The developers of Call of Duty: Warzone 2, Infinity Ward, recently announced their “Path To Season 02” Community Update on 25 January 2023, sharing details about an array of new features, maps, modes, and more that will be arriving with the next Modern Warfare II and Warzone 2 patch on 15 February.
In addition, the developers also outlined some updates concerning Multiplayer, DMZ, and Battle Royale, which include several highly requested features to be included in the game. That said, here are all the exciting new major gameplay changes in Warzone 2 Season 2.
Warzone 2 Season 2: Quality-of-Life Changes
Reduced Crashes
Infinity Ward clarified that they would be committed to “improving the overall stability and performance” of Warzone 2, addressing various bugs to reduce crashes across all platforms and titles. While the developers failed to provide more details, they added that information regarding “specific bug fixes and changes” would be revealed ahead of the Season 2 update.
Audio Tuning and Adjustments
Accordingly, the update will address audio issues reported by Warzone 2 players on PC, which the developers claim is “due to discrepancies in the number of channels they are outputting.” Specifically, the solution will include adding an option to force the PC to stereo output. Other known issues, including problems involving audio occlusion, will also be addressed in the Warzone 2 Season 2 update.
UX/UI and Experience Improvements
Several UI/UX updates are also coming to “improve the overall flow of in-game menus,” including improved navigation and organization of the Camo menu, a more polished Social tab, and a new “My Bundles” screen. In addition, the “Experience” section includes an improved After Action Report with audio and a Play Again feature in Battle Royale. The update will also include bug fixes for inconsistencies between Challengers, Battle Pass, and Weapon progression.
Warzone 2 Season 2: Weapon Balance Changes
Further to that, the upcoming Warzone 2 Season 2 update will analyze and balance weapons, just like in any other seasonal or mid-season update. However, specific details about these weapon balance changes will only be revealed in the Season 2 launch patch notes on 15 February 2023.
Warzone 2 Season 2: Battle Royale Changes
1v1 Gulag Returns
The original 1v1 version of the Gulag will return in Season 2 of Warzone 2, with improvements to combat and plans for a dedicated 1v1 map coming in future seasons. Additionally, several “logistical changes to the Gulag experience” were noted by Infinity Ward, including those to ground loot, player loadouts, and the weapon pool in Warzone 2 Season 2. You can learn more about the return of 1v1 Gulag to Warzone 2 Season 2 and all the new changes in our dedicated article.
Changes to Looting
Infinity Ward noted that they would be “balancing the Battle Royale economy” by reducing Cash rewards for completing contracts, increasing the lowest value of Cash piles from ground loot (to $800) and Cash Registers (to $500), and making Cash exclusively available via ground loot, containers, and white Stronghold Supply Boxes across Al Mazrah.
They are also “shifting away from loot windows/menus to floating loot” and eliminating medium/large backpacks, which will drop from all containers in the game. This is intended to improve gameplay’s pace and streamline players’ looting experience. The developers also advised on changes to the new Backpack system.
Customizable Perk Packages
Warzone 2 players can edit Perk Packages in the upcoming Season 2 patch update. Specifically, players will be able to customize Perk Packages with a slightly reduced pool of available Perks to ensure they are balanced. Additionally, primary weapons will be more affordable at Buy Stations, Loadout Drop Markers will be cheaper, and a second Loadout Drop Public Event has been added to the game.
Warzone 2 Season 2: Changes To DMZ & Multiplayer
The Season 2 update will also bring several changes to DMZ. First, AI in the DMZ has been balanced to provide a challenging but manageable play space. “With Season 02, we’ve introduced a number of balance changes to adjust the types of AI spawning, the number of AI spawning, and the accuracy of AI at range and much more,” Infinity Ward said.
Spawn points across Al Mazrah have also been tuned for a better early match experience, including adjustments to the starting points to ensure players have access to loot and contract opportunities. In addition, the Faction Mission difficulty has been adjusted to make it more straightforward to unlock an additional Insured Weapon Slot.
The update will also address crashes and increase stability, with a new Exclusion Zone being added for players to choose from when deploying in DMZ. Lastly, all-new missions are also coming in Warzone 2 Season 2, including a refresh of current Faction Mission progress and an inventory reset.
Hardcore Mode will return to Modern Warfare 2, replacing the Tier 1 mode. Multiplayer will also see several weapon balance changes, including five new weapons coming to Season 2. Likewise, several Perks will be balanced in the upcoming Season 2 update. “For Season 2, we’ve updated the rate at which the bonus and the ultimate perks are earned (reduces bonus perk cost by 50% and ultimate by 25%). This adjustment will allow Players to get Ghost earlier in matches, which will better support Players looking to engage more aggressively.”
Additional Changes Coming To Warzone 2 Season 2
Furthermore, Warzone 2 Season 2 will feature changes to Vests, Movement, Buy Stations, and Strongholds. In particular, players will now start with a 3-Plate Vest, and “varying sizes of vests will no longer exist in Battle Royale loot.” Movement has also been tweaked to allow players to bust through doors while plating as if they were sprinting; this change includes a marginal increase in movement speed while plating.
In addition, Buy Stations have been revamped to make them easier to access, with spawn locations added and adjusted. “Spawns will be static across the map, and Loadout Drop Markers have unlimited stock at all stations,” Infinity Ward noted. Lastly, changes to rewards and A.I. combatant damage will be made to Strongholds.
These updates will be further detailed in the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and Warzone 2.0 patch notes, which will be released before Season 2 launches on 15 February 2023.