Verdansk is back in Call of Duty: Warzone and attracting many players. While the community is happy about the return, there is also criticism from streamers. One of them thinks that all of this should just be ignored – Verdansk is fantastic.
As part of Season 3 in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Verdansk returned to Warzone on April 3, 2025, bringing some minor changes. However, these should not disrupt the entire combat flow of the map. Verdansk was the most popular battle royale map back then – and especially the map where everything started in 2020.
What are streamers complaining about? Shortly after the map restart, streamers expressed their criticism of Warzone related to Verdansk. In a YouTube video, streamer and content creator for Call of Duty TheTacticalBrit summarizes what streamers dislike about Verdansk and puts it into perspective:
- Missing redeploy balloons: The balloons played a role in Caldera and later on Rebirth Island. With this feature, you can pull yourself up on a rope, jump off, and glide to another location on the map with your parachute. According to TheTacticalBrit, many miss this feature, but he believes: It’s good that they are gone, and positioning plays a larger role again.
- Fast time-to-kill (TTK): For some streamers, the TTK is currently too fast. However, TheTacticalBrit believes that a longer TTK belongs in the ranked mode, not in casual mode. Casual players now have a chance again, less frustration, more fun.
- Too little armor and money: The streamer believes that a few more armor plates on the map would be nice, but having to think about what to take into the endgame is a good feature.
- No resurgence: In Verdansk, it is not possible to collect Gulag tokens or simply respawn within a timer. The streamer likes this: “When you die, it hurts – but winning feels twice as good. And that’s the appeal.”
For him, the complaints about Verdansk are mostly irrelevant. In his view, they come from a small part of the player base that does not represent the majority. Verdansk makes the game “crazy, unpredictable, and entertaining” – and that’s how it should be. Other players share a similar view.
Verdansk stands for fun and crazy moments
What makes Verdansk so good? The streamer and content creator is convinced: Verdansk is “fantastic” – and it should remain that way. “This is Warzone in its purest form. And it’s fun. Really. And it’s not just casuals saying this – many content creators, myself included,” he explains. Warzone is a game for everyone, not just for the top players, the “sweats.”
Verdansk was a sandbox-like experience back then, where you could do crazy, funny, and creative things. That’s also why TheTacticalBrit believes that the return to Verdansk works so well. In his opinion, it’s not because you can get a lot of kills again, but because of the crazy moments: “Helicopter crashes, weird vehicle action, random RPG shots… all the things that used to define Verdansk.”
The streamer believes that fun should now be the focus – and not cater to the wishes of streamers, meaning those of the top 1%. TheTacticalBrit suggests going two separate ways. For that, Warzone needs a ranked mode that focuses on battle royale and not on sandbox. According to Activision, the ranked mode is supposed to return to Verdansk mid-season.
What do players say about it? The topic is also being discussed on Reddit. Environmental_Guava4 writes in his post that Warzone has finally “done something right” with Verdansk. The game works as it should, and the comments from streamers about what supposedly needs to be fixed in Verdansk should just be ignored.
User Jackstraw1 notes that the many players who have returned say more than the criticism of individual streamers. xSw33tJijer observes that he has seen people online again that he hasn’t seen “in years.” And peanutbuttersundays thinks: “The game is simply perfect at the moment, just as it is.”
Activision’s plan seems to be working. Verdansk should play like it used to, but look better. Players are overall very satisfied, and the thought of returning to the “good old days” creates a good atmosphere. The “new” Verdansk is well received. You can find out more about it here: Players cheer for Verdansk in CoD Warzone because they don’t have to play “the crap of the last 3 years” anymore
