Warzone 2 Season 3 patch notes: Intervention, one-shot Snipers, movement changes, more

Warzone 2 Season 3 is finally here, with the update bringing the classic Intervention Sniper Rifle, Plunder, major movement changes, and weapon buffs and nerfs. Here are the full patch notes breaking down everything new in the Warzone 2 Season 3 update.

Warzone 2 Season 2 Reloaded brought new content and major quality-of-life changes to both Al Mazrah and Ashika Island, but the Season 3 update is perhaps the most game-changing yet.

Alongside brand-new content such as new weapons, Operators, the BlackCell Battle Pass, and Plunder’s return, the Season 3 update brings major movement changes, one-shot Sniper Rifles, and major weapon buffs and nerfs.

Here’s everything you need to know about Warzone 2 Season 3 including the full patch notes.

• Warzone 2 Season 3 start date
• Warzone 2 Season 3 new weapons
• Warzone 2 Season 3 one-shot Snipers Rifles
• Warzone 2 Season 3 update patch notes

Warzone 2 Season 3 start date & time

The Warzone 2 Season 3 update will arrive Wednesday, April 12, 2023. The update will arrive around 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET / 6 PM BST, as confirmed by the Season 3 blog.

Intervention & Cronen Squall arrive in Warzone 2 Season 3

Players have been desperate for classic Call of Duty weapons to arrive, and one of the most popular ever arrives in Warzone 2 Season 3 — The Intervention from 2009’s Modern Warfare 2.

Called the FJX Imperium this time around, the legendary bolt-action Sniper Rifle can be unlocked in the Season 3 Battle Pass and should be perfect for quickscoping in both Al Mazrah and Ashika Island.

The Cronen Squall is another new weapon that will arrive via the Season 3 Battle Pass. The Battle Rifle is a “semi-automatic rifle chambered in 6.8 Wrath and designed for distance shooting and exceptional damage output.”

Meanwhile, players can expect two new Pistols to arrive with the Season 3 Reloaded update.

Warzone 2 Season 3 one-shot Snipers Rifles

The devs have confirmed that one-shot Sniper Rifles will be returning as part of the Warzone 2 Season 3 update. Following the success of the St. Patrick’s Day event, Snipers will finally be able to down a fully-plated enemy, but only with Explosive Ammo.

With the ammo type harming bullet velocity, expect one-shot Sniper Rifles to only be used by the most skilled players as you’ll have to account for a ton of bullet drop and travel time over long distances.

Warzone 2 Season 3 update patch notes

GLOBAL

A new season has arrived, and with it – new content and gameplay updates spanning Modern Warfare II and Warzone 2.0. Fan favorites Alejandro and Valeria have returned to settle the score. New modes including Massive Resurgence, Gunfight and Cranked have arrived, along with new multiplayer maps. Season 03 is anyone’s game!

For the latest live issues tracking please refer to our official Trello board.

RICOCHET ANTI-CHEAT

• Earlier this month, the RICOCHET Anti-Cheat™ team revealed new detections and tools in the fight against cheaters, including in Ranked Play. See the full details in the official blog here.

BATTLE PASS

• BlackCell is a Battle Pass Bundle and Pro Pack combined with even more items. BlackCell is a premium offering that provides incredible value – to be used across both games. For more details, see the BlackCell blog.

• For Players looking for an alternative to manual Battle Pass token spending, we’ve added an automatic spend option. Players can also choose to manually earn Battle Token Tier Skips and spend them as they did in prior seasons.

There is still the option to unlock Battle Pass sectors manually, and players can switch between Automatic and Manual pathing at any time during the season, which is great for those who don’t mind what other rewards they earn after they get their favorites.

For more details, visit the Season 03 Battle Pass blog.

