Black Ops Cold War Season 6 update: patch notes, weapon buffs & nerfs, new maps

Isaac McIntyre
Black Ops Cold War patch notes released ahead of October 7 update.

Black Ops Cold War Season 6 is finally here as Treyarch prepares for their victory lap ahead of Call of Duty Vanguard’s looming release, and there’s plenty to sink our teeth into ⁠— here are the full patch notes for the October 7 update.


  • Treyarch adds new three multiplayer maps
  • EM2, TEC-9 headline a dozen weapon changes
  • Mason returns as Black Ops operator

Black Ops Cold War’s sixth season is here, and with it has come a raft of new weapon buffs, nerfs, and changes, three groundbreaking new multiplayer maps, more operators, and more.

Headlining the weapon changes are two Assault Rifles, the EM2 and C58. The primary weapon pair will be joined in the changes column by a host of other popular Black Ops Cold War guns, including the LC10 light machine gun, Season 5’s controversial new TEC-9 submachine gun, and plenty more.

On top of that, the Deprogram map is set to push the boundaries of Call of Duty level design with, according to Treyarch, as “one of the most unique multiplayer experiences in Black Ops history.”

Here’s everything that just dropped in the October 7 update.

EM2, TEC-9 lead buffs & nerfs

In total, nine individual weapons have been buffed, nerfed, or tweaked in the new Black Ops Cold War update, including shotguns (see below) and several meta guns.

Headlining these changes are the Marshal, EM2, and TEC-9 submachine gun, all of which debuted in Season Five and have shone ever since. The C58 Assault Rifle, KSP 45, and LC10 have all been whacked with changes this week too.

In the attachment department, Treyarch has made several changes to the Ranger Barrel mod, while the Nail Gun is getting a hefty damage hike.

Several weapon changes on October 7 should shake up the Black Ops Cold War meta.
These weapon changes on October 7 should shake up the Black Ops Cold War meta.

Sweeping Shotgun changes

On top of the slate of weapon changes, Treyarch has also taken a closer look at the entire shotgun arsenal. In the October 7 update, Black Ops Cold War shotguns will now deal more damage over range, up three percent to 33%.

Two shotguns were also handed further changes; the Hauer 77 gets more visual shake and the Streetsweeper is getting “more dramatic movement.”

The new Black Ops Cold War season is looking to turn things up to eleven.
The new Black Ops Cold War season is looking to turn things up to eleven.

New maps: Deprogram, Amerika, Gluboko

The latest Black Ops Cold War update has also added three new multiplayer maps to the mix, starting with Deprogram, a medium-sized 6v6 battlefield that takes place “entirely inside Russell Adler’s fractured mind as he’s being stabilized.”

Red Doors ⁠— the teleporting channels from Warzone ⁠— are littered throughout the multiplayer arena. Players can use them to fast-travel across the map.

The second new map release is “Amerika.”

This new Black Ops Cold War battleground is situated on the streets around an old Soviet training facility, built as a duplicate of Anytown from the title’s campaign. This new map will also appear in the Zombies Forsaken expansion.

Finally, Treyarch has added a new 2v2 arena, Gluboko, that will tap into every CoD player’s thirst for non-stop action in a vault under the KGB headquarters.

Three new multiplayer maps are arriving in Black Ops Cold War this week.
Three new multiplayer maps are arriving in Black Ops Cold War this week.

The Black Ops Cold War update officially went live at 9pm PT on Thursday, October 7, less than 24 hours after the notes were first unveiled. Read all the patch notes below, courtesy of Treyarch.

Black Ops Cold War Season 6 patch notes

Battle Pass

  • New 100-Tier Battle Pass available.

Operators

Mason

  • New Mason Operator available at Tier 0 in the Season Six Battle Pass.

Fuze

  • New Fuze Operator arriving later in the season.

Bulldozer

  • Three bonus panda-themed Operator Skins for Bulldozer included with Season Six Battle Pass Bundle purchase.

Weapons

.410 Ironhide

  • New .410 Ironhide Shotgun available for free at Tier 15 of the Battle Pass System.

Grav

  • New Grav Assault Rifle available for free at Tier 31 of the Battle Pass System.

Weapon Unlock Challenges

Battle Axe

  • New Battle Axe melee weapon available via in-game challenge in Multiplayer or Zombies, or via unique Blueprint version in the Store at the start of Season Six.

