Modern Warfare 3 Season 2 finally buffed the worst weapon in the game

❘ published: 2024-02-09T15:37:09 ❘ Update: 2024-02-09T15:37:16

A weapon universally criticized as the worst in multiplayer received a massive boost in MW3 Season 2, making it not only viable but also one of the best options in its category.

It’s no secret that most players prefer to use the powerful weapons that dominate the Modern Warfare 3 meta. These primary weapons give you an objective advantage, whether through their excellent TTK, exceptional maneuverability, or ease of use.

Likewise, certain weapons are almost abandoned outside of mastery camouflage searches because they are far from being competitive. One of the best examples of this was the Sidewinder which many fans have long considered to be the worst weapon in MW3.

However, a huge boost in Season 2 allowed Sidewinder to become not just relevant but a truly powerful option.

Sidewinder is now a great option in Modern Warfare 3

As part of the Season 2 update, MW3’s worst weapon received a huge boost that propelled it from irrelevance to legitimate competitiveness.

As detailed in the patch notes, the base Sidewinder has received the following enhancements:

• Bullet velocity increased from 540m/s to 600m/s.
• Significantly reduces weapon recoil and hits.

The increase in bullet velocity is useful but that’s it “Weapon Reversal and Hit Reduction”, which truly revolutionized Sidewinder. Its extreme recoil was until now the battle rifle’s biggest drawback, but it is now relatively accurate due to its high firepower.

TheXclusiveAce

Call of Duty expert TheXclusiveAce showed this in his preview of Season 2’s weapon balance changes. In this video, he compares the Sidewinder’s recoil before and after the update, and the difference is striking, with post-update dispersion more clustered and easier to predict.

Another change that has benefited the Sidewinder is the overhaul of the passive aiming swing. Since Season 2, the passive swing is more predictable and doesn’t trigger immediately after aiming but after some time.

This greatly benefits slow firing weapons as accuracy is much higher as shots with them are less forgiving of missing. This is especially true for those who enjoy using a sidewinder in a semi-automatic, which has historically been the preferred method of firing a battle rifle.