EVENTS

• Trophy Hunt New Limited-Time Event
  • Players and enemy combatants will drop Trophies when eliminated. Trophies can also be found via loot. Trophies must be collected and secured at an Upload Station to add them to your bank.
    • Multiplayer
      • Trophies drop from each unique player killed. Collect Trophies and finish the match to add them to your bank.
    • Battle Royale
      • Operators and AI Combatants drop Trophies when eliminated
      • Trophies can also be found by looting.
      • Trophies are extracted from the match via the following methods:
        • Secured at an Upload Station
        • Match victory
    • DMZ
      • Operators and Agents drop trophies when killed. Trophies can also be found in loot. Trophies must be collected and secured at an Upload Station, or extracted to add them to your bank.
  • Once extracted, these trophies can be exchanged for items shown in the Events tab, including:
    • Weapon Blueprints
    • Vehicle Skins
    • Battle Pass Token Tier Skips
  • Those who redeem enough items will also unlock some exclusive Operator Skins for their efforts. 

PROGRESSION

Progression has been updated for Season 03:

• Prestige 10: Unlocked at Level 500
• Prestige 11: Unlocked at Level 550
• Prestige 12: Unlocked at Level 600
• Prestige 13: Unlocked at Level 650 

CHALLENGES

• New Weapon Unlock Challenges for Season 02 Battle Pass weapons:
  • ISO Hemlock – Get 20 Longshot kills with Assault Rifles
  • KV Broadside – Get 10 one-shot kills with Shotguns
  • Dual Kodachis – Get 20 kills with Melee weapons 

• New Camo and Mastery Challenges for the Cronen Squall and FJX Imperium
• New set of Prestige Stickerbook Challenges

WEAPONS

• FJX Imperium Sniper Rifle
  • Engineered destruction at its finest, this anti-personnel, bolt-action Sniper Rifle intervenes in tense situations with hard-hitting .408 rounds.

• Cronen Squall Battle Rifle
  • A bullpup, semi-automatic rifle chambered in 6.8 Wrath and designed for distance shooting and exceptional damage output.

WEAPON BALANCING

Season 03’s changes add more responsiveness to movement and the fluidity of combat including a reduction to the intensity of damage feedback (e.g., camera shake and HUD overlays). We have also decreased the magnitude on some of the more punitive Attachment cons. We feel this will result in an expansion in Attachment viability that will enable a broader spectrum of playstyles to excel—Including a change to Explosive Ammo, which allows Bolt-Action Sniper Rifles to down players in one shot. As we head into Season 03 Reloaded, we will be keeping a close eye on Weapons, Equipment, Killstreaks—among other mechanics, to ensure fair, fun, and strategically rich gameplay.

NOTE: Updates listed below that have certain impacts listed for Armor are only present in Warzone 2 and are indicated with: “Warzone 2.0 Only”

In the context of the below changes—when a Minimum Armor Damage value is added to a Weapon or Attachment, it is an increase to effectiveness. When a Maximum Armor Damage value is added, it is a decrease to effectiveness.

» Assault Rifles «

• ISO Hemlock
  • All Damage Ranges reduced
  • Lower Torso Damage reduced

• M13B
  • Headshot Damage slightly reduced
  • Lower Torso Damage increased
  • Mid-range Damage distance increased 
  • Upper Torso Damage slightly reduced

• STB 556
  • Headshot Damage increased
  • Leg Damage increased
  • Lower Torso Damage increased
  • Mid-range Damage distance increased
  • Mid-range Damage reduced 

• TAQ-56
  • Headshot Damage decreased

» Battle Rifles «

• FTAC Recon
  • Movement Speed increased
  • Semi-Auto Leg Damage increased
  • Semi-Auto Minimum Armor Damage increased  | Warzone 2.0 Only
  • Semi-Auto Upper Torso Damage increased 

• Lachmann 762
  • Movement Speed increased

• SO-14
  • Movement Speed increased
  • Semi-Auto Minimum Armor Damage increased  | Warzone 2.0 Only

• TAQ-V
  • Minimum Armor Damage increased  | Warzone 2.0 Only
  • Movement Speed increased
  • Semi-Auto Lower Leg Damage increased

» Handguns «

• Basilisk
  • Minimum Armor Damage reduced  | Warzone 2.0 Only

» Light Machine Guns «

• RAAL MG
  • Headshot Damage reduced
  • Minimum Armor Damage added to Semi-Auto Firing Mode  | Warzone 2.0 Only
  • Semi-Auto Headshot Damage increased
  • Semi-Auto Upper Torso Damage increased
  • Semi-Auto Lower Torso Damage increased 

