Warzone is back and it’s perfect. The Season 3 update and return of Verdansk brings the game back to its OG state, but with a suite of improvements including better graphics and the omni-movement system, which has been toned down to create a more tactical play-style. If I could give Activision and its studios (especially Raven Software) one piece of advice it would be this: Don’t change a thing.
More to the point, I would say that any forthcoming changes should be iterative rather than extreme. The most fundamental thing I would suggest is make no changes to three key points:
1. Don’t devalue a player’s life. Gear is crucial now. Ground loot is rarely great, and when you do find great ground loot it’s rare. Eliminating enemy players who have great loot is a reward now, rather than commonplace. Scarcity is key once again, which is what made Warzone special in the first place. Armor plates are valuable and harder to come by, though not impossible. Armor boxes are much more scarce and cost $4,000 at a Buy Station. Cash is less plentiful, forcing players to complete contracts. And contracts are often contested, which adds risk and reward. Changing any of this would fundamentally alter the experience in a negative way. On top of this, players cost more to buy back and there are no Redeploy Flares or Gulag Tokens. All of this adds up to an experience that is more satisfying because you have to fight a little harder to keep your squad alive.
2. Don’t make map traversal easier. The removal of Redeploy Balloons is such a breath of fresh air. To get across the map, you need to go on foot or hop into a vehicle. This makes the game more tactical and prevents obnoxious third-partying from teams that come swooping down from the air. You can plan out more tactical approaches or fortifications. This creates more viable play-styles and adds layers of strategy to the game that’s been missing for years. That being said, I’m not against the addition of more ascenders to various buildings, as long as this is done in moderation. I like that buildings are less easily scaled and that there aren’t always a dozen entrances to every structure, but tinkering with this is the sort of change I can live with.
3. Don’t change movement or other key gameplay features. I don’t want to see backpacks return. I don’t want the movement to change with the next release of a premium multiplayer title. Where the game is at right now with movement, gunplay, inventory, Buy Station locations and quantity, etc. is perfect. Any new changes to the game should be limited. I wouldn’t hate, for instance, the return of Bunker Busters, because those add a layer of strategy without fundamentally altering gameplay balance. You can use a Bunker Buster to weaken a fortified location, targeting players in building interiors. Adding visual indicators of a where an Airstrike is going to hit, on the other hand, makes Airstrikes less viable to the point of being almost useless. Warzone should be a long-term project, and every change should be carefully considered in order to maintain balance.
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The two things I hope we do see are Mini Resurgence in Verdansk so that we have an alternative to Rebirth Island and, eventually, the Avalon map but with Verdansk’s current gameplay mechanics. Verdansk is an awesome map and I think it should be here to stay, but having a second BR map isn’t a bad thing as long as it’s well-designed. Avalon showed a lot of promise from what we’d seen so far. It reminded me a lot of the Blackout map, which was also fantastic.
For now, I hope Raven Software doesn’t just listen to the feedback it’s gotten from surveys. A huge risk is giving players what they think they want: More plates, more cash, better ground loot. Of course people want these things, but scarcity is what makes the gameplay loop so satisfying. We need scarcity and limitations on traversal to create the tension that makes every engagement and every match and every circle exciting and high-stakes. If you want to play a sweaty, high-kill game with more loot and lots of intense action from the word go, play Resurgence on Rebirth Island. Leave Verdansk alone. Warzone is in great shape right now, and as the old saying goes: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
