Black Ops 7 Season 05 rolled out on July 23, and past the map and Ranked Play headlines the patch notes carry a weapon change that lands straight on competitive Search and Destroy. The AN-94, the hyperburst assault rifle that had taken over the gunfight meta, loses its four-shot body kill inside its maximum damage range. Activision spelled out the intent in the notes: the rifle had outclassed other assault rifles on time-to-kill, so the studio reshaped its damage profile to let full-auto weapons compete with the hyperburst in a straight-up engagement.
Confirmed. The change and Activision's reasoning are quoted directly from the official Black Ops 7 Season 05 patch notes. This is the live ruleset, not a rumor or a preview. The notes do not publish the exact new damage numbers, so the precise new shot count at range is something to confirm in game.
Why Hardcore SnD cares
In a one-life mode, the rifle that wins a neutral peek decides rounds, and for weeks that rifle was the AN-94. Its hyperburst let it score a body-shot kill faster than the full-auto rifles around it, so it became the safe default for anyone holding an angle, trading on a bomb site, or contesting a long lane. Removing the four-shot body kill at range means the hyperburst no longer guarantees the fastest kill from distance, which is exactly the matchup Search and Destroy is built on: long sightlines where the first clean burst wins the round.
- Long lanes get more honest The AN-94 no longer auto-wins a range duel on time-to-kill, so holding a site or a lane is less about who brought the hyperburst and more about who peeks and aims first.
- Loadout choices reopen Full-auto assault rifles that were losing head-on trades to the hyperburst have a real case again. If you shelved a rifle you liked because it could not compete, it is worth retesting.
- Warm up before Ranked A weapon you trusted to drop a body at range may now need one more shot. Re-learn the feel in a private match or the playlist before you stake a Ranked round on it.
What Activision actually changed
The official notes do not publish the new raw damage values for the AN-94. What they state plainly is the goal: the damage profile was changed so the rifle no longer lands a four-shot body kill within its maximum damage range, which the studio says will let other full-auto weapons win a head-on engagement against the hyperburst. Read practically, that is one extra body shot required at range, and in a mode where a fraction of a second is the entire fight, one extra shot is a real swing.
The nerf is to body damage at maximum range. Headshots and closer engagements are a different math, so confirm the new shot count in a private match before you trust it in a Ranked round.
The rifle that decided neutral peeks just lost its edge. Warm up before you queue.