Black Ops 4’s Blackout mode was the first battle royale experience in the history of Call of Duty series, but despite its indisputable quality and polish over similar experiences at the time, there’s room for improvements to be introduced by the heavily rumored Warzone battle royale mode for Modern Warfare. The alleged upcoming mode has been already confirmed multiple times due to endless leaks and is supposed to be out soon. Modern Warfare’s in-game menu contains a new slot reserved for an unannounced game mode, which is likely to be Warzone. Moreover, a lot of new information has been revealed with the latest update, and it’s not just about datamining.
The supposed playable map for the Warzone mode leaked demonstrating vast industrial environments. Then, a few glitches in the game itself led to displaying the menu for the battle royale portion of Modern Warfare along with granting access to the introductory gameplay.
Interestingly, Infinity Ward has sort of officially confirmed the upcoming release of Warzone with the cinematic trailer for Season 2. It shows teams of four jumping out of an airplane, scenes of non-stop action, vehicles, a huge map, etc. In other words, Warzone is certainly a thing now. But what should the developers do to make Modern Warfare’s battle royale better than the pioneering Blackout?
Modern Warfare’s Warzone Should Take Cues From Other Games
As much as Blackout was a comfortable experience, it also felt fairly rushed and forced, and it got boring quickly. Player counts dwindled fast for PC players which is part of the reason cross-play was a must with Modern Warfare. Blackout’s in-game map, built out of existing multiplayer maps taken from across the Call of Duty games, was the first indicator of this and we knew from chatting with Treyarch team that Blackout was a relatively last minute major add-on for the game that came deeper into development. Simply put, Blackout was several well-known areas glued together for a greater scale with a few gimmicks thrown in for fun (zombies).
Judging by the revealed information for Warzone, Modern Warfare won’t follow this approach and will instead introduce a completely original map. This is the first necessary step in order to improve on Blackout, with the followup being that the map can evolve over time like in Fortnite. That and the map being more dynamic with destructible environmental elements from the game’s other modes and better visuals across the board that should come with Modern Warfare’s new engine. Infinity Ward should also remember one of the signature mechanics of the franchise, which is, of course, the loadout system. Again, according to the leaked gameplay, players will be able to scavenge resources to call in supply drops, which in return will supposedly allow you to equip prepared loadouts.
Other elements that could make Warzone better have already been introduced to the genre by Apex Legends. For instance, the fluid movement, which translates into acrobatic combos to outplay your enemy – Warzone could benefit from that. Another proposed addition is a better visualization of loot tiers. Perhaps, they could become more vividly color-coded, or in keeping with the more realistic aesthetic of Modern Warfare, could be presented differently with more detail that doesn’t slow players down in a rush.
A confusing process for looting enemies is somewhat of a weak point of Blackout as well, especially with a controller. The solution for Warzone would be to divide various items into themed groups so that you could immediately look at what you need the most. Last but not least, a fully voiced ping system would also make a huge difference and favor Warzone - something that’s critical to information sharing and teamwork with Apex Legends and Rainbow Six Siege.
It remains to be seen if Infinity Ward is aware of the ways it can improve on Blackout with the upcoming battle royale mode for Modern Warfare. The recent leaks indicate that some of the questionable design decisions introduced in Blackout have already been addressed, while others are still a mystery. We’re also curious if Warzone will feature a respawn mechanic like Fornite and Apex Legends given how ruthless the time-to-kill is in Modern Warfare, and we’re wondering just how many players the mode will support after promising “more than 100” at launch.
The truth will be out there very soon, as the Infnity Ward won’t be able to hold all of the Warzone’s secrets long enough if the flow of leaks and rumors remains this steady.
Next: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Multiplayer Game Modes Explained
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is available on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
