Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2.0 will see many changes on February 15 when the Season 2 patch loads. This includes the nascent DMZ mode, which has been in beta since the games launched in November. The scope and extent of these updates have been specified in a announcement by Call of Duty Studios on Wednesday.
Details on upcoming changes to the Call of Duty platform itself seem fairly straightforward, including UI, UX, audio, and other bug fixes. But things are starting to get wild in Warzone 2.0Battle Royale modes. The Jailer in the Gulag is out, and Domination-style gameplay – along with guns and other long guns – is back. Cash back rewards will also be increased throughout Al Mazrah. Loot boxes will also behave differently. Instead of forcing players to root for menus under fire, things will fall to the ground now. This should help speed up gameplay.
However, perhaps the biggest change is that medium and large backpacks will no longer be available.
“Each player will have the same backpack throughout the game, which will reduce the impact of stacking medical supplies, equipment, and Killstreaks afterwards,” the developers said. “We will continue to seek feedback and provide updates that streamline the loot experience for everyone.”
Additionally, everyone will now start with a three-plate vest. “This standardization will bring a more reliable feel to every engagement from the start,” the developers said.
Finally, in DMZ, the developers made a concession to solo players and will rebalance the overall difficulty of the AI, including their ranged accuracy. Spawn points are of course changed, but by far the biggest change will be to the overall difficulty of the mission. As someone with over 70 exfils and a DMZ-earned Prestige rank under their belt, I still haven’t been able to unlock my second assured weapon slot. Apparently I’m not alone:
The data and feedback reinforced that the faction mission’s difficulty ramp was too aggressive for many players, and that the demanding scale ultimately made it very difficult to unlock the second assured weapon slot (completing all level 3 missions) in Season 01. We have adjusted the overall difficulty scaling in missions as levels progress. Later level missions will still be challenging enough for even the experienced Operator, but we believe easier access to an additional Assured Location will provide a better path forward for all players.
Many more changes are teased in the post, but we expect a fuller and more in-depth set of patch notes on or around February 14th.
