MW4 Meta Report: The Hyeon Burst Takes the Han 86's Crown

The first balance pass has broken up the launch meta. The Han 86 went from the gun in every lobby to a mid-pack pick in a week, and the Hyeon Burst has taken its place as the most-used weapon in the game. SMGs are a little stronger across the board, and the Axion has finally shown up in numbers now that more players have reached its unlock level.

What changed

The 28 October update brought the first weapon tuning since launch:

• Han 86: neck and upper-torso damage multipliers cut from 1.1 to 1.0. Max damage range went up slightly (1120 to 1200), but the extra body shot it now needs matters far more.
• Oden: torso multipliers lowered across the board, and its Sentinel Apex lost range and velocity.
• Kastov 762 and M4: longer max damage range (Kastov 950 to 1050, M4 990 to 1020).
• Every launch SMG (ISO Nightshade, VEL 46, PPSh-41, Wz.55 Striga, X-58 Nyx): arm and hand hits now do full damage instead of 95%. The PPSh-41 also aims down sights faster (300ms to 280ms) and moves a touch quicker, and the Striga and Nyx gained range.
• Hyperburst Apex on the Hyeon Burst: less full-auto damage but much more range.
• APOC-338 and FiNN LMG lost some range and damage. The Warlord’s slug rounds lost range.

The same update cut dive velocity by 23% as a stopgap for a movement exploit. The 29 and 30 October updates added Possession and Infected and raised XP, with no weapon changes.

Tier moves we staged this week:

• Hyeon Burst A to S. It is now the most-picked gun at 15.2%, and the tier lists we track all put it at or near the top.
• Axion A to S. Its pick rate jumped from 0.5% to 5.7%, and it is ranked top tier across the board.
• Kastov 762 S to A. Despite the range buff, it is rated a step below the top group everywhere we looked. Pick rate 4.3%.
• Han 86 S to B. The nerf hit hard. Its pick rate fell from 26.7% to 4.2%, and it now sits in the middle of most rankings.

We also refreshed popularity figures for every gun.

Best guns right now

The S tier, with close-range TTK and pick rate from our weapon data:

• Hyeon Burst: 260ms, 15.2%. The easiest rifle on our list (ease score 9.4), and the most-used gun in the game. Land your bursts and it out-trades everything at mid range.
• VEL 46: 252ms, 12%. Still the fastest-killing SMG, and the arm and hand buff makes sloppy sprays more forgiving.
• M4: 296ms, 9%. Slower up close than the new top rifles, but the range buff keeps it the safest all-rounder.
• ISO Nightshade: 260ms, 7.6%. The steady, suppressed SMG option, now with full damage on limb hits.
• Axion: 255ms, 5.7%. One of the fastest close-range rifle TTKs in our data, with forgiving recoil. It unlocks at Level 52, so not everyone has it yet.
• KG-7 Vulcan: 4.4%. Still the default sniper for S&D and big maps.
• Oris 8.6: 707ms at range, 2.7%. It stays S for now, but most rankings have it below the top group. It is on our watch list for next week.

Loadouts to run

• Hyeon Burst class: the meta build with a dot sight, the long Mugi barrel and the Reverb90 muzzle. This is the class to level first if you have not already.
• M4 All-Rounder: Ghost, Blood Rush and Battle Hardened with a Trophy System. Still the easiest meta class to play well.
• ISO Hill Rush: our Hardpoint class. The limb buff helps the ISO most when you are fighting several players on a hill.
• Solo M4 + ISO: the DMZ kit for solo players. A rifle for open ground and an SMG for buildings.

If you have unlocked the Axion, the Axion class is worth a look as an alternative to the Hyeon Burst for players who prefer full-auto.

Sleepers and fallers

PPSh-41 (up). It got the biggest SMG buff in the patch: faster aim and more movement speed on top of the limb change. Its pick rate nearly doubled to 3.2%. It stays A tier, but it is a strong objective gun.

Mosin-Nagant (up). Up from 0.4% to 2.8%, and one ranking now puts it in the top group. Its rating is split, so it stays A.

Han 86 (down). If you were still running the Han 86 Starter class, it works, but you will lose more trades than last week. Move to the M4 as soon as it unlocks at Level 14.

DMZ this week

Possum can no longer be used while the squad that downed you is close by, or until four minutes have passed. DMZ cash rewards were raised twice: Dynamic Ops now pay 10,000 to 20,000, Side Ops 2,000 and Mission Steps 500 per step. Season 1 arrives on 6 November, so expect next week’s report to cover a lot more.