Sai

  • Unlock Challenge available for the Sai Melee weapon in Multiplayer and Zombies. 

EM2

  • Unlock Challenge available for the EM2 assault rifle in Multiplayer and Zombies.

TEC-9

  • Unlock Challenge available for the TEC-9 SMG in Multiplayer and Zombies.

Weapon Tuning

Assault Rifles

EM2

  • Reduced maximum damage from 48 to 42.
  • Increased vertical recoil on first bullet fired.
  • Removed -7% fire rate penalty from 25.8” Task Force Barrel attachment.
  • Increased horizontal recoil control penalty on 25.8” Task Force Barrel attachment from 15% to 25%.

C58

  • Added 12% horizontal recoil reduction to STANAG 60 Rnd Drum attachment.
  • Added 8% vertical recoil reduction to STANAG 60 Rnd Drum attachment.

Submachine Guns

TEC-9

  • Reduced ADS speed from 0.233 to 0.266.
  • Dropped sprint to fire speed from 0.3 to 0.333.
  • Reduced weapon swap speed from 0.35 to 0.375.
  • Increased effective range penalty on Burst Fire Repeater Muzzle attachment from 15% to 33%.

KSP 45

  • Reduced headshot multiplier from 1.4x to 1.33x.
  • Increased damage increase on 10.5” Task Force Barrel attachment to 8%.

LC10

  • Reduced headshot multiplier from 1.4x to 1.33x.

Pistols

Marshal

  • Reduced max damage range from 5.08m to 3.81m.
  • Reduced firing speed from 0.35 to 0.366.
  • Increased range penalty on Dragon’s Breath attachment from 8% to 25%.
  • Bonus Damage from Dragon’s Breath is now reduced at ranges beyond 6.66m.  Maximum bonus damage has been reduced from 40 to a maximum of 24. The 12.1” Extended Barrel attachment increases this range before damage drop off.

Shotguns

All Shotguns

  • Increased effective damage range bonus on Ranger Barrel attachments from 30% to 33%.

Hauer 77

  • Added slightly longer visual shake after firing.

Streetsweeper

  • Added more dramatic visual and weapon movement when firing.

Specials

Nail Gun

  • Shots to the head and neck now do 2x damage.

Multiplayer

Maps

  • Deprogram (6v6): New map added to Multiplayer rotation in 6v6 modes.
  • Amerika (6v6): New map added to Multiplayer rotation in 6v6 modes.
  • Gluboko (2v2, 3v3): New map added to Multiplayer rotation in Gunfight and Face Off modes.

Season Challenges

  • 20 new Multiplayer Season Challenges available to be revealed and unlocked with exclusive Calling Card and XP rewards.
  • Reveal a new Challenge every 10 Season Levels. Complete all 20 Season Challenges to unlock the Season Six Multiplayer Master Animated Calling Card.

Operator Missions

  • New Season Six Operator Missions available in Multiplayer.

Featured Playlists

  • Deprogram 24/7
  • Face Off Gluboko 24/7
  • NukeJacked 24/7
  • Gunfight Tournament
  • Face Off 6v6 (now featuring Gluboko)
  • 12v12 Mosh Pit (now featuring Deprogram and Amerika)
  • Party Games
  • Multi-Team

Prestige

Prestige Levels and Rewards

  • Added four new Prestige Levels (24-27) and Prestige Rewards:
  • Level
    • 50: New Prestige, Emblem, Prestige Key, Weapon Blueprint, and Battle Pass Tier Skip 
    • 100: New Prestige, Emblem, Prestige Key, and Battle Pass Tier Skip 
    • 150: New Prestige, Emblem, Prestige Key, and Battle Pass Tier Skip 
    • 190: All Season Challenges Available 
    • 200: New Prestige, Emblem, Prestige Key, Battle Pass Tier Skip, Master Prestige Calling Card 
    • 250 – 1,000: New Prestige Key every 50 levels

Prestige Shop

  • New “Trench Crawler” Weapon Blueprint added to the Prestige Shop.
  • New Legacy Calling Cards added to the Prestige Shop.

Related Topics

About The Author

Isaac was formerly the Australian Managing Editor at Dexerto. Isaac began his writing career as a sports journalist at Fairfax Media, before falling in love with all things esports and gaming. Since then he's covered Oceanic and global League of Legends for Upcomer, Hotspawn, and Snowball Esports.