Infinity Ward has released another launch-week update for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, and the 25 October patch makes a particularly noticeable change to Multiplayer progression. Kills in Search and Destroy and Collateral now award 300 XP instead of 100 XP, while a previous Search and Destroy bomb fix has been temporarily rolled back after it caused a new pickup problem.
The same update also corrects Prestige resets, tidies several Gunsmith and weapon-classification issues, and fixes a fresh group of DMZ mission, vehicle and purchasing bugs. This is a separate update from the MW4 October 24 patch, which focused on Hijack spawns, Exfil helicopters, forced squad extraction and broader stability work.
MW4 October 25 update: the biggest changes
- Kill XP in Search and Destroy and Collateral increased from 100 to 300.
- The recent Search and Destroy “bomb stretching” fix was rolled back temporarily.
- Prestige resets should now clear Loadouts correctly.
- Patriot XMR, Oden and Cronen Squall classification errors were corrected.
- Collateral’s disappearing-bomb bug and an in-match Loadout freeze were fixed.
- DMZ received fixes for Critical Extraction, modified Blueprint costs, Overflow Stash deployment and onboarding.
Search and Destroy and Collateral now give 3× kill XP
The headline change is straightforward: a single kill in Search and Destroy or Collateral now awards 300 XP rather than 100 XP. That is three times the previous base kill reward in those two modes. Infinity Ward says it is examining Multiplayer XP earn rates more broadly, with the 25 October adjustment representing the start of that work.
This is not a blanket Triple XP event. The official notes only confirm a change to the XP awarded for one kill in Search and Destroy and Collateral. They do not say that objective XP, match bonuses or every other Multiplayer mode has been tripled. Players planning a progression push should keep that distinction in mind.
The notes also do not confirm how the revised base reward interacts with consumable Double XP tokens. CODSKINS has MW4 Double XP code bundles, but it would be premature to promise a specific stacked total until the interaction is verified in-game.
Why the Search and Destroy bomb fix was rolled back
The 24 October update attempted to stop “bomb stretching”, an exploit that allowed players to interact with the Search and Destroy bomb from an unintended distance or position. Infinity Ward has now reversed that fix because of a knock-on issue: in certain positions, players could not pick up the bomb at all.
That means the original exploit correction is not considered complete. The developer says it intends to address bomb stretching again in another update as soon as possible. For now, the important confirmed fact is that reliable bomb pickup has taken priority over keeping the first version of the fix live.
Collateral received a separate bomb fix. Its bomb should no longer disappear after a player interacts with it. The update also restores missing announcer introductions at the start of Frontline and Hijack matches and addresses a brief freeze that could occur the first time a player edited a Loadout during a match.
Prestige, Gunsmith and weapon display fixes
Players entering Prestige should now have their Loadouts cleared correctly during the reset process. This matters because MW4 offers both Regular and Classic Prestige paths, each with different progression implications. Our MW4 Prestige guide explains the two routes, Weapon Prestige and the reward structure before you commit.
In Gunsmith, locked Attachments should once again display their weapon statistics, and a visual problem in the Optic Rail Placement menu has been fixed. Infinity Ward also corrected places where the Patriot XMR, Oden and Cronen Squall were incorrectly labelled as Battle Rifles. The notes describe this as a classification correction; they do not announce new damage values or a confirmed weapon rebalance.
That distinction is important because the studio says it is still considering weapon-tuning changes for a future update. Any claims about specific buffs, nerfs or a new meta remain unconfirmed until detailed balance notes are published.
All confirmed DMZ fixes in the October 25 patch
DMZ receives another targeted round of repairs. Players can no longer bypass the Hospital Elevator objective during the Critical Extraction Story Mission, while several problems in the Breaking New Ground onboarding mission have been corrected.
The patch also reduces Drill Charge damage against an enemy Colossus, restores a Sedan that could be absent from its marked Tac-Map position, stops enemy AI clipping through the Crashed Drone and corrects an oversized Last Stand icon on the Minimap.
Two economy and inventory fixes are especially useful. Buying a saved Build based on a modified Blueprint should no longer charge the full price of the original Blueprint. Players also cannot begin a deployment while items remain in the Overflow Stash; the stash must be reconciled before the next run. Lieutenant Intel requirements and eliminated markers should also remain visible when revisiting defeated targets on the Boss Board.
What is fixed—and what is still pending
Infinity Ward says it has closed additional DMZ exploits and addressed cases where players were removed for inactivity while spectating in some Multiplayer modes. Those items are listed as recently updated.
However, the Search and Destroy bomb-stretching issue still needs a replacement fix, broader Multiplayer XP adjustments are still being evaluated, and any weapon-tuning changes remain future work. None of those pending changes should be treated as live balance adjustments yet.
For a wider view of launch content, maps and movement changes, see the MW4 launch patch notes breakdown. You can also browse the live CODSKINS MW4 collection for Modern Warfare 4 codes, cosmetics and rewards.
