MW4 weapon tuning: the October 28 balance pass

What changed on October 28, 2026

Infinity Ward’s first balance pass on Modern Warfare 4 published actual combat numbers for fifteen weapons. Until this date the wiki recorded MW4 damage as unpublished, because no source had printed it. These are the first published figures.

Infinity Ward describes the pass as focused on “normalizing hit location damage for a more consistent TTK and general improvements to SMG performance”, and notes that the changes “primarily targeted upper limb damage multipliers for Submachine Guns”.

The pass falls into three groups:

• Assault Rifles — Han 86, Kastov 762, M4, Oden, Hyeon Burst, Patriot XMR.
• SMGs — ISO Nightshade, PPSh-41, VEL 46, Wz.55 Striga, X-58 Nyx. Every SMG had its upper-limb multipliers raised from 0.95 to 1.
• LMGs, Shotguns — APOC-338, FiNN LMG, Type 73, Warlord.

Assault Rifles

Weapon or Attachment	Stat	Pre	Post	Change
Han 86	Max Damage Range	1120	1200	+7%
Han 86	Neck Damage Multiplier	1.1	1	−9%
Han 86	Upper Torso Damage Multiplier	1.1	1	−9%
Kastov 762	Max Damage Range	950	1050	+11%
M4	Max Damage Range	990	1020	+3%
Oden	Neck Damage Multiplier	1.2	1.1	−8%
Oden	Upper Torso Damage Multiplier	1.2	1.1	−8%
Oden	Lower Torso Damage Multiplier	1.1	1	−9%
Oden — Sentinel Apex Attachment	Max Damage Range	870	820	−6%
Oden — Sentinel Apex Attachment	Mid Damage Range 1	1810	1740	−4%
Oden — Sentinel Apex Attachment	Muzzle Velocity	—	−0.07	—
Hyeon Burst — Hyperburst Apex Attachment	Full-Auto Max Damage	37	34	−8%
Hyeon Burst — Hyperburst Apex Attachment	Full-Auto Max Damage Range	970	1220	+26%
Hyeon Burst — Hyperburst Apex Attachment	Mid Damage Range 1	Not Specified	Removed	—
Patriot XMR — EXP Haste 80L 14 (Light Barrel)	Recoil Control Penalty (%)	8	6	−25%
Patriot XMR — FJX Fury IV Grip (Skeleton Grip)	Recoil Control Penalty (%)	5	4	−20%

The M4’s published Max Damage Range rose by 3 percent. Kastov 762 received the largest assault-rifle range increase at 11 percent, and Han 86 gained 7 percent while its neck and upper-torso multipliers came down to 1.

