Modern Warfare 2 Season 5 update patch notes

The Modern Warfare 2 Season 5 update patch notes are bound to contain a wealth of changes to various aspects of multiplayer. Whether it's another round of weapon balancing or various bug fixes, Infinity Ward often provides an extensive list of Modern Warfare 2 adjustments.

Just like previous updates, Season 5 will feature plenty of new content ranging from the Carrack .300 sniper rifle to a new battle pass containing Oz, Mila, and Graves as playable Operators.

Before we take a closer look at the Modern Warfare 2 Season 5 update patch notes, check out the best ranked play loadouts for competitive action and our guide revealing when the next double XP event takes place.

Modern Warfare 2 Season 5 patch notes

Gameplay

Movement

Slide

• Decreased slide time and increased slide velocity, so the Player covers the same distance in a shorter amount of time
• Allowed the Player to fire slightly sooner after initiating a slide

Jump

• Small increase to the lateral velocity boost while jumping
• Small reduction to the landing slowdown penalty while landing

Equipment

Adjustments

Drill Charge

• Reduced damage from drilling when a Player is stuck with a Drill Charge, providing a larger opportunity for death from explosion

Recon Drone

• Recon Drone’s health bar now updates every time the drone is accessed

Tactical Camera

• Removed audio distortion when failing to use a Tactical Camera

Perks

Adjustments

Bomb Squad

• Bomb Squad will protect against death from explosive Equipment stuck directly to the Player when fully armored | Warzone only

Quick Fix

• Added visual cues for attacking someone with active Quick Fix
• Entering an objective with Quick Fix equipped will now visually show when the health regeneration effect is active

Audio

Adjustments

• Further improved audio balance to favor some sounds over others (i.e. Airplane audio will be mixed down when using voice chat)
• Added alert sound from pets when being spotted

Audio Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue where knife pickups could play an incorrect sound
• Fixed an issue where the out of bounds sound would repeat incorrectly

UI/UX

Adjustments

Updated CODHQ Landing Page

• Adds Game Mode tiles to the Games section of CODHQ, allowing Players to jump to a specific row from the CODHQ menu
• Fixed an issue where Operator Skins and Finishing Moves could reset after suspending on consoles
• Fixed an issue where some Players were not getting awarded BlackCell items correctly (Season 04)
• Fixed an issue where the Player was unable to obtain Battle Pass rewards when on the BlackCell exclusive version of the reward (Season 04)
• Fixed an issue where tablet screens may cover part of the screen when activated
• Fixed an issue where in the progression menu UI, Prestige 6 was swapped with Prestige 10
• Fixed an issue that would occasionally prevent the ‘Reap This’ Kastov-74u Blueprint from equipping in-game
• Fixed an issue where objects could float in the air if dropped on glass that was then broken by disabling ability to drop objects on glass surfaces
• Fixed an issue where a placeholder name is displayed when completing the “Get 30 headshot Operator kills with Battle Rifles” challenge to unlock the Cronen Squall
• Fixed an issue where Battle Pass and Weapon 2XP tags could appear incorrectly on the Playlist tile
• Fixed an issue where opening, but not using, the SAE Killstreak tablet at the end of a match will show the Heartbeat Sensor UI before/during the final kill
• Fixed an exploit where Players were able to transfer Completionist camos to weapons without unlocking them
• Fixed an issue that could cause the game to display incorrectly while using snap layouts on PC
• Fixed an issue where Xbox Players’ Operator Skins would reset to default after the Xbox times out and turns off
• Fixed an issue that could cause the killfeed widget to function incorrectly

Adjustments

• Removed weapons dropping too close to players in modes with team revive active.
• Updated Gunfight weapon table to include Blueprints up through Season 05
• Players will have their sidearms removed if playing Gunfight with specified weapon categories (i.e. Snipers only)
• Updated the default score limit for Grind to 75 points in Private Matches
• Removed the “Care Package Drop Time” option in Infected Private Matches
• Fixed an issue preventing Radar Always On from working correctly in Private Matches
• Fixed an issue causing overlapping icons on Point A when playing Control on Vondel Waterfront
• Fixed an issue on Santa Seña Border Crossing where bots would attempt to path to invalid locations if all other Players in the match are dead
• Fixed an issue that could prevent health packs from dropping in Hardcore Private Matches
• Fixed an issue where Players would not be able to toggle NVGs after extracting a prisoner in Prisoner Rescue
• Fixed an issue in Cyber Attack where Players could lock up their view model animation by spamming melee while planting the EMP
• Fixed an issue that allowed Players to pick up the prisoner out of bound in Prisoner Rescue
• Fixed an issue in zone capture modes where the zone would flicker between unoccupied and controlled
• Fixed an issue in Prisoner Rescue where the prisoner would T-pose with no head if the carrier died while out of bounds
• Fixed an issue where explosive bullet kills would not progress the weapon ladder in Gun Game

Ranked play

Season 05 Highlight Changes

Competitive Game Settings

• New Season 05 Restrictions
  • Assault Rifles
    • FR Avancer
  • Sniper Rifles
    • Carrack .300
• Returning Restrictions in addition to the CDL Competitive Settings
  • Assault Rifles
    • Tempus Razorback
  • SMGs
    • ISO 45
  • Shotguns
    • MX Guardian
  • Melee
    • Tonfa
  • Attachments
    • Corvus Torch Underbarrel

SR (Skill Rating) & Divisions

• End of Season Skill Setback
  • At the end of each Season, your ending Skill Division will determine where you start the following season:
    • Bronze through Crimson I Players are set back three Tiers below where they finished in the previous season.
      • Example: A Player ending Season 04 in Gold III will begin Season 05 in Silver III.
    • Players Crimson II and above will start Season 05 in Diamond I.

