Activision’s grand plan for Call of Duty involves integrating traditional games from the series with the phenomenally successful Battle Royale Warzone. It is an idea that, in principle, benefits players, with progression in the cross game for soldiers, weapons and even battle passes. But in practice, it has been a complicated business.
When Black Ops Cold War began its integration with Warzone, the battle royale received a raft of weapons from the Treyarch sniper for use in the field. Players predicted the chaos of weapon balance and so it was, with three Cold War Black Ops weapons dominating the Warzone goal over the Christmas holidays. Three weeks later, war zone guardian Raven launched a nerf for the DMR 14, Type 63, Mac-10 and double pistols in an attempt to improve the state of the game. Now that the Call of Duty community has had time to delve into the details, many feel that these nerfs are not going far enough. The dreaded DMR, it seems, is still the right choice.
The sniper’s objectives change as new weapons are added, and Call of Duty is no different. But what’s interesting here is that this new Raven nerf update starts the beginning of a weapon feel difference between games.
Raven’s recent DMR and company adjustments are exclusive to Warzone. The weapons remain untouched in Black Ops Cold War multiplayer. So Call of Duty fans who play both games now have to deal with DMR running a little differently in the Cold War Black Ops than in Warzone.
Overall, the integration of the weapon did not work. Players complained about weapon statistics that make no sense, quality masks and broken damage numbers. I mentioned the broken target – considered by some to be the worst Call of Duty target of all time – Warzone suffered at Christmas when the weapons of the Black Ops Cold War came into effect. Raven’s nerf is in place, but Call of Duty content creators, who discuss shifting weapon balance, have revealed that Cold War Black Ops weapons remain ultra-powerful. Call of Duty YouTuber Xclusive Ace reports in the video below that the DMR can be a little more accurate after the update, which is quite a lot.
It’s an embarrassing situation given Activision’s cross platform and game strategy here. When you launch Black Ops Cold War, Warzone or Modern Warfare, you are presented with a three-pointed menu screen that gives each game a slice of the virtual space. It’s a unified front, a message for Call of Duty fans that, no matter what game you play, the ecosystem will help you.
But the first season of Black Ops Cold War and Warzone was not as smooth as many players expected. Black Ops Cold War fans who have no interest in playing Warzone are not thrilled by the game’s constant push toward Battle Royale. Surprisingly, Warzone has two AK-47s, one labeled Black Ops and the other Modern Warfare. I mentioned the menu screen, but there’s more: you have to play Warzone to unlock some Black Ops Cold War cosmetics, which is annoying if you own Black Ops Cold War and don’t play Warzone.
For example, at level 30 of the first season battle pass you unlock the Bad Blood skin for Park, as well as Park’s first season battle pass mission. This mission includes four objectives that, once completed, unlock two skins, an emblem and a business card. The fourth objective requires players to play Warzone.
“I just wanted the skin at the end, so I did all the challenges (several times because they barely tracked), but as they don’t allow you to see the challenges in advance, I found that I had to play a totally different game for the one thing I wanted with that, “said redditor iceyk111.
“It is not a debilitating problem, but I hate Warzone with a burning passion (no offense to any Warzone player, but it is just too slow for me) and I would like to receive alternative challenges for people who do not want to switch to an entirely different game! “
Speaking of the battle pass, I already reported how Modern Warfare deserves a next generation update and a full second year. As it stands, the sixth season is the last, with only bits of new content to fetch. Although Modern Warfare players can buy and level up in the new battle pass of the new season, playing the game from Infinity Ward, no new Modern Warfare content is included in it. It looks like Modern Warfare is being left behind in this new integrated future.
Raven’s decision to adjust Warzone’s Warzone Black Ops weapons separately from Black Ops Cold War itself raises an interesting question: whether Warzone interrupts the annual Call of Duty series to become his own totally separate ongoing game, with its own set of operators and weapons? I can’t see this happening, given Activision’s perception that Warzone is the definitive showcase for the new Call of Duty games. After all, the company unveiled Black Ops Cold War within a Warzone in-game event.
Perhaps more reasonable is that all Call of Duty games are built on the same engine. Infinity Ward did wonders with Modern Warfare and Warzone 2019. Black Ops Cold War, which runs on a different engine, seems like a setback in many ways. If Call of Duty games were built on the same engine, the weapons, in theory, would at least appear consistent across the various experiments. I look forward to seeing how the great new Call of Duty game from 2021, undoubtedly an effort by Sledgehammer, addresses this problem. Do players face Warzone receiving an influx of new weapons from another new game in just 10 months? If so, will Black Ops Cold War be left behind after just a year, as was Modern Warfare?
Activision presents Call of Duty as an open church, but it is clear that at this early stage the new way, there are more than a few loose ends. Meanwhile, players in each game – Black Ops Cold War, Warzone and Modern Warfare – feel that their favorite would do better as a lone wolf.