Submachine Guns

Weapon or Attachment	Stat	Pre	Post	Change
ISO Nightshade	Left Lower Arm Damage Multiplier	0.95	1	+5%
ISO Nightshade	Left Upper Arm Damage Multiplier	0.95	1	+5%
ISO Nightshade	Left Hand Damage Multiplier	0.95	1	+5%
ISO Nightshade	Right Lower Arm Damage Multiplier	0.95	1	+5%
ISO Nightshade	Right Upper Arm Damage Multiplier	0.95	1	+5%
ISO Nightshade	Right Hand Damage Multiplier	0.95	1	+5%
PPSh-41	ADS In Speed (ms)	300	280	−7%
PPSh-41	ADS Strafe Movement Speed (m/s)	2.75	2.78	+1%
PPSh-41	Crouch Speed (m/s)	2.17	2.19	+1%
PPSh-41	Hipfire Movement Speed (m/s)	4.19	4.2	—
PPSh-41	Movement Speed (m/s)	4.66	4.7	+1%
PPSh-41	Sprint Speed (m/s)	6.18	6.21	—
PPSh-41	Left Lower Arm Damage Multiplier	0.95	1	+5%
PPSh-41	Left Upper Arm Damage Multiplier	0.95	1	+5%
PPSh-41	Left Hand Damage Multiplier	0.95	1	+5%
PPSh-41	Right Lower Arm Damage Multiplier	0.95	1	+5%
PPSh-41	Right Upper Arm Damage Multiplier	0.95	1	+5%
PPSh-41	Right Hand Damage Multiplier	0.95	1	+5%
VEL 46	Left Lower Arm Damage Multiplier	0.95	1	+5%
VEL 46	Left Upper Arm Damage Multiplier	0.95	1	+5%
VEL 46	Left Hand Damage Multiplier	0.95	1	+5%
VEL 46	Right Lower Arm Damage Multiplier	0.95	1	+5%
VEL 46	Right Upper Arm Damage Multiplier	0.95	1	+5%
VEL 46	Right Hand Damage Multiplier	0.95	1	+5%
Wz.55 Striga	Max Damage Range	440	470	+7%
Wz.55 Striga	Mid Damage Range 1	825	840	+2%
Wz.55 Striga	Left Lower Arm Damage Multiplier	0.95	1	+5%
Wz.55 Striga	Left Upper Arm Damage Multiplier	0.95	1	+5%
Wz.55 Striga	Left Hand Damage Multiplier	0.95	1	+5%
Wz.55 Striga	Right Lower Arm Damage Multiplier	0.95	1	+5%
Wz.55 Striga	Right Upper Arm Damage Multiplier	0.95	1	+5%
Wz.55 Striga	Right Hand Damage Multiplier	0.95	1	+5%
X-58 Nyx	Head Damage Multiplier	1.25	1.3	+4%
X-58 Nyx	Left Lower Arm Damage Multiplier	0.95	1	+5%
X-58 Nyx	Left Upper Arm Damage Multiplier	0.95	1	+5%
X-58 Nyx	Left Hand Damage Multiplier	0.95	1	+5%
X-58 Nyx	Right Lower Arm Damage Multiplier	0.95	1	+5%
X-58 Nyx	Right Upper Arm Damage Multiplier	0.95	1	+5%
X-58 Nyx	Right Hand Damage Multiplier	0.95	1	+5%
X-58 Nyx — Void Apex Attachment	Max Damage Range	437	460	+5%
X-58 Nyx — Void Apex Attachment	Mid Damage Range 1	788	815	+3%

Every SMG in the game had its six upper-limb multipliers raised from 0.95 to 1, which is the “upper limb damage multipliers” work Infinity Ward describes. X-58 Nyx was the only SMG with a head multiplier touched, rising from 1.25 to 1.3, and the only one whose Max Damage Range moved in its base form.

Light Machine Guns

Weapon or Attachment	Stat	Pre	Post	Change
APOC-338	Mid Damage 1	38	37	−3%
APOC-338	Mid Damage Range 1	1980	1900	−4%
APOC-338	Min Damage	35	33	−6%
FiNN LMG	Mid Damage Range 1	1720	1620	−6%
FiNN LMG	Left Upper Arm Damage Multiplier	1.1	1	−9%
FiNN LMG	Right Upper Arm Damage Multiplier	1.1	1	−9%
Type 73 — Assault Apex Attachment	Min Damage	19	20	+5%

The LMGs moved the other way from the SMGs: APOC-338 and FiNN LMG were both nerfed, and their upper-limb multipliers came down to 1 from 1.1.

Shotguns

Weapon or Attachment	Stat	Pre	Post	Change
Warlord — 12G Slug Rounds	Mid Damage Range 2	900	810	−10%

What is still not published

This tuning pass did not make every combat figure public. The following remain unmeasured for MW4 and are recorded as “Not stated” on the weapon pages:

• base body damage per bullet for the weapons whose tuning entry lists only multipliers or ranges
• time to kill
• recoil pattern and camera shake
• effective range falloff curves

The figures Infinity Ward published are hit-location multipliers, damage ranges and a handful of attachment-specific values. They are the first real combat numbers for MW4, and they are what the weapon pages now carry.

Related changes in the same update

• Quick Fix — taking damage now interrupts the Perk’s health regeneration. Infinity Ward’s explanation: “We noticed an issue where Quick Fix would continue to regenerate health even after taking damage. This was causing players to be more tanky than intended. Damage will now properly interrupt Quick Fix.”
• Dive velocity — reduced by 23 percent as a short-term mitigation for a movement exploit, pending a long-term fix.
• Free For All — score limit back to 30 after a temporary change, with Final Killcam to return in a later backend update.
• Possum (DMZ Trait) — can no longer be activated while the team that killed you is nearby, or until 4 minutes have passed.

Sources

• Infinity Ward: MW4 launch patch notes, October 28, 2026 section, checked October 30, 2026.
• MW4 patch notes digest — every dated update since launch.