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Due to its ever-expanding arsenal of weaponry, Call of Duty developers struggle to balance each of its categories as players continue to uncover new guns that manage to stand out from the crowd. Since the launch of Black Ops 6 in October 2024, a handful of weapons have dominated the meta despite Treyarch attempting to level the playing field within its seasonal updates.
With the halfway point of Season 2 on the horizon, the developer has taken further measures to prevent a dominant submachine gun (SMG) from maintaining its stranglehold on the meta that’s struggled to evolve despite Treyarch’s regular interventions.
Black Ops 6 devs ban overpowered Jackal PDW attachments
On February 13, 2025, the CODUpdates X account shared details on a small update rolling out across all platforms. While the changes are only small, they’re already having an impact on one of Black Ops 6’s most popular game modes.
In a bid to balance the competitive meta and to adhere to the rules and regulations being used by the world’s best players competing in the Call of Duty League (CDL), Treyarch has restricted the use of all but one barrel attachments, all muzzles, and fire mods for the Jackal PDW.
The Jackal PDW has dominated the competitive meta thanks to its exceptional damage output and its minimal damage drop-off at longer ranges. Due to its strong mid-range and long-distance performance, Treyarch has followed the lead of the pros and updated the rules in a bid to curb its dominance.
A step too far or following the rules?
Previous iterations of Ranked Play have struggled to keep up with the changes to the rules as the esports pros often introduce unofficial bans to stop anything overpowered ruining the action. Now, Treyarch has its eye on the ball and intends to prevent any inaccuracies that could crop up in the future.
Nerfing the Jackal PDW has the potential to spark a huge change in Black Ops 6’s competitive meta. With other options such as the C9 starting to appear more frequently, you may want to consider switching from the Jackal PDW in order to top the scoreboards.
For more CoD intel, check out the best LR 7.62 loadout along with the best mouse and keyboard settings for maximum accuracy.
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