Call of Duty: Warzone fans are not happy with some new loadout changes. While I don’t like Activision Blizzard, I can’t deny that these changes are good for Warzone’s stale gameplay and its tiring meta.
Activision Blizzard has made two major loadout changes that impact how gamers play the game. The first is creating a new version of the battle royale called the Vanguard Royale mode. This mode features all of the new weapons from Call of Duty: Vanguard, all of which can be used in players’ customized loadouts.
The old weapons can be accessed in a different version of the battle royale. This classic mode, however, doesn’t feature a lot of the new updates available in Vanguard Royale. This includes using vehicles to traverse Caldera.
This frustrated players because it felt like they had to choose between the two instead of enjoying the Call of Duty: Warzone game they love with the addition of new weapons and vehicles. But Activision Blizzard actually had a good reason for doing this. Developers explained that this allows for “more accessibility and more experimentation,” essentially eliminating weapons that were creating a consistently stale meta.
Similar to Overwatch’s GOATs meta, Call of Duty: Warzone players have been stuck using the exact same weapons (instead of heroes) for the past few months since some weapons are far superior to others. While a casual game can see more weapon variety, competitive players may be essentially giving an easy win to the enemy if they purposely don’t pick the strongest weapons available. Developers stated that this change will lead to a “more streamlined meta.”
So… I’m confused now.
Call of Duty: Warzone players have hated the weapon meta for months — more than half a year, really. Look it up. There is a Reddit thread complaining about hating the “worst meta so far” about once a month from March onward. Players have been asking for a balance patch for months and months, without any real fix from Activision Blizzard. Weapons are not as broken as before, but that hasn’t stopped the complaints, most of which are valid.
So now Activision Blizzard says, “Okay, let’s remove those weapons.”
And now some players are mad about it?
I, for one, think that this is a great solution. Players that don’t mind the old meta can play the classic battle royale. Players that are frustrated with the same old same old can play Vanguard Royale. While it could be seen as a lazy way to avoid weapon balancing between new and old weapons, it still is a pretty solid solution that should leave both passionate playerbases’ happy.
But this isn’t even the change that had the community in an uproar. The actual loadout change that players are frustrated with changes the entirety of the gameplay within both battle royale modes.
Now, loadouts will only be available in Buy Stations at the end of the first circle, five minutes after a match on Caldera begins. When this was first announced in November 30, the community was immediately outraged. FaZe Swagg called it “wack” while NICKMERCS called it an “L” for players. Swagg added that this was how it worked in Operation: Flashback, which many fans hated.
Creative Director Ted Timmins replied: “Operation: Flashback was just the testbed for the functionality that proved successful — but to your point, it needed to still be early enough in the gameplay loop to allow for improved strategy and planning.”
Now, Call of Duty: Warzone players won’t be able to rush right to the shop to purchase more powerful and familiar custom weapons soon after earning money. Instead, players have to find loot placed throughout the map, similar to other battle royale titles. This is better for gameplay, developers noted, because it increases player movement and creates more opportunities for interactions throughout the map.
Not having immediate access to their favorite weapons has clearly been a sore spot for many players, some of which called the changes “game-breaking” and said the game is basically ruined. But I don’t agree with these players at all. In fact, I think they have yet to make any valid points to support their position.
I’m shocked, once again, that players are arguing for gameplay that involves everyone quickly buying all of the same weapons and having the same exact interactions and same meta weapons game after game. Wasn’t this a source of frustration for months? Why are you now fighting for this?
The new loadout changes have attempted to strip this possibility away, making Call of Duty: Warzone more similar to other battle royale titles that force players to actually search the map for a suitable loadout instead of having the exact loadout they want within minutes.
Again, I don’t like Activision Blizzard. I don’t like the way they handle games or the way they handle the inner workings of the company. But you can’t deny that these two loadout changes address an ongoing issue in Call of Duty: Warzone that players have constantly ranted about for months. So why is it suddenly a bad thing? Its sort of like gamers will complain either way, but that could be its very own topic.
The loadout changes will make Call of Duty: Warzone feel a lot more fresh. It will switch up the gameplay and strategy. It will force players to consider new weapons. I might actually attempt to start playing Call of Duty: Warzone again now that all the overpowered weapon imbalances are gone. And I assume most of the whiners who want to use those weapons won’t be in Vanguard Royale mode, which is also a refreshing concept.
They’ll probably find something else to complain about though. So let’s all enjoy Vanguard Royale before the fans start finding other issues with it!
