Summary
Since its release,Call of Duty: Warzonehas been a standout title across platforms, offering FPS fans a dynamic, free-to-play experience. However, with each yearly premiumCall of Dutytitle introducing massive updates to the game, ranging from completely new iterations to core gameplay changes, various issues have emerged.
These challenges have significantly affected thegradual decline ofWarzone’s player base, particularly following its integrations with premium titles. By addressing these issues, Activision’s free-to-play game could be revitalized, paving the way for a return to its former glory. With that in mind, here are nine changes that could helpCall of Duty: Warzoneretain players and sustain its success.
8Keep the Core Modes Simple
Avoid Huge Mode Alterations
Across the various iterations ofWarzone,modes have seen significant changes. Initially launching with a classic Battle Royale format tailored to fitCall of Duty’s style, the game later introduced Resurgence alongsideBlack Ops Cold Warin 2021. This new mode catered to players seeking a faster, more dynamic alternative to traditional Battle Royale gameplay. Additionally, limited-time modes were introduced to enhance variety along with seasonal updates.
Over time, however, substantial changes to both core modes – Battle Royale and Resurgence – have blurred their distinctions. Battle Royale incorporated multiple ways to re-enter the game after elimination, compared to the two methods available originally, including the Gulag and Jailbreak events. While these additions provide new mechanics, they detract from each mode’s distinct identity, making it harder for players to enjoy a pure, rule-driven experience tailored to their preferences.
To address this, mid-season and seasonal updates could focus on introducing new limited-time modes while leaving the core modes untouched. Restoring Battle Royale and Resurgence to their original rules would allow players to enjoy streamlined, unaltered gameplay. This strategy would maintain the unique identity of each mode, providing players with distinct and purposefully crafted experiences, all whileintroducing a refreshing touchthrough the addition of new maps.
7Transparent Shadowban System
Provide Details on How Shadowbans are Issued
With its vast player base, the presence of a Shadowban system inCall of Dutythatpenalizes accounts without clearly explaining the reasonsbehind the action is a source of frustration for many. AlthoughCall of Duty’s Security and Enforcement Policy outlines the outcomes of offenses or account suspensions, the criteria for Shadowbans remain a mystery.
Following major updates or ban waves, numerous accounts often find themselvesshadowbanned despite adhering to Activision’s policy rules. The lack of explanation for these actions leaves affected players in the dark. WhileCall of Dutyhas consistently denied thatmass reporting can trigger a Shadowban, many frustrated players – and even hackers – seem to exploit this method as a tool against others.
A straightforward and highly effective solution would be to provide players with transparent reasoning for Shadowbans. This would help them understand what led to their account being flagged and potentially how to resolve the issue. For fair players,being unexpectedly shadowbanned with no insightinto the cause or recourse is highly demoralizing. Increased transparency and communication in such cases could mitigate frustration and prevent players from abandoning the game.
6Address Weapon Meta Overdependence
More Weapon Choices Allow More Fun
The reliance on weapon meta is not unique toCall of Duty: Warzone. However, the game’s leveling system and its integration with the multiplayer mode of each annual premium title have heavily influenced how matches unfold.
Thegame incorporates a massive arsenal, often exceeding 150 unique weapons, featuring well over 40 levels of attachments each as it integrates content from each premium title annually. Additionally, the connection to multiplayer further skews the balance, as players who level up weapons in premium games gain an advantage once new integrations or big updates (seasonal/mid-seasonal) occur.
A simple yet effective solution would be to limitWarzone’s weapon pool to those introduced in the current premium title, including them in both loot and loadouts. This reduction would ensure a more balanced selection, with all weapons starting at level zero to prevent multiplayer players from gaining an advantage. Such an approach would create a level playing field, encouraging fair competition. While someweapons may still emerge as favorites, it would be up to the development team to maintain balance without catering to store bundles or other strategies that end up constraining weapon diversity and forcing players to rely on meta setups to remain competitive.
5Avoid Overtrusting New Maps or Big Updates
Huge Changes Aren’t Always Magical Solutions
After years ofWarzoneupdates, the community has grown accustomed to the massive overhauls that come with theannual integration of premium titles, often introducing significant new content and maps. While these updates bring a sense of novelty, they are frequently seen as brief fixes to deeper issues within the game. Unfortunately, instead of addressing core problems, these updates often introduce new ones, including bugs, exploits, or the removal of beloved features from previous iterations.
The best approach to these updates is to manage expectations and reserve judgment until the new content and maps have been fully explored. This allows players to evaluate whether the additions truly enhance the experience. Overtrust and over-optimism often lead to disappointment when unpredictable issues arise, tarnishing the excitement surrounding these updates. Given that these issues can take time to resolve, they often prompt players to abandon the game out of dissatisfaction with its state.
Additionally, major updates often result in the reset orcomplete removal of quality-of-life improvementsintroduced in previous iterations. While these resets aim to refresh the game in some way, they often have the opposite effect, making it feel less polished and enjoyable. These enhancements typically improve flow, feel, and depth. Rolling back these enhancements creates a sense of reversal, as players lose features that makeWarzonemore engaging, versatile, and strategically rich.