• RPK
  • Close-mid Damage slightly reduced 

» Marksman Rifles «

• Tempus Torrent
  • All Damage Ranges reduced slightly
  • Close-mid Damage reduced slightly
  • Headshot Damage reduced

» Submachine Guns «

• Submachine Gun Hip Spread accuracy increased

• BAS-P
  • ADS Move Speed increased
  • All Damage Ranges increased
  • Minimum Armor Damage added to Semi-Auto Firing Mode  | Warzone 2.0 Only

• Lachmann Sub
  • Headshot Damage decreased 
  • Burst-Fire Leg Damage increased
  • Burst-Fire time between shots decreased
  • Burt-Fire Torso Damage increased

• MX9
  • Sprint to Fire Speed increased 

• Vaznev-9K
  • Headshot Damage decreased

• VEL 46
  • Headshot Damage decreased

ATTACHMENTS

 

Ammunition

• Basilisk
  • .500 Snakeshot
    • Maximum Armor Damage added  | Warzone 2.0 Only
• Explosive
  • Bolt-Action Weapons equipped with Explosive Ammunition are now able to down fully armored Players in one shot  | Warzone 2.0 Only
  • Explosive Ammunition has been added to the MCPR-300 progression tree
• ISO Hemlock
  • .300 Blackout (All Types)
    • Headshot Damage increased
    • Hip Spread accuracy while prone increased
    • Initial Recoil increased slightly
    • Long-range Damage decreased
    • Mid-range Damage increased
    • Minimum Armor Damage added to Semi-Auto Firing Mode  | Warzone 2.0 Only
    • Recoil violence increased 

Barrel, Stock, and Magazine Attachment stats are affected according to how ‘Large’, ‘Small’, ‘Heavy’, ‘Light’, ‘Long’, or ‘Short’ they are relative to other Attachments. In essence, the below changes increase the upsides of most Attachments stats while decreasing their downsides—resulting in an overall increase to Attachment power level.

Barrel

• Heavy Barrels
  • ADS Speed penalty slightly reduced
• Light Barrels
  • Muzzle Velocity penalty reduced
• Short Barrels
  • ADS Speed benefit increased 
  • Damage Range penalty reduced
  • Hip Spread accuracy benefit increased while moving and firing
  • Hip Spread accuracy penalty for Shotguns decreased while moving and firing

Bipod

• ADS Speed penalty reduced 

Laser

• Laser brightness increased 

Magazine

• Large Magazines
  • Light Machine Guns (Global)
    • Handling and Movement penalties reduced 
  • Kastov 545
    • 60 Round Magazine
      • Handling penalty reduced
  • Kastov 762
    • 40 Round Magazine
      • Handling penalty reduced
  • Lachmann Sub
    • 50 Round Drum
      • Handling penalty reduced
  • M13B
    • 60 Round Magazine
      • Handling penalty reduced
  • M16
    • 60 Round Magazine
      • Handling penalty reduced
  • Vaznev-9K
    • 45 Round Magazine
      • Handling penalty reduced 
  • VEL 46
    • 50 Round Magazine
      • Handling penalty reduced
    • 60 Round Magazine
      • Handling penalty reduced

Small Magazines

• Movement Speed increased 

• Sprint to Fire Speed increased

• Fennec 45
  • Fennec Double Tap Mod (Benefits from Small Magazine buffs)
    • Damage increased
    • Damage Ranges reduced
    • Minimum Armor Damage added  | Warzone 2.0 Only
    • Time between bursts reduced
• STB 556
  • Single Tap Mod (Benefits from Small Magazine buffs)
    • Damage increased
    • Mid-range Damage distances increased
    • Minimum Armor Damage added  | Warzone 2.0 Only
    • Time between shots increased 

Rear Grip

• Basilisk
  • Akimbo Basilisk
    • Maximum Armor Damage added  | Warzone 2.0 Only 

Stock

• Heavy Stocks
  • ADS Move Speed penalty reduced
  • Aiming Stability benefit increased
  • Aim Walking Steadiness benefit increased 

