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As the game moves to a new map, Call of Duty: Warzone is making some big changes to how loadouts will operate – and fans can't agree whether it's better or worse for the game.
Call of Duty: Warzone's new map, Caldera will bring with it a tropical new destination, new points of interest, and new changes to the way that fans will play Warzone. While a full list of announced tweaks to the Battle Royale can be found in our full rundown, one feature that has left fans divided is the way that loadouts will work in Warzone going forward.
There are two significant changes that will affect loadouts in the game. Firstly, players will only be able to use weapons from Call of Duty Vanguard when customizing their weapon picks in Caldera. That means that the more modern weapons (found in both Cold War and Modern Warfare) won't be available in your loadout drops during matches.
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While some players may feel that this offers a different stance to previous comments made by the developers surrounding loadouts in the game, Activision has explained its reasoning behind the change stating that it allows them to "[streamline] the meta for more accessibility and room for experimentation."
Regardless of how you feel about the change, this is an important factor in and of itself. Across the Battle Royale's tenure, the game's meta has been a somewhat contentious issue. Where it allows players to work towards ranking up certain weapons and get the most out of their loadout experiences, the meta has also been known to become 'broken' at times offering periods where certain weapons vastly outclass anything else available in the game.
Call of Duty: Warzone Pacific - Caldera Map Images
While more cynical players may point out that the changes could increase sales of Vanguard, it's certainly pleasing to see the developer consider the impacts of Vanguard's integration in a way that it perhaps didn't when Cold War entered the frame.
Although making changes to which guns are available to players through their loadouts may seem like a significant change in and of itself, it's been far less divisive in comparison to the other big change being made to loadout drops.
As confirmed by Warzone creative director Ted Timmins, following the move to Caldera loadouts will only be available in Buy Stations at the end of the first circle (around 5 minutes after the game begins) – meaning that players won't be able to earn money and rush to the shop straight away to purchase their custom weapons. A trial of a similar change to the game ran during Warzone's limited-time event Operation Flashback, to mixed responses from the community.
Loadouts are almost always an important factor in winning Warzone, and news of the change seems to have divided its player base. "This was the worst part of operation flashback. I hope this change gets reverted back quickly once people realize it’s not [an] innovation, it’s a limitation," said one fan opposing the change on Twitter, while others argued that it might ruin the game entirely.
While many have been vocal against the changes, those arguing in favor have also been outspoken on social media. There are a number of players within the Warzone community who feel that loadouts don't have a place in the Battle Royale and this change could be seen as a compromise between the two parties.
Ensuring that players won't be able to purchase loadouts right at the beginning of the game is sure to change people's tactical outlook significantly. While this not only encourages people to increase their movement in order to find better 'floor loot' weapons across the map, it could also help to create a wider range of gunfights between weapons in the game.
Following the news of the update, Call of Duty news account ModernWarzone posted a poll on Twitter asking fans to vote on whether they agreed or disagreed with the changes. At time of writing, around 75% of players voting in the poll said they thought it was a good addition.
Call of Duty Warzone's Pacific map is set to go live for all on December 9 – though players who own Call of Duty: Vanguard will be able to gain access to the map 24 hours in advance. For more on Warzone, make sure to check out this article detailing which multiplayer map Caldera will seemingly include a nod to when it launches next week.
Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.
Call Of Duty: Ranking Every Game As Gamers Plan Modern Warfare 2 Reunion
When you think of first-person shooter games, you think of Call of Duty.
From 2003, the rise of the Call of Duty franchise has been insane.
Multiple developers have been desperate to put their own spin on the famous game and this has less to an everlasting cycle of new games.
Each year, around Christmas, there seems to be a new variation emerging with a brand new take on a historical character, war or setting.
Continue reading for a ranking of every Call of Duty game from worst to best based on their Metacritic score which aims to collate the average reviews and from top critics and publications.
Call of Duty: Warzone and the latest title, Vanguard, have not been included in the ranking.
16. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare - 78/3.7 (Infinity Ward, 2016)
The ‘Infinite Warfare’ game goes down as the worst rating game Call of Duty game in history according to its Metacritic rating, though, 78 isn’t in itself a bad score.
15. Call of Duty: Ghosts - 80/4.2 (Infinity Ward, 2013)
An average title that does the job but may not be remembered fondly, if at all, by fans going forward.
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14. Call of Duty: WW2 - 80/4.2 (Sledgehammer Games 2017)
The hype was extremely high for this title and it was a good game, but, due to the hype, felt a little underwhelming. I’m sure many fans enjoyed it, still.
13. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare - 81/2.4 (Infinity Ward, 2019)
Speaking of hype, it was going to be hard to live up to a previously beloved title. The 2019 reboot, however, was a welcome surprise for many fans as the game seemed to deliver. It’s still quite low down on this list, mind you.
12 Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 - 81/4.9 (Treyarch, 2015)
Black Ops 3 just marginally takes a higher place than the 2019 edition of modern warfare in this list with just a slightly higher Metacritic score.
11. Call of Duty 3 - 82/6.6 (Treyarch, 2006)
This was Treyarch’s first entry into the franchise and it was good as far as first games go! It’s turned out to be a bit of a classic among fans and critics.
10. Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 - 83/5.1 (Treyarch, 2012)
This one is quite controversial among fans. Some love it some hate it so we could say it’s a little like Marmite! A ranking of just under halfway poetically reflects this according to Metacritic.
9. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare - 83/5.7 (Sledgehammer Games, 2014)
Critics rated this one quite highly but many fans might disagree. Still, of course, the average of critics can’t be ignored.
8. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 - 85/4.1 (Treyarch, 2018)
This was the first game to not feature any campaign mode but the developers filled that gap with the multiplayer mode and zombies package.
7. Call of Duty: World at War - 85/7.6 (Treyarch, 2018)
To feature at seventh this may be quite underrated. Many people may suggest this edition may be a potential favourite so it may be surprising for this to feature outside the top five. The campaign was a classic and this was the world’s first exposure to zombies.
6. Call of Duty 2 - 86/8.5 (Infinity Ward 2005)
A much anticipated sequel to the first ever edition without much change. In today’s market a game that has little change from its previous instalment is frowned upon but from the first ever Call of Duty game, why fix what isn’t broken?
5. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 - 88/3.4 (Infinity Ward, 2011)
It’s getting to crunch time in this list and while Modern Warfare 3 is the lowest ranking of the first three ‘Modern Warfare’ titles that is in no way disrespectful towards the game. It was a solid game and deserves its place in the top five.
4. Call of Duty: Black Ops - 88/6.6 (Treyarch, 2010)
This was the first edition to properly explore the Cold War. This lead to it being a huge hit with both fans and critics with it being placed in the top four.
3. Call of Duty - 91/8.1 (Infinity Ward, 2003)
Of course the very first edition of such a groundbreaking franchise featured in a podium position on this list. It’s where it stated back in 2003 and while the game is good we can question whether it’s gameplay or nostalgia ranking it so high with critics, class nonetheless.
2. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare - 92/8.5 (Infinity War, 2007)
Comfortably second when you consider all the external factors such as sales, the popularity of this game speaks for itself and it really changed the game when it comes to first-person shooters. A legendary instalment.
1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - 94/6.5 (Infinity War, 2009)
It had to be didn’t it? There may not be too much argument with this one, an all time campaign with a great Spec Ops mode and an online multiplayer that fans could sink hours into with friends leaving endless replay value - rightfully top of this list!
next story previous storyNews Now - Sport NewsCall of Duty 2022 hasn't been officially confirmed as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, but according to almost every reliable Call of Duty leaker and insider, next year's COD is going to be a follow-up to 2019's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, which was a reboot of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. In other words, the rumors are next year's Call of Duty will be a reboot of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 from Infinity Ward, and from the little we've heard through the grapevine, this is accurate. None of this has been confirmed though, and right now, we still don't have any official information on the game, but we do have new details, courtesy of a prominent Call of Duty leaker and insider.
Over on Twitter, the leaker in question, Ralph, relayed word of some bad news for those on PS4 and Xbox One. While next year's installment is reportedly planned for the last-gen PlayStation and Xbox consoles, it will "substantially" lag behind the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S versions. That said, while this is the plan at the moment, it could change, with some of those on the game hesitant to make such a big leap while both consoles remain challenging to buy.
"Modern Warfare II's generational difference claimed to be 'substantial' in a bid by Activision to shift the player-base onto next-gen consoles," said Ralph. "Removed features, intended for next-gen exclusivity, are still in limbo. As stock shortages remain a factor discouraging developers, and publishers alike to make that leap."
Unfortunately, this is the extent of the report, which should be taken with a grain of salt. As for the source, some of their previous reports have been collaborated by other Call of Duty leakers and insiders, suggesting they indeed have access to some level of information on the game, however, at the moment, many of their reports have yet to be validated and won't be for some time.
At the moment of publishing, neither Infinity Ward nor Activision nor anyone involved with either have commented on any of this. We don't expect any implicated party to budge on this for a variety of reasons, but if any do, we will be sure to update the story with any and everything salient. In the meantime, for more coverage on all things Call of Duty, click here.
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