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Patch 1.1.5.2 did not make the V22 Volt Thrower stronger overall — it traded one strength for another. Damage increased from 12.6 to 14.4. At the same time, tracking speed will now slowly decay over 1.2 seconds of a projectile’s lifetime by a maximum of 30%. That means the gun hits harder up close and loses its signature lock-on the longer a fight drags out at range. This guide covers exactly what changed, where the Volt Thrower still earns a slot, and which builds actually make sense around it.
TL;DR
- Damage went from 12.6 to 14.4 — a partial revert, not a fresh buff
- Projectile tracking now decays up to 30% over the first 1.2 seconds of flight
- Net effect: stronger in close-quarters duels, weaker on drawn-out mid-to-long engagements
- The 1.1.5 patch before it was the real buff patch — 1.1.5.2 clawed part of that back
- Tier lists calling this a clean upgrade are skipping the tracking cut
What Actually Changed for the V22 Volt Thrower
The V22 Volt Thrower is a Volt-actuated SMG that uses a Volt Battery and features a smart lock-on system, and it’s unlocked through the Traxus Faction Armory. Its whole identity is that lock-on: projectiles bend toward a target once you’ve held it in your reticle, which is what made it a forgiving pick for players who don’t want to fight for precision. Patch 1.1.5.2’s developer note is blunt about the damage change: this is a partial revert of the damage reduction applied on 7/24, which had brought Volt Thrower damage down from 18 to 12.6. So even at 14.4, the gun is still hitting for less than it did before the original nerf — it’s a step back toward the old number, not past it.
The patch also quietly touched heat management: it reduced the amount of time spent at 540rpm before weapon heat starts to spin down by about 20%. That means sustained fire tapers off sooner than before, which stacks with the tracking decay to push the gun toward short, decisive bursts rather than long suppressive holds.
| Rarity Tier | What It Generally Brings |
|---|---|
| Standard (Gray) | The most basic version with no real extras. |
| Enhanced (Green) | Small improvements and entry level upgrades. |
| Deluxe (Blue) | Stronger stat packages and better attachment value. |
| Superior (Purple) | Noticeably stronger performance and better build potential. |
| Prestige (Gold) | Top end drops with premium value and the highest risk on death. |
Damage Up, Tracking Down: What Changed and What It Means in a Fight
Put together, the practical read is simple: the Volt Thrower now wants to be the gun you pull when someone is already close, not the gun you use to poke at a target across a lane. The lock-on still helps you land the first shot or two reliably — that part of the projectile’s life is unaffected — but the longer a duel stretches, the more the tracking on later shots fades, and by the far edge of the weapon’s roughly 21-meter effective range it’s barely helping at all.
| What Changed | Direction | What It Changes in Combat |
|---|---|---|
| Base damage | Up (12.6 → 14.4) | Faster kills in close, point-blank trades favor the Volt Thrower more than last week |
| Projectile tracking | Down (decays up to 30% over 1.2s) | Shots fired at the start of an engagement still bend well; shots kept alive over a longer duel drift off target as the round ages |
| Heat spin-down timing | Down (about 20% less time at peak rpm) | Sustained full-auto holds taper off sooner, rewarding short bursts over marathon suppression |
Effective Range After the Patch: Where the Volt Thrower Still Works
Warning
Don’t hold a lock-on shot expecting it to curve into a target that’s actively repositioning at range — the tracking that made this gun forgiving now fades fast enough that a held burst can whiff entirely by the time it reaches a moving target 15+ meters out.
Anyone building around long sightlines is better served checking a broader breakdown of how Marathon’s game modes differ before deciding whether a close-range SMG even fits the map rotation they’re queuing into.
| Engagement Range | How It Performs Now | Best Targets | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Point-blank / close corners | Strong — tracking is still near full strength and the damage bump lands | Ambushes, corner peeks, Vault Breaker AI packs | Take it |
| Mid-range open rooms | Mixed — first shots track, later shots in a long burst start drifting | Stationary or slow-moving targets | Situational |
| Long lanes / exterior sightlines | Weak — decay has mostly kicked in by the time rounds arrive | Almost nothing reliably | Swap weapons |
Getting the Volt Thrower Ready to Use
The weapon itself isn’t hard to acquire — the friction is in tuning it for the new range profile. Since the V22 Volt Thrower unlocks through the Traxus Faction Armory, most of the setup work is faction progression plus mod choices rather than a rare drop hunt.
| Source | What You Get | Requirement | Who It Suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Traxus Faction Armory | Guaranteed unlock at your current rarity access | Traxus faction reputation | Anyone committing to the SMG long-term |
| World loot / enemy drops | Random rarity copies, sometimes with better rolls | None — pure luck | Players just looking to try it once |
| Map events | Occasional upgraded drops alongside other loot | Surviving contested zones | Players already running the map for other loot |
Follow this sequence to get it done fast.
