Progression updates and game mode improvements coming to Modern Warfare 3

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has become a hit among players and it seems that Activision is preparing significant improvements to the game in their upcoming preseason patch. The patch notes for the same are live and one of the highlight points is updates to game progression, as well as improvements and fixes for popular game modes such as multiplayer and zombies mode.

There were reports from gamers earlier outlining a priblem where the game was crashing while viewing weapon challenges. There was also a glitch in the UI when it came to armoury unlocks, but that too has been fixed in this patch. There was also a funny glitch were the XP bar was showing negative values certain circumstances, but the patch has fixed it as well.

When it comes to the Zombies mode, there are quite a few changes. For instance, in the ‘Storm the Castle’ mission, the warlord credit system will now be squad-based. Basically, if you need a specific item, it will only spawn when someone from your team kills the enemy. No more random item spawns in the mission.

In the ‘Interceptor’ stage, there was a lot of confusion about keycards counting towards mission completion. Well, after this patch, that confusion will no longer exist, as it has been confirmed in the patch notes that if you pick up a keycard in this mission, this action will be counted towards mission completion.

Finally, the Zombie spawn priority has been tweaked to ensure more zombies spawn on the ground, rather than on elevations and rooftops.

Here are the official patch notes –

Stability & Performance

Resolved a crash that could occur while viewing Weapon Challenges.

UIX

Bug Fixes
Closed an exploit that allowed players to equip Weapon Camos they have not yet unlocked.
Addressed an issue that prevented players from equipping the Borealis Weapon Camo once it has been unlocked.

Cosmetics

Dragonfly Blueprint for the M4 (MW2) will now appear as expected across all platforms.
Addressed an issue that prevented the appearance of the Io Operator (MW2) from dynamically changing as expected.
Adjusted the Ghoulie Camo (MW2) to prevent it from becoming overwhelmingly bright in dark environments.

Multiplayer
UIX

Wins will now progress Armory Unlocks without first completing Daily Challenges.
Today’s update includes UI modifications to reflect this previously-implemented change.

Bug Fixes
Players will no longer experience graphical corruption when transitioning between the Field Upgrades and Social menus.
XP requirements in the Progression menu will no longer display as negative values under certain conditions.
Attachments that are incompatible with the current selection can no longer be equipped to a Weapon.

Progression
Challenges

Updated the description of the Gilded Camo challenge for the MTZ-556 (Assault Rifle) to accurately reflect the intended requirements.
Weekly Challenges requiring Triple Kills and Quad Kills will now properly track completion.

Maps

Derail – Adjusted environmental fog to increase contrast, improving visibility.
Estate – Decreased grime on windows of the Lodge to improve clarity.

Weapons

Holger 556 (Assault Rifle)
Decreased headshot damage multiplier from 1.4x to 1.3x.
Decreased neck, upper-torso, arm, and hand damage multipliers from 1.1x to 1x.
Increased sprint to fire time from 210ms to 231ms (+10%).
DG-58 (Assault Rifle)
Decreased maximum damage from 44 to 40 (-9%).
Decreased medium damage from 35 to 33 (-6%).
Decreased neck damage multiplier from 1.4x to 1.1x.
Increased burst delay from 100ms to 120ms (+20%).
FR 5.56 (Assault Rifle)
Decreased maximum damage from 44 to 43 (-2%).
Decreased near-medium damage from 40 to 36 (-10%).
Decreased minimum damage from 36 to 33 (-8%).
Decreased headshot damage multiplier from 1.5x to 1.4x.
Decreased leg and foot damage multipliers from 1x to 0.9x.
Increased aim down sights time from 240ms to 260ms (+8%).
Increased sprint to fire time from 210ms to 231ms (+10%).
Striker (Submachine Gun)
Increased maximum damage range from 9m to 19m (+114%).
Increased near-medium damage from 33 to 36 (+9%).
Increased far-medium damage from 27 to 33 (+22%).
Decreased aim down sights time from 240ms to 230ms (-4%).
AMR9 (Submachine Gun)
Increased lower-torso, lower-arm, and hand damage multipliers from 1x to 1.1x.
Decreased sprint to fire time from 294ms to 206ms (-30%).
Striker 9 (Submachine Gun)
Decreased maximum damage from 32 to 27 (-16%).
Decreased aim down sights time from 275ms to 225ms (-18%).
The highlight of this balance pass is a reduction to the lethality of the FR 5.56 and DG-58. Both Weapons will now require two headshots to kill an enemy with a single 3-round burst fire. Additionally, these changes aim to improve the consistency and viability of Submachine Guns to the intended target for the class.

Perks

Ordnance Gloves – Removed undocumented reduction to the cook duration of Frag Grenades.

Zombies
Gameplay

Missions
- Storm the Castle
  - Warlord kill credit is now squad-based, and the required mission item will now spawn when a member of your squad kills the target.
- Interceptor
  - Destroy Mercenary Convoy now accurately tracks completion.
  - Picking up a Keycard from a mercenary at the convoy will always count toward mission completion.
Perk-A-Colas
- Tombstone Soda
  - Tombstones will no longer appear in the next session if a player exfils while in last stand.
General
- Essence can no longer be stowed.
- Addressed an issue where newly stowed items, acquisitions, or schematics would be replaced, and therefore lost, with previously sold items that underwent a swap item menu interaction.
- Closed various exploits related to the use of Cymbal Monkeys.
- Closed an exploit that permitted duplication of scorestreaks.

Enemies

Zombies
- Zombie spawn priority has been adjusted to favor increased ground spawning.
  - Players can expect fewer ambient Zombie spawns on rooftops and higher elevations.
Terminus Outcomes
- All Mercenaries
  - Mercenary damage against Player Armor has been reduced.
- Shielded Soldiers
  - Shielded Soldiers now have a slower fire rate when engaged.