GENERAL

• Blueprints
  • Pro-Tuning is no longer removed from all Attachments when altering a Pro-Tuned Blueprint     
• Bomb Squad
  • Explosive Damage mitigation now also applies to Armor | Warzone 2.0 Only
• Damage Feedback
  • Visual feedback adjusted to increase visibility when taking damage
• Death Effects
  • Death Effects are now visible when killing AI
• Dive
  • Diving fire delay reduced
• Slide
  • Sliding speed slightly increased   

FIELD UPGRADES

• Added Thermal Vision to the Tactical Camera for Night Map Modes

EQUIPMENT

• Gas Grenades should no longer detonate enemy explosives
• Claymore | Warzone 2.0 Only
  • Armor damage reduced
• Flash Grenade
  • Flash effect duration reduced
• Frag Grenade  | Warzone 2.0 Only
  • One hit kill radius against fully armored Players reduced
• Proximity Mine  | Warzone 2.0 Only
  • Armor damage reduced
  • Armor damage reduced against crouched or prone Players
• Semtex 
  • Now kills downed Players when stuck 

KILLSTREAKS

• Players watching a Killcam after getting killed by a Cruise Missile will no longer be looking downwards when they respawn
• Reduced the range of screen shakes for Precision Airstrike explosions
• Juggernaut should now be able to see the tablet screen when planting or defusing a bomb
• Bomb Drone  | Warzone 2.0 Only
  • Can no longer down fully armored Players
• Cluster Mine  | Warzone 2.0 Only
  • Armor damage reduced 

VEHICLES

• Vehicle windows can now be destroyed by melee attacks
• Vehicle tires can now be popped with knives 

AUDIO

• Added a new cinematic music slider to the front end, which will allow Players to control UI music, game intros/outros, and cinematic sequences separately from music that happens during gameplay
• Various refinements to footstep and occlusion mixes 

SOCIAL

• Groups Request Manager
  • Quality of life improvements for requests to join groups in the Social menu. 
• Recruit a Friend
  • Know someone who has yet to experience Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0? You and your friends can get rewarded through the new Recruit a Friend program.
  • Recruits and recruiters can then earn rewards for completing challenges together
    • NOTE: This Program is not available in Austria, Argentina, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Poland, and the Philippines.

UI/UX

• Player names now appear in the squad lists of a Private Battle Royale Match
• Added the ability to preview tracers and death effects that come with weapon Blueprints
• New front end/pre-game lobby scene 

GLOBAL BUG FIXES

• Fixed an issue that disallowed Tuning on the Assault-60 Stock Factory for the FSS Hurricane, FTAC Recon, and Tempus Torrent 
• Fixed incorrect ammo names on the SPW 40mm HE and KL40-M2 Underbarrel Grenade Launchers 
• Fixed numerous Blueprints that were unable to be brought into DMZ 
• Fixed Underbarrel Launcher and Underbarrel Shotgun Attachment compatibility issues 
• Fixed .50 GS Barrels that were not equipping properly 
• Fixed P890 Triggers that were not equipping properly  
• Fixed Attachment descriptions for unlocks on the KV Broadside progression tree 
• Fixed an incorrect unlock level description on the SP-X 80 progression tree 
• Fixed an issue with the progression of .50 GS and KV Broadside camo challenges 
• Fixed an issue where the UI would sometimes incorrectly display 6 out of 5 attachments

• Fixed an issue preventing tires on the Armored Truck from being popped
• Fixed the minimap icon of the neutral LTV with a turret not having a turret
• Fixed an issue that makes the Player getting stuck in vehicles much less likely
• Fixed an issue where roof-exiting on an ATV could push the Player through collision objects
• Fixed an issue that allowed Players to exit a vehicle and leave Maps in certain areas
• Fixed an issue causing vehicles to sometime become disabled when one of their tires was still on land

• Fixed an issue that allowed helicopters to fly through objects after deploying AI
• Fixed an issue causing flares on the Heavy Chopper to deploy too high
• Fixed an issue causing War Tracks to not clear from Players in the turrets of the Armored Patrol Boat if the driver dies

• Fixed an issue causing Crossbow bolts to not damage Recon Drones and Bomb Drones
• Fixed an issue causing Explosive Crossbow bolts to not damage the Wheelson
• Fixed a handful of issues that prevented Cluster Mines from being damaged correctly by different sources
• Fixed a small number of out of bounds issues that could impact piloting a Drone

