The Biggest Changes Coming To ‘Warzone’ In Season 3 With The Return Of Verdansk

The return of Warzone’s original battle royale map is imminent. Verdansk was the map that launched with the free-to-play battle royale game back in March, 2020, just as everything shut down for the COVID-19 pandemic. The map was live for less than two years, replaced by the South Pacific island map, Caldera, at the start of Vanguard’s first season in December of 2021.

A lot changed with Caldera, and those changes kept coming over the years. In 2022, with the launch of Modern Warfare II, not only was Caldera shelved, but the entire game was replaced by Warzone 2.0 and the new BR map, Al Mazrah. This came with a host of gameplay changes including new items, changes to loot and a different interface. All the Operators and weapons accumulated over the past two years were scrubbed.

It’s safe to say that in retrospect, this might not have been the best idea. Many of these changes were not popular with the community, even as early as some of the changes made to Verdansk with the arrival of Black Ops: Cold War. Caldera, Al Mazrah and the current map, Urzikstan, have all failed to live up to Verdansk’s varied and distinct locations and gameplay. Each has had its strengths and some individual points of interest have been great, but Verdansk remains the most popular of the game’s large maps (with Rebirth Island its most popular Resurgence map).

Now, Verdansk is returning and with it some very big changes to Warzone. Activision is trying to recapture that old magic and tap into the community’s collective nostalgia while also retaining some of the good changes made to the game since launch. Here are some highlights.

1. Omni-movement is getting nerfed.

Without actually playing the updated game, it’s impossible to say exactly how big of a change to expect here. Activision says that it’s “fine-tuning” the movement system in order to make movement “more in line with what players experienced in the early days of Call of Duty: Warzone.”

I quite like the omni-movement system. I tried playing Modern Warfare III recently and it felt slow and clunky compared to the speed and agility in Black Ops 6, which is funny because it felt quite fast and smooth compared to Modern Warfare II. But there’s no doubt that this movement system creates an even wider skill gap and totally changes the pacing and flow in Warzone, which used to be much slower and more tactical.

It’s hard to say just how much slower-paced the game will be once these fine-tuning adjustments are made, or whether this will be popular with players. But I do think this will make the sweatier tier of players less impossible to combat, which in turn should help more casual players actually enjoy themselves from time to time. The game needs casuals in order to have a thriving playerbase. Here are the changes at Season 3’s launch:

• Crouch Movement Speed reduced by 10%
• Crouch-to-Stand Speed increased by 15%
• Crouch-to-Stand Speed While ADS increased by 39%
• Prone Movement Speed reduced by 5%
• Sprint Movement Speed reduced by 4.9%
• Directional Sprint Animation Blend Speeds increased for improved fluidity
• Reduced jump cooldown by 40% for improved responsiveness during repeated jumps.
• Reduced Omni-sprint Side and Back Speed Scaling by 8.5%, to better balance strafe movement.
• Increased Slide Friction by 4% to reduce overly slippery engagements.

These changes should make traditional bunny-hopping more prominent and the slippery strafe-slide we’ve been encountering much less dominant a playstyle.

2. Traversal options will be scaled way back.

Once upon a time, the only way to get across the map in Warzone was to walk, run or take a vehicle. You could fly in a helicopter to get across the map fast, but this came with plenty of risk. There were no redeploys, so players were mostly grounded after their initial drop (or escape from the Gulag or buy-back). With the advent of redeploys, getting around the map or reaching high points has become much, much easier.

Verdansk will not have redeploy balloons and ascenders and ziplines will not be available at launch, though these are being added at a later date. This will limit the speed at which players and squads can traverse the map as well as ease of access to higher vantage points, though some ladders are being added to structures to make rooftops more accessible from below.

Some areas have become more traversable, however, with “goat trails” added to steeper mountainsides.

3. Swimming is here to stay.

In the original Warzone, water was deadly. This wasn’t a huge issue with Verdansk because there weren’t a ton of aquatic areas, but it made falling off the side of Rebirth Island perilous. Now, you’ll be able to swim on Verdansk

4. Console-Only Crossplay

It’s likely that the cheater situation in both Black Ops 6 and Warzone is not as bad as people think – 60% of player-reported cheaters are console players, which makes it pretty clear the perception of cheating is not in line with reality – but it’s still frustrating when you encounter aimbots or wallhacks. The ability to now toggle on console-only crossplay is a nice addition for console players, though as a PC player I worry that this could make my lobbies worse.

5. The OG Gulag Is Back

The original Gulag Showers returns. This is a simple, straightforward Gulag and it won’t have ascenders or any other weird stuff, just a flag that pops up if both players are still alive at the end of the bout. Gulag loadouts improve the further into the match you get, giving players better gear when they redeploy victoriously. Non-ranked Gulags will not include armor.

6. Floating Loot Returns Alongside Other Loot Changes

There are too many loot changes to list here, but some of the big ones include:

• The return of floating loot, hovering above the ground rather than on the ground. This, along with changes to how loot is picked up should make it less likely for players to accidentally grab an item while reloading.
• Many loot sources, such as duffel bags and medicine cabinets, will no longer be in the game, placing focus more on chests.
• Epic loot will now be significantly better than lower tiers, with each tier of ground loot more distinct.
• Buy Stations will be in fixed locations every match and are returning to a vertical menu UI. Some cool changes include the ability to Redeploy your entire team with the click of a button. If you don’t have enough cash, the player with the highest cash value on-hand will be at the top of the redeploy list. Prices for a bunch of times have changed, and Self-Revives will be free during Fire Sales.
• The Thermite lethal returns, though it will no longer guarantee one-shot kills with a stick if an enemy is fully plated.
• Players can only carry five armor plates at a time or 8 with an Armor Satchel. Eliminating an enemy player guarantees one armor drop, but armor in general will be much less abundant than before.
• Players will also be able to shoot their pistol during freefall, a change that will excite some and annoy others. It can be annoying, but it can also be fun. I have mixed feelings.

