Call of Duty: Modern Warfare has certain weaknesses in the netcode. At a tournament, these shortcomings became evident and showed that this CoD is not ready for eSports.
What kind of tournament was played? Call of Duty: Modern Warfare has been bringing players together for many years to test each other’s skills and even compete in large leagues.
The official CoD league does not start until January, but a “Streamer Invitational” tournament with $250,000 in prize money has already taken place in the media spotlight.
The competition showed that Modern Warfare in its current state is hardly suitable for eSports. Irregularities occurred due to the poor network structure of the private lobbies.
Private lobbies unsuitable for eSports
Why is Modern Warfare not ready for eSports? There is a weakness in the netcode, which organizes the connection of players to the servers or the host.
In the video from the tournament, it is clearly seen how the player has already curved around the corner in his view. However, the killcam shows a different picture, and the opponent can still take him down.
Competitions between clans or in eSports do not take place on public servers, but are held in private lobbies. This way, competitors can set their own rules and play what they want. But this is exactly where the problem lies.
What is the problem with private lobbies? The tick rate of “private matches” is far too low for competitive standards and is just 12 Hertz. This means that players’ inputs are updated only 12 times per second.
For comparison: A weapon with a fire rate of over 720 bullets per minute (BPM) shoots faster than the netcode can transmit the data. The new weapon RAM-7 has a shooting rate of 860 BPM.
What about public matches? YouTuber BattleNonSense already analyzed the netcode of CoD in an English video a few weeks ago and found that most matches in Modern Warfare run at a tick rate of around 60 Hertz, except for Ground War (about 20 Hertz).
CoD netcode turns clan wars into gambling
How does the tick rate affect the game? The low refresh rate leads to inaccuracies and can cause movements to stutter. In the video, you can see the comparison between the rates 12, 30, and 60 Hertz.
These phenomena can occur:
- Super Bullets
- Rubber Banding
- Here it’s about movement. When the player runs too fast, the server/host updates the position of the player.
- It feels like being pulled back into position by a rubber band.
- Inaccurate cover
- As seen at the very beginning of the video, it can occur that the player appears to be in cover from his perspective, but the opponent still has a chance to land a hit.
- This is particularly frustrating because players with a notably high ping have even more advantages here.
- Bugs and curiosities
- A poor netcode can also affect the game and cause crazy bugs or enable glitches.
Some of the irregularities you have seen in the online modes of multiplayer games could stem from an unbalanced netcode.
Low tick rate ruins fun and fairness
Will this change? The developers should make improvements here if Modern Warfare really wants to build a dedicated eSports community, so that private matches can also be played on good public servers.
That Activision is just hosting a tournament with $250,000 in prize money is a clear indication towards eSports. Even though some CoD pros were upset because few Call of Duty players were invited, but Fortnite pros were.
Good private lobbies are a key element, and if it stays the way it is, injustices and frustration are pre-programmed.
What do you think about the low tick rate? Have you ever played in a competition and faced issues with lags and similar?
