Update 4/7/2021:
Raven Software patched out the unlimited range-fall off, however this weapon is still competitive with the FFAR due to the increased damage on the Mil-Spec Barrel on the Groza and the nerf to the FFAR which lowered its ADS time in the April 6th patch.

Original Article:
A new challenger has entered the upper-echelons of the Warzone Assault Rifle meta: the Groza. While the developers didn't change the base stats of the Groza, recent changes to this gun's barrel attachment options make it a much more viable weapon, to the point where it can even hold its own against the FFAR, Warzone's most hated weapon.

The Groza saw a boost to its popularity this week, in part due to the promotion of the weapon in a recent video from Nicholas "Nickmercs" Kolcheff.

But does this rifle actually live up to the hype? Yes, it really does.

What makes the new Groza so good?

The Groza was certainly not near the top of the AR meta in Season 1, or even during the first half of season 2. So what changed? Well, the gun received a sort of sleeper buff in the latest patch.

During last week's Warzone update, the Warzone developers completely reworked the Groza's 16.5" Mil-Spec Barrel option. The barrel now offers a straight buff to your damage against enemy players, in addition to increasing your overall strafe speed. The damage bonus adds two damage to this weapon's base damage and upper torso damage, which is a slight but notable improvement.

More importantly, with the new update, when the Mil-Spec Barrel is equipped the Groza no longer features any damage drop-off whatsoever, which means you are able to deal maximum Groza damage at any range. This is an incredibly powerful buff to this otherwise unremarkable gun, and has the potential to alter the Warzone meta in important ways, assuming Activision doesn't take that feature away from the weapon.  

When you equip the Mil-Spec Barrel, the Groza is pretty comparable to the widely complained about FFAR, which has dominated the meta throughout Season 2. The two weapons share the same base damage of 30 post-patch, with the Groza dealing more upper torso damage and having no damage-falloff at range. As a result, the Groza ends up killing in fewer shots than the FFAR, regardless of how much armor the enemy might have.

That said, the FFAR has a faster fire rate and a lower recoil rate, which leads to a faster time-to-kill in most situations. So the FFAR is still better than the Groza for now, but the comparison between the two weapons shows how much the Groza has improved when run with the new Mil-Spec Barrel attachment.

If you haven't tried out the Groza since the patch, you really should. Its recoil is challenging to control, and it has a slow bullet velocity, but damn can it shred enemies at close and medium ranges if you can land your shots. It might not kill the FFAR's role in Warzone, but it is a fun alternative that is surprisingly effective at a variety of ranges.