Modern Warfare 3 season one has addressed the smoke grenade meta in Warzone, with nerfs now changing how players approach the final circle.
Warzone 2’s primary map, Al Mazrah, featured large open areas that made it necessary to carry smoke grenades. If squads wanted to rotate to a new circle or move between covers without getting taken out, a barrier of smoke made the maneuver easier. You would be hard-pressed not to see teams use smoke grenades in the final stages of a match. It also didn’t help that the Restock perk automatically replenished an operator’s lethal and tactical equipment every 25 seconds.
Additionally, only a few scopes could see through smoke grenades, meaning there were hardly any hard counters to the equipment. Raven Software took note of the meta and responded accordingly in MW3.
Smoke grenades nerfed into the ground for Warzone season one
Before MW3 season one, CoD content creator ModernWarzone said, “Smoke grenade duration will be nerfed by 20% when Warzone Urzikstan launches on December 6th.” As a result, smoke grenades will still offer the same visibility as before, but this change will ensure they don’t last as long as before. ModernWarzone also confirmed, “This is an attempt to address the smoke meta that persisted throughout Al Mazrah.”
JGOD also revealed that Urzikstan is 20 percent smaller than Al Mazrah. From playing zombies, we already know that the new battle royale map is dense and full of buildings that can be used for cover. So, a smaller map with more cover could also contribute to smoke grenades being less impactful in Warzone.
Community members have since asked if the change would also be present in multiplayer, as pro players have already banned the equipment item for being overpowered. ModernWarzone did not answer the question, so we will have to wait until the official patch notes on Dec.6 to find out if the nerf is also in multiplayer.
Some players also argued this change was unnecessary, as smokes were only essential because player movement was slower in Warzone 2. Even if this change is minor, Warzone’s endgame meta should look much different in MW3.
