The gas circle of Call of Duty: Warzone shrinks the play area over the course of the match and can become quite intrusive. Get information here about the speed of the gas, how you can survive there for a long time, and how to optimally plan your escape.
In Call of Duty: Warzone, players are constantly hunted by enemies and the gas. Enemy soldiers can be outsmarted, but the gas makes no compromises. MeinMMO provides information on:
- Damage of the gas
- Gas timer for all circles
- Gas speed vs. running speed
- Details on the gas mask
- Surviving in the gas
- Changes with Update 1.20
The circle can be the biggest enemy, but also a strong ally. With the key details of the different gas circles, you will always know exactly whether you have enough time to get to the next zone and how long you can survive with different equipment.
The key mechanics of the gas in overview
The English YT channel “Tech Guides” has taken a closer look at the mechanics of the gas and summarized them in an English YouTube video, which we have embedded here for you:
Damage of the gas
By now, there are countless Battle Royales on the market, and many handle the mechanics of shrinking the play area a little differently. CoD Warzone dispenses with complicated damage adjustments of the circle and makes it quite predictable how long you can survive in the circle:
- The gas circle deals the same damage at any time during the match
- The distance to the inner circle makes no difference; you always take the same damage
- Armor has no effect on health loss
- You survive without equipment for a maximum of 12 seconds in the circle (just under 8.5 damage/second)
Gas timer for all circles
The different circle phases almost all have a different timer. Times usually get shorter as the match nears its end. In the first part of a stage (e.g., 1-1), the circle does not close yet. Its closing is only announced, and you have as long as it takes until you should start moving. The second time represents the duration, in minutes, that the circle takes to close (e.g., 1-2):
| Stage | Time | Total |
| 1-1 | 3:40 | |
| 1-2 | 4:30 | 8:10 |
| 2-1 | 1:30 | |
| 2-2 | 3:40 | 13:20 |
| 3-1 | 1:15 | |
| 3-2 | 2:50 | 17:25 |
| 4-1 | 1:00 | |
| 4-2 | 1:50 | 20:15 |
| 5-1 | 1:00 | |
| 5-2 | 1:10 | 22:25 |
| 6-1 | 0:45 | |
| 6-2 | 0:50 | 24:00 |
| 7-1 | 0:30 | |
| 7-2 | 0:50 | 25:20 |
| 8 |
After the closing of the 4th circle, the Gulag closes. Anyone who hasn’t been in the short-term jail by then won’t get a second chance.
The last circle does not change its shape anymore and moves a bit. Keep an eye on the mini-map and plan your further actions. Somewhere nearby, the last enemies must be lurking.
Gas speed vs. running speed
To get a sense of whether you can escape from the gas circle in certain situations, it helps to know how fast you can actually move. “Tech Guides” has done some athletic sprints and compared the approximate movement speeds of the weapon classes:
- Fist and pistol
- 100 meters – 0:15 minutes
- 400 meters – 1:00 minute
- Submachine guns
- 100 meters – 0:16 minutes
- 400 meters – 1:04 minute
- Assault rifles and snipers
- 100 meters – 0:17 minutes
- 400 meters – 1:06 minute
- Light machine guns and rocket launchers
- 100 meters – 0:18 minutes
- 400 meters – 1:10 minutes
There are still a few tricks that will help you move faster across the map, such as the tactical sprint, and vehicles can sometimes help as well. But on foot, you should plan for 20 seconds for 100 meters or 1:00 minute for 300 meters.
Set a marker at the edge of the inner play area, calculate how long it would theoretically take you to get there and compare the time with the circle timer. Also, pay attention to the terrain. Moving over cliffs or rock walls can be tricky in Warzone.
Keep in mind that the play area closes faster the further the circle edge is from the next circle. If the next circle is already quite close to you, the gas will only move slowly. If you are far away, the circle closes even faster than you can run. This only applies to the first circle, though. You can usually keep up with the second phase without problems.
If things get tight and you only have heavy weapons with you, throw one of your weapons away through the inventory. Without firearms, you can run much better.
Exploiting gas mask time and animation
The only item in Warzone that can protect you from the gas is the gas mask. You can occasionally find it in crates or as a reward from a looting contract.
With the gas mask, you double the time you can stay in the deadly zone. In total, a gas mask lasts for 12 seconds. If you have one in your inventory, you will see it at the bottom left next to your armor plates.
Once you enter the gas, your character will put on the mask and take a moment to use their hands, which makes shooting impossible. However, there are ways to prevent the gas mask animation or to use equipment with which you can still shoot. “Ulterior Covert” has presented the variants in a short English YouTube video:
- Heartbeat sensor – Completely suppresses the animation, but you cannot fire
- Stim – Suppresses the animation, and you can still fire from the hip
- Tactical grenades – Also prevent the animation; you can fire immediately after throwing
- Akimbo – Normal animation, but one weapon remains ready to fire
If you want to see what that looks like, we have embedded the video here for you:
Survival timer with all equipment
“Tech Guides” has also looked at all the items that help to survive longer in the gas and determined the maximum survival duration:
This is how long you survive in the gas:
- Gas mask (12 sec.)
- Normal health (12 sec.)
- Stim (12 sec.)
- Self-revival (28 sec.)
- Ammo box (24 sec.)
- Max 1:28 minutes
Once the gas mask and health are depleted, you can extend your time in the gas with Stims. Using the Stim takes about 2 seconds. So timing is essential.
If you go down, you get almost half a minute added with a self-reviving token. It takes 7 seconds to use the token. Therefore, use it when you are about halfway through your “bleed-out” bar.
To extend the time further, grab an ammo box and restock your Stim reserves. You can get about 12 seconds per Stim. If you’re in a team of four and everyone has an ammo box, you could theoretically survive in the gas for up to 2:40 minutes.
Patch 1.20 – Speed changes with gas
With the big Update 1.20, several new features were introduced to the game, such as master camo for all weapons or a new contract that was not received very well. There were also some changes to the gas circle in Warzone:
- The time until the first circle starts closing went from 4:30 minutes to 3:40.
- Otherwise, all times during which the circle is calm remain unchanged.
- From stage 2, the “constriction” of the circle takes longer.
- Stage 2 from 2:30 minutes to 3:40
- Stage 3 from 2:00 minutes to 2:50
- Stage 4 from 1:30 minutes to 1:50
- From stage 5, between 5 – 10 seconds longer
- Due to the changes, the Gulag is now open for 1:30 minutes longer (20:15), and the circle takes 2 more minutes to close completely (27:00).
- All numbers provided in our guide above are already up to date.
Sometimes, a little knowledge advantage helps to make the right decision in specific situations and to stay standing until the end. A solid Grau 5.56 can also help, but only good planning protects you from the gas.
