On December 10, the first season of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War starts, connecting the CoD from 2020 with Battle Royale Warzone. MeinMMO shows you the advantages of purchasing Cold War as a Warzone player and whether it’s really necessary.
With Call of Duty: Warzone, CoD offers a strong shooter product in the free-to-play market that captivates large player masses and continues to celebrate successes even six months after release. The Battle Royale is expected to run over the next few years while benefiting from the releases of premium titles.
But do you actually need the annual CoDs to continue enjoying Warzone as before? MeinMMO addresses this issue and answers the most pressing questions on the topic. If you still have questions at the end of the article, feel free to ask us in the comments. We will also try to answer them for you.
How do Warzone and Cold War grow together?
With the deadline of December 10, 3 CoDs will adopt the progression system from Cold War. If you have never played Cold War by then, you will start again at level 1 as a Warzone player and CoD player.
However, all weapons and gear you have unlocked by then will remain in your possession. You won’t need to level up again to unlock your favorite weapons, and your weapon levels cannot be taken away from you.
If you have only played in Battle Royale before, very little will change for you. There will continue to be seasons, which always come with a new battle pass, bringing fresh content and changes for Warzone.
Thematic content will be more focused on the setting of Cold War. This also applies to the new Warzone map, which you might be able to tackle on December 10.
What does Cold War bring for Warzone even if I don’t buy it?
- Weapons
- Content
- Battle Pass
- Prestige System
What weapons do I get from Cold War? The CoD makers plan to actually bring every single weapon from Black Ops Cold War into Warzone. In the respective CoD blog on callofduty.com, the developers write:
The current plan is that, in addition to the weapons from CoD MW, all primary and secondary weapons that are available throughout the lifespan of Black Ops Cold War will be added to Warzone. This includes launch and seasonal weapons along with every single weapon blueprint.
This means that by the end of Cold War’s life cycle, over 100 weapons could be available in Warzone. There are currently no plans to remove weapons from CoD MW from Warzone.
Each weapon will be specifically adjusted for the requirements of battle royale to ensure proper weapon balance. However, they do not specifically address the rollout of these weapons. It could be that all weapons from Cold War are introduced into battle royale at once on December 10. However, staggered releases are also possible.
In Modern Warfare, the weapons from Black Ops Cold War are not available.
What content do I get from Cold War? Just like in the era of Modern Warfare, there will continually be new content for Warzone over time. This can include new modes, such as the action-packed mini-royale with the start of season 5, or map adjustments, such as the subway system in season 6.
Thematically, the new content will still be oriented around the setting of Cold War. There might even be a new map for Warzone on December 10, reminiscent of a location from Black Ops 1, the CoD from 2010. But this is not just about new maps. Tasks and fresh killstreaks will also enter the game, some of which are already in the game files.
Regarding the fate of the previous map Verdansk, which has kept Warzone players occupied since the release, there is little information so far. A developer once said, “Verdansk still has many stories to tell,” but that was already half a year ago. So far, the facts suggest that Verdansk will likely remain in the game for the long term.
What does the Battle Pass bring? Instead of a season 7, you will get a season 1 in Warzone on December 10. This will follow the same process as in Modern Warfare. For 1,000 CoD points (almost 10 euros), you can unlock over 100 cosmetic items across various tiers. Some of those tiers are free, such as the tiers with new weapons.
Cold War uses the same system as Modern Warfare. Every season gives you a fresh battle pass that you can level up for rewards throughout the season. If you play it right, you can only pay once and finance the next battle pass again. You can find out more about the first season of Cold War here:
What does the Prestige system bring? As mentioned earlier, with the start of the first season of Cold War, you fall back to rank 1. Ranks 1 – 55 are called “military ranks” in Cold War and give you the new weapons and gear from Cold War. Afterwards, you will progress to prestige levels.
You will no longer just have 100 tiers per season that you can level up through your 55 foundational ranks. Instead, it goes up to rank 1,200 – and that every season.
The first 200 tiers are the “Prestige Ranks.” Every 20 tiers grants you a challenge (similar to the Officer Rank Challenges from CoD MW), which, when completed, produces a calling card. For every 50 ranks up to rank 200, you receive a prestige rank (maximum of 4 per season) with extra rewards. From here, you become “Prestige Master” and can progress another 1,000 tiers up with small rewards every 50 tiers. We explain the complete prestige system of Cold War in detail here.
What advantages does Cold War bring me as a Warzone player?
- Operator & Cosmetics
- Easier weapon leveling
- More multiplayer content
What Operators & Cosmetics do I get from Cold War? Warzone connects your cosmetic content from CoD MW with the cosmetics from Cold War. Everything you unlock in both premium CoDs can also be used in battle royale. However, you cannot use any cosmetics from Cold War in CoD MW and vice versa. Only Warzone acts as the link.
Just like CoD MW did last year, Cold War also offers many challenges to unlock a ton of cosmetics. This includes operators, weapon blueprints, calling cards, weapon camouflages, and everything else that comes with it.
How can I level my weapons more easily? The many challenges, gameplay medals, and game modes provide a better platform for leveling weapons in multiplayer than Warzone. Unless the massive team deathmatch “Rumble” is currently active, you often only unlock weapons at higher levels awkwardly and have to go to Verdansk with blueprints or poorly equipped weapons.
Since the new “Cold War” weapons are not available in Modern Warfare, you will either have to level the new weapons load in battle royale or go for XP hunting in the plunder mode. If you purchased the new Cold War, this is much easier in multiplayer.
Why do I get more multiplayer content? A developer recently expressed hope for new content for Modern Warfare, but big leaps should not be expected anymore. So if you like to play multiplayer on the side, the current state of CoD MW’s multiplayer mode doesn’t change much.
From experiences in recent years, we know that the servers will remain online for a long time, and there will still be playlist updates. However, substantial content drops, like at the start of a new season, are unlikely to happen anymore.
Personal assessment: Does Cold War ruin your Warzone aim? I spent a longer evening in Warzone after a week in Cold War’s multiplayer, and the effects of the slightly different gameplay style are minimal. The weapons in the new CoD generally can be built more stably, which is noticeable with Warzone firearms that have stronger recoil.
My handling with the CR-56 AMAX has indeed suffered a bit, but with the Kilo, I barely noticed a difference. You just need to ensure that the control settings of both titles are roughly synchronized. Then your aiming will remain stable even in Warzone.
Personal conclusion: Do you need Cold War for Warzone?
Only buy Cold War if you also want to play it besides Warzone
Who’s speaking? I am Maik Schneider and primarily write for MeinMMO in the field of shooters and Call of Duty. Last year, I spent several hundred hours in both games – CoD MW and Warzone, leaning towards battle royale.
When is Cold War worth it as a Warzone player? Take a look at the content of the new CoD and weigh whether you would actually play the full-price title as much as if you bought it without Warzone.
Because if you’re mostly cruising in Warzone, you’ll get a nice variety, but really, it’s only about leveling weapons and unlocking cosmetics.
If the campaign and the PvE mode “Zombies” don’t interest you, it’s better to pass.
Maik Schneider
Freelance author at MeinMMO
With Cold War, Treyarch launched a CoD in 2020 that differs in several ways from its predecessor. If you’re still considering whether to get the new Black Ops this year, you can find 7 things to know before purchasing Cold War here.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask. We’ll gladly answer them in the comments or explain what is still unknown.
