Call of Duty: Warzone gets mid-game events with Season 4
Dam.
Infinity Ward has announced some significant changes for Call of Duty: Warzone with the launch of Season 4.
Season 4, whose enormous download is out now, adds Captain Price as an operator, as well as events that can occur during a match of the super popular battle royale, Infinity Ward revealed via the patch notes.
These mid-game (after the first drop kit and before the Gulag closes) twists, which can happen in any given match without advance notice, include Jailbreak, Fire Sale, and Supply Chopper.
When Jailbreak occurs, all players who have been eliminated will be released back into the match, even if you were waiting for your 1v1 in the Gulag. There's a one-minute notice before a Jailbreak happens so players on the map can find additional armour or a weapon for their returning teammates. Jailbreaks can happen any time during the mid-game, so it may be worth it to spectate, just in case.
A Fire Sale temporarily discounts most of the items at a Buy Station by up to 80 per cent - or even gives items for free. During a Fire Sale, buying back eliminated teammates is free. However, even during a Fire Sale, Loadout Drops are not discounted. These Fire Sales only last 60 seconds, so the Buy Stations will probably be crowded.
And finally, the Supply Chopper event brings a non-lethal but heavily armoured helicopter into the map. This has a lot of health, Infinity Ward said, but it will not shoot at you. Once you destroy the Supply Chopper, it will drop high quality items for players to pick up, including three UAVs, two armour boxes and munition boxes, a gas mask, a grenade launcher and tonnes of cash - at a minimum. Supply Choppers leave the map after a certain period of time. It's worth noting that other players may try to kill you as you're trying to down the chopper, or even steal your rewards.
These mid-game events sound like they will significantly shake-up Warzone, add some hot conflict points and, with a Jailbreak, extend the length of the game. But it's worth noting only one event type will occur in a given match. And in some matches, no events will occur.
There's a new Contraband contract system, too. This rare contract gives a permanent blueprint reward. Here's the official blurb:
"Contraband contracts have a chance to spawn after a previous contract is completed. If you see the Contraband briefcase, hurry up and collect it. Once you have it, take it to the designated Helicopter Extraction location to call in the helicopter. The player carrying the briefcase must deposit it into the helicopter drop-bag to complete the mission. If you kill a player carrying this briefcase you can steal it complete the contract for your team. Be on the lookout for them on your Tac Map."
Today's Warzone playlist update adds Warzone Rumble, a 50v50 team deathmatch mode. Here, two teams of 50 players parachute and battle it out in various areas around Verdansk. "This mode is high action with custom loadouts, vehicles, and quick respawns," Infinity Ward said.
Also due to go live at some point during Season 4 is Juggernaut Royale. Here's the official blurb on the battle royale limited time mode:
"The massive Multiplayer Killstreak drops into Verdansk - three airdropped care packages, specifically, hold the Juggernaut suit. Head to one of the marked locations to capture and don the Juggernaut suit. Once you have it on, you'll have higher health, a mini-gun, and a sweet music track to accompany you during the Warzone match. You'll still be able to ride in vehicles and climb ladders, and your zero-fall damage will be accompanied by a ground pound of damage that impacts anyone in the immediate area. If any of the Juggernauts are sent to the Gulag, after a brief delay period, a new Juggernaut care package will be marked on the Tac-Map and deploy into Verdansk."
And third and final limited-time mode to debut during Season 4 is Realism mode, which follows the same rules as the Multiplayer Realism mode. You'll have a minimal HUD and deal increased headshot damage.
As you'd expect with the launch of a new season, there is a loot update that adds new weapons and updated Blueprints to Warzone. New weapons in the loot table include the Fennec, the CR-56 Amax and the Renetti. Players have already noticed the mini-gun lying about in Bunker 11.
Minigun is now available in Bunker 11 from r/CODWarzone
The patch notes make no mention of map-changing events, however. Players had speculated the dam was about to burst, flooding the map, or that a nuke was ready to blow part of the map to bits. Nothing like this is mentioned by Infinity Ward. Perhaps players will notice some changes once they've downloaded the update and had some time to explore.