Warzone devs confirm Smoke Grenade nerf for Season 1

The Warzone Season 1 update is bringing countless new additions to the table, including Urzikstan, Modern Warfare 3's weapons, and, as always, plenty of flashy cosmetics. Despite this, it's the balance changes that often garner the most attention from the community - especially as they directly shape the meta.

The devs have already announced that Riot Shields will now come with a movement penalty, whether they're equipped in your main hand or on your back. Now, it's been revealed that Smoke Grenades are being hit with a nerf in Warzone, but not everyone is convinced it's necessary.

Smoke Grenade is getting nerfed in Warzone Season 1

As showcased by the popular Call of Duty account ModernWarzone, Smoke Grenades are being adjusted in Warzone Season 1. The duration of the throwable will be nerfed by 20% with Urzikstan, meaning using them for cover will be a lot more risky on the new map.

This is an "attempt to address the smoke meta that persisted throughout the entirety of Al Mazrah" by the devs, which they are hoping will make the Smoke Grenade slightly less popular.

Of course, this doesn't render the Tactical useless because it's still a solid piece of equipment. However, it should make room for other options to break into the meta.

Warzone fans are unsure whether Smoke nerfs are "necessary"

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The response from Call of Duty fans has been mixed, with some praising the nerf as a "huge W" and others calling out the changes as "excessive."

A lot of players are confused as to why the Smoke Grenade needed nerfs, as they were under the impression that the past Stim buff was enough to counter the dominance of smokes.

"They already did address the smoke meta by rebuffing the stims," said one user, with another arguing "I don’t think this is necessary tbh... Smokes only became super valuable because of the s**t movement, seems a little excessive but idk."

Now the movement has improved with MW3, some Warzone fans think targeting the power of smokes is a mistake of the devs. Let's see if the community still uses them in Season 1, or whether they get completely pushed out of the meta in favour of other equipment.