MWII Ranked Play Season 05 Rewards

Season 05 Win Rewards

• Throughout the Season 05, Players can earn the following rewards:
  • 5 Wins: ‘Season 05 Competitor’ Weapon Sticker
  • 10 Wins: Pro Re-Issue TAQ-56 Weapon Blueprint
  • 25 Wins: ‘Big Brain Plays’ Weapon Charm
  • 50 Wins: ‘Heating Up’ Large Weapon Decal
  • 75 Wins: ‘MWII Ranked Play Season 05’ Loading Screen
  • 100 Wins: ‘MWII Season 05 Ranked Veteran’ Weapon Camo

End of Season Division Rewards

• At the end of each Season, Players will be awarded Skill Division rewards that represent their highest attained Division that Season.
• Skill Division Skins:
  • Earn a Skill Division Skin for use with both CDL Male & Female Operators on both Factions to represent your highest Skill Division. Once the Skins from one Skill Division have been unlocked they can be permanently used in following Seasons and anywhere you play:
    • Top 250: Unlock the ‘Top 250 Competitor’ Skin by finishing a Season in the Top 250 Skill Division. Players must be in the Division at the end of the Season to qualify for this reward.
    • Gold - Iridescent: Earn the applicable ‘Gold Competitor’, ‘Platinum Competitor’, ‘Diamond Competitor’, ‘Crimson Competitor’, or ‘Iridescent Competitor’ Skin based on your highest Skill Division reached over the course of the Season.
• Seasonal Division Rewards
  • Each Ranked Play Season features a unique set of Division Rewards awarded at the end of the Season to celebrate the Player’s highest Skill Division reached that Season.
  • Rewards Update
    • Starting in Season 05, players will continue to earn Emblems associated with their highest attained Division. Those who climb into Gold and above will obtain a new reward each season where we previously offered a Weapon Charm. For Season 05, we're kicking off this new reward rotation with Season Division Camos.
  • The Season 05 rewards are as follows:
    • Top 250: ‘Season 05 Top 250’ Animated Weapon Camo, Emblem, and Calling Card
      • Players must be in the Top 250 Division at the end of the Season to qualify for these rewards.
    • Iridescent: ‘Season 05 Iridescent’ Weapon Camo, Emblem, and Calling Card
    • Crimson: ‘Season 05 Crimson’ Weapon Camo and Emblem
    • Diamond: ‘Season 05 Diamond’ Weapon Camo and Emblem
    • Platinum: ‘Season 05 Platinum’ Weapon Camo and Emblem
    • Gold: ‘Season 05 Gold’ Weapon Camo and Emblem
    • Silver: Emblem
    • Bronze: Emblem
  • Ranked Play First Place: The Player who finishes Season 05 in the #1 position on the Top 250 Leaderboard will receive a unique, one-of-a-kind Calling Card and Emblem for the ultimate bragging rights.

PC and console settings

Introducing “Eco Mode”

• Found in the Graphics Settings menu, with three options:
  • Off: Same behavior as all previous updates with no power savings.
  • Minimal (Default): Frame rate capped at 60hz and slight drop in 3D scene resolution for the Multiplayer and Warzone lobbies only. Yields an average power savings of 20%.
  • Full: Frame rate capped at 30hz and larger drop in 3D scene resolution for the Multiplayer and Warzone lobbies only. Yields an average power savings of 50%.

New maps

A mixture of 6v6 and Gunfight maps will arrive once Season 5 begins. Strike from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare returns with a few tweaks alongside a new Las Almas-based battleground known as Punta Mar.

• Read more: How to unlock Nicki Minaj Operator in Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone

For Gunfight, Canal and Lounge are the latest symmetrical maps making their way to the popular 2v2 mode.

The third and final map arriving in Season 5 is DRC - Zone 1. The building close to DMZ's Building 21 will arrive as part of the Season 5 Reloaded update expected to arrive at the end of August.

click to enlarge

Credit: Activision

Weapon balancing

In addition to all of the new content, Infinity Ward is bound to introduce another dose of weapon balancing in a bid to maintain a level playing field.

Expect plenty of buffs and nerfs affecting popular weaponry and some more underrated areas of the ever-expanding arsenal.

Bug fixes

As always, bug fixes are a staple of seasonal updates and we expect the Season 5 patch notes to contain plenty of fixes to a number of exploits and issues affecting Modern Warfare 2 players.

Once the full patch notes appear, we'll be sure to update the guide with the confirmed changes.

That's all there is to know about the Modern Warfare 2 Season 5 update patch notes. For more Call of Duty, check out our Modern Warfare 3 page for all the latest news and information on 2023's release.