Every PUBG Weapon Nerf and Buff Since 2024: From the LMG Meta Rotation's Early End (44.1) to DMRs, AUG and MP5K
How this was made (sources) We read the gunplay sections of every official PUBG patch note from Update 29.1 (April 2024) to 44.1 (November 2026), plus the dev letter on the end of the LMG meta rotation. Where the patch notes only give a percentage, we kept the percentage; "~" means the original said "approximately". Dates are the official announcement dates. Gunplay Labs (arcade tests), mode-specific changes and attachments are left out.
For what changed on each gun and when, pick it in the PUBG weapon change timeline. This article covers only the changes people have been talking about lately, and walks through how each one played out.
At a glance: recent major weapon changes
| Update (announced) | Weapons | Change | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| 44.1 (2026-11-03) | M249, MG3 | LMG meta rotation ended early, reverted to pre-August | Nerf |
| 44.1 (2026-11-03) | RPD | Brought in line with the other LMGs | Adjustment |
| 43.1 (2026-09-09) | All LMGs | ADS 0.30s → 0.37s, lower vehicle damage multipliers and stance recoil control | Nerf |
| 42.3 (2026-08-11) | All LMGs | ~25% faster reload, 30% less max horizontal recoil | Buff |
| 42.3 (2026-08-11) | RPD | New LMG (7.62mm, 43 damage) | New |
| 42.1 (2026-06-16) | Mosin Nagant and 5 others | Removed from world spawns | Removed |
| 38.1 (2025-10-14) | All SMGs, MP5K | ~57% lower hip-fire accuracy, MP5K damage 34 → 32 | Nerf |
| 37.1 (2025-08-12) | All DMRs | ~12% less damage, ~45% lower fire rate | Nerf |
| 36.1 (2025-06-10) | AUG | Damage 41 → 40, ~50% less aim punch | Nerf |
LMGs: a month of buffs, a month of nerfs, then an early exit
42.3: the first meta rotation, a big LMG buff and the new RPD
KRAFTON started the meta rotation in August 2026. To keep any one gun from owning the meta for too long, a different weapon class gets the spotlight roughly every four months. LMGs went first. (Update 42.3 patch notes)
- ~25% faster reload on all LMGs
- 30% less max horizontal recoil
- Less of the vertical recoil spike at the start of a spray
- New LMG, the RPD: 7.62mm, 43 damage, 735 m/s muzzle velocity, 750 RPM. 50 rounds by default, up to 110 with a magazine attachment.
The same patch changed shooting from vehicles: you now have to lean fully out of the window before you can fire, and spread and recoil grow with vehicle speed. This applies to every gun.
43.1: an LMG nerf one month later
LMGs ended up stronger than intended, so 43.1 in September reined them in right away. (Update 43.1 patch notes)
- ADS time: 0.30s → 0.37s (all LMGs)
- Vehicle damage multiplier: M249 and RPD 1.1x → 1.0x, MG3 1.25x → 1.1x
- Lower recoil control by stance: RPD 10% standing, 17% crouching, 27% prone; M249 17% crouching, 27% prone; MG3 15% standing, 17% crouching
- 30% fewer RPD and M249 world spawns
Per the patch notes, base recoil values and patterns stayed the same. Only the extra stability when crouching or prone was trimmed.
44.1: a rotation planned through December ends in November
In 44.1 the first meta rotation ended earlier than the planned December finish. (Update 44.1 patch notes, dev letter)
- The M249 and MG3 had their reload time, recoil, ADS speed, vehicle damage multipliers, stance recoil control and world spawns reverted to pre-August levels
- The RPD stays in the game, brought in line with the other LMGs
According to the dev letter, LMG usage went past the target. They could be used like assault rifles, so they simply took over the primary-weapon slot. Metrics on vehicle explosions and tire destruction also got worse. The meta rotation itself isn't being dropped: its length and scope will be reviewed, and a new rotation returns in 2027.
In short: right now (44.1) the M249 and MG3 perform as they did before August. Both the 42.3 buff and the 43.1 nerf are gone. The official patch notes don't give the RPD's exact 44.1 numbers.