4Proper Matchmaking System For Each Mode
Challenging for Ranked Players and Fun for Casuals
AllWarzoneplayers want to win, but not everyone is looking for the same level of challenge, which can create disparities between modes and objectives. While the game is inherently competitive, with survival against enemies being key to victory, the Ranked mode can help separate the challenge, offering a higher level of demand and intensity for those seeking it.
To cater to casual players, matchmaking should strike a balance by providing a challenging experience without overwhelming them. This would allow for a dynamic game with various factors like weapon choice, movement, and zone rotation, offering a mix of higher-level enemies and players of a similar or lower skill level. In contrast,Ranked modeshould be designed to offer the highest possible challenge, where every aspect of gameplay – from tactics to survival – plays a crucial role in determining the winner. A scoring system would reward players significantly for eliminating enemies and staying alive, pushing them to engage and compete regularly.
By keeping these experiences distinct, players know what to expect from each mode. Casual players can enjoy a varied experience that remains challenging but not relentlessly so, while Ranked players get the consistent challenge they seek to properly measure their skill against others. Usually, the latter is the experience that most will receive, due to a matchmaking system that prioritizes other interests, such as player retention, over user connection and enjoyment.
3Overhaul Audio System
Footstep Sound Should Be A Key Surviving Tool
Call of Duty: Warzoneis centered around survival, whether you’re navigating the tense, high-stakes Battle Royale mode with its limited lives, or thefast-paced Resurgence mode, where the frantic action can lead you to take risks – either alone or with your team – that result in your elimination from the match.
While the game provides various tools to ensure survival, such as Perks and well-optimized loadouts, none are as crucial or helpful as audio. Being able to hear your enemies – whether it’s the sound of nearby gunfire or footsteps – gives you the advantage of planning your next move, whether attacking or defending and helps you navigate confrontations more effectively.
Since its launch in 2020,Warzonehas struggled with audio issuesthat make it difficult to hear enemies approaching, even when they’re right on top of you. This leaves players vulnerable, limiting their ability to defend themselves effectively. Despite several updates aimed at addressing this problem, it appears that a complete overhaul of the audio system is necessary to ensure proper prioritization of sounds. Enemy footsteps should be the top priority, allowing players to hear them clearly amidst other noises like gunfire, vehicles, and ongoing combat. Until this is fixed, enemy footsteps will remain the crucial but often elusive sound that leaves players exposed in critical moments.
Address In-Game Cheaters and Providers
The RICOCHET anti-cheat system wasimplemented with the launch ofCall of Duty: Vanguardin late 2021 to combat cheating inWarzoneand every modernCoDtitle. While it has made some strides in addressing the ongoing issue of hackers and cheaters, it hasn’t eliminated the problem, which continues to negatively affect players’ gaming experience.
RICOCHET introduced several measuresto detect and ban cheaters, including a kernel-level driver for PC. These measures often make it easier for players to spot cheaters, but many still manage to avoid being banned. Even when they are banned, they often return with new accounts, circumventing the restrictions placed on their PC components and Activision accounts.
Although the anti-cheat system has reduced the impact of cheating, it remains a significant issue that drives players away. To truly address this problem, the system needs to ensure that cheaters cannot easily re-enter the game. Over-reliance on AI-driven solutions can only go so far in preventing cheating and does not solve the core issue. The kernel-level driver should enableCall of Dutyto detect cheats automatically, without requiring the game to boot up first. If the system fails to work properly, it risks undermining the integrity of Ranked modes, which are supposed to offer a fair competitive experience as well as casual modes, driving players away. Additionally,console players can’t turn crossplay offto avoid PC players to ensure a fair playground, especially in Ranked.
1Solve Warzone’s Lack of Identity
Treat the Game as a Standalone Experience
One ofWarzone’s challenges is its close tie to theannual premium releases inCall of Duty. This connection influences everything from content like weapons, equipment, and loadouts to quality-of-life updates, massive map changes, and modes. Although this model makes sense business-wise, sinceWarzoneserves as an incentive to purchase the premium titles, it also contributes to the game’s lack of identity. As a result,Warzoneoften feels like free DLC, filled with content and strategic decisions that shift according to the vision of each year’s development team.
Without a clear and consistent identity, the game struggles to establish a solid foundation for its experience and core content, instead being treated as a backdrop to premium releases, constantly changing to align with each team’s direction. This lack of continuity is compounded by the fact that there isn’t a single, unified team leading the development.Each year brings surprises– either an improvement on the previous version or a complete overhaul that resets what the last iteration achieved.
The key is totreatWarzoneas a standalone title, capitalizing on its status as the only freeCall of Dutygame. By giving it its own identity – separate from the annual premium releases – the game can maintain a consistent gameplay experience. Each year, only new content from the premium games, such as weapons, new maps, limited-time modes, store bundles, and events, should be added. Centralizing development under a single team will ensure a unified vision for the game over time. This approach would enableWarzoneto preserve its core gameplay elements while introducing fresh content that complements the premium games.
