Activision’s grand plan for Call of Duty involves integrating traditional games into the series with the phenomenally successful Warzone war zone. It’s an idea that benefits players in principle, with cross-game progression for soldiers, weapons and even the battle pass. But in practice, it was a messy business.
When Black Ops Cold War began its integration with Warzone, the battle received royal weapons from the Treyarch shooter for use on the field. Players predicted the chaos of the weapons balance and it proved, with three Black Ops Cold War weapons dominating the Warzone meta over the Christmas holidays. Three weeks later, Warzone Guard Raven released a nerve for the DMR 14, the Type 63, the Mac-10 and dual pistols to improve the state of the game. Now that the Call of Duty community has had time to dig into the details, many feel that these nerves do not go far enough. It seems that the dreaded DMR is still the choice.
Shooting metas change as new weapons are added, and Call of Duty differs from each other. But what’s interesting here is this new nerf update from Raven is starting to feel the beginning of a weapon difference between games.
Raven’s recent adaptations to the DMR and co. Are exclusive to Warzone. The guns remain untouched in the multiplayer of Black Ops Cold War. So, Call of Duty fans who play both games now have to contend that the DMR works slightly differently in Black Ops Cold War than in Warzone.
Overall, the gun integration went badly. Players complained about weapon stats that made no sense, poor quality sheets and broken numbers. I mentioned the broken meta – considered by some to be the worst Call of Duty meta ever – Warzone suffered during Christmas when the weapons of Black Ops Cold War went into effect. Raven’s nerve is in place, but established Call of Duty content designers talking about changes in weapon balance have revealed that the ultra-powerful Black Ops weapons from the Cold War remain ultra powerful. Call of Duty YouTuber Xclusive Ace reports in the video below that the DMR may be a little more accurate after the update, which is quite the thing.
This is an awkward situation given Activision’s cross-platform, cross-game strategy here. When you upload Black Ops Cold War, Warzone or Modern Warfare, you are presented with a triangular menu screen that gives each game a share of the virtual real estate. It’s a uniform front, a message to Call of Duty fans that no matter what game you play, the ecosystem has you covered.
But the first season of Black Ops Cold War and Warzone did not go as smoothly as many players had hoped. Fans of Black Ops Cold War who are not interested in playing Warzone are not excited about the constant push in the game after the battle royally. Confusingly, Warzone has two AK-47s, one named Black Ops, and the other Modern Warfare. I mentioned the menu screen, but there is more: you need to play Warzone to unlock some Black Ops Cold War cosmetics, which is annoying if you own Black Ops Cold War and do not play Warzone.
At level 30 of the season, one battle pass, for example, you unlock the Bad Blood skin for Park, as well as Park’s season one battle pass mission. This mission contains four objectives that, upon completion, unlock two skins, an emblem, and a calling card. The fourth goal requires players to play Warzone.
“Just wanted the skin at the end, so I did all the challenges (many times because they barely followed), but because they did not see the challenges beforehand, I found out that I had to play a very different game for the one thing I wanted out of this, ‘said redditor iceyk111.
“It’s not a debilitating issue, but I hate Warzone with a burning passion (no offense to any Warzone player, but it’s simply too slow for me) and would appreciate alternative challenges for people who are not after a WHOLE OTHER GAME does not want to switch! “
Speaking of the battle pass, I have already reported how Modern Warfare deserves an next-generation update and a full-fledged second year. As it stands now, season six is the last, with only bits of new content to shoot forward. While modern warfare players can buy and upgrade one battle pass through the game of Infinity Ward’s new season, no new content from modern warfare is included. It feels like Modern Warfare is lagging behind in this new, integrated future.
Raven’s decision to set Warzone’s Black Ops Cold War weapons separate from Black Ops Cold War itself raises an interesting question: would Warzone break away from the annual Call of Duty series to become its own, completely separate game? , with its own set of operators and weapons? I can not see it happening myself, given Activision’s realization that Warzone is the ultimate storefront for new Call of Duty games. The company unveiled the Black Ops Cold War at a Warzone event.
Perhaps it is more reasonable for all Call of Duty games to be built on the same engine. Infinity Ward performed wonders with the Modern Warfare and Warzone of 2019. Black Ops Cold War, which runs on a different engine, feels like a step back in many ways. If the Call of Duty games are built on the same engine, weapons will in theory at least feel consistent in the different experiences. I’m waiting with interest to see how the great new Call of Duty game of 2021, no doubt an attempt by Sledgehammer, tackles this problem. Do players face the fact that Warzone will get an influx of new guns from another new game in just ten months? If so, will Black Ops Cold War be left behind after just one year, as Modern Warfare has?
Activision presents Call of Duty as an open church, but it is clear that at this early stage in the new way, there are more than a few loose points. Meanwhile, players from every game – Black Ops Cold War, Warzone and Modern Warfare – feel that their favorite will perform better as a loner.