• Fixed an issue that prevented Armor from being used while DDoS was active

• Fixed a bug that would sometimes prevent Players using the Riot Shield from being killed by Drill Charges

• Fixed an issue where Players could spam invites to other Players as a form of griefing
• Fixed an issue allowing Players to whisper, toggle mute, report or block Players, and add friends from the Leaderboard at the end of a match
• Fixed an issue causing misaligned stats in the Scoreboard in Multiplayer
• Fixed an issue affecting Double Kill Challenge tracking in the UI
• Fixed an issue where the Basilisk, .50 GS and LA-B 330 weapons had incorrectly set weapon camo challenges
• Fixed an issue allowing custom Perk Packages to be edited while in-game 

PC SETTINGS

• Keybind Presets
  • Keybind Preset allows Players to use a pre-determined set of keybinds very easily if you want to change all your keybinds with a single click. Several presets are available: Default, which is the Modern Warfare 2 & Warzone 2 default, Classic which is inspired by Warzone 1 initial keybinds and Simplified, which allows to reduce the amount of keybinds and can be useful for Accessibility. Keybind Preset can be found in KBM, at the top of the Keybinds tab.

• Gyro Ratcheting
  • Gyro Ratcheting is a new setting that allows the player to disable the gyro to reposition the controller by pressing a specific key, without impacting the key’s original behavior. Several actions can be used to disable for Gyro and reposition the controller. This setting was requested by the community to improve the Gyro Aiming experience. Gyro Ratcheting can be found in Controller, in the Advanced tab with all the settings dedicated to Gyro.

WARZONE 2.0

The patch notes detailed in the section below affect all Warzone 2.0 content across both Battle Royale and DMZ.

MAPS

Ashika Island

• A Cargo Ship and several Submarines are now present outside of the Port.

GAMEPLAY

All Maps | All Modes

• Tempered Plate Carrier
  • Upgrades the Player’s Armor Plate Carrier to improve armor plate efficiency. 
  • Details:
    • Player now equips 2 stronger armor plates, down from 3
    • Each armor plate counts for 75
    • Can be found in strongholds and loot

• Bomb Drone Balancing
  • Reduced the damage of the Bomb Drone so it will no longer one-hit-kill or down a fully armored player.

• Heavy Chopper
  • Re-enabled this vehicle in the following modes:
    • Standard
    • Duos
    • Trios
    • Quads
  • Added new Heavy Chopper gas cans unique to this vehicle that are required for initial takeoff.
    • Spawn locations of these gas cans will differ between Battle Royale and DMZ.
    • Battle Royale:
      • One of five possible spawn locations will spawn Heavy Gas gas cans each match.
      • One Heavy Chopper gas can is included as a guaranteed Stronghold mission reward.
  • Subsequent refuelings can be done via Gas Stations or other Heavy Chopper gas cans
  • This vehicle is now more vulnerable to explosive damage

• Gas Mask
  • The gas mask has been given a slight buffer when the player delays it from being put on or taken off. This should help catch situations where further delay is desired immediately after it was dropped.

• Interrogation
  • Decreased the time it takes to perform an interrogation to 3 seconds, down from 5
  • Added a grace period if the downed Player is immediately eliminated after a successful interrogation.
    • This guarantees that the enemy squad will be pinged at least once, up to three times during the grace period.
    • Reminder: Keeping the interrogated Player alive will further extend the effect

QUALITY OF LIFE

• Mantle Assist Improvements
  • Improved the system that would allow players to mantle over or through objects such as windows.

• Advanced UAV Improvements
  • Enemy Players and AI Combatants will now appear differently while using an Advanced UAV

• Killstreak Banner Positioning
  • The position of the Killstreak banner that appears on screen has been moved to no longer overlap with the player’s reticle.

BUG FIXES

• Fixed an issue that allowed Players to clip inside the Sentry Gun.
• Fixed several issues with placing a Sentry Gun on the train.
• Fixed issue where Mortar Strikes were not doing enough damage against AI targets, making it hard to kill them.
• Recon/Bomb Drones will now die if the player goes into last stand.
• Added item persistence to Stim Pistol / Rebreather. Now Stim pistol / Rebreather can be dropped after it has been activated.
• Fixed several issues caused by Players having both a Self Revive and Stim Pistol equipped.
• Fixed an issue with the Assimilation UI that could cause some squad members’ names or numbers to appear incorrectly.

