Call of Duty: Warzone Season 4 launched last month, and players have found it largely underwhelming. The season didn't significantly change Warzone's gameplay - a letdown from past seasons that nuked the (now restored) Verdansk map, transported players through time, and more. Updates since Season 4's release have all focused on fixing bugs and nerfing weapons to create more balanced and challenging gameplay, and Warzone's new Reloaded update continues this pattern.
Warzone Season 4 carried on the narrative of Season 3; Jackal downed a number of CIA satellites, sending them all crashing into Verdansk. As the CIA and Perseus continued their fight, players had to navigate the crashed satellites, travel through mysterious red doors and use new and updated weapons to annihilate enemies.
The latest Warzone Season 4 update provides a series of mid-season changes. Taking up approximately 9 GB of storage, Reloaded updates a number of features and in-game items, and it's also seeking to keep the game's competitive balance in check.
Call Of Duty: Warzone Reloaded - New & Adjusted Weapons
Two new weapons are arriving in Warzone Season 4 Reloaded. One is the OTs 9, a full-auto SMG with good recoil control but a smaller-than-normal magazine size. It can be acquired through the store or by completing an in-game challenge, as goes for the mace, a new melee weapon that's joining the fray later in the season.
A number of updates have been delivered to existing weapons in an attempt to balance time-to-kill. Several of Warzone's assault rifles have been nerfed: The AK-47's headshot multiplier and upper torso multiplier have been decreased from 1.62x to 1.5x and from 1.2x to 1x, respectively. The C58 has suffered a multiplier decrease and a recoil increase, though its maximum damage range has increased by 8%. The FARA 83, FFAR 1, Groza, Assault Rifle Charlie, RAM-7 and XM4 all got maximum damage decreases, while the QBZ-83, Assault Rifle Charlie, M13 and Krig 6 saw minimum damage increases.
Light machine guns also saw a mix of nerfs and buffs, potentially making them a slightly more competitive option for Call of Duty: Warzone Season 4. The M60's maximum damage has been increased to 37, and its headshot multiplier increased from 1.5x to 1.6x. The MG 34, on the other hand, has been nerfed across its maximum and minimum damage, as well as its headshot and upper torso multipliers. The Light Machine Gun Alpha got its maximum damage increased, while its maximum damage range and upper torso multiplier have decreased.
Warzone SMGs have largely been nerfed. The KSP-45, LC10, Bullfrog, Mac-10, Milano 821, Submachine Gun Alpha, PPSh-41 and Fennec all suffered damage decreases. The AK-74u, Submachine Gun Alpha, Submachine Gun Echo, Submachine Gun Delta and ISO, however, saw minimum damage increases. Meanwhile, the nail gun, classified as an SMG, received yet another nerf, decreasing its maximum damage, headshot multiplier and upper torso multiplier.
Call of Duty: Warzone's tactical rifles also got nerfed across the board, decreasing headshot multipliers for the Tactical Rifle Charlie, CARV.2 and M16. Additionally, BOCW Sniper Optics with a magnification of 4x or greater will now have optic glint, making it easier for enemies to spot them.
Call Of Duty: Warzone Reloaded - Gameplay Changes
Along with weapon nerfs and buffs, developer Raven Software delivered a number of additional gameplay changes in Season 4 Reloaded:
- New Gulag loadouts are available.
- The new Sentry Gun Killstreak can be found in Red Door Control Rooms.
- Specialist Tokens are now "slightly" more common in the core battle royale mode.
- Combat Bow Killstreak damage has been increased, and direct hits now instantly down enemies.
- The Dirt Bike now requires players to lean forward and backward in midair to avoid crashing after jumps. Players can also do wheelies and can lean forward while on the ground to allow for sharper turns.
- Warzone's wall-scaling Exterior Ascenders can now be used by multiple players at once.
Call Of Duty: Warzone Reloaded - Bug Fixes
Several bugs in Call of Duty: Warzone have been patched, making it more difficult to exploit them for easier combat. For example, players can no longer shoot or see through certain objects that are meant to be solid, and players can also no longer one-shot opponents with melee weapons - a glitch that occurred when a melee weapon was used while putting on an armor plate.
Some of these bug fixes provide buffs to players, in a way. The Tactical Rifle Charlie's maximum reserve ammo has been restored to 210, as a bug had reduced that number to 150. Another now-fixed glitch held the Precision Airstrike Killstreak A-10 Thunderbolt in the sky, never striking the ground. Though there are other frustrating glitches to be resolved, Call of Duty: Warzone Season 4 is on its way to being a more balanced experience.
Source: Raven Software