The latest patch for the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 beta test radically changes the familiar dynamics of firefights. Developers at Infinity Ward released a major update on August 28th, introducing key changes to the Operator movement system and time-to-kill (TTK). The studio deliberately embarked on a bold experiment to increase the survivability of shooters in firefights and give gamers more opportunities to demonstrate pure aim.
Tactical Sprint and Blood Rush Perk Rework in Modern Warfare 4
Tactical Sprint is no longer part of the default soldier’s basic skill set. Engineers have moved Tactical Sprint into the perk category, linking it to the Blood Rush skill. This mechanical rework is intended to force players to consciously choose between maximum mobility and other useful passives.
The developers have reduced the penalty to the delay before firing after Tactical Sprint, bringing it up to the level of a standard sprint. However, the speed of the Tactical Sprint itself has been reduced by 4%. Industrial giant Infinity Ward openly emphasizes that the current concept is a test hypothesis, fixed in anticipation of the full release. If the audience appreciates the idea, the developers will need to completely revise the buffs for related skills to avoid disrupting the balance.
Full list of mobility and slide mechanics changes
Character movement physics have been tightened—random jumping and sliding across the map will no longer be possible. The detailed list of changes includes the following:
Tactical Sprint adjustments: The delay before firing from Tac Sprint has been reduced to a standard sprint, and its speed has been reduced by 4%.
Heavy and light weapon buffs: The base speed of the standard sprint with a knife, as well as with all pistols, has been officially increased.
Sliding nerf: slide distance decreased by 10%, sliding speed decreased by 9%, and the delay between sliding and the subsequent jump became noticeably longer.
Stamina and Bugs: Characters’ overall stamina decreased by 8%. The developers also fixed critical bugs that caused players to jump onto excessively high objects or get stuck when climbing vertical surfaces.
Increasing TTK along with slower sliding speeds makes gameplay less hectic. Additionally, the developer blog lists fixes to killstreaks, spawn algorithms, and network code, making the current build the most stable yet in the beta.
