The second beta weekend of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is coming to an end and players are drawing their first conclusions. One weapon in particular dominated the weekend, even though the developers have already nerfed it.
Which weapon is it? The Jackal PDW is a submachine gun that was already “OP” (“overpowered”) during the first beta weekend. The weapon was at the top of our tier list for the first beta weekend.
The Jackal PDW has a very good “Time To Kill” (TTK) at medium distances and its low recoil also sets it apart. At close range, it was far superior to assault rifles.
It quickly became THE meta weapon of the first beta weekend, so the developers announced nerfs for the second weekend.
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The nerfs don’t matter
What kind of nerfs did the weapon receive? The Jackal PDW received a number of nerfs that were actually intended to make the weapon less OP. These included damage reductions, shorter range before damage falloff, and more visual impact.
The nerfs made it seem to players that the weapon would be weakened to such an extent that they were already planning to switch to the Tanto .22 during the second beta weekend. The PDW was initially a bit weaker than the Jackal, but after the nerfs to the OP weapon, it should be a good alternative, according to the assessment.
What was the reality? What on paper probably already looked like the end of the “Jackal PDW” meta for some, however, was not well received by the community. Even in the second test weekend, the majority of players continued to use the Jackal PDW. The weapon was so dominant that in some rounds the kill feed consisted only of kills with the Jackal PDW.
On Reddit, several users complain that the nerf didn’t change the Jackal at all and that everyone would continue to use the weapon. On Reddit, agent_of_cheshire writes: “Oh yeah, they definitely nerfed the Jackal. It’s literally the only weapon I’ve seen besides a stray sniper here and there.”
Bobsyourbuilder thinks the situation is silly on Reddit: “Does anyone actually use non-meta weapons? It seems like nobody does.” In his post, he shows an image where the entire kill feed consists only of kills with the Jackal PDW.
Was the nerf not enough? No, says No-Praline2958 on Reddit. He writes: “3/4 of the current weapons are almost as deadly and effective as Jackal. Some even more so. It’s just a perception that Jackal or any other weapon is the best and only weapon to use. It’s definitely not.”
OhhShxde- also shares this opinion on Reddit: “That’s true, after playing both weekends I can confidently say that the weapon balancing is pretty solid. The Jackal was king the first weekend though, but after the nerfs I feel like all weapons work equally well.”
Although the weapon has been nerfed and others are now close to it or even better on paper, the majority of players still stick with the submachine gun. It is currently unknown whether the developers will weaken the weapon again for the release of the game. However, you can find out what can help you against the weapon here: A small option gives you a huge advantage in CoD Black Ops 6 – makes it harder to hit you