Modern Warfare 4 Season 1 Patch Notes: Hyeon Burst Apex Nerf, 14 Weapon Buffs and Tougher Argonaut

Modern Warfare 4's first real season is live. Season 1 arrived on November 6, two weeks after launch, and Infinity Ward published the full Season 1 patch notes on November 5. Alongside three new maps and two new weapons, the update makes the biggest balance pass the game has seen so far: 17 weapon changes (14 buffs, 3 nerfs), a much tougher Argonaut, faster-arming mines and a big cut to Hardcore health.

TL;DR

• New maps: Backstab, Canyon and a remade Shoot House, all 6v6.
• New modes: Grind and Drop Zone. Gauntlet (1v1, winner stays) is listed as coming soon.
• New weapons: Cronen Osprey assault rifle and CSG-35 SMG in the Battle Pass, with two more guns due later in the season.
• Biggest nerf: the Hyeon Burst Apex loses a lot of close-range damage, down from 30 to 23.
• Hardcore: maximum health drops from 30 to 22.
• Killstreaks and equipment: Argonaut health rises from 800 to 1,200, Crossfire is toned down, and Claymores and Proximity Mines arm faster.
• Consoles: the 120Hz Performance Mode now works on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S with any 120Hz display, VRR or not.

New maps, modes and weapons

Backstab is a snow-covered town map, Canyon is open ground with a lot of elevation, and Shoot House returns with its familiar three-lane layout in a new setting. The official notes also add a featured 6v6 playlist on Kill Block: Crash.

Grind has you collect Dog Tags from eliminated players and bank them to score. Drop Zone returns with a rotating objective that rewards the holding team with killstreak drops. More is on the way: the mid-season update is set to add the Ministry and Overflow maps and a Counter Attack mode.

The Cronen Osprey (5.56 assault rifle) and CSG-35 (SMG, also usable akimbo) unlock through the Battle Pass. Infinity Ward says two more weapons and several new attachments will join over the course of Season 1, but the official notes don't name them yet.

The Battle Pass is now a linear 100-tier track. If you start late, it automatically catches you up to the reward for the current day, up to Day 50.

Weapon balance

Most of the changes are buffs to guns that have been sitting out of the meta since launch. The three nerfs go after the Hyeon Burst Apex conversion, the VEL 46 and the APOC-338.

Other buffs: the Han 86 and Type 73 get a 1.3 headshot multiplier, the Patriot XMR gets more range and slightly faster ADS movement, the PPSh-41 and X-58 Nyx deal more damage at longer ranges, and the Krait P68 gains range plus a 1.1 lower-torso multiplier. The M4 Hurricane, Type 73 Assault and Rezi 12 Enforcer Apex conversions all get small range or damage bumps too.

The Hyeon Burst Apex change is the one that will be felt the most. It now trades its close-range burst for much more consistent mid-range damage, which should make it a lot less oppressive in small rooms. Meanwhile, the Oris 8.6 and Rezi 12 buffs make shotguns a far more serious option, just in time for a returning Shoot House.

Killstreaks, equipment and Hardcore

• Argonaut: health raised from 800 to 1,200, so it is much harder to shoot down quickly.
• Crossfire: now has spawn protection, a 25% smaller bullet radius and 50% less bullet damage, and less camera shake while flying.
• Proximity Mine: arming time halved from 1.5 to 0.75 seconds.
• Claymore: arms in 0.75 seconds instead of 1, with a longer forward trigger range (2.29 m → 3.18 m) and a wider cone (60 → 80 degrees).
• Hardcore: max health cut from 30 to 22, so fewer bullets are needed to kill.

DMZ

DMZ gets X01, a new Exclusion Zone set in an underground GRANIT Arms weapons facility beneath Hajin. A new Threat Briefing event, Battle Tank, has squads destroy tank threats and extract with armor fragments. Infinity Ward also adjusted the Possum escape item and reduced how often Batteries spawn at Banks, and a batch of duplication exploits has been fixed.

Anti-cheat and bug fixes worth knowing

Season 1 also starts the crackdown on "Warzone Agent," an unauthorized paid app used for lobby shopping. If it is running, the game asks you to close it and blocks multiplayer modes until you do. Trying to get around it can lead to temporary or permanent account or hardware bans.

Notable fixes include Binary Trigger reload canceling, Sprint Cancels ADS with variable-zoom optics, a drone out-of-bounds exploit, Wheelson issues, the Deathstalker darkening your screen, Hardpoint capture progress and the Search and Destroy defuse distance.

What it means for players

Season 1 is a broad "make more guns viable" patch, not a full meta reset. Expect the Hyeon Burst Apex to lose its spot at the top, while shotguns, the Striga and the Kastov 762 become better options. Lethal players will like the faster mines, and Hardcore matches should play faster still with the lower health. With Ministry, Overflow and Gauntlet still to come, the season should keep changing over the next few weeks.