7. Changes To Killstreaks, Perks, etc.

The number of available killstreaks is being slashed considerably, with streaks like the Bunker Buster and Sentry Turret going away. I’m actually a little disappointed about the former, since Bunker Busters were a great way to root out entrenched squads from fortified interior spaces. The divisive red Precision Airstrike indicator is also being removed from the minimap, making it a much more unpredictable, and powerful, streak.

Lootable perks will no longer be in the game, making Loadouts even more valuable. And several contracts are being changed or removed, with the Intel contract returning to its Recon form. Supply Run is making a return as well. Contract Multiplier also returns, granting teams bonus cash for completing more contracts in a single match.

A number of public events are being removed, such as Recon Flyover, and the circle-pacing is being adjusted to fall more inline with OG Verdansk, including the timing for Loadout Drops.

A number of Field Upgrades are being disabled including Deployable Buy Stations, PDSs, Portable Radars, Portable Redeploys, Reinforcement Flares, Scramblers and more.

8. Classic Weapons Return

Four weapons return in Season 3 that were last spotted in the original Warzone days and Modern Warfare 2019. These are:

• Kilo 141 Assault Rifle (snag this one early)
• CR-56 AMAX Assault Rifle
• HDR Sniper Rifle
• Kali Sticks Melee

9. Classic Vehicles Return

Along with classic weapons, OG Warzone vehicles return. These are:

• Heli
• Cargo Truck
• Polaris
• ATV
• LTV

10. UI/UX and Visual Changes

A bunch of changes are coming to the UI/UX including the classic Warzone Victory banner, Tac Map and Compass Icons as well as ping visuals and score feed colors. This is all being done to make the game look like the original Warzone.

Other visual changes include a more detailed death recap, including information about whether you were impacted by UAVs or whether you were spotted using an unsuppressed weapon and so forth. This is being done both to give players more info and to help prevent players from misreporting cheaters (as in players who were not cheating but were able to find you due to their use of a UAV or other legitimate tools).

Favorite Loadouts now return to the top of the list, thankfully, making it much easier to note which one your favorite is in the mix. You’ll also get more information about what items your squadmates carry. Weapon inspect will now also show all the attachments on your weapon, though this can be toggled off in the settings.

Other changes include a larger death Death Skull Icon, better Navigation Pings, enhanced Player Icons and more options for your Tacmap.

11. Audio Changes

A whole suite of classic audio effects are making their way back to the game, including:

• Cinematics
• Music
• Announcer
  • Re-recorded by original announcer Julian Stone (2020)
• Hit Markers
• Including Armor and Armor Breaks
• Death’s Door
• Footstep Recordings
• Loot Chests
• Buy Stations
• Contracts
• UI Sounds
  • Pings, Splashes, and Progression

On top of this, improvements to more realistic audio occlusion, obstruction and reverberation sound effects, improved sound behavior around corners and surfaces, and audio tuned specifically for Warzone. Footstep sounds will be unique to Warzone rather than based on yearly Call Of Duty multiplayer releases. Footstep sounds will be impacted by speed and other factors. Even ladder sounds will be impacted by climb speed. Other sound effects are also being tuned separately for Warzone including cloth and gear, mantling and more. Audio from loot supply boxes will now be tuned to elevation.

12. Graphical Improvements

A number of graphical updates ought to make Verdansk look better and more detailed then it did at launch, though players who played at launch will remember the game looking remarkably good back in 2020. In many ways, Warzone never looked better than it did at launch, though this is partly due to aesthetic changes in later maps. Al Mazrah and Urzikstan are not very pretty. Here’s an example of some of the visual overhauls:

There is less bloom effect in many of the examples Activision has provided, which is intended to reduce the negative effects of too much lighting:

The updated visuals are certainly more detailed, though I personally like the heavier bloom effect and its softer, cozier glow. Modern Warfare II had some large maps like Guijarro that had gorgeous lighting effects and looked way better than Warzone or normal Multiplayer, and I always wished those visuals would make their way to Warzone.

13. Event, Rewards and Everything Else

On top of all of this, Rebirth Island will be temporarily shelved and Area 99 is being put on ice. There will be a big Return To Verdansk event with lots of free rewards (up to 20) including six instant unlocks (which is how you earn the Kali Sticks). Some rewards are scattered about the map in safes, including Operator skins. Players who played on the original map will also get the Blue Legacy Contrails, Coming Home Parachute and Like We Never Left Gun Screen.

One nice change for PC players is faster shader compiling. Shaders are now split up between games, reducing the time to load shaders significantly.

And, of course, Activision continues to update Ricochet anticheat with new methods to stop cheaters, teamers and all the other scum-of-the-earth players who make this a worse experience for those of us who play fair. Hopefully these efforts will make a difference.

There are a number of bug fixes being introduced with the update as well, which you can read in the game’s patch notes. Naturally, savvy players are right to expect brand new bugs that will almost certainly be introduced with the update, as every new slate of improvements comes with unforeseen problems. Further updates, including ascenders, new bounties, the Specialist Perk Pack and more are coming later this season.

My big hope? Verdansk Resurgence Minis mode. Resurgence on the Big Map was introduced in Caldera (and returned in subsequent maps) and it was really fun. Hopefully this makes its way to Verdansk as well.