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1
Check your Traxus reputation
the Armory unlock gates on faction standing, so confirm you're far enough in before planning a build around this gun.
-
2
Pull the weapon from the Armory
grab whatever rarity you currently have access to rather than waiting on a lucky drop.
-
3
Prioritize handling and barrel mods over range mods
since tracking now fades over distance, stats that help you close and land the first burst matter more than stats built for poking at range.
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4
Test it in a low-stakes queue first
a Vault Breaker run or a casual contract lets you feel out the new decay window before betting a loaded loadout on it.
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5
Keep a mid-or-long-range backup equipped
the Volt Thrower no longer covers every distance on its own, so pair it with something that does.
Patch History: From 1.1.5 Buffs to 1.1.5.2 Rebalance
The confusion around this weapon makes sense once you see the full trajectory. Patch 1.1.5 was a genuine, uncomplicated buff pass: it removed the 0.5s target acquisition time to better enable ambush style gameplay, since the visual target indicator always showed immediately but projectiles wouldn’t actually track until being on target for 0.5 seconds. That same patch also increased projectile velocity speed from 56 m/s to 80 m/s and increased max rpm from 507.3 to 540 while decreasing min rpm from 309.3 to 140. Every one of those changes made the gun feel more responsive with no real downside attached.
1.1.5.2 is where the give-and-take starts. Full details on that update, including the KKV-9SD magazine changes that shipped alongside it, are covered in the 1.1.5.2 patch notes breakdown. The damage trajectory across both patches tells the real story better than either number alone:
The gun is still sitting below its original number even after the “buff.” That’s the piece that gets lost when a patch note just says damage went up — it went up from a nerfed floor, not from parity.
Which Runner Skills Actually Pair With the Volt Thrower
The full current skill trees for every Runner Shell aren’t something this article can confirm line by line, and guessing at specific ability names would be worse than saying so plainly: treat any specific “best build” list you see right now as a working theory, not a settled answer. What is confirmed is the general principle the Volt Thrower now leans into, plus one concrete Shell trait that already synergizes with Volt weapons as a category.
Confirmed: Battery Overcharge and volt-type weapons
The Triage Shell’s Battery Overcharge trait diverts cooling energy to boost weapon performance at the cost of heat generation, and breaking an enemy’s shields with a volt weapon triggers an EMP while active. Since the Volt Thrower runs on Volt Battery ammo, it’s a direct fit for that trait’s shield-break trigger — pair the two and a successful close-range burst does more than just damage.
The principle for everything else
Beyond that one confirmed pairing, the sensible way to build around the Volt Thrower post-patch is to think in terms of what the weapon needs now rather than chasing a named skill list: anything that helps you close distance faster, survive the first exchange, or punish a broken shield is a better fit than a passive that assumes you’re fighting at range. A Shell trait built around mobility or shield disruption complements the gun’s new close-range identity far more than an intel or long-range passive would.
Tip
If you’re unsure which Shell to run it on, default to whichever one you already use for aggressive, corner-to-corner play — the Volt Thrower’s post-patch strengths line up with that playstyle regardless of the exact trait names attached to it.
Common Misconceptions About the Volt Thrower "Nerf"
Myth: 1.1.5.2 was a straight buff
The damage number went up, but only because it was recovering from an earlier cut, and it arrived bundled with a tracking decay that directly undercuts the gun’s core identity. Calling it a buff without mentioning the tracking change is technically true and practically misleading.
Myth: the gun is unusable at range now
It’s weaker at range, not useless. The decay is gradual over 1.2 seconds, so a shot fired the instant you get a lock still benefits from most of the tracking — it’s sustained bursts held across a long duel that fall apart.
Myth: this settles where the weapon lands in the current meta
Post-patch tier lists take real playtime to settle, and anything published within the first days of a balance pass is closer to an educated guess than a verdict. Anyone checking a broader endgame loadout guide for where SMGs sit right now should treat fresh post-patch rankings as provisional.
Our Take: Is the V22 Volt Thrower Worth Using After 1.1.5.2
Our Take
Worth keeping for close-range work, not worth forcing into a role it no longer covers.
The Volt Thrower is a better ambush weapon than it was a week ago, and worse as a general-purpose SMG that also handles mid-range pokes. That’s a real shift in what the gun is for, not an upgrade across the board. If your playstyle is corners and quick trades, it earns its slot. If you were leaning on the old lock-on to carry fights across open rooms, this patch is the signal to build a second weapon into that gap rather than waiting for the tracking to come back.