BATTLE ROYALE

The patch notes detailed in the section below are exclusive to Battle Royale, which includes but is not limited to standard Battle Royale, Resurgence, Mini Royale, Unhinged, and more.

PLAYLIST

Al Mazrah
 

• Standard
  • Duos
    • Max Players: 150
    • Assimilation: Refill
  • Trios
    • Max Players: 150
    • Assimilation: Refill
  • Quads
    • Max Players: 152
    • Assimilation: Refill

• Massive ResurgenceNEW
  • Trios
    • Max Players: 150
    • Assimilation: Off
  • Quads
    • Max Players: 152
    • Assimilation: Off

Ashika Island

• Resurgence 
  • Solos
    • Max Players: 52 
    • Assimilation: Off
  • Duos
    • Max Players: 52 
    • Assimilation: Off
  • Quads
    • Max Players: 52 
    • Assimilation: Off

For regular updates about the Playlist and other Scheduled Events, check out the dedicated Warzone Trello Board.

MODES

Al Mazrah
 

• Massive Resurgence Launch
  • Resurgence makes its Al Mazrah debut! Prepare to take on dozens of other squads in a much larger version of this fan favorite mode.
    • How does it work?
      • When eliminated, Players enter a spectating state and must wait for the Resurgence timer to tick down. Squad members can shorten the timer by completing Contracts, looting, and eliminating enemy Players. Respawns are disabled on the fourth circle, so keep an eye on the clock 
    • Hunt & Track Mechanic 
      • At any point during a match, eliminating an enemy Player will display their Squad members for a few seconds on the minimap.
      • Specific to Solos, eliminating an enemy Player will display their location upon redeployment for 10 seconds.
    • Score Events
      • As a reminder, we recently added quite a few new ways to shorten the respawn timer for Squad members:
        • Headshot
          • Eliminating an enemy Player via Headshot
        • On The Move
          • If you move more than 25 meters while your teammate is dead
        • Hunt
          • You eliminated a Player while they were tracked by the Hunt mechanic 
        • Hunter Double
          • You eliminated two Players in a row while they were tracked by the Hunt mechanic
        • Hunter Spree
          • You eliminated more than three Players while they were tracked by the Hunt mechanic
        • Armor Break
          • You broke all of a Player’s active Armor Plates
        • Audacious Elimination
          • You got an elimination while a Squad member was down 
        • Fearless Elimination
          • You got an elimination while being the last living member of your Squad
    • Loadouts
      • Players can acquire their Loadouts via two different methods in Resurgence. Towards the end of the first circle there is a Public Event that drops a Loadout crate for your Squad. Loadout Dop Markers are also available for purchase via Buy Stations, using the same price scaling as standard Battle Royale. 
    • Additional Information
      • Strongholds are disabled
      • Weapons found via ground loot always have attachments
      • Blue Resurgence Supply Boxes restock after 90 seconds

• World Series of WarzoneIn-Season
  • Grab your two sweatiest friends and start warming up now Stage 1 of the upcoming WSOW 2023 Season.
  • A limited-time playlist will go live on April 27th called WSOW Trios for squads to practice for the In-Game Open.
    • This is a new WSOW ruleset, which is a variation of a standard match of Battle Royale. This includes changes such as:
      • No turreted vehicles
      • No Heavy chopper
      • No assimilation
      • No Fire sales, Jailbreaks, Restocks or Champion’s Quest
  • While the public Playlist will be available throughout this weekend for practice, the actual competition — and opportunity for official scoring for WSOW Stage I — will take place on April 28 through April 30 from 10 AM to 2 PM PT each day.
  • Full details for the WSOW 2023 Season are available on the official blog here.

GENERAL

• Resurgence Private Matches
  • Ashika Island Resurgence (Solos, Duos, Trios, and Quads) has been enabled in Private Matches.

