As the battle royale craze settles and the top games in the genre retain their popularity, games likeApex LegendsandFortnitehave maintained their playerbase over time. A combination of constant updates, as well as refining the meta (for the most part) to a tight gameplay experience, has given the most popular battle royale games proper staying power. However, for a previously very popular battle royale game,Call of Duty: Warzonehas fallen off quite a bit in comparison to its launch popularity. That’s not to inherently disparage Raven Software’s take on the battle royale genre, but it is important to point out the multiple contributing factors toWarzone’s declining popularity.
TheCall of Dutyfanbase has been vocal about the many technical issues that have plagued the game since launch. Many of the most prominent issues, like weapons disappearing/not functioning correctly, cosmetic bugs causing players to go invisible, game freezes, and other technical problems have cropped up during the Activision Blizzard walkouts and Raven Software employee strike. While the strike has concluded as ABK employees seek to unionize, the game’s seen some major updates and bug fixes. However, with a new iteration ofCall of Duty: Warzoneon the way in 2022 by Infinity Ward, some things need to change forWarzoneto regain battle royale’s top spot.
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Weapon Balance Is Paramount In Warzone 2
Even as recent as this week, another weapon inCall of Duty: Warzone’s weapon pool has been unintentionally overtuned, making the PPSh-41 a new top-tier SMG. Even though Raven Software has been quick to respond to these issues in the past, updates unintentionally buffing weapons has been a consistent story forCall of Duty: Warzone. Either that, or players will discover a weapon’s untapped potential through a new loadout/attachment, and word will spread as it becomes the new meta. That’s happened inthe earlyWarzonedays with the Kar98Kand FAL, while theBlack Ops Cold Warintegration made weapons like the FFAR 1 incredible.
When it gets to the point where even a comparably subpar assault rifle like theFR 5.56 (FAMAS) is made infinitely better with a shotgun attachment inWarzone, balance is clearly an ongoing concern. Balance concerns were only exacerbated by the integration of even more weapons fromCall of Duty:Black Ops Cold WarandCall of Duty: VanguardintoWarzone’s meta. Considering Infinity Ward is toting this newWarzone"experience" as basicallyWarzone 2, it does give the developer a chance at reworking weapon balance. Having a fresh start with a newWarzoneoverhaul could allow Raven Software to utilize new strategies in keeping the weapon meta balanced.
Refining Audio Consistency With Footsteps, Sound Design
Another consistent issue withCall of Duty: Warzoneis the audio issues and the unpredictable sound design in-game.Footstep volume and sound radius have always been a known problem forWarzoneplayers, but even in the new Caldera map, things like interior vs. exterior footsteps and airplanes/airstrikes are similarly irregular. Audio could cut in and out in the most irregular places, both indoors and outdoors, meaning players could unintentionally get an unfair advantage with soundless footsteps and/or utility. Exploring and testing sound balance, matching acoustics with environments, should potentially improve the inconsistency with audio cues in-game.
Ricochet Anti-Cheat Needs To Expand Its Reach
Another issue that continues to plagueCall of Duty: Warzone, even after the implementation of Ricochet, is the cheating problem. Even though Activision has begun implementing its own comprehensive anti-cheat software into the game, as well as filing lawsuits against popular cheating software like EngineOwning, cheating remains a problem. There are still numerous reports intheCall of Duty: Warzonesubreddit pointing out potential evidence of cheaters, even though they’re far less prevalent than pre-Ricochet. Activision and Raven Software are taking a comprehensive approach, but still, there’s more to be done if cheaters are still able to thrive inWarzone.
Further Platform Optimization For Warzone Platforms
One of the worst issues stems from poor platform optimization in basicallyevery version ofCall of Duty: Warzonethat is not the PCplatform. Players have reported delayed texture pop-in, muddy textures and loading issues, and otherwise improperly loaded geometry that are interrupting the player. Others on console had reported crashing issues, though the most recent patch seems to have addressed these issues, especially for Xbox players who were crashing upon pressing the Xbox guide button.
AssumingCall of Duty: Warzone 2is a new title, as opposed to an overhaul of the existingWarzone, these changes are reasonable to expect from the sequel at this point. Ricochet could mean most of the cheating issues could be prevented as the anti-cheat service improves, but the aforementioned optimizations are necessary for the success ofWarzone’s sequel.
