The free battle royale Call of Duty: Warzone has had its tough times. Cheaters, bugs, OP weapons, unpopular content – almost every misstep was ready for a dive. But since the launch of Season 2 in February 2022, the tide has turned – and it might be worth your while to jump in or return.
Warzone is a stand-alone “battle royale” from Call of Duty that gives you free access to the outstanding shooter gameplay of the series. Especially at its release in 2020, the title exploded in popularity and was on everyone’s lips. But then came the lull.
Little content, hardly any new additions, a broken weapon meta, plague of cheaters – Warzone annoyed many players, who then frustratedly left the shooter. The developers also explained what mistake lay behind all the problems.
However, after the changes in recent months, the battle royale has changed significantly. Almost every aspect of the game has been tweaked, every small mechanic has been scrutinized.
If you haven’t heard about this as a veteran or are a fresh newcomer, then we want to show you some of the best changes from the last few months and explain how they have positively impacted Warzone.
If you want a brief introduction to the game first, check out our video:
Increased health points
What was this change? After the introduction of the map Caldera, there was “Vanguard Royale” in Warzone. Here, you were only allowed to use weapons from Vanguard, and there were additional rules and content that were only available here.
The developers used this mode as a test lab and introduced more health points – 50, to be exact. Together with the armor, total health energy went up to 300.
Currently, the change applies to all modes on all maps.
Why is this so good? The adjustment of health points brought fresh wind into the weapon meta. The time-to-kill values changed, and the maps got mixed up.
More importantly, it has positively changed the gameplay feel in battles. You are not downed as quickly anymore, and you can often make it behind cover for rescue.
This has made the battles more exciting. Good movement and smart cover play benefit. But the adjustment was not so significant that better players could gain a huge advantage from it.
A simple and very effective adjustment that made Warzone better right away.
Renovation of Caldera, new map and map rotation
What was this change? The large map Caldera has faced much criticism from day one. The mood quickly shifted from “finally a new map” to “give us Verdansk back”.
With the start of Season 4, the developers listened to the feedback. There are many new small locations filling previously empty areas. Included is even the Verdansk favorite “Storage Town”. Additionally, the vegetation has been reduced by 50% in many places, and visibility of opponents improved.
The popular little map Rebirth Island has emerged as a fan favorite due to the age of Verdansk and skepticism towards Caldera. Mid-Season 2 also brought many changes here at the end of March that were positively received by players.
Furthermore, thanks to map rotation, Warzone now features three maps for the first time. Similar in size to Rebirth Island, you now hunt through the alleys of Fortune’s Keep on your way to victory.
Why is this so good? Just through the new map rotation with the third map, Warzone offers significantly more content and variety. The small maps are expected to rotate daily soon.
Additionally, the continued work on the old maps based on player feedback has paid off. With almost every update, new locations are added and unpopular aspects are patched out.
In recent months, Warzone has certainly shown itself to be more player-friendly. The developers still do not respond to certain topics, such as matchmaking. But aside from that, they listen much more to feedback and explain how they incorporate it into the development process.
This is very good for the battle royale.
Lootable perks
What was this change? Previously, you could only bring perks into the game through your loadouts. Now, the strong passive bonuses are also found as ground loot.
Included are even really strong bonuses that many players like to grab:
- Combat Scout
- Overkill
- Ghost
- Cold-Blooded
Why is this so good? A developer referred to the lootable perks shortly after their introduction as a game-changer. And indeed, the random perks you can find bring a new dynamic to the game.
With the acquired bonuses in mind, new tactics can be tried out. Furthermore, it is more worthwhile to create different loadouts so you don’t have strong perks duplicated.
This gameplay trick is as simple as it is brilliant. It brings a new level, more depth to the game, and utilizes exactly the things that were already present in the game.
More time in matches than on the bench
What was this change? The developers explained their strategy behind the changes of the last months and in the future in the patch notes from Mid-Season 3:
- More counters – Mechanics should feature corresponding counter gameplay
- More movement – You should progress faster and movement techniques are being expanded
- More gameplay time – The time you spend watching in a match should be reduced
Particularly the point “More gameplay time” is exciting. The developers want to ensure that you return to the game faster after dying. This brings more dynamics and ensures that more is happening on the maps.
The measures:
- Gulag Token introduced
- If you collect this item after you’ve already been in the Gulag, you can go back into the revival duel
- Re-entry Token
- If you have this item, you come back directly after being killed
- Revive cheaper
- You only need 3,000 cash to buy back team members
Why is this so good? Battle royales are a fantastic experience in teams. But unfortunately, teammates are stuck watching when they get shot down.
Warzone wants to actively combat “time on the bench” and ensure that all players participate more in the match. Another strong change that fits the foundation of Warzone. Of the most popular and largest battle royales, Warzone is indeed the “easiest”.
More relaxed weapon meta for more variety
What was this change? This is not just one or a few changes, but a general strategic shift. And this has been hinted at for a while.
In the first roughly 1.5 years of Warzone, changes to weapons were often arbitrary and hard to understand. Nowadays, there are many explanations for the adjustments and clear reactions to the weapons that are indeed too strong or too weak.
Here and there, you can still identify adjustments that come from a new real-money bundle in the game. A current example is the MAC-10. It was surprisingly buffed with Season 4, followed by an elaborate skin bundle in the shop.
However, the majority of weapon adjustments happen in the interest of a fair weapon meta.
Why is this so good? You generally have to worry less about which weapons are currently “OP”. Many guns are on the same level; the advantages of a certain weapon are not so significant that they overshadow all others.
Initially, in Warzone, OP weapons came and went frequently. As soon as one was nerfed, players discovered the next, and it sometimes took months for a nerf to occur.
Nowadays, overpowered weapons are nerfed within a week at most. If a weapon is played too much, you can usually expect a nerf in the next season or mid-season update.
Overall, Warzone has thus become much fairer, and it has been exciting to observe how Warzone has developed in this regard.
Bonus: RICOCHET ramps up
Cheaters are unfortunately part of a free-to-play game, but with the anti-cheat system, Warzone has done a lot right.
The system still heavily relies on your player reports. So if you spot a cheater, immediately use the reporting function.
Overall, the problem has noticeably decreased, and you encounter unwanted cheaters much less often. The real practical test for RICOCHET is still to come – with the release of Warzone 2 and the possible hype with many new players and also cheaters:
Personal conclusion: Warzone has (almost) never been this good
Conclusion – MeinMMO author Maik Schneider: I have been playing Warzone since day one. And as is often the case, the feeling from the first 100 hours of gameplay can’t just be brought back. Everything was new, fresh, and exciting back then.
However, Warzone did not deliver back then, brought little content, and made strange changes. Add in the annoying cheaters. But that’s no comparison to today.
I have been playing Warzone more regularly for a few weeks now and am really glad about the changes. Through my work at MeinMMO, I have meticulously followed all of this, tested from time to time, and now my desire, my enthusiasm for Warzone has returned.
If you are looking for a battle royale or have turned away in frustration a while ago, then now is the time to jump into Warzone.
Because even if I sometimes look enviously at Fortnite, Warzone remains the best battle royale on the market and is particularly well-suited for newcomers.