• Private Match Spectating
  • Spectating has been enabled for all available maps/modes including:
    • Al Mazrah
      • Standard Battle Royale
        • Solos, Duos, Trios, Quads
      • Mini Royale
        • Trios
    • Ashika Island
      • Resurgence
        • Solos, Duos, Trios, Quads

• After Action Report (AAR)
  • All Players in a squad that complete a match will see the After Action Report. 

• Birdseye Perk
  • This Perk has been reenabled.
  • Adjustments:
    • Now activates when Player uses a UAV Killstreak
    • Enemy UAVs no longer trigger Birdseye
    • UAVs activated by the Player using Birdseye will provide enemy headings
    • UAV pings activated by the Player using Birdseye are slightly larger

GAMEPLAY

Al Mazrah | Standard Battle Royale
 

• Blacksite New Gulag
  • This roughly rectangular, asymmetrical map has several interior spaces and long external routes. Those who want to redeploy will have to prove their worth on this new yet familiar ground.

GAMEPLAY

All Maps | All Modes
 

• UAV Towers
  • First seen in DMZ, UAV Towers can be activated during a match to provide intel on enemy positioning in the form of several circular UAV sweeps from the tower’s fixed location.
  • Details:
    • An audible notification is broadcasted when one is activated
    • The icon for active towers will be visible in red on the Tac Map and overworld
    • Lasts 20 seconds per activation
    • Costs $2000 per activation
    • Able to be activated by another squad even if you have activated them already
    • Those activated by an opposing squad show detection radius on the map

Al Mazrah | All Modes

• Redeploy Drones
  • Redeploy Drones have been added to Al Mazrah. Utilize these for quick repositioning.
  • Details:
    • Can be shot down
    • Will reposition when in the gas
    • Will begin leaving the field around the 4th circle

Al Mazrah | Standard Battle Royale
 

• Stronghold “Hold Positions” Operation
  • Locate and defend a position inside the stronghold from enemies. The stronghold will be attacked by continuous reinforcements until the operation is complete.

• Black Sites New Stronghold Objective
  • An additional black site has been added to Al Mazrah near Rohan Oil, in the Northern sector of the map.

• Champion’s Quest
  • New Weapon Blueprint Reward
    • Go find out – if you can!

• Gas Circle Pacing Improvements
  • Decreased the time paused between gas circle movements.  This will increase overall pacing across a match.
  • Mirroring a pacing change to Caldera last year, we’ve evaluated the delay time between when the circle stops and the start of the next movement. By making an adjustment here we expect to see a more dynamic mid-game. This does not increase the speed of the gas itself in any way. 

Gameplay Adjustments

All Maps | All Modes
 

• Most Wanted Contract
  • The Most Wanted Supply Drop now drops on every successful completion
    • This will no longer deactivate upon Resurgence being disabled in Ashika Island.
  • In Plunder, it drops money and different power items
  • Supply drop icon has been updated
  • Every team can now see the crate’s icon on the tac map

• Stronghold Rewards
  • Reduced the number of white Stronghold Supply Boxes that spawn to 1, down from 2
  • Increased loot found in a white Stronghold Supply Box

Al Mazrah | All Modes

• Intel Contract
  • The number of spawn locations for the upload point has been increased
  • The upload point will now drop loot upon completion
  • The upload point occupation time requirement has been increased to 17 seconds, up from 10
  • The “search for the laptop” phase of this contract has been removed

We felt that the initial search circle that contained the laptop was too inconsistent with the time it took players to find the laptop on average. This time was very heavily dependent on the location of the laptop. This change aims to counteract that concern.

