Several high profile players have begun to amplify calls for nerfing the Grau 5.56 in Call of Duty: Warzone. The latest calls have come from high-profile players such as Jack “CouRage” Dunlop, of 100 Thieves, who has been vocal for nerfing many weapons over the short history of the game, from the RPG, the akimbo snake shot, and now the Grau. Dallas Empire’s Crimsix has echoed this call for a nerf, amongst many other internationally known pro gamers.
High profile players with large followings have significant ability to guide community discussion about the topics, with a voice large enough to reach developers. Thus far in the smash-hit battle royale’s history, Infinity Ward has done an impeccable job listening to the community to ensure an optimal experience, from removing helicopters from play when glitched, to the infamous snake shot nerf. Is the current end goal the right approach?
Twitter user @thesekk recently shared some compelling clips of another potential solution in that perhaps the unusability of the other weapons should be improved. Here, the FAL was offered as a first option, showing an up-close engagement with hipfire, and two different medium-range aim down site shot clusters. The FAL engagement was underwhelming. A supposedly legendary loadout of the FAL was used, it appears the Beefeater setup. A single shot semi-automatic assault rifle should have viability and significant control benefits over an automatic assault rifle, to offset the penalty of needing to click so many times. The FAL instead recoils all over the place. Even the slightest buff here could likely resolve the FAL’s viability. The hipfire shots are comical, there is no way at a few feet the cluster should be that large, even in hipfire mode.
Next, @thesekk offered a different weapon in need of a significant buff, the RAM-7. In the short clip, he follows the same pattern of hipfire, and two medium-range engagements. The rifle again underperformed, with a slower rate of fire and greater spread of bullets than almost any SMG, leaving the weapon a distinct non-select amongst players.
The danger in nerfing all the weapons that are high performers, and a large number of players use, is that the weapons are incredibly enjoyable and satisfying to play with. It is fun to get kills in Warzone, or Modern Warfare. Increasing the playability of the variety of weapons built into the game, before getting on a quest to nerf the popular weapons, lets minor tweaks be made that won’t alienate players whose playstyle is suited for these weapons. The Grau may be a favored choice amongst most right now, but only because those that would prefer short to medium range variants have no reason to use the RAM-7, as nearly any SMG will perform better, and those that prefer medium to long-range engagements have no reason to pick the M4A1, as it has been nerfed.
Let’s make all guns lethal, to support the largest variety of playstyles, THEN tweak to keep weapon balancing in place. It is not the time to race to the bottom so nothing can hit. Buffing other weapons is the answer, not nerfing the Grau.
Source: Reddit, Reddit
