can one-shot to the head at any range 
  • Max Damage Range increased to 3400, up from 3072
  • Head Damage Multiplier increased to 3.2
• Sniper Rifle Alpha (MW)
  • Cannot one shot 
  • Max Damage Range decreased to 1375, down from 2500
  • Min Damage increased to 60, up from 50
  • Max Damage increased to 80, up from 70
• HDR (MW)
  • Can one-shot to the head at any range 
  • Max Damage Range decreased to 3400, down from 4000
  • Head Damage Multiplier increased to 3.2
• Marksman Rifle Charlie (MW)
  • Can one-shot to the head within max damage range  
  • Max Damage Range decreased to 1425, down from 2400
  • Head Damage Multiplier increased to 3.2
  • Min Damage increased to 75, up from 50
  • Max Damage increased to 95, up from 86
• SP-R 208 (MW)
  • Can one-shot to the head within max damage range  
  • Max Damage Range increased to 1300, up from 900
  • Head Damage Multiplier increased to 3.2
  • Max Damage increased to 94, up from 93
• Swiss K31 (BOCW)
  • Can one-shot to the head within max damage range  
  • Max Damage Range increased to 1650, up from 900
  • Head Damage Multiplier increased to 2.31
  • Max Damage increased to 130, up from 95
• ZRG 20mm (BOCW)
  • Can one-shot to the head at any range
  • Max Damage Range increased to 4000, up from 3072
  • Head Damage Multiplier increased to 3.2
• Sniper Rifle Charlie (BOCW)
  • Cannot one shot
  • Max Damage Range increased to 2675, up from 2600
  • Min Damage decreased to 96, down from 99
• Pelington 703 (BOCW)
  • Can one-shot to the head within max damage range  
  • Max Damage Range decreased to 1900, down from 2000
  • Head Damage Multiplier increased to 2.4
  • Min Damage decreased to 95, up from 99
  • Max Damage increased to 125, up from 102
• LW3 – Tundra (BOCW)
  • Can one-shot to the head within max damage range  
  • Max Damage Range decreased to 1675, down from 4000
  • Head Damage Multiplier increased to 2.5
  • Max Damage increased to 120, up from 102
• Rytec AMR (MW)
  • Cannot one shot
  • Max Damage Range decreased to 2650, down from 2800
  • Min Damage decreased to 96, down from 99
  • Head Damage Multiplier increased to 2.1
• Type 99 (VG)
  • Can one-shot to the head within max damage range  
  • Max Damage Range decreased to 1350, down from 4092
  • Head Damage Multiplier increased to 2.4
  • ADS Transition In Speed decreased to 0.45, down from 0.48
  • ADS Transition Out Speed decreased to 0.42, down from 0.5
• Kar98k (VG)
  • Can one-shot to the head within max damage range  
  • Max Damage Range decreased to 1850, down from 3800
  • Max Damage increased to 100, up from 92
  • ADS Transition In Speed decreased to 0.43, down from 0.455
  • ADS Transition Out Speed decreased to 0.4, down from 0.476
• 3-Line Rifle (VG)
  • Can one-shot to the head at any range
  • Max Damage Range decreased to 3225, down from 4092
  • Head Damage Multiplier increased to 3.15
  • Max Damage increased to 115, up from 95
  • Min Damage increased to 96, up from 79
  • ADS Transition In Speed increased to 0.532, up from 0.517
  • ADS Transition Out Speed increased to 0.54, up from 0.52
  • Movement speed scaler decreased to 0.80, down from 0.83
• Gorenko Anti-Tank Rifle (VG)
  • Can one-shot to the head at any range 
  • Max Damage Range decreased to 3700, down from 4092
  • Head Damage Multiplier increased to 3.0
  • Upper Torso Multiplier increased to 1.2
  • Upper Torso Multiplier increased to 1.1
  • ADS Transition Out Speed decreased to 0.5, down from 0.66
  • Now Has Access to Lengthened, Armor Piercing, Subsonic, Frangible and Hollow Point Ammunition. 

Submachine Guns

• Armaguerra 43 (VG) 
  • 8mm JCrz 72 Round Mags
    • Fire Rate decreased to 10%, down from 15%
    • Now increases Damage by 5%
    • The 8mm JCrz 72 Round Mags simply didn’t have a fair pro for con trade. We’ve slowed its rate of fire down some while providing a damage increase that results in targets being eliminated 1 bullet faster.
  • Imerito 180mm Short Barrel
    • Bullet Velocity penalty decreased to -10%, down from -12% 
    • Recoil Control penalty decreased to -10%, down from -15% 
    • Visual Recoil decreased.
• Type 100 (VG)
  • Visual Recoil decreased
  • 8mm JCrz 48 Round Drums
    • Damage Multiplier decreased to 6.5%, down from 14%
    • Movement Speed decreased to -4%, down from -3%

“The 8mm JCrz 48 Round Drums were holding too much of the Type 100’s overall damage potential. We’ll be monitoring the Type 100 this update and make adjustments to the base weapon if any are required. This Magazine is still very powerful with the increased rate of fire it provides and the damage bonus still results in one less bullet to kill.”

• Owen Gun (VG)
  • 7.62 Gorenko 33 Round Mags
    • Neck Damage Multiplier decreased to 1.17, down from 1.3
  • 7.62 Gorenko 72 Round Drums
    • Head Damage Multiplier decreased to 1.47, down from 1.5
    • Neck Damage Multiplier decreased to 1.17, down from 1.3
  • Hockenson 142mm Rapid
    • Fire Rate decreased to 16%, down from 19%
• Submachine Gun Charlie (VG)
  • VDD 189mm Short Barrel
    • Min Damage decreased to 23, down from 24
    • Upper and Lower Torso Damage Multiplier decreased to 1.04, down from 1.1

“The VDD 189mm short barrel has been a huge boon for the Submachine Gun Charlie (VG) and would often shred the target’s Upper Body far outside of its maximum damage range. The VDD still provides a large bonus against extremities and still increases both the min damage and optimal damage range of the MP40. We expect continued use of this attachment, even with these adjustments.”

Marksman Rifles

• M1 Garand (VG)
  • Lower Limb Damage Multipliers increased to .8, from .7

“This slight change to the damage profile results in requiring one less shot to kill if all shots are to the limbs.”

Attachments

Ammunition

• Subsonic
  • Bullet Velocity penalty removed

“Continuing our deep-dive into Ammunition – we’ve looked at Subsonic and feel that a downside on this ammunition puts it out of the desirability range of where we’d like it to be.”

» Muzzles «

• Mercury Silencer
  • Damage Range penalty removed
• MX Silencer
  • Now Decreases Sprint to Fire Speed by 2% 
  • Now Increases Damage Range by 10%