Two doors. Play with Task Force Drip.Prove it on Drip League.
DISPATCH 2026.08 / INTEL CONFIDENCE: CONFIRMED

The AN-94 rework is official, and the handling pass comes with it

Activision has posted the Black Ops 7 Season 05 Reloaded multiplayer patch notes for the August 20 mid-season update, and the reported AN-94 rework is now on the official page in full: less max damage range, a much bigger headshot multiplier, and new neck and upper torso multipliers, alongside FG42 and Mammoth handling nerfs, an EGRT-17 damage bump, and a Gremlin reload buff.

Confirmedblack-ops-7season-05-reloadedweapon-tuningsearch-and-destroy

The Black Ops 7 Season 05 patch notes page now carries a Season 05 Reloaded section for the August 20 mid-season update, and it publishes the multiplayer weapon tuning tables we could only cite through Dexerto last time. The direction of travel is exactly what was reported: the AN-94 trades range for hit location, the Mammoth and FG42 get slower to bring up and slower to fire on the move, and a few quieter weapons get pushed back into the conversation.

Confidence

Confirmed. Every number and behavior is now on Activision's own patch notes page under the Season 05 Reloaded header for the August 20 mid-season update, so this is an official upgrade from our previous Reported coverage. The Season 05 Reloaded multiplayer table and the separate Warzone patch notes list different values for the same weapons on purpose, because Treyarch and Raven tune the two titles independently; the numbers here are the multiplayer ones.

What is now on the official page

  • AN-94. Max damage 24 to 23, and max damage range compresses from 0 to 36.8m down to 0 to 20.3m, with a new middle band of 22 damage from 20.4 to 36.8m. Headshot multiplier rises 1.15x to 1.35x, and 1.2x neck and upper torso multipliers are added. The 15 inch Benthic barrel matches those to 1.3x.
  • FG42. Damage stays put but every range band shrinks. ADS goes from 290ms to 300ms, slide to fire from 450ms to 460ms, dive to fire from 530ms to 540ms, an ADS firing movement penalty of 15 percent is added, and recoil is up.
  • Mammoth. Base damage falls across all three bands while the headshot multiplier rises to 1.3x and new 1.1x neck and upper torso multipliers appear. Sprint to fire goes from 260ms to 270ms and the ADS firing movement penalty from 20 percent to 25 percent.
  • EGRT-17. Max damage rises from 22 to 23. Ranges hold. Activision names this a targeted bump for a weapon that already leads the class on max damage range.
  • Gremlin. Reload times improve by 20 percent across every magazine option. Damage and range are unchanged.
  • M34 Novaline Garand Conversion. Max damage rises from 75 to 80 and mid from 60 to 75, but max range halves from 0 to 40.6m down to 0 to 20.3m. Upper arm multipliers are removed, and view kick is up. One shot kills now demand tighter aim.

Why Hardcore SnD cares

Hardcore strips health down, so which half of a multiplayer patch note actually reaches you changes. Damage edits in the 1 to 5 range move core lobbies far more often than Hardcore ones, where most rifles are already killing inside one or two hits and a small damage delta disappears into a shorter health pool. What survives untouched is anything about how fast a gun gets from running to firing, and this pass is stacked with exactly that.

  • Handling is the real nerf. FG42 and Mammoth both got slower to bring up and slower to fire while moving. In a one life round those milliseconds decide who wins the first peek onto a site, and no health setting softens them.
  • Hit location decides the AN-94. The multipliers push its speed into heads, necks, and upper torsos. Anyone already holding a crosshair at head height down a lane gains, and panic spray at a body loses.
  • The range window shrank. AN-94 max damage runs from 0 to 20 meters instead of 0 to 37, so it stops answering long site holds for free and becomes a mid range tool you have to walk into position.
  • Ranked pool check before you rebuild. Season 05 Reloaded adds no new Ranked map or Ranked SR tuning; the pool changes stay the ones from Season 05 base. Confirm any weapon restriction in game before you rebuild a class around this patch.
In Hardcore the damage table argues. The handling table decides.
Read the right table

The official Warzone Season 05 Reloaded patch notes for the same August 20 update list a completely different AN-94 (damage up, range up). That is normal, because Treyarch and Raven tune the two titles independently. If you are running Black Ops 7 lobbies, the multiplayer table is the one that applies to you; the Warzone one does not.

Sources to review

your move

Rebuild your class before Season 05 Reloaded hits at 9 AM PT August 20

New head and upper torso multipliers punish body spray on the AN-94 and reward crosshair discipline. Log in early, retune the AN-94, FG42, and Mammoth, and hop a Search and Destroy custom to test the ranges before a Ranked lobby.