MW3’s strongest AR suffers “significant” nerf in recent update

The MW3 devs nerfed the Holger 556, and TrueGameData explained how this has the potential to shake up the game’s meta.

After a few weeks of acclimating to Modern Warfare 3, one weapon stood head and shoulder above the rest of the competition. The Holger 556 emerged as the best long-range option and the AR also shredded enemies up close and personal.

MW3 Players had to adjust for the weapon’s slower fire rate and mobility, but just a few shots were enough to take down an enemy. Pro players quickly caught wind of the AR’s firepower and banned the Holger 556 from competitive play.

Casual players don’t have that luxury, so you would be hard-pressed not to see at least one or two players using the hard-hitting rifle during a match. That may all change after the most recent MW3 update.

Modern Warfare 3 update takes down Holger 556

As part of the November 21 MW3 update, the Holger 556 saw its headshot, neck, upper torso, arm, and hand damage multipliers all decrease. The AR also had its sprint-to-fire time decreased, which slowed down the weapon’s mobility.

TrueGameData tested the Holger 556 in-game and concluded that the update “basically just removed the chest hitbox and lowered the headshot damage.”

So using data provided by the TrueGameData website, the MW3 AR does four less damage to every extremity. Before the update, the Holger never suffered a steep damage drop-off at any range. The patch makes it so the rifle does dramatically less damage starting at around 35 meters.

TrueGameData elaborated: “This basically didn’t have a drop off. It did have damage drop offs, but it now it’s been fixed where the time-to-kill gets worse at range.”

The YouTuber argued that this is a “significant nerf” because the damage’s DPS fell off and the TTk difference will be noticeable.

If you need a replacement, check out our best MW3 multiplayer MCW loadout.