Unlocking Warzone's New SMG: The TEC-9

Warzone S5 TEC 9
An iconic 'gangster gun' - the TEC-9 should be great fun | © Activision Blizzard

Warzone Season 5's Roadmap was just made publically available, and among all the other goodies are two new weapons. One of them is the TEC-9, a submachine gun. Here's how you'll be able to unlock the new SMG, and what you can expect from it.

The TEC-9 is a classic, it just screams gangland L.A. in the late-80s. And in other games, we've come to know and love it as a snappy little thing. But they've done something ridiculous to it this time, and it betrays the fact that the devs are running out of making weapons feel distinct. We need a clean slate and new weapons for Vanguard, but that's a different story.

But what have they done to it? They've made it semi-auto, i.e. single-fire. Yes, an SMG. Single-fire. Alarm bells are ringing...

How To Unlock The TEC-9 in Warzone Season 5?

The TEC-9 will be unlocked once you complete level 31 of the Battle Pass. But keep in mind, you won't need to actually buy the Battle Pass, as this is one of the free items. You should expect a good blueprint for the weapon to be available in the paid Battle Pass, though, so perhaps it's worth it for you anyway.

Like keeping up to speed with all things Call of Duty? Then you've come to the right place, here are some of our recent articles:

Is The TEC-9 Going To Be Any Good?

No; it's a semi-automatic SMG. Nobody wants that, nobody asked for it. What a tragedy they've turned on such a classic in this way. Granted the TEC-9 is select-fire, so this would be possible in reality, but nobody in their right mind would be using it in boring mode. Unless this thing has an absolutely wild damage profile, it's hard to see it getting any play in Warzone as a semi-auto.

Here's exactly how the devs described it:

Semi-auto submachine gun. Improved accuracy from longer ranges with low recoil and slower fire rate. Good damage output with moderate range.

As we said, unless there's something wildly out of place with the TEC-9's stats, this weapon will not be competitive.

Update:

In the Season 5 patch notes we have now learned that the TEC-9 does actually not come with a single shot mode, but with a 3-shot burst mode. With certain attachments, it should also be convertible to a fully automatic weapon. This means that the TEC-9 could be a viable option after all, but only with a very specific setup.

When Is Warzone Season 5 Starting?

Season 5 will launch on Thursday, August 12 at 00:00 ET (05:00 BST, 06:00 CEST), although a pre-download will be available from Tuesday, August 10. We've come to know this as the standard release time for new Seasons, so no surprises here. That does mean you've only got a week left to finish your Battle Pass, though, so good luck!

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Jon Ramuz

Jon has a BA and an MA in English Literature, and as Content Lead for EarlyGame has written over 1,500 articles. He focuses on shooters, but also writes about entertainment and gaming in general....