Treyarch’s Call of Duty Black Ops 7 Season 5 update went live on July 22 and changes the weapons players lean on most. The AN-94 loses its grip on the assault-rifle meta, the Swordfish A1 takes a targeted nerf, and the DS20 Mirage gets a rework that makes it worth another look. Here is what changed across the loadout and how it affects your builds.
Which Weapons Got Nerfed in Black Ops 7 Season 5
The AN-94 is the biggest change. Treyarch says the rifle had been outclassing other assault rifles on time-to-kill through its hyperburst, and its usage climbed sharply over recent weeks. The update removes its four-shot body kill in the maximum damage range, which Treyarch says should let other full-auto rifles hold their own in a direct fight. The rest of the weapon stays intact, so this reads as a precise clip rather than a rebuild.
The Swordfish A1 is the other rifle in Treyarch’s sights. The studio notes it does not top the usage charts but lands a heavy impact for the players running it, most of whom build around the Penta Burst Mod. The nerf therefore falls mainly on that attachment, with higher recoil, a stronger first-shot kick, and its burst-fire-delay improvement cut from 20 percent to 10 percent. The base weapon takes only a minor burst-fire-delay increase from 280ms to 300ms.
The Carbon 57 SMG loses some of its aggressive edge as well. Its Fabricator Mag now waits a full second after firing before it begins regenerating ammo, which taxes the magazine harder when players push through several targets in quick succession.
What Got Buffed and Which Weapons Are New
The DS20 Mirage comes out ahead. Its Dual Fire Kit now shares ammunition across both fire modes, which removes the awkward double reload, and attachments now apply to the alternate fire mode. The kit improves movement speed instead of reducing it and trims sprint-to-fire time by 20ms, giving the weapon a clear aggressive build. Maximum-range damage rises from 27 to 28.
Two Battle Pass weapons join at launch. The FG42 is a full-auto assault rifle with strong damage offset by slower handling, and the Gremlin is a dual-wield SMG built for mobility that cannot aim down sights. The Mammoth light machine gun arrives in-season as a reward through the Machine of War event, offering heavy damage at a slow fire rate suited to covering fire.
How Ranked Play Changes in Black Ops 7 Season 5
Competitive players face tighter margins this season. To counter the SR inflation Treyarch recorded in higher divisions during Season 4, base SR loss rises to -25 at Platinum, -30 at Diamond, and -40 at Crimson.
📝 Call of Duty #BlackOps7 | Call of Duty: #Warzone
— Call of Duty Updates (@CODUpdates) July 22, 2026
Patch Notes are now available for tomorrow's Season 05 update.
Black Ops 7: https://t.co/UV6iDYWuP5
Warzone: https://t.co/vNbKM4NoNK
Opponent Rank Adjustments now apply only when the opposing player sits three or more rank tiers above or below you, so beating someone barely above your rank no longer earns a bonus. Frequency, the remastered map from Black Ops 4, enters the Hardpoint, Search & Destroy, and Overload rotations.