DMRs: a ~12% damage nerf in 37.1, then gun-by-gun tuning
DMRs were hit hard in Update 37.1 in August 2025. The changes had been tried in Gunplay Labs first. (Update 37.1 patch notes)
- ~12% less damage on all DMRs (except the VSS)
- ~45% lower fire rate (except the Dragunov, Mk14 and VSS); the Mk14 got ~33% lower
The patch notes said the goal was to move away from a meta where "DMRs feel like the only choice", and that the change isn't permanent. Still, no patch up to 44.1 has reverted it. Instead, individual DMRs have been tuned a little at a time.
| Update | Gun | Change | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| 39.1 | SLR | ~5% less vertical and horizontal recoil | Buff |
| 39.1 | SKS | ~10% less horizontal recoil, less bullet velocity loss over distance | Buff |
| 39.1 | VSS | ~10% more vertical and ~5% more horizontal recoil, louder shots | Nerf |
| 40.1 | Mk12 | Damage 44 → 43, ~8% more horizontal recoil | Nerf |
| 40.1 | SLR | ~4% less horizontal recoil | Buff |
| 41.1 | Dragunov | ~20% less vertical and ~15% less horizontal recoil | Buff |
| 42.1 | SLR | ~10% less horizontal recoil, velocity 840 → 870 m/s, less vertical recoil build-up while firing | Buff |
The pattern: the popular VSS and Mk12 got cut further, while the less-used SLR, SKS and Dragunov got lower recoil. Earlier, in 36.1, the VSS had been buffed (damage 43 → 45, velocity 330 → 430 m/s) before 39.1 added recoil back.
ARs: the AUG nerf and the M416 buff
After its 30.1 buff in June 2024 (~4.5% less vertical, ~2.3% less horizontal recoil), the AUG kept a high win rate. It was nerfed twice:
- 36.1 (2025-06-10): damage 41 → 40. Aim punch on players hit by the AUG (the aim shift and camera shake they feel) dropped by ~50%. It was the first single-gun adjustment since the new aim punch system arrived in 35.1.
- 39.1 (2025-12-02): ~4% more horizontal recoil
In the same 39.1, the M416 got ~5% less horizontal recoil. The stated aim was to narrow the performance gap between ARs. Before that, 29.1 buffed the SCAR-L (fire rate 625 → 650, ~4% less recoil) and the AKM (damage 47 → 48).
SMGs: the MP5K nerf and the hip-fire accuracy nerf
In 30.1 (2024), SMG world-spawn ammo was unified to 9mm. Mid- and long-range damage dropped, but movement speed went up and the MP5K was buffed, so they got stronger up close. 33.1 then improved hip-fire and moving accuracy. Usage kept climbing, and 38.1 in October 2025 reversed course. (Update 38.1 patch notes)
- All SMGs except the P90: ~57% lower hip-fire accuracy, ~51.5% lower sustained-fire accuracy
- P90: ~28.5% lower hip-fire accuracy, ~25.75% lower sustained-fire accuracy
- MP5K damage 34 → 32, because its usage was noticeably higher than other SMGs. The patch notes say close-range TTK (time to kill) is unchanged, while TTK clearly gets longer as distance grows.
All of these accuracy cuts fall under Hip Fire. The official reasoning: close fights fired from the hip, without shouldering or ADS, were too stable.
The six guns removed in 42.1
In 42.1 in June 2026, these six guns were removed from world spawns. The 41.1 announcement had said they would leave the game, skins included.
- Mosin Nagant
- QBU
- DP-28
- PP-19 Bizon
- R45
- P1911
FAQ
Did LMGs get nerfed again?
Strictly speaking, 44.1 isn't a "nerf" but a revert to pre-August. The M249 and MG3 went back to how they were before the meta rotation, undoing both the 42.3 buff and the 43.1 nerf. Compared with August, they do feel weaker.
Was the DMR nerf rolled back?
No. In 37.1 the patch notes said it wasn't permanent, but no patch up to 44.1 has restored the damage or fire rate. The SLR, SKS and Dragunov got lower recoil instead.
When is the next meta rotation?
2027, according to the official dev letter. Which weapon class it will feature hasn't been announced.
What were the key weapon changes in patch 42.3?
Three: the LMG buff (~25% faster reload, 30% less max horizontal recoil), the new RPD, and the new vehicle shooting rules. The LMG buff was reverted in 44.1.
When new patch notes come out, the weapon change timeline gets updated first. To see every change a gun has had so far, pick it in the timeline. For example: M416, AUG, MP5K, M249