Season 3 in Warzone is off to a great start. Raven managed to balance most of the weapons that plagued Season 2, and there are more viable weapons than ever. Even better, gamers will be able to use six new weapons this season. The PPSH and Swiss K31 are unlocked at Battle Pass tiers 15 and 31 respectively.
The remaining weapons will likely be challenge or store unlocks, and will be available some point in the next couple of months. There is still no update on when the CX-9 and RAAL MG will be added to Warzone. The weapons have been in the game files for months, and even appeared as blueprints in the game. For now, gamers will be able to unlock the following weapons in Season 3, which are ranked from worst to best.
Baseball Bat
A lot of players enjoy using the melee weapons with a Riot Shield in Warzone. The playstyle is not for everyone, but it can be effective. Unsuspecting teams will be caught off guard by the movement speed and melee range of a weapon like the Bat. Assuming it will perform similar to the Sledgehammer and Wakizashi, the Baseball Bat will be an viable weapon for those that enjoy running a Riot Shield and Restock.
Ballistic Knife
Many Black Ops players will remember the old Ballistic Knife. It was a fun troll weapon to use and it was the final weapon in gun game. If the Ballistic Knife downs fully plated enemies in one shot, it can have a niche role in Warzone. The viability of the Ballistic Knife will also hinge on ammo capacity, reload time, and knife velocity. The weapon will likely be a better option on Rebirth because of how congested areas of the map are. The Ballistic Knife should be a fun and interesting addition to the game.
AMP 63
This is speculation, but after the Sykov disaster, Raven will probably make sure the new pistol is balanced. Like the Sykov, it is a fully automatic pistol with high damage, which is concerning. However, Infinity Ward and Raven have introduced so many broken pistols that one has to assume they will take more time to test before the release. It is possible that the pistols do not have an akimbo option at all, which would inherently keep the gun in check. Who knows, maybe the community will be stuck in a two day slaughter fest again. The balances Raven has made signal a turning point for the franchise. All gamers can do is pray that is the case.
Swiss K31
After a couple of days in the new season, it does not appear that the Swiss K31 will replace the Kar 98k or SPR. The sniper suffers from extremely low bullet velocity and it has few characteristics that would make it better than the other options. Low bullet velocity will force users to lead targets and aim above distant character models.
Few players use any of the Cold War Snipers because of how much worse the optics are in general. Idle sway is another huge problem gamers will have to deal with. The Modern Warfare snipers and Marksman Rifles provide the option to perform a breath hold, stabilizing the idle sway. For some reason, the Cold War snipers do not have the same option.
PPSH
Several content creators believed that the PPSH would be the next meta SMG, following in the footsteps of the MAC-10. However, this does not appear to be the case. The PPSH has modest damage values and will generally not compete with the fastest killing SMGs in the game.
Given the current state of weapon balance in Warzone, the gun is still usable, but it will not be overtaking the MP5s or Bullfrog any time soon. Another issue with the PPSH is an open bolt delay. Even accounting for the delay, the nerfed MAC-10 will still outperform the PPSH up close. Ignoring the statistics, the PPSH is a really fun gun to use. The weapon was a classic World At War weapon, and a welcome addition to the game.
Carv.2
The Carv.2 tactical rifle will be one of the mid-season releases. It is a burst weapon that is easy to control and effective at range. Warzone players know exactly what that means. After the DMR meta, AUG meta, and M16 meta, the Carv.2 will likely be the best weapon of the six. Raven have likely learned their lesson and will balance it better than the other tactical rifles before releasing it.
However, considering how underwhelming the Swiss and PPSH are, it is more likely than not that the Carv will be viable. The gun has appeared in loot boxes after the new map was released, and from the evidence thus far, it looks very powerful. Hopefully the Carv fills a role somewhere between the DMR and M16. The DMR fires too fast to control, and after the nerf the M16 fires too slow to be viable.