Black Ops 7 has received a big preseason update on Nov. 21, 2025, where the devs focused mainly on aim assist buff, Drone Pod nerf, SMG buffs, and some more updates.
This patch also addresses adjustments across several weapon classes, including assault rifles, SMGs, marksman rifles, LMGs, and pistols, as well as improvements to Multiplayer features, Zombies mode, and the Co-Op Campaign.
New Multiplayer updates have expanded the minimap area and balanced Scorestreaks and Field Upgrades, while Zombies mode receives difficulty tweaks and exploit fixes.
Treyarch provided an overview of these BO7 changes via their Nov. 20 dev talk. Having said that, here’s a complete rundown of Black Ops 7 Nov. 21 update’s patch notes.
Table of contents
Full Black Ops 7 Nov. 21 update notes
Aim assist buff
With this update, the minimum rotational aim assist penalty has been cut from 35 percent to 25 percent. This effectively strengthens aim assist over longer ranges without making it overly dominant.
The update also introduces a more nuanced system where rotational aim assist strength varies, requiring players to use their right stick movement to track targets consistently for full benefit. This change has been made to smooth out aiming for controller users.
Drone Pod nerf
The Drone Pod has received multiple nerfs. Its charge time now takes three minutes instead of 2.5, reducing how often it can be used in matches.
Also, each drone’s active time has been shortened from 10 to eight seconds, and the damage per drone dropped from 60 to 50.
SMG buffs
SMGs received across-the-board buffs to enhance their viability, especially at medium ranges. The primary change involved extending final damage ranges for all SMGs and boosting damage range improvements on various attachments, enabling better mid-range combat potential.
The received flinch when hit has been decreased from 0.17N to 0.12N. Some SMGs also gained base recoil improvements. Attachments such as barrels, grips, and lasers saw significant buffs to horizontal and vertical recoil control and damage range.
For example, the Ryden 45K and RK-9 have gained improved ADS speeds and better recoil characteristics, with barrels and grips upgraded to enhance damage ranges and recoil management. The Razor 9mm and Dravec 45 also benefited from increased damage range on attachments and slight recoil reductions.
Additionally, movement and ADS speeds for SMGs were slightly reduced to balance these damage and recoil improvements, aiming to reward thoughtful loadout construction.
Assault Rifle changes
Several assault rifles received extensive balance changes affecting damage, range, mobility, and recoil to refine their in-game performance.
For the M15 Mod 0, damage output has been slightly decreased across all ranges, with an increase in maximum damage range and overall damage falloff at medium and long distances. Mobility penalties include reduced sprint-to-fire and tactical sprint-to-fire timings, slower movement speeds in various stances, increased first shot recoil, and stronger view kick for a more challenging control experience.
The AK-27 has been tuned to emphasize its unique high recoil and slower handling trade-offs, along with damage falloff introduced at long range to balance against marksman rifles and snipers. Mobility was also slightly reduced across sprint, crouch, and ADS speeds.
The MXR-17 saw small increases in slide-to-fire time and marginal ADS speed reduction. The X9 Maverick had its damage mildly reduced at close range while maintaining mid and long-range output, and slightly increased sprint-to-fire and slide-to-fire times.
Marksman Rifle changes
The Warden 308 and M34 Novaline marksman rifles maintained strong damage output but saw handling and mobility penalties.
The Warden lost one-shot potential on upper arms but retained its upper torso one-shot feature. Both rifles had sprint-to-fire and tactical sprint-to-fire times increased, slower ADS, reduced movement speed, and increased received flinch to balance their precision damage.
LMG changes
LMGs had modest improvements focused on aim-down-sight speed. The MK7.8 saw a slight reduction in ADS time.
The MFS Heatshield Belt Fed attachment was adjusted for better heat management, allowing longer firing before overheating and faster cooling, but with a harsher overheat penalty to promote tactical use. The XM325 also underwent a slight ADS time improvement.
Pistol changes
Pistols were strengthened overall but rebalanced to maintain fairness. The Jager 45 Prestige Barrel was revamped to reduce the rate of fire but increase base damage and range significantly.
However, headshot multipliers were reduced, and sprint-to-fire penalties were lessened to better balance power and handling. The Velox 5.7 was toned down to require at least one headshot in close-range engagements.
Multiplayer updates
The UI received an improvement with an increased viewable minimap area by another 10 percent on top of a prior 15 percent boost.
In the Scorestreak category, the Hand Cannon Akimbo Overlock now carries 7 rounds per gun instead of 5, along with a 44 percent reduction in hipfire spread for better accuracy. Conversely, the Hand Cannon Extended Mag Overclock’s ammo capacity was reduced from 12 to 10 rounds.
The LDBR Second Strike Overclock saw an increase in missile count from 9 to 13 missiles per target. Free-for-all modes had spawn influencer sizes adjusted across all maps to reduce bad spawn points.
For challenges, the camo requirement to “Kill enemies affected by your Tactical Equipment” was expanded to include non-lethal Scorestreak effects. A bug was fixed that prevented the Popcorn Medal from being awarded when getting multiple kills with the Needle Drone or Semtex.
Zombies Mode changes
The Ashes of the Damned map received several difficulty tweaks. The boss fight is now easier, with the Hoard Husk regenerating health faster and giving more health overall. Missiles were nerfed in effectiveness and disabled during a Beam Attack charging phase.
Interrupting the Beam Attack no longer lowers its cooldown before round 100. Damage to passengers on Ol’ Tessie was reduced alongside the removal of the repair cooldown, while the boss’s immune phase ramming cooldown increased. Zursa will not spawn in Solo before round 100 and moves more slowly.
A rare HUD glitch during Ol’ Tessie’s entry and boss spawning without a health bar has been fixed. Challenge difficulty for the DS20 Mirage’s Pathfinder Camo was significantly increased, requiring 300 Dead Wire Ammo kills instead of five.
Co-Op Campaign and Endgame
Endgame content is now accessible to all Black Ops 7 owners. An issue where weapon builds lost attachments after loading into matches was also addressed.
For more details about the Nov. 21 update, you can check Activision’s official patch notes post.