• Buy Stations
  • The following items will be available at every Buy Station with unlimited stock:
    • Gas Masks
    • Portable Radars
  • We’ve also made some tweaks to item prices. See below for details:
    • Armor Plates
      • Increased to $500, up from $400
    • Gas Mask
      • Increased to $2000, up from $1650
    • Durable Gas Mask
      • Increased to $3500, up from $2900
    • C4
      • Increased to $850, up from $700
    • Frag Grenade
      • Increased to $600, up from $500
    • Smoke Grenade
      • Increased to $400, up from $250
    • Snapshot Grenade
      • Increased to $600, up from $400
    • Revive Pistol
      • Increased to $4000, up from $800
    • Cluster Mine
      • Increased to $6000, up from $3300
    • Precision Airstrike
      • Decreased to $2000, down from $4000
    • Counter-UAV
      • Decreased to $2000, down from $4000
    • Bomb Drone
      • Decreased to $3500, down from $4000
    • Armor Box
      • Increased to $3500, up from $2000
    • Battle Rage
      • Increased to $3500, up from $2900
    • Dead Silence
      • Decreased to $2500, down from $2900
    • Portable Radar
      • Increased to $2500, up from $1400
    • Suppression Mine
      • Increased to $3500, up from $2000
    • Tactical Camera
      • Decreased to $1500, down from $1650
    • Deployable Cover
      • Decreased to $1500, down from $1650
    • Trophy System
      • Decreased to $1500, down from $1650
    • Recon Drone
      • Increased to $3000, up from $2000
    • Firesale UAV
      • Increased to $5000, up from $4000
    • Future updates will see a continuous evaluation of prices as we regularly review the live data of Buy Station usage, equipment power and more.
  • Item placement in the menu has been revised in order to keep relevant selections next to one another.
  • Changed positioning of the Loadout Drop Marker on the menu to facilitate navigation
    • Press down once on directional controller when opening the Buy Station menu
  • Spawn locations have been updated and increased to 42, up from 31

We’re making significant improvements to how we determine the spawn location of Buy Stations, this change not only increases the amount available in a match but more appropriately spaces out their locations. The goal being to address negative space and to reduce frequency of buys being in too close of a proximity. Buy stations will remain static in Al Mazrah Battle Royale so that learned behavior can be relied on.

• Ammo Caches
  • Additional locations for Ammo Caches have been added across the map

We’ve identified a number of regions on the map that would benefit from an Ammo Cache to assist with either regain potential, or just keeping an active engagement going longer. As with Buy Stations, we’re evaluating much of our spawn philosophy and will be making additional changes in other areas over the course of the chapter. 

Ashika Island | Resurgence

• Rebalanced Rewards
  • We have adjusted the rewards for the following:
    • Data Heist Public Event
    • Sea Treasure Machine
    • Sea Lion Statue side quests

QUALITY OF LIFE

• Minimap Ping Anchoring
  • Coordinates and map elements that have been pinged will now anchor the icon along the borders of the minimap even when they are outside of the visible area on the minimap.

• Spawn Protection Timeout
  • Spawn protection will now expire on players who remain airborne for more than 10 seconds
  • This is in addition to the current x that remove spawn protection when they are x meters from the ground
  • We’ll evaluate the effectiveness of Spawn Protection and if necessary make adjustments on a per mode basis.

• Blacksite Key Visibility
  • Blacksite Key dropped will now be visible on the Tac Map to all squads

• Loadout Drop Visuals
  • Adjusted the visual representation of Loadout Drops to help Players better distinguish between their own and those that belong to other Players.
  • New color coding:
    • Squad Loadout Drop = Blue
    • Contested Loadout Drop = Yellow

• Gulag Item HUD
  • Items that a Player picks up during a Gulag round will be briefly indicated next to the crosshair before fading away.

• Object Elevation Arrows
  • Buy Stations, Contracts, and Loot items now have a small up/down arrow on the tac map and minimap to better indicate elevation.

BUG FIXES

• Fixed an issue where Quick Fix did not activate after plating in Resurgence modes.
• Fixed an issue causing the Intel Contract world icon to persist despite having failed to complete the objective.
• Fixed an issue causing Battle Royale victories to not update properly in the Combat Records.
• Fixed an issue causing the Play Again buttons to no longer work after assigning a new party leader.
• Fixed an issue causing items to disappear when attempting to stow them away in the backpack.
• Fixed an issue causing Players using the Birdseye Perk to receive UAV pings when an enemy activated a UAV.

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Warzone 2 Ranked Play also arrives with the Season 3 Reloaded update but for now, check out some of our other guides:

Best guns in Warzone 2 | Best Warzone 2 controller settings | Best Warzon 2 PC settings | How to ping enemies in Warzone 2 | How to use Proximity Chat in Warzone 2 | How to get a nuke in Warzone 2 | Best Assault Rifles in Warzone 2 | Does Warzone 2 have crossplay?

Source: Infinity Ward

Image Credit: Activision