Treyarch shocked Black Ops 6 Ranked Play fans by banning several attachments that made the Jackal PDW the best SMG in the game mode.

Ranked Play has received much-needed attention recently. First, the Season 2 update introduced a setting for players to disable cross-play and added a vote to forfeit option for when matches get out of hand.

Then, the February 11 update banned the KSV PPsh-41 and Cypher 091 because they posed too significant a threat to overhaul the current SMG and AR meta. In addition, the mode is currently testing Bounty and Dealership as potential new additions to the map pool.

The devs didn’t stop there, as they decided to shake up the meta even more by nerfing the Jackal PDW with a surprise restriction update.

Jackal PDW nerfed in Black Ops 6 with new restrictions

Dexerto

In the February 13 update, Treyarch banned these Jackal PDW attachments.

• All Barrels other than Gain-Twist Barrel
• All Muzzles
• All Fire Mods

This will make the SMG much worse because the Jackal PDW suffers from difficult-to-control recoil issues without a Muzzle like the Compensator or other choices.

On top of that, the Long Barrel was widely regarded as the best Barrel because it extended the SMGs’ damage range to compete with the AMES-85 in medium-range gunfights.

It hurts that all Fire Mods are now banned because Recoil Springs was an excellent option for reducing vertical and horizontal recoil, and 9x18mm Makarov Overpressured rounds were also a solid attachment if you wanted to improve bullet velocity.

Without most Barrels, every Muzzle, and all Fire Mods, the once-dominant SMG will feel much weaker in medium-range engagements, and it will be more challenging to control accuracy. The C9 might be a viable alternative, but realistically, SMG players must make due and try to adjust.

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If you need a Jackal PDW build after this update, check out our guide for the best Ranked Play loadouts.