Calls to nerf Warzone's DMR are bleeding into the real world

Nobody is safe from Call of Duty: Warzone's DMR 14. Even after a patch last week that nerfed its headshot potential, the high damage laser beam has continued to dominate every match. Now weeks into the frustratingly one-sided meta, some fans are starting to get more creative with their protests.

You can't scroll an inch in the Warzone subreddit without seeing a new post calling for another DMR nerf or a gameplay clip of someone decimating an entire squad with a single magazine. This sarcastically-titled clip by redditor UGAShadow sums up the weapon's current power level:

The DMR nerf might have went too far. from r/CODWarzone

Warzone has had its share of overpowered weapons in its first year (a sniper rifle was the culprit just a few months ago), but the DMR 14 has become so infamous that it isn't just being lamented on Reddit. It's showing up in less expected corners of the internet, as well as on literal street corners. Las Vegas-based YouTuber EazyIan took to the streets to protest against the DMR and even witnessed solidarity from a fellow player driving by. "Yeah! Fuck the DMR," the driver exclaims.

A real reaction to my NERF THE DMR sign from r/CODWarzone

Big names outside of gaming are starting to give their two cents as well. Last week, rapper Lil Uzi Vert broke a five-day Twitter silence to let his feelings on Warzone's meta be known to his 7.9 million followers:

The cursed DMR has also infiltrated politics. During a recent press conference by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, "nerf the dmr" could be spotted in a livestream chat. Even Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is feeling the heat.

TikTok, a social media platform that I only pretend to understand, is getting in on the anti-DMR rhetoric, too. The most prolific video (with over 150,000 likes) comes from user surishbrjddhddhgv, in which a child violently reacts to getting repeatedly killed by the DMR. (Warning: Consider turning down your volume before playing the video.)

@surishbrjddhddhgv

#angry #rage #ragwing #fyp

♬ original sound - Rage

Since that video's posting on Christmas, the raging Warzone child has become a de facto anthem for the game on TikTok. Dozens of additional videos have popped up borrowing the same rant to showcase how powerful the DMR still is.

So why is the DMR 14 attracting so much attention if it's just the latest Warzone balancing nightmare? It could have something to do with timing. The gun has been popular since it was first added to the game in mid-December along with the Black Ops - Cold War Season 1 update. With the holiday break that followed and last week's ineffective patch, the DMR has been dominant for almost a month. That's a lot longer than the SP-R 208's comparatively brief time in the sun. 

Another nerf for the DMR 14 feels inevitable at this point, but it's impossible to say exactly when it'll happen. Raven Software, which appears to have assumed control of Warzone's balancing decisions going forward, has been mostly quiet on the issue since last week's patch. The official Raven account did tweet the day after the patch asking players to keep sending "constructive thoughts" their way.

Weapon balancing is only one issue that Warzone grapples with on a weekly basis. On the bugs/exploits front, the dreaded infinite stim glitch has returned for what feels like the billionth time. Any jerk who knows how to pull it off can easily win a match by standing outside the zone, so watch out for that.